New voter registration overloads state elections office
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 09/26/2008)
TALLAHASSEE -- Fueled by a historic presidential campaign, a wave of new voter registrations has swamped the Florida elections office and prompted state officials to turn to counties for a lifeline. The state Division of Elections, overwhelmed by 25,000 registrations that arrived this week alone, now has a backlog of 32,000 voter files. In an e-mail to Florida's 67 county elections supervis...

Florida board discusses lifting freshman enrollment cap
(Ft. Myers News-Press © 09/26/2008)
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Board of Governors on Thursday discussed lifting the cap on freshman enrollment of in-state students. Some Florida freshmen were turned away this fall by universities because of budget cuts. But lifting the cap would not guarantee more money. "I don't think you need a cap," Florida State University Provost Larry Abele told the board. Last week, the FSU Board of Truste...

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Florida board discusses lifting freshman enrollment cap
(Ft. Myers News-Press © 09/26/2008)
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Board of Governors on Thursday discussed lifting the cap on freshman enrollment of in-state students. Some Florida freshmen were turned away this fall by universities because of budget cuts. But lifting the cap would not guarantee more money. "I don't think you need a cap," Florida State University Provost Larry Abele told the board. Last week, the FSU Board of Truste...

UF-FSU energy saving competition gets big push
(Gainesville Sun © 09/26/2008)
Gainesville is making a big push this weekend to beat Tallahassee in an energy conservation contest. The two cities agreed last October to compete to see who could sell more energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs, install the most watts on solar electric systems and hot water heaters and upgrade the ceiling or attic insulation in the most houses. Gainesville is selling $1 compact fluorescent...

Chancellor Hunt Next on Agenda For Governors
(Lakeland Ledger © 09/26/2008)
Finding a replacement for State University System Chancellor Mark Rosenberg is the next major task for the Board of Governors. Chairwoman Sheila McDevitt told the board at a meeting Thursday that she would soon name a search committee. The meeting came just three days after Rosenberg announced he would step down in February. He plans to return to teaching at Florida International Universit...

09/26/08 - FIU Inaugurates State-of-the-Art Multimedia Lab
(South Florida CEO © 09/26/2008)
MIAMI, FL - The School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Florida International University (FIU) recently dedicated a state-of-the-art multimedia lab funded in large part by a $250,000 grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation. The foundation, which previously entrusted the SJMC with $150,000 for its writing center, committed an additional $250,000 to establish the school's newest lab o...

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FCAT has become all-year study session
(Charlotte Sun Herald © 09/26/2008)
Editor: I am a college student and every weekday I care for a first grader after school. Recently his teacher began assigning homework and when I looked through his homework folder, FCAT worksheets stared back at me. I always thought of FCAT as a test students were required to take to ensure that basic education for their age and grade level has been administered. As a college student, it w...

Teachers won't get raise under new pay scale
(Orlando Sentinel © 09/26/2008)
SANFORD A new pay plan for Seminole County teachers moves them up the pay scale but won't give them a raise. Under the plan proposed by the School Board, teachers would advance a year on the salary schedule, but wouldn't see an increase in their paychecks. Instead, last year's pay for a teacher with 10 years of experience, for example, would become this...

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Ex-foster children help state learn lessons
(Sarasota Herald-Tribune © 09/26/2008)
ORLANDO - It would not have been surprising if India Marrero had turned her back on the Department of Children and Families once she turned 18 and could finally walk away from the foster care system. She was 11 when she and her younger sister were taken from an abusive home. Two years later, DCF found a former child protection case worker to adopt the girls. But the woman turned out to...

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New voter registration overloads state elections office
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel © 09/26/2008)
TALLAHASSEE -- Fueled by a historic presidential campaign, a wave of new voter registrations has swamped the Florida elections office and prompted state officials to turn to counties for a lifeline. The state Division of Elections, overwhelmed by 25,000 registrations that arrived this week alone, now has a backlog of 32,000 voter files. In an e-mail to Florida's 67 county elections supervis...

Metro Orlando economy ranks 27th
(Orlando Sentinel © 09/26/2008)
Metropolitan Orlando, which has the 27th-largest population in the country, also had the 27th-largest economy in 2006, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The four-county metro area's gross domestic product -- the combined value of all its finished goods and services -- was $97.4 billion in current dollars in 2006, compared with $90.3 billion in 2005...

Florida's budget may be cut again
(St. Petersburg Times © 09/26/2008)
TALLAHASSEE — Even after $7-billion in spending cuts, raids on cash reserves and salary freezes for state workers, the Florida budget is not back in the black: Another $800-million in red ink must be erased this year. That raises questions of whether a 4 percent across-the-board spending holdback imposed on state programs by Gov. Charlie Crist will have to be made permanent for the second year in...

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