http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/fl-news/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:48:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419131/posts The number of murders in unincorporated Orange County and Orlando plummeted by roughly 38 percent last year — a striking change after more than three record-breaking years of deadly violence. The Orange County Sheriff's Office investigated 44 slayings last year, down 40 percent from 2008 Florida Department of Law Enforcement figures. Murders in Orlando slid by about 35 percent. Experts, locals and police credit crime-fighting strategies and federal initiatives launched during the past few years to combat the mid-decade surge in crime. "I think it has to do with law enforcement doing a good job," said Professor Jay Corzine, a... Orlando Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419131/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:48:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418798/posts A prison guard who acknowledged being a member of white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan has been fired for belonging to a subversive or terrorist organisation, a violation of the county agency's code of ethics. Wayne Kerschner, an Alachua County Sheriff's Office corrections officer, was fired on Tuesday following a 10-month internal investigation. The investigation revealed that Kerschner applied online for membership to the United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan a year ago, paid $US30 a month for access to a members-only Klan web site and that the group did a thorough background check that... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418798/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 04:32:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418759/posts No matter what version of the new national health care plan finally emerges from Congress, Florida will find itself required to pay more of its scarce tax dollars to expand a federal program -- Medicaid. The St. Augustine Record http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418759/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 02:51:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418639/posts Florida’s attorney general questioned the constitutionality of the federal health care bill on Tuesday, calling on states to study whether to file suit to kill a provision requiring that individuals buy health insurance or pay a fine. The attorney general, William McCollum, a Republican who is running for governor in 2010, said that the so-called mandate was “an affront to our country’s principles.” He added that the fine might be illegal because, in his view, it is disconnected from any commercial act. “It’s a tax on living,” Mr. McCollum said in a telephone conference call with reporters. “It’s a tax... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418639/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:32:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418456/posts NEW YORK (AFP) – US telecoms giant AT&T announced Thursday that it was hanging up its sponsorship deal with disgraced golfing star Tiger Woods who has been embroiled in a sensational sex scandal. "We are ending our sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods and wish him well in the future," the company, which backs the US PGA Tour event operated by the golfer's foundation, said in a terse, one-line statement. It was the latest blow for Woods since he inexplicably crashed his car into a tree and fire hydrant outside his Florida home in the early hours of November 27, unleashing... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418456/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:33:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418255/posts The original sin of the good-riddance decade came in December of 2000, when the United States Supreme Court intervened to stop a complete recount of the votes in Florida and then declared George Bush to be the president. This extreme judicial activism was not merely a devastating assault on American democracy. It set in motion the Bush presidency, and with it the pathologies that the Bush-Cheney administration imposed on the country in the form of unnecessary wars, failed economic policies, assaults on civil liberties and crudely divisive and hyper-partisan governance. Bush, Dick Cheney and aides are surely to blame for... Nation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418255/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:20:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418032/posts TALLAHASSEE — A dozen of Florida's top Republican fundraisers called for the resignation of their state party chairman in a letter late Tuesday, saying without his removal Republicans had a "diminished" chance for success in a crucial election next year."There must be a change in leadership to successfully execute the strategic plan for victory in 2010 election cycle for Republicans," according to the letter.Florida Republican Chairman Jim Greer has resisted several resignation calls this year from party activists. "He intends to serve the remainder of his term," Greer's spokeswoman said Wednesday.But the letter from the fundraisers, who have combined to... Palm Beach Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418032/posts#comment Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:39:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417736/posts The debate over healthcare reform moved into the legal realm Tuesday. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum called for an investigation into the constitutionality of a congressional mandate that all Americans purchase health insurance or pay a tax penalty. “I have grave concern about the constitutionality of this mandate,” Mr. McCollum said. If passed and signed into law, the individual mandate portion of the healthcare legislation would mark the first time Congress has imposed a tax on individuals for essentially doing nothing, he said. McCollum sent a letter on Tuesday inviting his fellow attorneys general to join his investigation. “I believe... