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In 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to read at a U.S. inauguration when he recited "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's swearing in. Since then, only three other poets have taken part in subsequent inaugural ceremonies: Maya Angelou, Miller Williams and Elizabeth Alexander. Now, there's a fifth.

Another relief bill is being offered by a Miami-Dade legislator for Florida residents who have been denied in-state college tuition rates because of their parents' immigration status.

Republican State Sen. Anitere Flores' bill (SB 180, filed Monday) is similar to a measure (HB 17) that Miami State Rep. Carlos Trujillo filed early in December.

When Gov. Rick Scott recently listed ways he thinks Florida could reduce voting difficulties and long polling lines, he drew the most attention for a change of course in suggesting that more early voting might help.

But another idea Scott raised may have more far-reaching implications for public policy in Florida, and might even be more difficult to accomplish than the politically volatile suggestion about early voting.

For artburstmiami.com

When you walk into artist Pablo Cano’s Red Velvet Theater in Little Havana, you are greeted by the most elegant of ladies — Marie Antoinette herself. The larger-than-life marionette welcomes you with her tightly corseted waist, lifted bosom and fine European lips.

Breeding numbers were down for some bird species for the third straight year in a row in the Everglades.

Nesting numbers for wading birds fell by 38 percent compared to the past decade. That's according to an annual survey compiled by the South Florida Water Management District.

Florida is missing a cheap and easy bet for improving the dental health of its children, according to a new survey.

The Pew Children's Dental Campaign gives the state a "D," mostly because it does little to make sure kids have access to decay-fighting tooth sealant programs in public schools.

The Florida Lottery is getting an image makeover to coincide with its 25th anniversary.

An audience of Bright Futures scholarship winners applauded as the new logo was unveiled at Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.

Lottery leaders showcased the new logo, which prominently features a pink flamingo.

Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell says the redesigned brand should help lure new players.

California-based StudentsFirst has released a report card grading states on their education policy.

Florida earned the second-highest grade in the country, a B-, behind only Louisiana. No state earned an A.

Still undecided about whether to repair or permanently shut down an idled nuclear-power plant, Progress Energy Florida faces the likelihood of eventually refunding up to $100 million to customers.

The refunds stem from a wide-ranging settlement agreement that Progress reached in early 2012 with representatives of consumers and business groups. Under that settlement, the utility would not have been subject to refunding money if it started repairs on the Crystal River nuclear plant by Dec. 31.

Advocates for working folk haven’t had a lot of luck establishing a right to paid sick leave in Florida.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan's proposal was defeated last year and, in Orlando, Orange County commissioners found a way to avoid a sick time referendum, even though 50,000 residents had won a ballot spot, fair and square, with their signatures on a petition.

Republican  State Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla of Miami was an early and enthusiastic supporter of cutting back Florida's early voting period from 14 to 8 days in 2011. He called it a "voter friendly" bill that would save money.

"Generally, early voting in Miami-Dade County has not been very efficient, " Diaz de la Portilla said at the time. "What you see more often than not is that there is a trickle of two or three people a day at a very high cost to keep those public libraries and polls open. ... We felt it was an efficiency measure."

Next time you go to the Everglades you'll have the option to pick up an anti-vulture kit.

The park is offering the kits so people can protect their cars against vultures during the winter months. The black vultures sometimes rip the rubber and vinyl parts--such as windshield wipers and sunroof seals--off of cars.

Yesterday we began the story of Fabienne Jean, a dancer who lost her leg in the earthquake that devastated Haiti three years ago this month. A prosthetic technician from Boston promised to help Fabienne dance again. But he didn't stop there. He wanted to help her put the rest of her life back together too. 

In the second part of our week-long series, Jacob Kushner tells us how difficult their task would become. 

Kickoff for the BCS championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame happens at 8:30 tonight. But fans from both teams have been showing their colors across Miami and South Florida all weekend.

Check out some of our favorite BCS tweets and trash talk below:

A false alarm at a shopping mall has a Palm Beach County commissioner asking if local businesses are doing enough to protect the public.

Two days before Christmas, Commissioner Shelley Vana was shopping at the Boynton Beach Mall with her five-year-old granddaughter when she heard cries of "Get down!"

