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Florida
Florida is a southern state in the United States. It is known as the Sunshine
State. "Florida" is a Spanish adjective which means "flowery". It was
discovered by Spanish explorers during the Easter season, which is
called Pascua Florida in Spanish. The U.S. Postal abbreviation is FL.
USS Florida was named in honor of this state.
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 Florida. 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-On s 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 one of the most populous states in the Union.
Law and Government
Florida has a bicameral state legislature with 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. 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 elections for
President of the United States.
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/Mafia 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
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 Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, and
other countries in the Caribbean.
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. Unlike most other US states, Florida does not levy a state
personal income tax due to the great amout of sales tax revenue. Other major
industries include citrus fruit and juice production, banking, and phosphate mining.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, the state had a population of 15,982,378.
Important Cities and Towns
* Key West * Daytona Beach
* Miami * Jacksonville
* Sarasota * Tallahassee
* Tampa * Pensacola
* St. Petersburg * Panama City
* Fort Lauderdale * Gainesville
* Orlando
* Melbourne
Education
Despite the tremendous amount of tax revenue generated by tourism, Florida's
public education system is abysmal, with state public schools consistently
ranking last or near last in national surveys. With teacher's salaries among
the lowest in the country, many competent educators choose to go elsewhere
or work in private industry rather than teach. Governor Jeb Bush has been
criticized by Florida educators for a program that penalizes underperforming
schools (as indicated by standardized tests) with fewer funding dollars,
widely regarded as counterproductive.
In 2000, Bush and the state legislature acted to abolish the Board of
Regents that governed the state university system. Instead, each public
university is now controlled by its own Board of Trustees who are directly
appointed by the governor. The appointees so far have been overwhelmingly
Republican political allies. In 2002, Democratic Senator Bob Graham
started a ballot referendum designed to revert to the Board of Regents
system.
Colleges and Universities
* Barry University * Jones College
* Bethune-Cookman College * Lynn University
* Carlos Albizu University Miami * Northwood University
campus * Nova Southeastern University
* Clearwater Christian College * Palm Beach Atlantic College
* Eckerd College * Ringling School of Art and
* Edward Waters College Design
* Embry-Riddle Aeronautical * Rollins College
University * Saint John Vianney College
* Flagler College Seminary
* Florida Agricultural and * Saint Leo College
Mechanical University * St. Thomas University
* Florida Atlantic University * South Florida Bible College and
* Florida Christian College Theological Seminary
* Florida College * Southeastern College of the
* Florida Gulf Coast University Assemblies of God
* Florida Hospital College of * Stetson University
Health Sciences * Trinity College of Florida
* Florida Institute of Technology * Troy State University Florida
* Florida International Region
University * University of Central Florida
* Florida Memorial College * University of Florida
* Florida Metropolitan University * University of Miami
* Florida Southern College * University of North Florida
* Florida State University * University of Sarasota
o Florida State University * University of South Florida
Panama City campus * University of Tampa
* Hobe Sound Bible College * University of West Florida
* International College * Warner Southern College
* International Fine Arts College * Webber College
* Jacksonville University
Professional Sports Teams
* National Football League * National Hockey League
o Jacksonville Jaguars o Tampa Bay Lightning
o Tampa Bay Buccaneers o Florida Panthers
o Miami Dolphins * Major League Baseball
* National Basketball Association o Tampa Bay Devil Rays
o Orlando Magic o Florida Marlins
o Miami Heat
Spring Training
Florida is an extremely popular location for Major League Baseball spring
training. Florida hosts the following major league teams for spring
training:
* New York Yankees in Tampa
* Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton
It also hosts the following minor league baseball teams:
* Jacksonville Suns * Lakeland Tigers
* Daytona Cubs * St. Lucie Mets
* Dunedin Blue Jays * Sarasota Red Sox
* Clearwater Phillies * Fort Myers Miracle
* Brevard County Manatees * Charlotte Rangers
* Vero Beach Dodgers * Jupiter Hammerheads
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