The Florida Senate kicked off the opening day of session by recognizing members and staff who have served in the military.

Today, March 3, marks Florida’s 164th anniversary of being a state, prompting the military honors.

Six senators served in the military, including Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who served three tours of duty in Vietnam.

Former Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, also received honors because his son, Stephen, is currently serving in the U.S. Marines.

The military salute began far earlier in the day, however.

As the sun rose over the Capitol this morning, Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul raised flags which were distributed to the Senate staff whose family members served or are serving in the military.
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A Fort Myers company is hawking Charlie Crist tiles, pictured right, “in celebration of the Governor of Florida.”

The company, Edison Clay Co., promises “only 1,000 will be produced and the original plaster molds will then be destroyed.”

The asking price is $29.99. We’re not sure about the actual value….

Senate President Jeff Atwater opened the 111th legislative session with sobering observations about the task awaiting lawmakers as they prepare to craft a budget amid a bleak and worsening state economy.

“Florida does not have a day or a dollar to waste. There are a hundred reasons why the task is too big, why the decisions are too hard, why the issues are too tough,” the North Palm Beach Republican advised.

“None of us bargained for this. But neither did one in thirteen of our neighbors who have now lost their homes. Nor did one in twelve of our neighbors who are now unemployed. Nor did one in ten of our fellow Floridians who are now dependent on food stamps. They didn’t bargain for this either. We did not choose it. We did not cause it. But senators we are obligated to confront it,” he said.

Atwater presented each senator with a metaphorical gift to aid them in crafting a budget with an anticipated $2 billion-plus spending gap.
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House lawmakers this morning officially elected Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, as the speaker of the House for the next two years. He replaces Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, who was forced to step down after questions were raised about his relationship with Northwest Florida State College.

“Unless you have been out of the country or away from the district, you know the challenges we are facing,” Cretul said to the chamber opening up the 2009 legislative session this morning. “And it’s an uphill battle for all of us.”

There are few big votes in the state Capitol where the outcome is uncertain. One happened this morning moments before the session even started.

In a secret ballot, House Democratic members voted Ron Saunders of Key West to as caucus leader in 2010 and 2011. Saunders will lead the caucus into the important 2010 elections, when Democrats hope to close in on the Republicans 76-44 majority in the chamber.

Saunders won the election by two votes over Perry Thurston of Plantation for the leadership position. Saunders named Priscilla Taylor of West Palm Beach his leader pro-tempore, the No. 2 position in the caucus.
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Palm Beach County Commissioner Addie Greene, who’s considering resigning because of health concerns, is heading to Tallahassee today for the county’s annual day of lobbying state lawmakers.

If Greene decides to step down, Gov. Charlie Crist will appoint a replacement.

Knowledgeable sources say Greene, a Democrat who is the only black member of the commission, wants assurances that, if she resigns, her replacement will be another black Democrat. She has talked to state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, about the possibility of Taylor succeeding her on the commission.

Greene’s District 7 is 63.5 percent Democrat and 15.9 percent Republican. Voters are 48.4 percent black, 5.4 percent Hispanic and 40.1 percent white.

Will Greene try to get in a word with Crist while she’s in town? Greene wasn’t commenting Monday and Crist’s office said it had no record of any scheduled meetings with Greene.

Look for some celebratory Sunshine State activities tomorrow when the legislature’s session begins.

March 3 also marks the 164th anniversary of Florida becoming a state, way back in 1845 when Florida became the 27th state in the union.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who calls himself an optimist, is likely to deliver an upbeat state-of-the state address despite Florida’s bleak economic forecast.

But Florida in 1845 was perhaps an even bleaker scenario for then-Gov. John Milton, the man pictured above for whom the Panhandle county was named.

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Longtime school board member Paulette Burdick tells our Laura Green that she will run for the Palm Beach County commission seat of term-limited Jeff Koons in 2010.

Burdick is a Democrat whose current term on the nonpartisan school board runs through 2012.

Term-limited state Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, has also opened a campaign for Koons’ District 2 commission seat.

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A federal indictment released this week claims Gov. Charlie Crist received 10 illegal campaign contributions of $500 each from these 5 homes in Southern California in 2006.

But campaign finance records show that Crist received a total of 40 $500 contributions on the same day from nearby neighborhoods, as shown in the map below.

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Crist said he won’t return any contributions because his campaign, which collected $2.5 million in 2006, has closed.

But there is precedent for “returning” money years later.

In 1998, then-state Sen. Katherine Harris was running for Secretary of State and sent $20,293 of her own money to the Florida Election Commission. She did so after a controversy erupted over donations she received in 1994 from Riscorp, whose founder was imprisoned in an elections scandal.

Read the story here.

The ex-wife of Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Jose Rodriguez has weighed in with a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist about Rodriguez’s bid for a Palm Beach County commission appointment.

She strongly supports her former husband.

The letter from Sue Shumate-Rodriguez is one of more than 100 sent to Crist’s office in support of Rodriguez. In addition, more than 100 supporters of former Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams have written to the governor on his behalf, while more than 60 people have sent letters or e-mails supporting Boca Raton Councilwoman Susan Haynie for the appointment.

Read more here.

In case closing a $5 billion budget gap isn’t a big enough task for the upcoming Florida legislative session, House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, has joined a national effort to combat Big Labor’s top initiative for 2009.

Hasner is leading the charge to get a state constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot guaranteeing the right of Floridians to cast secret ballots in all elections — from presidential contests to employee votes on whether to unionize.

Similar efforts are taking place in several states to try to counter a union push for federal “card check” legislation.
Read about it here.