Gov. Rick Scott has signed the $74.5 billion budget into law, while using his line item veto power to cut $368 billion in state spending.

Among the things Scott vetoed is a three percent tuition increase for university students. The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing an advanced copy of the veto message, that Scott, would reject the tuition hike.

Why is Dan Barrow on a  list of the “30 under 30″ rising stars in Florida politics? Because Scott Dudley, David Johnson, and Adam Hasner says so. When three politicos of Dudley, Johnson, and Hasner’s caliber say a guy belongs on the list, you pretty much pencil in his name.

Gov. Rick Scott vetoed nearly $368 million in spending from the state’s budget, using his line-item authority to strike out scores of projects ranging from a $50 million coast-to-coast bike trail to tens of millions in college and university tuition hikes.

@MarcACaputo

Lincoln Gabriel Diaz-Balart, son and namesake of a former congressman and nephew of a current U.S. representative, died Sunday at the age of 29.

The family has asked for privacy and time to grieve.

The Diaz-Balart family is, perhaps, the most-politically powerful in Miami's Cuban-exile community.

For anyone still unconvinced that Governor Rick Scott knows the negotiation dance and uses it to the benefit of his priorities, look no farther than the most recent developments in hospital Medicaid funding.

Tucked into an Aaron Deslatte story about Dean Cannon’s firm’s impressive $755K haul in lobbying fees for the first quarter of 2013, is a fangs-bared quote from the uberest of uber lobbyists, Brian Ballard, that does not portend well for the possibility of a Ballard Partners vs. Capitol Insight charity softball match anytime soon.

Twenty-six year old Katie Ballard, Parkland-native and Florida State University graduate, entered politics because she doesn’t “like to sit back and just watch things happen.” Instead, she aspires to make a difference and has made notable progress toward such in her few years on the political scene.  Katie’s first political job was with Congressman Tom Rooney, followed by work with State Rep. Bill Hager and various state House and Senate campaigns.

Gov. Rick Scott is scheduled to sign the state budget into law shortly after noon today, likely trimming back the $74.5 billion spending plan approved by lawmakers with a few million dollars worth of vetoes.

A 3 percent tuition hike for college and university students already looks doomed. Scott’s staff has leaked to a wire service details about the governor’s intention to veto the increase — which he has signaled for months.

The way to a Mayor’s heart is through his stomach, it appears, at least in the case of St. Pete Mayor Bill Foster, who hosts monthly breakfasts at local restaurants to give residents easier access to City Hall.

This month’s breakfast will be held Wednesday, May 22, at the Skyway Cafe at 11140 Fourth St. N., beginning at 7 am.  Residents are invited to attend, and are told to come equipped with questions and ideas.

Early Tuesday Gov. Rick Scott should be wheels down at Aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile with most of the 100 others taking part in his eighth international trade mission, reports Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida.

The delegation put together by Enterprise Florida is intended to drum up additional trading partners from the South American nation that already ranks sixth among Florida’s export destinations.

They say, “Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down.” For the 30 young men and women you will read about this week, this phrase is still meaningful — for each in their own way — as their careers in Florida’s political process rise.

Editor’s note: The following is cross-posted from Noah Pransky’s Shadow of the Stadium blog.

In the May 17 edition of La Gaceta, publisher Patrick Manteiga, in his “As We Heard It” column writes, “We heard Billy Young, son of perpetual Congressman Bill Young of Pinellas, is considering a run against Democrat State Representative Dwight Dudley.”

“We heard…”

Really, Patrick, “We heard…”