- South Daytona is the latest city to debate whether to back away from a new 30-year franchise agreement with its local utility (in this case Florida Power & Light). Sarasota flirted with the idea last year, before ultimately deciding to enter into another long-term contract with FPL.
- Officials inked the agreement providing federal funding for Central Florida’s SunRail, but many locals still don’t know the difference between that and a different proposed rail line connecting Orlando and Tampa.
- Sen. Greg Evers, R-Crestview, wants longer-lasting yellow lights at Florida intersections.
- Probable cause and effect of the day: State colleges and universities face a budget crunch, and South Florida companies are having a hard time finding highly skilled employees (via).
- Civics lesson of the day: How lawmakers help “nudge” their constituents through the state bureaucracy.
- The number of the day: $138 million — Estimated amount of federal transportation funding Florida would lose under a GOP proposal in the U.S. House. Fiscal conservatives have rallied around the proposal, saying it would bring needed restraint to transportation spending, and House transportation chief John Mica says austerity measures are necessary to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund solvent.
