The Protection of Vulnerable Persons law went into effect Monday. The law makes failure to report child abuse a felony.

Florida has too many empty prison beds and a budget that needs cutting. That means some prisons will be closing starting next month.  The state has 100-thousand inmates. With the crime rate falling, the Department of Corrections has 12,000 prison beds that aren’ t needed.  Steve Bousquet with the Herald-Times …

Governor Rick Scott has unveiled his proposed budget for the next fiscal year. It calls for $66.4 billion in spending. That is four and a half billion less than the current budget. One area Scott doesn’t plan to cut is education.  He is proposing a one-billion-dollar increase that focuses on …

The Governor’s Office says there will be no appeal of the court decision that overturned the privatization of prisons in 18 South Florida counties. FPR’s Gina Jordan reports today was the deadline for filing an appeal. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/NoAppeal1031V.mp3]

President Barack Obama brought his wife and one of his daughters to Panama City last weekend for a brief stay, to show off the region’s pristine beaches. But Gina Jordan reports there’s disagreement over how much of the oil remains in the environment because of BP’s blown out well. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/howmuchoil.mp3]

Senate President Jeff Atwater sent a letter to House Speaker Larry Cretul Thursday suggesting that several issues related to the Gulf oil spill need quick attention from lawmakers – but that next week is too quick. Gina Jordan reports. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/4session.mp3]