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Tuesday's Afternoon Update
What You Need to Know About Florida Today
What to Watch for Tonight as Votes Are Counted
When the polls close and election results stream in tonight, early returns from Florida's suspenseful race for governor and six closely contested congressional campaigns could indicate a Republican wave nationwide or a late Democratic comeback. The tumultuous 2010 elections in Florida and beyond could produce some big surprises while answering many intriguing questions. But tonight's results might not tell the whole story. From which party controls Congress to who gets to oversee the decennial redrawing of congressional and legislative district boundaries from the Governor's chair in Tallahassee, much is at stake for Florida tonight. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]MUST-KNOW FLORIDIAN
Meet Dr. Farrukh Alvi, executive director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP). Since its creation by the Florida Legislature in 2008, FCAAP, a statewide center of excellence, has been conducting research into how to get airplanes to fly more efficiently, with less pollution and less noise. Now, with the coming transformation of NASA's role in space travel, horizons are widening for the Tallahassee center. |
Do CEOs Make Good Political Leaders?
An interesting Los Angeles Times column by Michael Hiltzik offers us Floridians a "careful what you wish for" commentary with this headline:
Why big-time CEOs make terrible politicians.
Now, of course, the LA Times is focusing its attention on California's own heavyweight CEOs, former eBay chief Meg Whitman is running for governor and ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina seeks to become a U.S. senator. But the column's intent is broader and raises a few points in our own Florida governor's race between Alex Sink (a former bank president in Florida) and Rick Scott (an ex-CEO of a major hospital chain). The St. Petersburg Times' Robert Trigaux breaks down the key points. [Source: Tampabay.com]
Florida to Drop Patients in AIDS Drug Program
The Florida Department of Health plans to drop about 350 uninsured HIV/AIDS patients from a federally funded program that pays for all or most of their drugs, because of a budget crisis. Another 2,000 or more HIV-positive patients are at risk of being bumped from the drug subsidy program unless the state can close a $16 million shortfall in the next few months, officials said Tuesday. "We are all pursuing every possible legal and financial option we can to make up the deficit," state HIV/AIDS Chief Tom Lilberti said. "No one wants to disenroll one patient." [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
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Sarasota Locks in to 30-year Deal with FPL
The Sarasota City Commission voted to lock city residents into a 30-year contract with Florida Power and Light late Monday night, ending months of tough negotiations with the utility company for more green energy benefits.
At the center of the heated energy talks was the city's stake in a nearly $5 million-a-year franchise fee, which the city pulls in through FPL charges to consumers -- a revenue source the city cannot afford to drop during a recession and a leverage point some say FPL representatives have taken advantage of.
Over the course of tense negotiations with city staff -- and an outside energy attorney who was paid $55,000 to consult -- FPL agreed to some concessions, but would not agree to a shorter contract, which the commission sought earlier this year.
[Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
McDonald's Getting Contemporary Makeovers
Joe David compared a McDonald's his son just opened near Spring Hill to the one his own father opened in 1962 near Clearwater High School.
"This new store is on a different planet," said the 63-year-old owner of 12 McDonald's.
Under neon golden arches, his father's store sold burgers for 15 cents, fries for a dime. There was only walk-up window service, no dining room or drive-through.
His son's store, a prototype McDonald's on Spring Hill Drive by the Suncoast Parkway in Hernando County, comes fully loaded with extras that have been spreading across the chain the past few years: a double drive-through loaded with enough technology to get lines of motorists in and out in an average of 2.5 minutes, a menu aimed at silencing nutritionists with some healthier choices, and a parade of new items that soon will extend to hot oatmeal 24/7.
[Source: St. Petersburg Times]
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