The “Lens” continues to be a hot topic in St. Petersburg. Residents now have a way to keep up with the progress of the push to “Stop the Lens”.

As reported today in the Tampa Bay Times, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections will post updates daily on the number of signatures collected and verification of the more than 20,000 petitions received by the city clerk.

Rep. Paul Ryan “is working with attorney Bob Barnett to release his first major book next year, and it’ll feature a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions,” National Review reports.

Lawmakers will not have to testify about last year’s redistricting process as part of a legal challenge to the congressional maps the Legislature approved, a divided three-judge panel ruled Wednesday, reports Brandon Larrabee of the News Service of Florida.

Former Clinton White House counsel Lanny Davis said the growing IRS scandal has robbed Democrats of the so-called “trust edge” they held over Republicans and is now jeopardizing hopes that Hillary Clinton will replace President Obama in 2016, the Washington Examiner reports.

Statewide single-family home sales are up 17.4 percent from a year ago, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday.

State Senate Pres. Don Gaetz told reporters today he thinks House Speaker Will Weatherford of Wesley Chapel “should be governor of Florida, he should be a U.S. senator or even higher.”

The comments came during a tour of Tampa Bay Technical High School in Tampa by Gaetz and Weatherford, when…

Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday that the Chilean company, Crystal Lagoons Corp., maker of the world’s largest swimming pool, is moving its worldwide headquarters to Miami.

Nearing the end of a four-day trade mission to Chile, Scott said the agreement with the Santiago-based company, which makes exotic water bodies used in resorts across the world, was among several sealed on the Enterprise Florida trip.

Peret Pass, 24, grew up yelling at the television while the news was on, driving her family crazy. Peret’s aunt Deborah decided to offer Peret a more constructive outlet for her passions and put her in touch with the local Republican Party, where Peret got to know County REC Chairman Mike Hightower and activist John Falconetti.

Three Palm Beach County lawmakers earned perfect scores from the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Not surprisingly, their Democratic counterparts received mostly failing grades from the powerful business lobby.

GOP Reps. Pat Rooney, R-West Palm Beach; MaryLynn Magar, R-Tequesta; and Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, all received marks of “100″ from the Chamber. Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, received an “87.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson urged Florida Gov. Rick Scott to veto legislation his fellow Republicans advanced that suspends for two years the state’s authority to set health insurance rates.

Nelson, a former state insurance commissioner, said in a Wednesday letter to Scott that allowing the bill (SB 1842) to become law would put consumers at risk of sky-high rate hikes.

Celina Parker, 26, considers the ability to drive change as a calling. Originally from San Salvador, El Salvador, Celina attended Florida International for her bachelors and Florida State for her masters.

Pam Bondi and 22 other attorneys general are demanding that Urban Outfitters quit selling accessories they say is glorifying drug use and “undermining” efforts to combat prescription drug abuse.

The trendy company is targeting the hipster crowd with a line of products that riff on prescription drugs, including a set of syringe-shaped shot glasses along with shot glasses, beer “koozies” and coasters that look like prescription pads.