History
Archaelogical finds indicate that Florida had been inhabited for many
thousands of years prior to any European settlements. Spaniards first
arrived in 1513 and lay claim to a large, imprecisely defined area extending
from about modern day Gainesville northward to the Carolinas, which they
called La terra florida, "The flowery land". Over the following century, the
Spanish and French both established settlements in Florida, with varying
degrees of success. The area of Florida diminished with the establishment of
British colonies to the north and French colonies to the west. Control of
parts of Florida passed among Spanish, British, and American control. Spain
finally ceded Florida to the United States with the Adams-Onís Treaty in
1819, in exchange for the US renouncing any claims on Texas. On March 3,
1845, Florida became the 27th state of the United States of America. Today,
Florida is the fourth most populous state in the Union.
Law and Government
The Florida Legislature has a Senate of 40 members and a House of 120
members. The current governor is Republican Jeb Bush, brother of President
George W. Bush.
Though Florida has traditionally been a Democratic state, in recent years
explosive population growth has brought with it many Republicans, leaving
the state approximately evenly split between the two parties. Although the
Republicans control the governorship and most other statewide elected
offices, both houses of the state legislature, and 18 of the state's 25
seats in the US House, Democrats control the state's two Senate seats, and
the presidential contest in Florida in 2000 was extremely close. As such,
and because of its high population and large number of electoral votes,
Florida is considered by political analysts to be a key swing state in
Presidential elections.
In Miami, the liberal Democrats vie for control with wealthy Cuban right
wing Republicans and their business allies. Tampa was once a hotbed of
Democratic union support, but has reversed polarity completely in recent
years, and is now governed by heavily pro-business Republicans. Outside of
liberal Miami-Dade County, the Florida Democratic Party tends to be socially
conservative and heavily associated with the good ol' boy network. See: List
of Florida Governors
Taxation
Florida is one of the nine states which does not impose personal income tax
(list of others). The state sales tax rate is 6 percent, and use tax of 6
percent is due on purchases made out of state and brought into Florida
within 6 months of the purchase date. Additionally, some counties are
authorized to levy a discretionary sales surtax on most transactions that
are subject to sales and use tax.
Geography
Florida consists of a panhandle extending along the northern Gulf of Mexico
and a large peninsula with the Atlantic Ocean as its eastern border and the
Gulf of Mexico as its western border. It is bordered on the north by the
states of Georgia and Alabama. It is near the countries of the Caribbean,
particularly the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti.
At 345 feet (105 metres) above sea level, Britton Hill is the highest point
in Florida (it's also the lowest state highpoint.)
Economy
Florida's economy is heavily based on tourism. Warm weather most of the year
and many miles of pristine beaches provide a thriving vacation spot for
travelers from around the world. The large Walt Disney World theme park and
resort complex, located near Orlando, drives the economy of that area, along
with more recent entries into the theme park arena such as the Universal
Orlando Resort. The great amount of sales tax revenue is what allows the
state to be one of the few to not levy a personal income tax. Other major
industries include citrus fruit and juice production, banking, and phosphate
mining. With the arrival of the space program at Kennedy Space Center in the
1960s, Florida has attracted a large number of aerospace and military
industries to the state. Florida does not have any state minimum wage laws.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, the state had a population of 15,982,378.
Education
Florida's public school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of
personal income usually ranks in the bottom 25% of U.S. states. Average
teacher salaries rank near the middle of U.S. states.
Florida public schools have consistently ranked in the bottom 25% of many
national surveys and average test score rankings. It should be noted that
many education surveys are not scientific, but do measure prestige. Governor
Jeb Bush has been criticized by many Florida educators for a program that
penalizes underperforming schools (as indicated by standardized tests, such
as the FCAT) with fewer funding dollars. Major testing organizations
frequently discount the use of state average test score rankings, or any
average of scaled scores, as a valid metric (see psychometrics for more
details on scaled test scores).
In 2000, Governor Bush and the state legislature acted to abolish the Board
of Regents that governed the State University System of Florida. Instead,
each public university is now controlled by its own Board of Trustees who
are directly appointed by the governor. As is typical of executive-appointed
government boards, the appointees so far have been overwhelmingly
Republican. This has not been without controversy. [1] (http://www.sptimes.com/News/050801/State/Bush_s_trustees_mostl.shtml)
In 2002, Democratic Senator Bob Graham started a ballot referendum designed
to revert to the Board of Regents system.
Colleges and universities
Barry University
Bethune-Cookman College
Carlos Albizu University Miami campus
Clearwater Christian College
Eckerd College
Edward Waters College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Flagler College
Florida A&M University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Christian College
Florida College
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Florida Memorial College
Florida Metropolitan University
Florida Southern College
Florida State University
Florida State University Panama City campus
Hobe Sound Bible College
International College
International Fine Arts College
Jacksonville University
Jones College
Lynn University
New College of Florida
Northwood University
Nova Southeastern University
Palm Beach Atlantic College
Ringling School of Art and Design
Rollins College
Saint John Vianney College Seminary
Saint Leo University
St. Thomas University
South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary
Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God
Stetson University
Trinity College of Florida
Troy State University Florida Region
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of Sarasota
University of South Florida
University of Tampa
University of West Florida
Warner Southern College
Webber College
Sports
Professional sports teams in Florida
National Football League
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Miami Dolphins
National Basketball Association
Orlando Magic
Miami Heat
National Hockey League
Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Panthers
Major League Baseball
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Florida Marlins
Arena Football League
Orlando Predators
Tampa Bay Storm
Spring training
Florida is an extremely popular location for Major League Baseball spring
training, with teams informally organized into the "Grapefruit League". As
of 2004, Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring training:
Atlanta Braves in Kissimmee
Baltimore Orioles in Fort Lauderdale
Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers
Cleveland Indians in Winterhaven
Detroit Tigers in Lakeland
Florida Marlins in Jupiter
Houston Astros in Kissimmee
Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach
Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers
Montreal Expos in Viera
New York Mets in Port St. Lucie
New York Yankees in Tampa
Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater
Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton
Saint Louis Cardinals in Jupiter
Tampa Bay Devil Rays in St. Petersburg
Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin
Minor League teams
Florida also hosts the following minor league baseball teams:
Jacksonville Suns
Daytona Cubs
Dunedin Blue Jays
Clearwater Threshers
Brevard County Manatees
Vero Beach Dodgers
Lakeland Tigers
St. Lucie Mets
Sarasota Red Sox
Fort Myers Miracle
Charlotte Rangers
Jupiter Hammerheads
