Government and politics

The Florida house and senate are struggling to reconcile their drafts of Florida’s budget. Lawmakers have yet to agree on even some preliminary issues which have kept their proposals from moving to a conference committee. There are 13 days left in the legislative session.

Former US Senator Bob Graham led discussion at the University of Florida today about the potential threat posed by biological weapons. Along with Center for Weapons of Mass Destruction Researcher Sarah Rubin, Graham says there is a lot of room for improvement at both the state and local level, and …

Speaker of the House Dean Cannon announced last night the list of state house members that will be assigned to the House Redistricting Committee. Florida’s 89.1 WUFT-FM’s Samantha Taub who was chosen and how it well help represent the local community. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/subcommitteeFINAL.mp3]

United States Senator Marco Rubio was the keynote speaker for Florida Blue Key’s annual spring banquet Saturday night. Before the event, the Republican Senator for Florida addressed the 2012 budget proposed by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan. Senator Rubio says he knows the plan will not pass, but says the reform …

Senate Bill 556 has been introduced in the house and is causing a big debate. WUFT’s Empriss Campbell tells us about the bill’s new potential effect on needy families. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/drugwrap.mp3]

Booster seats and teen driver safety are top priorities for Triple-A. As Florida’s 89.1 WUFT FM’s Lysette Portales reports, Triple-A is striving to improve traffic safety. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/AAAPrioritiesWrap.mp3]

The Florida House and Senate will not begin state budget negotiations for at least 11 more days. Talks were expected to begin tomorrow (Thursday) on the two different versions passed by each chamber. However preliminary issues must be resolved first, including how many dollars should be allocated for major sections …

In the Gainesville City Commission District two runoff last night voters elected Todd Chase over incumbent Lauren Poe. WUFT FM’s Natalie Beigel reports on Chase and Poe’s thoughts on the election. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/District2WRAP.mp3]

Voters going to the polls for the District 3 Gainesville City Commission runoff last night elected Susan Bottcher over Rob Zeller. WUFT FM’s Natalie Beigel talked with both candidates to get some insight on the voter turn out from both Bottcher and Rob Zeller. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/District3Wrap.mp3]

A bill that would exempt footage of killings from the public was approved yesterday (Tuesday). As Florida’s 89.1 WUFT-FM’s Stephanie Jones reports, the bill would prevent the media from requesting footage. [audio:http://www.wuft.org/media/audio/PublicDisclosureWrap.mp3]