The estimated $845.7 million surplus could be used during the 2014-15 fiscal year to increase spending or cut taxes — or it could be rolled into the budget for the following year. The projection comes with all sorts of caveats, as the 2014-15 year will not start until July 1.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Unemployment Rate Ticks Down to 7.3% But Job Creation Is a Hazy 162,000
The 7.3 percent unemployment rate for August is the lowest rate since December 2008, but job creation remains anemic, and June and July figures were revised downward by 74,000 jobs. The economy is still generating barely half the jobs necessary to return to pre-recession health.
High Times Ahead: The Political Side Effects of Tolerating Legal Pot
A nascent civil war is brewing between the social conservative and the libertarian wings of the Republican party, with legalized pot now another issue that could add to the divisions, and Attorney general Eric Holder’s decision not to prosecute marijuana possession in much of the nation lighting new fuses, argues Sanho Tree.
Loretta Lynn, Just Named Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, at Peabody on Sept. 13
Last month President Obama named Loretta Lynn, alongside Gloria Steinem and Bill Clinton, among others, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. The 81-year-old country star will be at Daytona Beach’s Peabody Auditorium for one show on Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Coitus Prophylacticus: Advocacy Lawsuit Wants Florida Porn Flicks To Wear a Condom
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Health, targeting a South Florida-based company it charges with making an adult video without protecting the performers from sexually transmitted diseases via the use of condoms.
Pit Bull Argument Then Homicide, Alan Grayson vs. Syria, Defunding Obamacare and the Benefits of LSD
The latest homicide in Jacksonville results from an argument over a pit bull, Alan Grayson says leave Syria alone, majority of Americans oppose defunding Obamacare, your brain on LSD and mescaline, badly paid women doctors, and 60 minutes of Louis CK.
Last Week’s Bank Robber in Palm Coast and Ormond May Have Struck Again in St. Johns
A man who bears a striking resemblance to the man who attempted to rob Hancock Bank in palm Coast last week, and actually robbed a Sun Trust bank branch in Ormond Beach half an hour later, is being sought in connection with a bank robbery Tuesday afternoon at Compass Bank on a U.S. 1 in St. Johns County.
Giant Gambling Wish List and Seminole Compact on Florida Lawmakers’ Table
Slot machines, blackjack and roulette are back on the table as lawmakers prepare once again to tackle the high-stakes issue of gambling in a state that everyone agrees is already one of the industry’s biggest cash cows.
Freddy Krueger Act: Donald Rumsfeld’s False Notes Against Intervention in Syria
Donald Rumsfeld, who helped orchestrate an invasion on false pretenses to hunt for weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist, is the last man to be giving President Obama lessons about what to do in Syria, argues Steve Robinson.
Insurance Commissioner’s Blurry Prediction of Rate Increases Under Obamacare Contradicted
RAND study findings stand in stark contrast to the widely publicized predictions of Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty that the individual market would see rate increases of 30 to 40 percent for next year.