Gov. Charlie Crist continues to find himself at loggerheads with the Republican leadership in the Legislature -- this time over a budget matter involving funds from the federal stimulus targeted for Floridians looking to switch to solar power. 

The battle is on in the close gubernatorial contest to define each candidate -- and on Monday new websites were unveiled to portray state CFO Alex Sink, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, and Republican rival Rick Scott in an unflattering light.

President Barack Obama defended his administration’s handling of the economy on Friday and took aim at Republicans for standing in the way -- prompting return fire from the newest Republican star in the Sunshine State.

Businesses hoping to escape paying fees for some of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s premiere loan programs are at the mercy of Congress. 

An optimistic report that foresees high-speed rail systems driving high-dollar growth and jobs in hub cities nationwide -- including Orlando -- is being assailed by one national critic as "absurd" and skewed.

Wendell Cox, an Illinois-based transportation and urban planning expert who served on the Los Angeles Transportation Commission and national Amtrak reform council, doubts that the proposed high-speed rail systems will benefit such hub cities anything like as much as claimed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

But they might need to go without a critical injection of extra federal funds, and at least three agencies are considering scaling back or abandoning the programs that put cash in