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417736/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:11:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417267/posts When you leave Wal-Mart after making a purchase, you walk past a scanner that sets off an alarm if you haven't paid for something.And if the alarm goes off at this Wal-Mart, Ed Bauman will want to talk to you.Ed Bauman, Wal-Mart greeter, says "I'm getting too old for this stuff."Too old to be punched in the head by a customer who exception to Bauman's questions.Ed says "when he swang, he got me right here," pointing to the back of his head.The 69-year-old greeter was at the entrance when a man in red shorts, identified as Skyler Lowery set... KING TV / WESHTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417267/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417210/posts Police: Young Fla. Couple Plotted to Kill Mother THE ASSOCIATED PRESS December 29, 2009 CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- An 11-year-old Florida girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend are accused of plotting to kill the girl's mother by setting her bedroom on fire while the woman slept Tuesday, police said. Samantha Broadhead and Jack Ault have been charged with attempted murder and arson after the fire in Clearwater, about 20 miles west of Tampa on Florida's Gulf Coast. Clearwater Police Department detectives say the young couple poured gasoline on Nancy Broadhead's bedroom floor and bed, and then set the room aflame. Police... NYtimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417210/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:05:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts New population figures give a boost to the GOP By: Chris StirewaltPolitical EditorDecember 28, 2009 The 2010 census is sure to be controversial.Republicans will thunder about the community organizers who get hired to do the counting, and Democrats will wail that the homeless and migrant workers are undercounted.But in the final pre-count estimate just released by the Census Bureau, we already have a broad idea of where the results are headed and what they will mean politically.The numbers are cause for alarm for Democrats.Of the states gaining House seats -- Texas (three) and Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416029/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416601/posts "FBI: Man Flew Into LaGuardia With Firecracker" "Passenger Taken Into Custody After Device Found Wedged Between Seats On Piedmont Airlines Flight Into LaGuardia" NEW YORK (CBS) SNIPPET: "A passenger who flew into LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night was questioned by FBI agents after allegedly boarding the flight with an explosive device in his possession, CBS 2 has learned. Officials confirmed Monday that a crew member on board Piedmont Airlines flight 4126, originating from Baltimore Washington International Airport, was cleaning the plane after it landed in New York around 7:30 p.m. when he found a large firecracker-like device wedged between two... WCBSTV.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416601/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:09:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416346/posts FBI: Man Flew Into NYC From BWI With Firecracker Passenger Taken Into Custody After Explosive Device Found Wedged Between Two Seats On Piedmont Airlines Flight Into LaGuardia NEW YORK (CBS) ― A passenger who flew into LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night was questioned by FBI agents after allegedly boarding the flight with an explosive device in his possession, CBS 2 has learned. Officials confirmed Monday that a crew member on board Piedmont Airlines flight 4126 was cleaning the plane after it landed in New York around 7:30 p.m. when he found a large firecracker-like device wedged between two seats. Port... WCBSTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416346/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:07:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415947/posts PHOENIX — Authorities say they’ve detained two men thought to have been acting suspicious aboard a flight bound for Phoenix. A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman says passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 192 from Orlando, Fla. Saturday night reported that two men were acting strangely. The New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415947/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:12:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415892/posts Conservative challenger Marco Rubio has surged into a dead heat in his Florida Senate campaign against establishment-backed Charlie Crist in a primary battle that is the first major test of the growing power of the "tea party" movement. Mr. Rubio's once-underdog candidacy, which has been trailing far behind the better-financed Republican governor for months, is suddenly catching fire, helped by the conservative Club for Growth and an army of tea party activists drawn by his unequivocal anti-tax, anti-big government campaign. The latest Rasmussen telephone poll showed Mr. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and Florida's former speaker of the House,... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415892/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:54:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415689/posts LANTANA, Florida — It started with a cough, a cool-season hack that refused to go away. Then came the fevers. They bathed and chilled the skinny frame of Oswaldo Juarez, a 19-year-old Peruvian visiting to study English. His lungs clattered, his chest tightened and he ached with every gasp. During a wheezing fit at 4 a.m., Juarez felt a warm knot rise from his throat. He ran to the bathroom sink and spewed a mouthful of blood. I'm dying, he told himself, "because when you cough blood, it's something really bad." It was really bad, and not just for him.... