Media | Pat Rooney for Florida House of Representatives

HT Politics: State hotline to improve government efficiency proves inefficient

January 13, 2012

The result has been anything but efficient for a program set up to reduce government inefficiency. “It is actually creating more inefficiencies because people don’t know who should be responding, how they should be responding,” said Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr., R-West Palm Beach. “You have various departments taking people off other tasks to work on [...]

Graduation rates tops 80%

December 13, 2011

The state’s graduation rate rose more than a percentage point to 80.1 percent, the highest it has ever been, the state Department of Education reported Monday. The rate is nearly 10 percentage points higher than in 2006. The state made even larger gains among African Americans and Hispanics during that five year period. African-American high [...]

LG Carroll’s South Africa trip a success

December 9, 2011

A weeklong trade mission led by Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to South Africa in November led to expected sales of nearly $40 million, according to Florida trade officials who said progress was made concerning shipping and transportation. “While our meetings with maritime, aerospace, airline, and space industry companies were focused on more immediate sales, the [...]

Gov. Scott looks at special districts

December 7, 2011

After taking aim at water-management districts and hospital districts, Gov. Rick Scott could be ready to tackle other types of taxing districts across the state. Jerry McDaniel, Scott’s budget director, told a Senate committee Thursday that the governor is working on an executive order to start examining the myriad types of local districts. “If it’s [...]

Gov. Scott: Restore some Florida Forever budget money

December 6, 2011

While less than what many environmentalists would like to see, Gov. Rick Scott is proposing to restore some spending for environmental land buying next year. The governor proposed to put $15 million into the Florida Forever program, money that is currently surplus trust fund cash. “Audubon is encouraged to see Gov. Scott make a commitment [...]

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RECORD YEAR FOR TOURISTS IN FLORIDA

Preliminary state estimates show about 86 million people visited Florida last year, a new record for the number of tourists, and possibly a sign the worst of the state's economic woes are over. VisitFlorida, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, said the number of visitors in 2011 was up 4.4 percent over 2010, and above the 84.5 million visitors the state had in 2007. VisitFlorida also said travel-related employment rose to a near record high of 1.013 million, adding 38,000 jobs, 3.9 percent more than in 2010. The growth in tourism was driven by overseas visits, which increased 16.1 percent, the state said. A 5.7 percent growth in Canadian visits put Canadian tourism at an all-time high. Also, it was a banner year for Florida residents vacationing in their own state, VisitFlorida said. "Since Florida relies on tourism to generate nearly a quarter of the state’s sales tax revenue and to employ over one million Floridians, it’s very encouraging to see that the industry experienced a record year," Tony Lapi, chairman of the VisitFlorida board, said in a statement. Preliminary data from airports showed a nearly 12 percent increase in commercial air travel, as well.