Florida’s employment picture keeps getting brighter. The state released its preliminary jobless estimates for April today and Ryan Benk reports record Florida tourism numbers during the first quarter are being credited for the positive jobs picture.
Every year after the Florida legislature passes its budget, a group called Florida TaxWatch goes on a turkey hunt. Regan McCarthy reports group singles out budget items, called budget turkeys that may have been slipped into the budget at the last minute or didn’t get a complete review.
Florida’s 2013 lawmaking session is slowly fading into the mists of history. But although lawmakers may have finished their work, some of what they did or didn’t do could prompt much more work on the part of the state’s courts. Lynn Hatter reports it’s a bit like a game of legal ping pong.
It could take weeks before a Florida appeals court decides whether the Florida Department of Corrections can move forward with privatizing more of the state’s prison health care services. As Sascha Cordner reports, it’s all part of a continuing legal battle between the department and unions representing employees who fear they’ll lose their state jobs.
Florida’s public university administrators are celebrating in the wake of this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers restored the funding the schools had lost in recent years. And as Jessica Palombo reports, higher ed officials say things like “pre-eminent” status for Florida State University and the University of Florida should help keep more Florida high-schoolers in-state for college.