Crist said the injustice and arrogance of the situation has angered him, and that he would have a statement on the situation in a few days.

“That concerns me greatly,” Crist said after the meeting. “We want to be a continuing partner to help.”

Earlier this month more than 120 farm workers and protesters rallied at the Capitol and criticized Crist for not meeting with them in person. Crist sent Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon to speak with the group.

Members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers said their meeting with Crist was both cordial and productive.

“It was a very intimate dialogue, but there is a lot of work to do,” said Gerardo Reyes, a CIW member.

The coalition had complained that some workers are forced to work the fields and then chained at night, and they said the workers haven’t received a raise since 1978. They said the average worker makes about $10,000 a year.

They asked Crist to clarify his opposition to such treatment and use his voice to eliminate slavery and low wages.

–Stephen D. Price

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Governor Charlie Crist

By Jim Ash

Tallahassee – Gov. Charlie Crist, President Barack Obama’s favorite Republican cheerleader, said Monday the state can expect to rake in more than $12.2 billion over the next three years from the federal stimulus package just passed by Congress.

“It passed with great gratitude from Florida,” Crist said.

 It’s still not clear whether Florida will have to ask for special permission from the federal government to claim $3.6 billion in education dollars. A feature of the federal plan denies education money to states like Florida that have slashed their school budgets.

Crist urged Education Commissioner Eric Smith to call his counterpart at the U.S. Department of Education on Monday afternoon to press for answers. Crist this weekend applied for a waiver to the stimulus rules just in case.

Crist earned the wrath of fellow Republicans — all GOP members of Florida’s congressional delegation voted against the stimulus — by energetically pushing for the plan, including appearing with Obama last week at a town hall forum in Fort Myers.

At the same time he is asking Washington for forgiveness for reducing the education budget, he is preparing to roll out a massive wave of property tax-cut proposals for the 2010 ballot that could cut education funding further. Crist was not fazed by the paradox.

“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Crist said.

While lawmakers are looking for ways to deal with a potentially $5 billion budget shortfall next year, it’s still not clear how much of the stimulus money can be used to meet Florida’s constitutional requirement to balance the budget.

“A lot,” Crist shouted to a reporter as he darted through a doorway.

Jerry McDaniel, Crist’s budget chief, said that the state will likely get the most relief from the $1.3 billion in new Medicaid money that is a feature of the plan this year. However, most of the other stimulus money, including $1.4 billion in transportation dollars, cannot be used to replace state spending.

Governor Charlie Crist

Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed spending cuts, sweeping trust funds for extra money, using Seminole gambling money and borrowing to build prisons to meet a projected $2.3 billion shortfall in the state’s spending plan.

The Legislature is set to meet in special session starting Jan. 5 to fix the budget. An economy in recession and a burst housing bubble has continued to drain tax revenue.

Crist’s proposal, released this afternoon, includes $561.5 million in spending cuts.

It pulls extra money from a variety of sources. The biggest is $600 million from the Lawton Chiles Endowment Trust Fund, set up with a portion of proceeds from the state’s settlement in tobacco litigation.

Read the rest of the post here: Crist proposes cuts, sweeps to make up $2.3 billion gap

Since the holidays fall on Thursdays, the governor said, a lot of employees use a vacation day for a long weekend. But with the state budget tightening, excluding any pay raises or other improvements in benefits over the past few legislative sessions, Crist said he wanted to show appreciation for state workers.

He also paid tribue to state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, who suggested the paid time off. She joined Crist at a news conference and said she’d tried for a week or two, but was glad to get employees the two days.

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