Gov.-elect Scott Eyes Cuts to Employee Pensions
One of the big questions surrounding Gov.-elect Rick Scott's plan to cut billions of dollars in taxes is this: Where would he make up the difference? Florida's nearly 700,000 public employees could be about to find out. Scott wants to cut $1.4 billion next year from taxpayer contributions to the public employee pension program, and this week many legislators signaled their support for the notion. Such a move would, for the first time since 1975, force teachers, firefighters, sheriff's deputies and other government employees to make significant contributions out of their own salaries. Florida is one of only a handful of states in the nation that don't require employees to pay for their pensions. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
St. Pete Woman to Compete on TV's "Homemade Millionaire"
Haris Lender says it with a peculiar mix of confidence and surprise: After years of running far from her family legacy, the yoga teacher is ready.
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A House for $200? Foreclosure Mess Leads to Stunning Auction Prices
Scores of Palm Beach County homes were sold to investors at foreclosure auction this month for as low as $200 following the collapse of the David J. Stern law firm and ensuing confusion as thousands of its cases are reassigned. It's yet another muddle for the already overwhelmed foreclosure courts to sort out as former Stern cases went to auction with no bank representation, bids or proper public notice. The result on Wednesday was 56 percent of winning offers were from investors or individual buyers who in some cases spent no more than a month's mortgage payment to get homes that sold for upward of $240,000 during the real estate boom. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
Odyssey Marine Angry U.S. Tried to Trade Gold for Looted Painting
It reads like Hollywood's latest blockbuster: Explorers from Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Explorations Inc. retrieve 17 tons of gold and silver from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Spain immediately claims the treasure as its own, prompting a years-long, high-stakes legal fight.
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Feds Send Final $342 Million Needed for High-Speed Train
The last piece of funding for a high-speed train linking Orlando and Tampa came through Thursday, after the White House sent to Florida $342 million from two states that rejected federal rail grants.
The award means the $2.7 billion project essentially is paid for, with almost 90 percent coming from the federal government and the remainder pledged in installments by the state.
Eight teams of companies have indicated they would compete to design, build and run the 84-mile system, which would run largely along the median of Interstate 4. Construction could begin in late 2012, with the first trains rolling in 2015.
The last potential roadblock is Florida's Gov.-elect Rick Scott, who has been noncommittal about the train. Scott has said he wants a feasibility study to determine if the plan would provide a good return to taxpayers. His transition office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
[Source: Orlando Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› SpaceX Reveals Payload Tribute to Monty Python
After Wednesday's historic first flight of the Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk declined to identify a secret, humorous payload flown in the capsule.
He said it was something Monty Python fans would appreciate, but he didn't want to reveal it until the next news cycle for fear of the headlines that would result. Some speculated it would be Spam, a tribute to astronauts as "spam in a can" and the comedy troupe's "Spamalot" musical.
Today, SpaceX lifted the lid on the "top secret" payload to reveal...a wheel of cheese.
› Navy Secretary Says Carrier Still Moving to Florida
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus minced no words Wednesday when asked for a yes-or-no answer on whether the Navy will drop its plans to shift a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Florida.
"OK - no," he said, prompting some nervous laughter from his audience.
"I knew that question was coming, and I'm not going to be defensive about it," he went on.
The Navy has just one East Coast home port for its carrier fleet, he pointed out. "From a strategic standpoint, that's not sustainable. We have to disperse our carrier fleet."
› Price of Flood Insurance to Drop in Pinellas and Hernando
Flood insurance premiums are heading down in two Tampa Bay area counties as a reward for improved efforts to protect flood plains and increase public safety.
Residents in high-risk flood areas of Pinellas County will receive a 15 percent discount on coverage (up from 10 percent) while Hernando County residents in flood zones will see a 20 percent discount (up from 15 percent).
The improved discounts, which apply to property owners with mandatory flood coverage, stem from a recent "Community Rating System" review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the national flood insurance program.
› St Pete Recycling Program a Hit
For years, St. Petersburg was the lone holdout among Pinellas County's 24 municipalities in offering its residents curbside recycling.
The city finally changed course this fall, approving a voluntary curbside recycling program in September.
Residents are quickly on their way to making up for lost time, figures released Thursday show.
In a little more than two months, about 4,900 customers have signed up for St. Petersburg's program, which requires people to pay an annual $33 subscription fee to Waste Services of Florida Inc. That amounts to $2.75 a month.
"On average, every five minutes they're getting a new subscriber," said Mike Connors, the city's administrator for public works.
Connors said Waste Services, the company that runs the program, hopes to eventually reach a 20 percent participation rate, or about 20,000 city households.
"They're well on their way," Connors told officials at Thursday's City Council meeting.
› LeBron Pays $9 Million for Coconut Grove Home
So, LeBron finally has a house.
Miami Heat superstar LeBron James paid $9 million for a three-story castle in Coconut Grove, the Miami Herald reports.
