Government and politics

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]

The polls have closed on the runoff elections for the District 2 and District 3 City Commission seats. District 2 voters chose between incumbent Lauren Poe and Todd Chase, while District 3 voters named either Susan Bottcher or Rob Zeller the new Commissioner. We will update the results live throughout …

Includes early or absentee ballots, with 100 percent of precincts reporting. 16.50% of eligible voter participated District 2 Todd Chase 54.65% Lauren Poe 45.35% —— District 3 Susan Bottcher 57.64% Rob Zeller 42.36%

Governor Rick Scott’s team is continuing to fight the press in a Twitter War. The public is following the argument between Scott’s Communications director Brian Burgess and St. Pete Times reporter Michael Bender. But University of Florida Social Media Expert Mike Foley says Scott’s image should not be affected. “I …