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TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday that he may issue an executive order single-handedly restoring civil rights to felons who have completed their sentences. The announcement from the Republican governor drew applause from nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers from the legislative black caucus, known formally as the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators. -snip-

OLYMPIA — Democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation that would take a multimillion-dollar bite out of one of their party's biggest political enemies — the Building Industry Association of Washington. The move sets up a bitter showdown between the BIAW, a powerful conservative force, and the liberal Washington State Labor Council, which has been trying for years to clip the association's wings. And it comes at a time when the home-builders group is at the forefront of the state's biggest political controversy, temporarily dedicating its operations to unseating Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. Rep. Cary Condotta of Wenatchee, the ranking Republican on...

State kills flawed felon purge list BY MARY ELLEN KLAS meklas@herald.com TALLAHASSEE - Florida election officials conceded an enormous mistake Saturday and abandoned the controversial list the state was using to remove convicted felons from the state's voter rolls. The reason for the about face, after defending the list in a letter to local elections officials as late as 5 p.m. Friday: a flaw in the method fails to include most felons who classify themselves as Hispanic. Secretary of State Glenda Hood announced at 1 p.m. Saturday that an ''unintentional and unforeseen discrepancy'' in the potential felon database ''related to...