Publication Date: March 10, 2008
Hello, and welcome to The LegisGator, the University of Florida's bi-weekly newsletter designed for members of the Gator Caucus. Delivered by e-mail every two weeks, The LegisGator is a quick read featuring UF news bites you may have missed but would like to share with your fellow lawmakers or others.
This week's spotlight:
Title: State Representative for District 11
Rep. Debbie Boyd
Gator connection:Her district includes part of Alachua County.
Background: Debbie Boyd is the Democratic Ranking Member on the Committee on Agribusiness. She also is a member of the Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs as well as the Environment and Natural Resources Council. She was elected to the House in 2006. Boyd grew up in Newberry. She served as Newberry city commissioner from 2002 to 2006. A Santa Fe Community College graduate with an associate arts degree and an associate of applied science degree in building construction management, Boyd received the National Association of Home Builders Outstanding Student Award in 2002. She is a Realtor and lives in Newberry. She worked at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for about 30 years.
News Bites
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Passage of the national economic stimulus package and state property tax amendment helped boost Florida's consumer confidence by four points to 74 in February after last month's decline to its lowest level in 16 years, a new University of Florida study reports.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A protein that helps lung cancer cells thrive appears to do so by blocking healthy cells' ability to fix themselves when radiation or chemicals such as nicotine damage their DNA, according to a University of Florida study to be published Friday (Feb. 29) in the journal Molecular Cell.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A single change in a protein may play a role in whether someone develops Parkinson's disease, say University of Florida Genetics Institute researchers writing in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- A little fertilizer can perk up a St. Augustinegrass lawn as spring arrives, but homeowners who overdo it may find they're growing more than grass. A University of Florida study suggests that repeatedly using large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer can ignite a population explosion of Southern chinch bugs-the No. 1 insect pest of St. Augustinegrass, the state's most popular turfgrass species. By IFAS writer Tom Nordlie.
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Four former governors of Florida participate in a town hall meeting with University of Florida students on Wednesday in Pugh Hall. From left are Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, Wayne Mixson and Buddy McKay. The former governors were at UF for the grand opening of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. Activities for this week's center opening have included visits from historian David McCullough and U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Va.
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