Daily News Update with Rich Jones of WOKV : 8/2/2012

[Tamara-B]

Turning warmer today with temps in the mid-90's.  We'll see isolated storms in the afternoon and evening again with the biggest threats being heavy rain and lightning. Storms are in the picture each afternoon through the weekend. 

Tropical Depression #5 formed near South America and is tracking to the west.  It is not expected to be a threat to Florida in any way.  Accuweather's Heather Zehr says it should be named Ernesto by tomorrow. 

Today's interview lineup:

At 6:23 hear Stephanie Brown's investigation of taxpayer-funded vacant land in Jacksonville, and if sellers are even interested in buying up the land. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101472411/

At 6:53 hear Jamie Dupree explain how the GSA is defending another conference at a swanky hotel in Opryland. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101472461/

At 7:19 hear Neal Boorz on the huge turnout at Chick-fil-A restaurants, and what he thinks supporters of traditional marriage should do Friday at the kiss-in. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101472521/

At 8:23 hear Jamie Dupree explain the penalty facing a Congresswoman whose staff claims she made them work on her campaign while still on the taxpayer dime.  http://www.wokv.com/Player/101472641/

Our Top Local Story:  Looking for funds in all the wrong places. We first told you JTA missed out on a federal grant that would have helped fund a flyover from I-95 to JTB to help with the bad congestion often plaguing that exit.  Now the state wants to find a different way to fund the project, tolls. The FDOT director tells the Times Union it's considering tolling the flyover.  It would run on SunPass so there would be no toll booths.

A long road ahead for library supporters looking for a stable source of funding.  Save our Public Libraries says we need a special tax district to fund the libraries, rather than relying on yearly budget allocations. And that campaign kicked off yesterday.  Supporters have started a petition to get a straw poll on a ballot.  The poll would gauge if Jacksonville resident would support a special district. But with 26,000 signatures to go, he says the earliest this could make a ballot is fall 2014.

A naked man runs away from his white pick-up truck, after smashing it on The Bridge of Lions.  Police say the guy got into an altercation with cops near the Castillo de San Marcos.  St. Augustine Police say he might have been on drugs and was taken to Flagler Hospital.

A pair of teens tried their luck once too often and they're now facing criminal charges. Deputies in Clay County say the 15 and 17-year-olds burglarized the same off-road vehicle business in Keystone Heights three times and they were arrested after their third break-in. They say the teens fled on ATV's and then on foot before being caught and arrested.

Have your voice heard before the election.  The WOKV Hob Nob is today at the Hyatt downtown from 5-7pm.  Local and state races will be featured in a straw poll.  But the race everyone is watching is the White House.  Both Republican and Democratic parties in Duval County are pushing supporters to vote tonight.  It's a free event.  We'll have the results on Facebook and Twitter tonight and a full recap tomorrow on Jacksonville's Morning News.

President Obama campaigns today in Florida and Virginia.  He'll make an appearance in Orlando that he postponed last month because of the shooting massacre in Colorado.  Mitt Romney campaigns today in Colorado.  It's his first political appearance since his return from an overseas trip.

Former Governor and Republican Charlie Crist is supporting Democrat Bill Nelson's bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate.  The AP reports Crist always looked at Connie Mack the 3rd as a mentor. But, once Crist ran as an independent for his 2010 Senate run, he lost the support of Mack and his son, who's expected to run against Nelson for the Senate. Now, Crist will join former President Bill Clinton at a Nelson fundraiser. A Real Clear Politics average of most polls has Mack leading Nelson by only 2-tenths of a percentage point.

Chick-Fil-A is calling it its best day ever.  Its restaurants were jam packed with customers who showed up in support of its CEO in the wake of comments he made supporting traditional marriage.  We spoke to several customers, many tell us it's not about marriage, it's about free speech.  Lines at several locations stretched out their doors.

An openly gay Jacksonville attorney tells us he's fine with Americans rallying together to support free speech.  But he thinks more should be aware of Chick-fil-A's actions. Jimmy Midyette says for years, the restaurant has spent millions of its profit money on organizations with anti-gay agendas. He says they fund Exodus International. On its Web site, the group says its mission statement is to "minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality".

Our Top National Story:  The GSA is defending a conference going on this week at Opryland amid more questions about its spending.  What's happening in Nashville is the "SmartPay" conference, an effort by the GSA "to improve the management of government charge card programs". New questions are being raised about big spending on bonuses and overtime inside GSA.  See who's pulling in more than $100,000 in overtime in Jamie Dupree's blog here. http://www.wokv.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2012/aug/01/gsa-facing-more-questions-spending/

A stalemate over the taxes you pay.  The White House budget director blames Republicans for holding it up because they refuse to have the top two percent pay their fair share.   House Republicans voted last night to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers.

Congratulations on your Olympic medal -- now pay up.  Senator Marco Rubio calls the tax liability ridiculous.  American athletes who win medals at the Olympics also get cash awards -- and those awards are subject to taxes. Rubio is proposing a measure that would exempt those winnings from taxes.

Triple-digit temperatures and dry weather throughout much of the central U.S. is making this year's drought one of the worst ever -- and pretty soon, you too will feel the effects of it.  The USDA says cattle ranchers are paying more for hay and eventually, that will lead to higher food prices at the grocery store.

http://www.wokv.com/videos/online/advertising/morning-news-video-blog/ldQ/