School officials informed Florida State late Friday they would pay a $350,000 escape fee to shelve the trip.

Florida State Athletic Director Randy Spetman said Saturday he’s disappointed that West Virginia would not honor the first half of a home-and-home agreement that calls for Florida State to visit Morgantown, W.Va., next year. The Seminoles have Murray State, South Florida and Florida on their 2012 nonconference schedule in addition to eight Atlantic Coast Conference games.

Spetman now has a short timeline to find an opponent to replace the Mountaineers on Florida State’s schedule.

While officials from Derby Lane initiated the request for the County Commission, Commissioner Susan Latvala reported that Richard Winning, vice president of Derby Lane, isn’t sure that he wants the slot machines.

The point of this referendum is to preserve the right for Pinellas County to discuss the opportunity for slot machines if Derby Lane would like to do it. Of course, all of this depends on passing Florida legislation (SB 382), the bill surrounding gaming and destination casino resorts in the State.

Even if Pinellas County agrees to a referendum, the State bill would have to pass first, and the election wouldn’t be held until the General Election in November.

Being single is becoming more and more the norm:

Americans are now within mere percentage points of being a majority single nation: Only 51% of adults today are married, according to census data. And 28% of all households now consist of just one person — the highest level in U.S. history. That second statistic may appear less dramatic than the first, but it’s actually changing much faster: The percentage of Americans living by themselves has doubled since 1960.

Eric Klinenberg recently lauded solo living.

Via The Daily Dish.

Siding with the newspaper industry and groups such as AARP, the NAACP and Associated Industries of Florida, the House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted 9-5 to reject HB 149.

Sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, argued that county clerks of court should be able to decide whether to continue the decades-old practice of publishing foreclosure notices in newspapers or placing them on non-newspaper websites. He described a state law requiring newspaper publication as “corporate welfare” for the industry and as an outdated monopoly.

“They’re up here protecting their interests,” Baxley said. “I’m trying to show you the future.”

But newspaper-industry officials said most papers already put notices online, along with publishing them in print. Also, opponents of the bill said many seniors, minorities and people in rural areas don’t have ready access to the Internet or don’t feel comfortable using it.

“When it comes to public notice, we should be aiming to cast the widest net possible,” said former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, who represented a coalition that includes groups such as AARP and the NAACP.

Debates about publishing legal notices in newspapers have flared repeatedly in recent years, as the public has increasingly turned to the Internet for information and as government agencies have put more and more documents online.

Newspapers, meanwhile, have taken a financial hit as classified advertising has rushed to Internet sites, such as Craigslist.

Duval County Clerk of Courts Jim Fuller, a former Republican House member, told the subcommittee that he has moved toward becoming a paperless operation and backed Baxley’s bill for foreclosure notices.

“I would like the option in Duval County to do mine on the Internet,” Fuller said.

But Tammie Barfield, general manager of the weekly Wakulla News, said many people in rural areas of her readership south of Tallahassee don’t have good Internet access.

“We are the town center,” Barfield said. “People look to our newspaper to know what is going on in the community.”

Four Republicans joined five Democrats in voting against the bill, with some pointing to particular concerns about how it would affect seniors.

But supporters of the bill said it would leave it up to local clerks about whether they wanted to continue to run notices in newspapers or use a website. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who backed the bill, suggested opponents might have another motivation for voting no.

“People don’t want to upset their periodicals back home,” he said.

The Las Vegas Sun has a great primer on what will take place at Nevada’s caucuses Saturday.  I’ll be live-blogging here throughout the day.

Here’s where the candidates will be today: Romney has a rally in Colorado Springs at 2:45 MT and a victory party at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas at 7:40 PT. Santorum campaigns in Colorado with stops in Montrose, Loveland and Greeley. Paul spends the day in Minnesota, with town halls in Rochester, Chanhassen and Arden Hills. Gingrich doesn’t have a public schedule today.

6:00 p.m. - Live county-by-county results right here tonight here.

6:00 p.m. - Newt Gingrich’s campaign has announced that it will hold a post-Nevada caucus press conference tonight at 11 p.m. EST at the Venetian in Las Vegas, instead of the traditional speech that candidates usually give after a primary or caucus night.

4:03 p.m. - Gingrich acknowledged Romney’s likely victory and cast the vote in Nevada as a fight for second place. ”I think our hope is that we may be able to come in second, although Ron Paul is very organized,” the former House speaker told Fox News in an interview Friday. “We’re going all out to see if we can’t be a good solid second here, and then we’re on to Colorado and Minnesota.”

