The Florida TaxWatch Research Report, Economic Challenges Facing Florida’s Economy and the Benefits of Economic Stimulus, released on April 25 concludes that economic impacts from the stimulus components now included in the budget are “substantial and timely.”

“I commend the legislature on this forward looking action, said Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch, the non-partisan, non-profit research institute and government watchdog. “These targeted and timely investments will produce positive economic returns for Florida. In fact the investment of this money in the state’s economy will earn a higher rate of return than it would if it were earning minimal interest rate in a trust account and it will create jobs and stimulate the economy. It’s good for
the state, it’s good for the economy, and it’s good for the people. I commend the Governor for his support of this package and the Legislature for their hard work including these priorities in the budget.”

The 2009 Budget, which was finalized recently and will be voted on by both houses later this week, includes most of the specific components of the stimulus package analyzed by the economists of Florida Council of Economic Advisors at Florida TaxWatch. One of the components of the package that were included in the 2009 budget is more than $300 for affordable housing; the economic impact analysis determined that an investment of $225 million would produce $917.7 million in state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - meaning
that the return on investment is more than three-to-one - and more than 15,500 jobs in construction and housing related industries with an average salary of more than $40,000.

Another important component of the stimulus package is tourism marketing. The economic impact analysis performed by the economists from the Florida Council of Economic Advisors at Florida TaxWatch determined that a $5 million investment in international tourism marketing would result in $62.2 million in state GDP and 1,400 jobs in Florida. The proposed budget appropriates roughly $2 million more for tourism marketing than last year - a total budget for tourism marketing of more than $35 million.

“The economic benefit to the state from this type of forward looking action will benefit Florida and Floridians for years to come,” explained Calabro. “It is especially important that we invest in our state’s economy now to realize the immediate benefits, but these investments will do much more than produce immediate economic gain: This is truly an investment that will keep on giving for years to come.”

Other elements of the stimulus package included in the budget are water supply projects, space center infrastructure investment, and money for port operations and modernization. All three of these projects were funded at or above the amounts used in the economic impact analysis. These projects will produce economic returns of approximately one-in-one (i.e., produce one additional dollar in state GDP for every dollar expended), will create nearly 1,500 jobs collectively, and will improve important state
infrastructure in ways that will improve the quality of life for many Floridians.

“In addition to the immediate economic benefits detailed by the economists from the Florida Council of Economic Advisors at Florida TaxWatch in their independent economic analysis, there will be long-term benefits such as improved quality of life in Florida because of these projects,” Calabro added. “I would also like to commend our state’s business community for their role in exploring and supporting ideas to help stimulate our state’s economy.”

Florida’s business community has detailed the need for a stimulus package during this legislative session, and this package enjoys the support of key business leaders and organizations. A number of prominent business associations support the package, one of which is the Associated Industries of Florida, which was instrumental in crafting the proposal.

“Today I commend the Florida Legislature for their proposed budget,” said Barney Bishop, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida (AIF). “They have taken the recommendations of the AIF economic stimulus package the benefits of which were clearly demonstrated by the Florida TaxWatch analysis, and which is supported by the Florida Business Coalition, a group comprised of 18 statewide business organizations. In a lean budget year, their commitment to Florida’s families and businesses is both progressive and shows great leadership, and I am confident it will have a positive impact on the current economic climate.”

The stimulus package initially analyzed by the Florida Council of Economic Advisors at Florida TaxWatch included six components funded at a total of $615 million. Not all of the components were included in the proposed 2009 budget, and more thinking about the economy may still be needed in the future. “We look forward to continuing to work on sound plans that will help the economy and benefit the state,” Calabro added. “Additionally, we look forward to monitoring the success of these investments in future years to quantify the benefits to the state and the people that result from this stimulus package.”

May 3, 2008 - Get Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs

Saturday 9 AM – 1 PM
Children’s event. Fishing rods provided, activities, food, fun for kids 4 – 12.

Location: Huguenot Lagoon – Between Third Street & 2^nd Street South.

The lagoon is across Third Street from Office Depot.

The Navy band will perform Big Band Music beginning at 7PM.

Fox 35 News in Orlando introduces us to the man, and shows us his truck.

Gun owners say they have a right to protect themselves - business owners say they have a right to control conduct on their property. They are threatening to sue.

The Associated Press has more on the story.

“Florida has a proven record of improving student performance across all grade levels,” Governor Crist said. “By working collaboratively with other states, we can maximize our efforts on behalf of our students.”

In October 2007, the Go Higher, Florida! Task Force recommended that Governor Crist join 32 other Governors whose states are currently participating in the American Diploma Project Network. The task force developed recommendations for preparing all
Florida students for a successful transition to college or other career preparation. The group’s other four recommendations, endorsed and approved by both the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education, are as follows:

• Develop and adopt a definition of college and career readiness.
• Require all high school students to take courses that prepare them for future
  education and employment.
• Adopt assessments which demonstrate readiness for college.
•  Increase public awareness and understanding of Florida’s education assessments
  and their uses.

