McCain: Obama tried to legislate Iraqi failure

AP – John McCain told fellow veterans on Monday that his Democratic rival Barack Obama tried to legislate failure in Iraq and has refused to admit he erred when opposing the military increase there last year.
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McCain, RNC report $96 million cash on hand

AP – John McCain and the Republican National Committee started August with a hefty $96 million, financially flush and strongly positioned to compete with prolific fundraiser Barack Obama and the Democrats.
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Consumer price index expected to show another rise

AP – The Labor Department is expected to report a rise in the consumer price index for July, but not as large as June’s increase. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR was for a 0.4 percent gain, and after food and energy prices are stripped out, a 0.2 percent advance. In June, the index rose by 1.1 percent — the second-fastest monthly pace in 26 years.
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McCain adviser got money from Georgia

AP – John McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
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Nelson fears for space program

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he fears Russia’s aggressive action against Georgia may have some serious consequences on the American space program.

If Russia fails to hold back military action in the former Soviet republic, it could hurt U.S. chances of accessing the International Space Station once NASA retires the space shuttles in 2010, the Democrat from Orlando said Tuesday.
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Tax-swap ballot challenge in court today

A hearing is scheduled in Leon County circuit court today on a business group’s suit to knock the “tax swap” constitutional amendment off of the November ballot.

Plaintiffs in the case claim that the ballot language for Amendment 5 is ambiguous, not telling voters its full effect. The amendment would abolish the “local required effort” portion of county property taxes for school support, requiring future Legislatures to come up with between $9 billion and $11 billion in replacement revenues. Judge John Cooper will hear the case.

Attorney Barry Richard, representing a coalition of nearly 30 business groups, said in a legal memo that the ballot language refers to a limit on annual assessments of real estate. But he said that is “at best, ambiguous” and would mislead voters about the far-reaching impact of the amendment.

Assistant attorney general Lou Hubener and two outside attorneys will argue in defense of the proposal, which was put on the ballot by the Tax and Budget Reform Commission.

Cocoa to increase water fees by 15%

Florida Today
COCOA — The city council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to increase water rates to its 80,000 customers starting Oct. 1. Mayor Michael Blake cast the dissenting vote.
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Regulators grill State Farm officials over 47 percent hike request

State regulators Tuesday aggressively grilled State Farm officials asking them to justify their request for a 47 percent increase to homeowners insurance rates.

Four Office of Insurance Regulation officials squared off in a Capitol hearing room at tables a dozen feet from four State Farm executives — put under oath to tell the truth — and argued about reasonable profits, discounts for protecting against wind damage, expected hurricane losses, state law and complex computer models.
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County may provide funds for Titusville pond project

Florida Today
TITUSVILLE — The county could provide some of the money to pay for a $1.3 million stormwater retention pond project in the central part of Titusville, as part of a proposed agreement to be discussed tonight.
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Crist in Brevard in countdown to commercial launch capability

COCOA — The first commercial launch from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station could come as early as 2010 or 2011, said Space Florida President and CEO Steve Kohler.    “We have customers we are talking to,” said Kohler.    Gov. Charlie Crist and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp joined Kohler today to formally announce the lease of SLC 36 from the Air Force at a press conference in the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium at the Brevard Community College Cocoa campus.

Crist said the agreement would help Brevard County’s economy during the expected economic slump due to the end of the shuttle program in 2010.
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