3:59 p.m. - Charles Mahtesian and Juana Summers on what to watch: ”Mitt’s margin: … Romney could take a step toward proving he can win over conservatives by rolling up a big winning margin. … In 2008, Romney managed to win just over half the vote, 51.1 percent. While recent polls have him just below that, breaking the 50 percent barrier for the first time this year would give him some welcome momentum going into Tuesday’s contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. … Newt’s percentage: … [I]f the former House speaker were able to finish in second and win close to, or more than, a third of the vote it would suggest that even at a low point he maintains a reservoir of support among tea party activists and the very conservative – and that there continues to be a determined resistance to Romney.”

10:27 a.m. -  Romney has the endorsement of Nevada’s lieutenant governor, eight of 10 state senators and two members of Congress, according to CNN. Gingrich has not been endorsed by a single elected official in Nevada, according to Ginger Gibson.

10:14 a.m. - James Hohmann writes: The weather looks clear around most of Nevada. The sun is just beginning to rise over the mountains. Forecast calls for a high of 58 in Vegas. Here’s the hour-by-hour forecast from Weather Underground here.

10:12 a.m. - Headline on the front of the Las Vegas Sun: “Gingrich Disconnected in Vegas”

10:10 a.m. - According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, per CNN, “Romney has led ad spending in the state since last Friday, funneling $249,220 into 590 spots, 427 of which were negative and 163 of which were positive. ‘Restore Our Future,’ the PAC supporting the former Massachusetts governor’s candidacy, spent an additional $73,240 on 123 negative ads in the state…Paul spent $28,340 on 71 positive spots since last Friday. Paul has spent the most money in the state since January 1 with $869,650 compared to Romney’s $488,460 and ‘Restore Our Future’s’ $73,240. Neither Newt Gingrich nor the super PAC support his candidacy have spent money in the state since the first of the year.”

10:09 a.m. – Remember, there are 28 delegates at stake in Nevada, more than in South Carolina.

9:23 a.m. - Here are POLITICO’s five things to watch in the first-in-the-West contest Saturday.

9:20 a.m. - Instead of the traditional election night party, Newt Gingrich will hold a press conference after the Nevada caucuses tonight “raising new speculation about his future in the race,” National Journal reports.

7:17 a.m. - There have very few polls for Nevada. Mark Blumenthal says we’re “seeing fewer polls because of constrained budgets”:

National media and polling organizations knew that attention would focus on the first four primary and caucus states in January and spent their money accordingly. A few invested in the expensive task of surveying Iowa’s likely caucus-goers using live interviewers, but in an era when many media organizations have cut back on polling, these upcoming caucus states are simply a lower priority. As with other aspects of campaign coverage, polling in the February caucus states will be no match for what we saw last month.

7:05 a.m. - ”I don’t know why the government owns so much of this land.” – Mitt Romney, in an interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal, on whether he would sell land owned by the federal government in Western states.

7:01 a.m. - The Atlantic: “Each county was allowed to set its own caucus procedures this year, leading to a divergent array of start times and rules across the state… The bizarre arrangement leaves the door open to all kinds of campaign hijinks. Party officials say attendees at the evening caucus will have to sign an affidavit swearing that they didn’t already vote earlier, and their names will be checked against the voter rolls.”

7:00 a.m. - First Read: “Frankly, the process is a bit of a joke: The caucus places start and stop at different times throughout the state.”

“In Iowa, nearly half of caucus-goers decided in the last few days. Of those voters, two in 10 made their decision on Election Day. In New Hampshire, 46 percent of Republican primary voters decided in the last few days, of which 21 percent made up their mind on the last day. In South Carolina, roughly half of Republican primary voters settled on a choice in the last few days before the election, while in the Florida, a quarter of Republican voters were late deciders.”

But with House votes Friday, the Republican-dominated Legislature is close to finalizing its redistricting plans. The maps likely will face court challenges from Democrats and other critics, but Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, praised what he described as a “careful, thoughtful and deliberative process.”

Supporters of resort casinos and prison privatization can only wish their proposals had moved so smoothly.

The controversial casino idea appears dead this session, after House sponsor Erik Fresen, R-Miami, decided Friday against taking his chances with a vote in the Business & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, meanwhile, had to put off a vote this week on privatizing prisons across the southern half of the state after running into bipartisan opposition.

A round-up via The News Service of Florida.

DISTRICTS COMING INTO FOCUS: House members voted along party lines Friday to pass legislative and congressional maps and send them back to the Senate for final approval next week.