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415689/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:58:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415576/posts TALLAHASSEE - Undocumented immigrants would be ineligible for some of the most basic government services, including public education, under a measure sponsored by a pair of Republican lawmakers. The bill by Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, and Sen. Carey Baker, a Eustis Republican running for agriculture commissioner, would require proof of legal residence before a Floridian could enroll in school, receive public benefits or get a driver's license. It would also require state agencies to verify a potential employees' residency. Undocumented immigrants would also be barred from collecting lottery winnings. The Florida Times-Union http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415576/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:48:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415532/posts Hillsborough Republican Chairwoman Deborah Cox-Roush sent the following to members of the Florida GOP state executive committee:Importance: High December 26th, 2009 Dear State Executive Committee: Last Monday, Chairman Greer sent an email to Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) State Committee members and apparently the press, which took public theatrics and drama to an entirely new level. Then Wednesday, Appointed Committeeman James Stelling sent a second email reiterating the Chairman’s points. Chairman Greer’s email cited me under the subsection “ gentle but firm warning ” and Mr. Stelling, though he has never spoken with me and knows nothing of my principles,... St. Petersburg Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415532/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:37:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415369/posts A day after voting for a landmark health care reform plan, Democrat Bill Nelson returned to the Sunshine State on Thursday with claims of praise from ordinary citizens for the proposed legislation. WSVN-TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415369/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:43:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415315/posts On the surface, it might seem like Jacksonville City Councilman Clay Yarborough is a real-life Grinch. He votes "nay" more often than his 18 other council colleagues, opposing public funding for feel-good initiatives like after-school programs, affordable housing and historic preservation. Most of the time, he's the sole dissenter. The Florida Times-Union http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415315/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:37:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414937/posts WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. -- The Seminole Sheriff's Office said a man shot and killed his daughter's boyfriend on a Seminole County street. The Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened just after 3 p.m. at the intersection of Dodd Road and Biscayne Drive. Officials said the man was Orlando Regional Medical Center where he died. Several witnesses at the scene said the two men were arguing before the shooting and that they believe the father shot in self defense. "He pulled out a gun that he had with him, that he carried most the time, and shot him from the hip... wesh.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414937/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:57:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414300/posts What's happening with ObamaCare this week in the Senate is raw, rank politics at its worst. PASSING LAWS has been compared to making sausage. But in the case of the mammoth health care bill expected to pass the Senate on Christmas Eve, that's an insult to employees at the Jimmy Dean plant. It's also a slap at Americans who want Congress to take its time to make thoughtful changes that will affect one seventh of the U.S. economy. President Obama campaigned on "change we can believe in." Most voters believed him. Yet many polls show that only a minority of... The Savannah Morning News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414300/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:55:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413929/posts Being the target of rough criticism is an occupational hazard for public officials, especially those as high-profile as a U.S. congressman. Any politician who pursues legal action against critics, even critics who may not have followed the letter of the law, calls into question his commitment to the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. It's an odd and ironic response from Mr. Grayson, one of the most intemperate voices in Washington. This, after all, is the congressman who called a former lobbyist now advising the Federal Reserve "a K Street whore." Who said that former Vice President Dick Cheney should... The Orlando Sentinal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413929/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:06:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413845/posts MIAMI -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has had a tough time lately in his bid for U.S. Senate, and things just got worse. U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart confirmed Tuesday he and his brother, Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, have rescinded their endorsement of Crist for the Republican primary. Mario Diaz-Balart said they notified Crist weeks ago and that he “left them no choice.” He added it was the first endorsement they’ve rescinded. Diaz-Balart recalled how he and his brother backed Bill McCollum’s unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Republican primary over fellow Cuban-American Mel Martinez, and supported Republican presidential candidate John McCain during... http://www.cfnews13.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413845/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:21:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412787/posts In this season given to tidings of comfort and joy, word has come that we New Yorkers are the sad sacks of the United States. This is something of a surprise. Sure, we complain a lot. Grumbling could qualify as the official state sport. But are we really the unhappiest of them all? It seems so, judging from a study by two economics professors, newly published in Science magazine. The academics — Andrew J. Oswald, of the University of Warwick in Britain, and Stephen Wu, of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. — examined piles of data, tossed them into a... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412787/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:48:59 GMT