AMBLER IN THE NEWS

If these students got their way, cigarettes would be more expensive, police would drive hybrid cars and plastic foam containers wouldn't be in the school cafeterias.

About 20 high school students took turns pitching their legislative bill proposals Saturday to local politicians as part of the annual Ought to Be a Law competition hosted by state Rep. Kevin Ambler.

Legislators agreed to a new fee on Florida nursing homes Saturday, making that industry among the very few winners in the budget-cutting special session. The 5.3 percent fee on homes' revenue will be used to draw down a larger pool of federal money for a total of $166-million - enough to make up the cuts to nursing homes in all of 2008. "In the end, they should be really in good shape," said Rep. Kevin Ambler, the Tampa-area Republican and lead House negotiator in that part of the budget.

Spring Hill attorney Jason Melton is in an uphill battle against freshman Republican incumbent Robert Schenck in House District 44, which covers Hernando and portions of Pasco and Sumter counties. Melton, a 34-year-old Democrat, entered the race in September and his name will not be on the November ballot. To choose Melton, voters must cast their ballots for Joe Puglia, who left the race to care for his wife.

Lawmakers want to require driver's ed before licensing and ban cell phone use.

As legislators consider cracking down on teenage drivers in the name of safety, local 16-year-olds sitting in driver's ed classrooms have their own opinions.

State lawmakers are talking about forbidding drivers under 18 from talking on cell phones while behind the wheel. They also could make driver's education mandatory, the way it used to be in Florida.

Like a suitor who won't give up, Rep. Kevin Ambler is asking Florida lawmakers to help chaperone Internet dating again.

Ambler, R-Lutz, wants to pass a bill (HB 411) requiring dating Web sites to do a criminal background checks - or disclose that they don't - when dealing with paying Florida customers.

The sites also would have to describe how the checks were done, that the checks are incomplete, and provide safety tips.

Negotiators propose tweaks to Florida's no-fault insurance program before it expires.

Legislative negotiators hammered out a tentative deal Friday to save Florida's no-fault auto insurance program, days before it is set to expire.

The deal, which still needs approval from the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist, would extend indefinitely a law requiring all drivers to buy personal injury protection, which provides $10,000 of coverage no matter who caused the accident.

A year ago, Tracy Welsh, 35, was a drug addict diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, serving time for possession of cocaine.

Christoff Tzvetan, 40, was "chasing aliens in downtown Tampa" when he was put back in jail.

Both said their lives changed with the help of the Passport to Success program run by Gulf Coast Community Care, a division of Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services. The program helps nonviolent mentally ill adults return to the community.

A bill aims to solve fights over neighborhood rules before they're out of control.

Neighborhood rifts tend to start small - a dirty roof, a late fee payment, an overgrown lawn.

But sometimes, they spiral out, pitting homeowners against their neighborhood associations in long, expensive court battles.

The death of 15-year-old Camden Allen White, who was hit by a car while crossing the street to go to Brandon High School earlier this month, has galvanized interest in improving traffic safety outside schools - high schools in particular.

School Board chairman Jack Lamb has asked the Hillsborough legislative delegation to help steer the creation of a statewide task force through the Department of Transportation. Local funding is limited, Lamb said, and the priority always has been on the lower grades.