Later today, the State Board of Education will learn more about how the project can be integrated into Florida’s future education goals from Michael Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., the organization that has formed the project network. Governor Crist designated Education Commissioner, Dr. Eric J. Smith, to lead Florida’s participation in the American Diploma Project.

Mr. Bubriski says that while the delegate situation is up in the air, DNC Chairman Howard Dean assures him that the delegates from Florida will be seated. He says they are still in negotiations over how the delegates will be apportioned.

Florida held it’s primary on January 29 - too early according to the rules of the parties. The Republicans stripped Florida of half its delegates. The Democrats took them all - and prohibited the candidates from campaigning in the state.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won the primary with almost 50% of the votes. Senator Barak Obama (D-Il) finished second with almost 33%, although he got more votes in Duval County than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.

Senator Clinton has quite understandably been lobbying for Florida’s delegates to be seated, while Senator Obama has generally been opposed to seating them, at least as they now would be distributed.

The Democrats also have superdelegates. They are mostly elected officials who are free to vote for whatever candidate they wish. When asked if Florida’s superdelegates would be seated, even if the elected delegates are not, Mr. Bubriski said the superdelegates “don’t exist” yet. The entire matter of delegate apportionment must be worked out first.

Jacksonville Representative Corrine Brown would be a superdelegate and is a Clinton supporter. She blames Dean for the controversy. She says if she is not seated, she will show up at the convention anyway and lead a march around the convention center in protest.

Singing “We Shall Overcome?” The Democrats won’t like that.

Washington, D.C. - The federal government hasn’t tried any cases involving sexual assaults against women who work for contractors in Iraq or Afghanistan, despite a 2000 law giving that authority to the Department of Justice.

That information emerged this morning in often-emotionally charged testimony before a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations panel headed by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson. Since last fall, Nelson has been pressuring federal agencies about unpunished sexual assaults in the war zones, following a Florida woman’s report that she was attacked while working in Iraq for a defense contractor.

Another disturbing piece of information that emerged in testimony this morning was that the victims of sexual assault in the war zone felt pressured to sweep the incidents under the rug.

“I am unaware of any measures to date being taken against the KBR employee or the member of the U.S. military who attacked me,” Dawn Leamon said in remarks presented to the subcommittee. “I hope that by telling my story here today, I can keep what happened to me from happening to anyone else.”

Leamon, who has two sons who served as soldiers in the war zones, worked for Halliburton’s former subsidiary KBR. She says she was sexually assaulted just two months ago by a KBR coworker and a U.S. soldier at a remote military base near Basra, in Iraq. Her testimony marked the first time she has identified herself in public. Leamon was one of two victims to testify today.

Another KBR employee, Mary Beth Kineston, said in her testimony, “I also expected that when I made a complaint about such activity, it would be thoroughly investigated in good faith, that is, with an intent to resolve the problem immediately, and that I would be protected from the perpetrator in the meantime. I can assure this committee that none of my expectations about KBR were fulfilled.”

“I’m in a war zone - and, I have to worry about being attacked by my coworkers,” Kineston testified, recounting how she was raped in the cab of her truck by the driver of a vehicle that was parked behind her tanker as they waited one night to fill up with water from the Tigris River.

According to figures supplied by the Pentagon, more than two dozen U.S. civilians have reported sexual assaults. The Defense Department’s inspector general said it has investigated 742 sexual assault cases during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most involved members of the military and at least 26 involved American civilians.

But the Justice Department has only sparingly used the 2000 law intended to protect Americans working as contractors in the war zone. In fact, there have been no convictions in a sexual assault of a U.S. civilian in Iraq or Afghanistan. In prepared testimony, Sigal P. Mandelker, deputy attorney general of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said officials have brought charges in five sex cases, with four successful convictions.

The convictions were for sexual abuse of a minor by a Defense Department civilian employee in Japan; child pornography crimes by defense contractors in Iraq and Qatar; and, abusive sexual contact by a Pentagon contractor against a soldier in Iraq. An indictment has been delivered in the fifth case, but Mandelker in her testimony did not provide details on that case, citing privacy, confidentiality and court-ordered restrictions.

“The bottom line is that American women working in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be assaulted while their assailants continue to go free,” Nelson said. “Either the U.S. government has the authority to prosecute contractors for sexual assault and is failing to do so, or it doesn’t have the authority or resources it needs and hasn’t come to Congress. Either way, it is a travesty.

“We’ve got a problem that justice is breaking down here,” said Nelson, who chaired Wednesday’s hearing of the International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights Subcommittee.