Government and politics

While the judge in the Trayvon Martin case has set a 150-thousand dollar bail with some guidelines for George Zimmerman, Governor Rick Scott’s task force will be focusing on a different aspect of the case, the “stand your ground” law. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Cameron Taylor reports how some of those …

With Mitt Romney having all but secured the Republican presidential nomination, the focus is shifting toward who Romney will choose as his running mate. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Chip Skambis spoke with University of South Florida Political Science Professor Susan MacManus about what can be expected from the GOP race in the coming weeks. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/MacManusQARomneyRunningMate.mp3]

The Florida Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for a case about whether the Miami-Dade County public defenders office can refuse to represent some clients in light of excessive caseloads. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Lauren Rautenkranz reports on the current work load for public defenders for the 8th judicial circuit …

Ocala is spotlighting racial issues by responding with racial harmony discussion and cultural awareness. The City of Ocala held an open annual task force meeting at the Ocala Police Department today to promote unity between different cultures in the community. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Dina Lewis reports how Ocala is making sure to keep its diverse community inclusive and interactive …

One State Representative is confident this year’s state budget is better prioritized than the last. Marion County State Representative Keith Perry says the Governor’s decision to veto $473 million less than last year was well thought out. [audio:https://www.wuft.org/news/files/2012/04/Perrysb1.mp3] Perry says the state’s main concern now should be unemployment. He says …

Just a few hours after signing the state budget, Governor Rick Scott talked with WLRN’s Phil Latzman.  They talked not only about his budget vetoes and why there are fewer this year, but also about whether the governor’s learned a thing or too about dealing with the Legislature. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/FPRickScottQAwithlatzman.mp3] While Governor Scott is …

[jwplayer config=”News-video” file=”wuftnews/20120416-cise-protest.mp4″ html5_file=”http://fms01.jou.ufl.edu/wuftnews/ourtown/20120416-cise-protest.mp4“] University of Florida students and Gainesville residents gathered in Turlington Plaza on the UF campus earlier today to protest budget cuts to the College of Engineering. These cuts were directed to the Computer Information Science and Engineering department, and will result in ridding the department of all graduate assistants.  Graduate students help …

Florida law requires counties to pay more than $300-million dollars in disputed medicaid bills. Florida Association of Counties spokesperson Cragin Mahsteller says Alachua County will go from paying $400,000 thousand dollars annually to more than $6-million in the first year.

Budget turkeys are items that are in the proposed state budget which it finds to have circumvented typical approval procedures or benefit a limited area.  Chris Peralta spoke with Vice President of Tax Research at Florida Tax Watch Kurt Wenner about what makes certain projects “turkeys” and about a few projects …

President Barack Obama is travelling to Colombia today to attend the Summit of the Americas. Trade is expected to come up as a major topic of discussion. Florida’s 89.1, WUFT-FM’s Stephanie Brown spoke with UF Center for Latin American Studies Director Phillip Williams about the summit and what can be …