Florida still has chance for fast train, but other states vying for U.S. aid — OrlandoSentinel.com

Although big obstacles stand in the way, Lee Chira, chairman of the Florida High Speed Rail Authority, said “we’ve got a pretty good chance.”

Others are much less hopeful. For starters, they said, the bullet train proposal here is competing against nine others nationwide.

Crist asks for Federal disaster aid in Volusia County

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Governor Charlie Crist is asking that a federal disaster be declared after heavy rains flooded central and northeast Florida.

Crist penned the letter to President Barack Obama on Sunday asking for Washington’s help dealing with the aftermath of the storm.

Volusia County has been the hardest hit and Daytona Beach is the epicenter. That city recorded nearly 21 inches of rain last week.

Gas prices rise, may hit $3 by July | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

In the last month, gasoline prices spiked up by more than 32 cents a gallon in Florida. The average price over the holiday weekend — when many people take driving vacations — was nearly $2.42 a gallon for regular unleaded. Last month, it was less than $2.10, according to AAA Auto Club South.

AAA spokesman Gregg Laskoski said while he doesn’t think we’ll see gas hit the $4 a gallon level like it did last summer, the rise in gas prices isn’t over yet.

“We’ll see a peak price sometime in mid- to late-July of $2.50 to $3 a gallon,” he said Monday.

Two candidates for Florida governor have lengthy ties to banking industry – St. Petersburg Times

TALLAHASSEE — When Democrat Alex Sink announced she was running for governor recently, the Republican Party instantly branded her a “former banker,” invoking the ugliness of subprime loans, corporate greed and government bailouts.

But by raising questions about Sink, the state’s chief financial officer and longtime Bank of America executive, the party walks a precarious line.

The GOP’s own candidate, Attorney General Bill McCollum, spent 20 years in Congress, all of them on the committee that oversees banking, and he advocated many of the industry’s issues. When McCollum left Congress in 2001, he became a lobbyist. His first client: the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Community colleges anticipate more students but cannot offer as many classes — OrlandoSentinel.com

Florida’s community colleges have never been under so much pressure to do more with less. And that’s bad news for students, some of whom will be shut out this fall.

On death penalty, a state divided | HeraldTribune.com

Three decades have past since Florida resumed executions when John Spenkelink was strapped into Old Sparky and electrocuted, the nation’s first involuntary execution after a Supreme Court ban was lifted.

Since then, the state has executed another 64 men and two women. Florida has changed its execution method from the electric chair to lethal injection and the conflict over the death penalty remains as heated as it was 30 years ago. There have been several botched executions and former Gov. Jeb Bush once imposed a moratorium to review the state’s procedures and make sure they passed constitutional muster.

A growing problem with marijuana

On Windmill Ridge Road in Plant City, one 2,400-square-foot home uses $120 a month in electricity. Another uses $220 a month.

Tampa Electric Co. estimates a third home used about $4,200 a month in electricity.

But the electricity there was stolen – used to power a marijuana grow house with 22 grow lights at 1,000 watts each and two 5-ton air-conditioning units, investigators say.

Such homes are common. There’s no way to tell exactly how much power or money is stolen each year from TECO, but the company’s chief theft investigator said many he helps uncover involve grow houses.