The 12,178-square-foot home is at 3590 Crystal View Court. It has views of Biscayne Bay, a home theater and guest house, among other amenities. See a slideshow of LeBron James' new house from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
› GOP Fundraiser Alan Mendelsohn Pleads Guilty to Scheme
A prominent Broward County ophthalmologist who raised millions for Republicans and once advised Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to bilk the U.S. government -- including failing to report $82,000 in political donations secretly given to a former state senator.
Dr. Alan Mendelsohn, 52, pleaded in Fort Lauderdale federal court to a single conspiracy charge, which also accused him of lying to federal agents. He is eligible to receive about two years in prison under sentencing guidelines, but his lawyers plan to seek significantly less punishment from U.S. District Judge William Zloch.
Zloch set Mendelsohn's sentencing for Feb. 17.
The Mendelsohn case was among a string of corruption investigations stretching from South Florida to Tallahassee in recent years.
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› Jax Physician Group: Medicare Pay Patch a 'Short-term Band-Aid'
The lame-duck Congress mustered a quack Thursday by voting to postpone the dreaded Medicare pay cut that was due to hit doctors at the end of the month.
The move gives physicians a reprieve through 2011. The cuts were designed to be phased in, beginning in 1997. But physicians and others have successfully gotten Congress to delay their implementation.
In the meantime, the cut has ratcheted up to 25 percent, a gash that would almost certainly send shock waves through the medical system.
From Washington to Jacksonville, physician organizations applauded Thursday's vote -- which the House is expected to pass as well. But they called for a permanent fix at the same time.
› Disney Takes Delivery of Its Newest Cruise Ship
Disney Cruise Line officially grew today with the delivery of the Disney Dream in Germany, the first new ship for the line since 1999.
The ship soon bound for Port Canaveral, Florida with its maiden voyage set for Jan. 26, 2011 has been under construction by Meyer Werft at the Papenburg shipyard for nearly two years. It's the first of two new ships to join the Disney fleet, with the Disney Fantasy set to debut in April 2012.
The traditional delivery ceremony saw the lowering of the Meyer Werft flag and the raising of the Disney Cruise Line flag. The much anticipated ship will have many notable features never before seen aboard cruise lines including the AquaDuck water coaster, a slide that actually sends riders briefly over the open ocean. The interactive features aboard this ship will be novel as well including virtual portholes, restaurants that change their look at different times of the day and several children-oriented playlands.
› Scott Hints at School Vouchers for All
Florida Gov.-elect Rick Scott on Thursday blew the door wide open to the idea of a voucher-like program for all students, saying he's working with lawmakers to allow state education dollars to follow a student to the school his or her parents choose.
He didn't use the term vouchers. Others are calling it an "education savings account."
But whatever it's called, the incoming governor, key lawmakers and an influential foundation tied to former Gov. Jeb Bush are all setting the stage for Florida to consider one of the most radical education ideas it - or arguably any state - has ever considered.
"Whatever you want to call it, the parent should figure out where the dollars for that student are spent," Scott told the St. Petersburg Times after hinting at the idea during remarks to 900 voucher students in St. Petersburg.
› Bank Complaints Soar Even After Law Changes
Complaints against banks are soaring, suggesting that new laws and regulations put in place since the financial crisis two years ago aren't dampening Americans' anger over overdraft fees and foreclosure practices they view as unfair.
If the trend continues, experts say, it will set banks on a collision course with their customers and lead to tougher rules that will hurt their earnings.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency estimates that complaints from customers of the 1,500 banks it regulates will hit 80,000 this year. That would be the highest level in the 15 years it has recorded them and more than double the 2008 total. The Better Business Bureau and state attorneys general also report big increases.
Regulators say the surge has put them on high alert.
› Program Change May Alter Benefits for Cuban Migrants
A change in the way that some Cubans' applications for U.S. entry are handled could deny them a broad range of benefits when they arrive in the United States, according to Florida officials.
``If our understanding is correct, this change will have serious unanticipated consequences for the State of Florida and particularly for Miami-Dade County,'' the state Department of Children and Families wrote in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services has already identified more than 3,200 cases that will be affected, DCF Secretary George Sheldon wrote in the Nov. 22 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
The shift would deny those Cubans the right to health screenings and immunizations, Medicaid and Refugee Medical Assistance as well as employment services, English language, vocational training and help with child care, according to the letter.
Cubans affected will then have to turn to financially strapped public hospitals and clinics for care, it added, and to overburdened state programs for employment and language assistance.
› Holiday Businesses See Mixed Bag of Sales
Asking local merchants who specialize in Christmas trees, ornaments and other seasonal items how the economy is treating them is like asking a second-grader if he believes in Santa Claus — it depends on who you ask.
A handful said sales are continuing to slump compared with pre-recession levels but aren't getting any worse, while others said sales are starting to rebound.
Christmas tree dealers are either holding steady on prices, lowering them slightly to generate sales or raising them to make up for increased freight costs as a result of higher gas prices.
Rick Dungey, spokesman for the National Christmas Tree Association, said the lack of a trend on tree prices is typical.
"There's too many variables," he said. "It depends on the location, who's selling, when they're selling."