Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Florida Briefs

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 30, 2006

Poll finds GOP ahead in races for Cabinet

TALLAHASSEE - The three Republican candidates for Florida's Cabinet offices hold slight leads over their Democratic opponents ahead of the Nov. 7 general election, but many voters have not made up their minds, a new poll shows.

In the race for attorney general, Republican Bill McCollum was favored by 44 percent of the respondents, while 35 percent chose Democrat Walter "Skip" Campbell and 21 percent were undecided, according to the Mason-Dixon survey conducted Sept. 20-22.

For chief financial officer, state Senate President Tom Lee was the choice of 40 percent, while 34 percent preferred Democrat Alex Sink and 26 percent were undecided.

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, who is seeking re-election, was the choice of 39 percent, compared with 31 percent who liked Democrat Eric Copeland. Thirty percent were undecided.

Mason-Dixon polled 625 registered voters. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Slain girl's parents, siblings still separated

SARASOTA - The parents of a 6-year-old girl slain nearly two weeks ago still aren't allowed unsupervised visits with their other children, partly because they haven't yet been cleared in her death, a judge ruled.

In denying Dale and Ellen-Beth Fullwood's request for unsupervised visits with their four other children Thursday, Circuit Judge Rick DeFuria also cited a continuing investigation into deplorable conditions in the family's home.

Coralrose Fullwood's body was found near a construction site two blocks from her family's North Port home Sept. 17, hours after her parents reported her missing from her bed.

Lawsuit by lobbyists challenges state law

TALLAHASSEE - Two lobbyists have sued the state to overturn a Florida law barring state legislators from accepting gifts and freebies.

Brenda Dickinson of Tallahassee and Vicki Wooldridge of Palm Beach filed the suit in Leon County on Thursday, claiming the so-called "zero tolerance" law passed last December is unconstitutional.

The lawsuit doesn't target the gift ban, but a provision requiring lobbyists to disclose on a quarterly basis what they have been paid by clients.

[Last modified September 30, 2006, 01:34:04]