A recent poll of newspaper editors puts Florida’s weak economy, along with its high unemployment and foreclosure rates as the state’s top story in 2009, says the Associated Press. The unemployment rate is Florida is at an all time high of 11.5 percent in November, with over one million people out of work. Among the other top 10 stories voted by the editors were: the Tiger Woods sex scandal, Florida’s population decline, Speaker Ray Sansom resignation and his subsequent indictment and Governor Charlie Crist’s decision to run for the US Senate.
TBO: Legendary Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden retired after 34 seasons and two national championships at the school amid criticism that the Seminoles have slid into mediocrity, posting a 6-6 record this season and a 73-42 mark over the last nine. His 388 career wins at Florida State, West Virginia and Samford are the second most in major college football history behind Penn State’s Joe Paterno. He will conclude his career New Year’s Day at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.
– The state Legislature passed a $66.5 billion budget that contained tuition increases for college students, higher fees for motorists and a $1 a pack increase on cigarettes. The budget was balanced with $5.3 billion in federal stimulus money.
