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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A south Florida jury has ordered the State of Florida to pay $11.5 million as compensation to 58,225 residents of Broward County after the state cut down all the citrus trees in their yards in a disease-prevention effort.

Saying he's on -- a crusade to help Mayor Daley, -- Gov. Blagojevich staged a West Side rally Tuesday to unveil his $150 million plan to curb youth violence and "stop the killing."

The fate of a salary increase for state lawmakers now lies in the hands of Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), who last week said, "I need a pay raise."

BROOKLINE, Mass. - Despite a recent high-profile defeat, legislation to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts may yet come back, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday.

A major Wall Street firm agreed to return $37 million to 17 cities and towns in the state, as well as to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, after it allegedly misled them into buying investments they thought were as safe as cash.

Massachusetts lawmakers desperate for additional revenue are eyeing the endowments of deep-pocketed private colleges to bolster the state's coffers by more than $1 billion a year, asserting that the schools' rising fortunes undercut their nonprofit status.

Public colleges in North Carolina should not admit illegal immigrants as students, the state Attorney General's Office advised in a letter released Wednesday.

Citing the prospects of another lengthy state budget stalemate, state Senate leader Don Perata on Wednesday dropped his recall campaign of Sen. Jeff Denham ? a development that surprised even Denham.

Almost one-third of the money designated for programs to help educate condo owners and pay for enforcement of condo laws will be diverted for unrelated state expenses as a result of the current budget crunch.

Without $25 million in production subsidies, Florida will find it tough to lure movies and TV shows to shoot here.