Perhaps you've noticed South Florida awash in a sea of green and crimson these past few days.

The visitors are fans of Alabama and Notre Dame, which meet to decide college football's 2012 national champion tonight at Sun Life Stadium.

No matter the color of the jersey, or where they are from, no one is happier to see them than local tourism officials.

For Broward County, it means an additional 25,000 to 30,000 visitors, some for the very first time.

Evidently at its wits' end over the Burmese pythons swarming the Everglades, Florida has declared a month-long snake season for armed amateurs. They'll go into the 'Glades to compete for cash prizes by killing as many as they can.

What could possibly go wrong?

A South Florida lawmaker filed legislation Friday to repeal the law allowing the use of red light cameras, following a report earlier this week that says intersections where they're used have seen drops in crashes in most places.

Rep. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, seeks to end the use of the cameras, saying they unfairly dole out tickets to people who can't defend themselves, noting that malfunctioning cameras can't be cross-examined.

With hundreds of thousands of homes already foreclosed in Florida--and eight percent of current mortgage holders delinquent--you’d think that thousands of people would be flocking to get help.

Yet when Wells Fargo Bank invited an average of 14,000 of its troubled mortgage holders to four Home Preservations Workshops it held across the state, fewer than 300 showed up each time. 

“People are scared, ” says Barry Zigas, housing policy director for the Consumers Federation of America.

Florida is in the process of transitioning to common core standards in public schools.

The first full year of implementation is scheduled for 2014-15.

45 states and Washington, D.C. have agreed to adopt common core standards.

The standards will measure whether students across the country are reaching certain benchmarks in English, Math and Language Arts.

The earthquake that struck Haiti three years ago this month sent a concrete wall crashing down onto the 30-year-old dancer Fabienne Jean. Her right leg was crushed and had to be amputated. When Fabienne danced again, she was hailed as a symbol of Haiti’s post-earthquake recovery.

But as reporter Jacob Kushner discovered, the quest to rebuild one woman’s life would take much more than that.

Tonight you and your kin have the chance to relive an American classic in The Wizard of Oz Sing-A-Long.

The Miami Shores Fine Arts Commission partnered with O Cinema to bring a lively night of costumes, contests, prizes and, of course, singing. 

Along with Dorothy, Toto, and witches of varying degrees of wickedness, be sure to say hi to WLRN's Michael Stock. He'll be emceeing for the night. 

"Representative Wasserman Schultz is present. Representative Schultz has always been present. Representative Wasserman Schultz is present. Representative Wass--"

Sorry. I was just brushing up on 1984-style Newspeak so that I may continue my work here at the Ministry of Truth.

A little Orwellian doublethink is necessary, evidently, as we consider what is clearly a photo of Debbie Wasserman Schultz at an event  she clearly did not attend.

On the Florida Roundup: 2013 begins with the fiscal cliff averted, despite U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s vote against the agreement.   We find out whether Florida's fragile economy can "hang on" when many decisions have been kicked down the road.  

Among the more than 80 House freshmen who were sworn in this week, there were several who had been there before — including Florida Democrat Alan Grayson.

After starting his first term four years ago, Grayson quickly made a name for himself with biting comments targeting Republicans — like when he said during the health care debate: "If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly."

His national stature, however, didn't prevent him from being defeated in 2010. But now Grayson is back.

The Obama Administration has announced another significant reset of national deportation law that could allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to apply for legal residency without leaving the country.

It was another use of the president's executive power, analysts say, to soften the ground for major legislative immigration reforms ahead.

The new policy applies to immigrants who are spouses, parents or children of U. S. citizens and would otherwise face long family separations under the previous process of applying for residency.

All this week, we've been looking at the continuing foreclosure crisis sure crisis in Florida. Today, we check in back in with one woman who fears losing her home.

While there are many federal, state and private bank programs to modify troubled mortgages, each requires the lender to agree.

Unlike the more than 260 lenders in Florida who are helping, Marla Popkin’s mortgage holder won’t. Popkin is an Occupational Therapist in Miami. Work is slow and she has come into some rough times. Now she's trying to save her home.