Winner and loser of the week

Winner of the week: State Rep. Dean Cannon: The Winter Park Republican this week will be installed as the Republican speaker designate for 2010-2012. He'll likely be grappling with continuing budget woes, but he'll also be top dog during the redistricting process where Florida is expected to gain one or two congressional seats. If Cannon wants a congressional seat carved for him, he'll probably get it.

Loser of the week: Adam Hasner: Florida is mired in the worst economic crisis in modern history. So what was the Republican state House Majority leader fretting about last week? A group of Muslims talking about holding a Florida Muslim Capital Day in Tallahassee. "Do you all intend to be part of an information campaign in opposition to it?" Hasner asked in a bone-headed e-mail to Jewish lobbyists. Focus, Hasner, focus.

Crist tanks in CPAC poll, gets booed

Mitt Romney won the straw poll today at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 20 percent of the votes among the nearly 9,000 attendees. Charlie Crist finished dead last with 1 percent.

The Hill: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who publicly supported President Obama's economic stimulus plan, finished last with 1 percent. Crist, who did not attend the conference, was booed by attendees, and pollster Tony Fabrizio, in announcing the results, called him "Barack Obama's favorite Republican."

Full straw poll results: Mitt Romney - 20 percent; Bobby Jindal - 14 percent; Sarah Palin - 13 percent; Ron Paul - 13 percent; Newt Gingrich - 10 percent; Mike Huckabee - 7 percent; Mark Sanford - 4 percent; Rudy Guiliani - 3 percent; Tim Pawlenty - 2 percent; Charlie Crist - 1 percent; Undecided - 9 percent

GOP tea party protest in Sarasota

Dozens of people turned out in Sarasota Friday for a "Boston tea party" protest of wasteful government spending.

House takes aim at $388 million in sales tax breaks

House Finance and Tax chief Ellyn Bogdanoff tonight released the list of sales tax exemptions her committee has decided it wants to review. Together, they total $388 million. The list includes: movie tickets, agricultural property, fitness clubs, skyboxes, school sporting events, religious items, eyeglasses and contacts and bottled water.

There's clearly no promise here than any of them will lose their tax exemption status. "Our task is to examine the other side of the ledger to make sure that we are presenting Floridians with a fair and efficient tax system,'' Bogdanoff said. Download Discuss for Repeal List

GOP pre-session plan: Mardi Gras, Universal and Benatar

Florida's Republican leaders may be in for one of the most difficult sessions of their legislative careers but this weekend they're ready to rock at Universal Studios and the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando.

The weekend-long event is being sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida which is parlaying the gathering of Florida's legislators into a fundraiser. Lobbyists, lawmakers and their families are invited to join VIP tours of Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios on Saturday morning, dine at lunch and enjoy a dinner reception and "Mardi Gras Celebration Parade" in the evening.

'Tough as nails' Clark takes 1st DCA bench

With great ceremony and a standing room only crowd that overflowed into a nearby TV room, Judge Nikki Ann Clark Friday became the first black woman to serve on the First District Court of Appeal.

Described as a “tough as nails’’ judge with a “warm and inviting smile,’’ Clark is leaving a 15-year career as a circuit judge to become one of 15 judges on the state’s largest and most important appellate court. She was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to replace Judge Ricky L. Polston who was recently named to the Florida Supreme Court.

A former cabinet aide and one of seven children who all gained advanced degrees in college, Clark was honored for innovations like the creation of a unified family court in Leon County and the fame she gained in 2000 while hearing several of the election lawsuits brought over the election of President George W. Bush.

Times editorial: 5 things Florida legislators must do now

In an editorial in the St. Petersburg Times' legislative preview 'For A Better Florida,' the Times calls on the Legislature to:

1. Collect an Internet sales tax;
2. Reduce sales tax exemptions;
3. Tax some services;
4. Close corporate loopholes and
5. Raise cigarette and gasoline taxes as well as auto tag fees.

Watch a tampabay.com video report about the Times' editorial.

In the same section, columnist Howard Troxler wonders why politicians can't seem to take the long view and points out the consequences of short-sighted thinking. There are also comprehensive reviews, news and analysis of issues including the budget, education, property insurance, gambling and the government itself in For a Better Florida (in the Times print edition Sunday).

If you want Gov. Charlie Crist to hear your views, help draft a letter to the governor.

Big trouble in Okaloosa County

These are not good times for Okaloosa County. Gov. Charlie Crist today suspended Sheriff Charlie W. Morris after Morris' arrest on federal charges of fraud and money laundering.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, Morris allegedly created fictitious bonuses to sheriff's employees and then directed the employees to return the bonus in the form of cash or checks "under the pretense that these returned funds were to be used for charitable purposes."

Morris, 59, was arrested in Las Vegas and is being returned to Florida. He is the second official in the county to face an investigation this year. Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, is being probed by federal and state officials over his dealings with Northwest Florida State College and other officials. Morris recently wrote a letter to the editor touting Sansom's "tireless work" in the community.

Morris has been serving as president of the Florida Sheriffs Association.

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Crist zaps hurricane-hardening cash

Gov. Charlie Crist has put no money in the budget for the one program just about everybody says will help cure Florida's insurance ills: My Safe Florida Home.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink suggested today that that should change, though she only grinned at a query of whether Crist's proposal is short-sighted.

"I think we're now stepping back and thinking about new possibilities to enable the state to continue this program. ... We're going to go back to see if we can find or figure out a way to have more funding," Sink said at an event with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in Tallahassee.

Movie night with Adam Hasner

Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, is taking his advocacy for alternative energy to the movies -- with a free showing of Who Killed the Electric Car? on March 10 at the Tallahassee IMAX.

"After driving an electric vehicle daily throughout my community, I’m convinced that making the ownership of these vehicles more affordable is a critically important step toward energy independence and creating a more efficient and responsible transportation future for Floridians," Hasner wrote in an e-mail to lawmakers. He is sponsoring legislation that provides incentives for using electric cars.

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