Republican leaders said the maps follow constitutional requirements, including complying with a 2010 ballot initiative aimed at eliminating gerrymandering. They said, for example, the maps will lump some incumbent Republicans into the same districts and also split fewer cities and counties than in the past.

“At the end of the day, this decision is bigger than us, this map is bigger than us, the Constitution is bigger than any one of us,” said House Redistricting Chairman Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

But Democrats blasted the maps, saying they were designed to help elect Republicans and violate the 2010 ballot initiative, which was known as the Fair Districts amendment. The Democratic arguments also set the stage for a legal fight in the coming months.

“This vote by the GOP is nothing less than a slap-in-the face to the 63 percent of Florida voters who approved Fair Districts — the maps passed today by the Florida House are unconstitutional, pure and simple,” state Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Arceneaux said in a statement Friday. “They represent just the type of partisan gerrymandering and incumbent protection voters rejected in 2010.”

CASINOS BILL GOES OUT WITH A WHIMPER

For weeks, swarms of lobbyists and public-relations people waged a battle in Tallahassee about “destination” resort casinos. Meanwhile, folks at home turned on their TVs and saw ads touting – or criticizing — the proposed move into a new realm of gambling.

But after all of that, the issue appeared to die Friday without House members taking a vote.

House sponsor Fresen decided against having the Business & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee vote on the bill (HB 487), after it looked like the panel would reject it. Barring a miracle, that dooms the issue for the 2012 session.

The bill’s opponents, such as Florida Chamber of Commerce President Mark Wilson, praised the move.

“For all intents and purposes, today’s decision to postpone consideration of the gambling legislation is a decision to let what happens in Vegas stay in Vegas and frees up the Florida Legislature to address critical issues facing our state,” Wilson said in a prepared statement.

But supporters signaled they would keep working on the issue, which could come back next year.

“Private investment is critical to the health of our industry and our state’s economy, and we firmly believe that this great opportunity should not be put to the wayside,” said Carol Bowen, a vice president of Associated Builders and Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter. “It’s important that the conversation continues on this issue and the job-creating efforts in Florida never rest.”

PRISON PRIVATIZATION SHACKLED

Haridopolos and Budget Chairman JD Alexander have pushed since last year’s session to privatize prisons across the southern part of the state, arguing it would save money that could be used for other needs such as education.

But when Haridopolos brought the issue to the Senate floor this week, he ran into opposition from a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. That forced Haridopolos to twice postpone moving forward with the privatization bill, as he tried to gather enough votes to pass it.

The standoff intensified Wednesday, when Haridopolos stripped Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, of his role as chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. Fasano has been perhaps the most-outspoken critic of the privatization plan.

Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said he didn’t think Fasano was committed to making needed budget cuts, which includes the prison-privatization plan.

“I’m asking other budget chairmen to make difficult cuts,” Haridopolos said. “It became clear to me that Sen. Fasano was not willing to make those difficult cuts.”

But Fasano harshly criticized the decision and said he was standing up for the “little guy and gal.”

“No matter how big the bully in the schoolyard may be, if the loss of a chairmanship is the result of taking a stand for what is right, I wear that loss as a badge of honor,” Fasano said.

Haridopolos acknowledged this week what was obvious when the vote was postponed – the votes may not be there to pass it.

“It’s super-close,” he said. “There’s a good chance we could bring it up and not win.”

STORY OF THE WEEK: The proposal to allow up to three mega-resort casinos in Florida appeared to die, when the House sponsor pulled it from consideration in a House subcommittee. The subcommittee chairman and House Rules chairman both indicated the bill will not come up again this session in the House.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It’s also a comfort today as I hear testimony and debate that I’m not the only one moving. I hope it will help the housing market in Florida, what we’re doing here today.”–Rep. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican whose home was drawn into a district with another incumbent.

“Many reformers continue to argue for a de-politicization of the redistricting process, claiming that partisan redistricting is responsible for declining electoral competition and increasing legislative polarization. Our analysis of evidence from state legislatures during the last decade suggests that the effects of partisan redistricting on competition and polarization are small, considerably more nuanced than reformers would suggest, and overwhelmed by other aspects of the political environment.”

He suspected the new political district maps for congressional and legislative races would pass the state House, and he knew what it would mean to his plan to run for Kathy Castor’s District 11 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

So he didn’t waste much time after the House approved the new maps 80-39, basically voting along party lines.

“I don’t like making formal statements or anything like that, but we’re working on something that will explain a likely suspension of our campaign, at least until the court rules on this,” said Sharpe, a Hillsborough County commissioner.

So there it goes. He said the official explanation will probably come next week.

Continue reading here.