The St. Petersburg Times this morning reported that Governor Crist has announced the launch of a new statewide prescription drug discount plan (read the St. Pete Times article here).

According to the article, eligible citizens will include people under 60 years old who fall under 300% of the federal poverty level who do not have prescription drug coverage; people over the age of 60 with no drug coverage, regardless of income; and people covered under Medicare Part D who have reached the initial coverage limit, or "doughnut hole".

ENROLL ONLINE or by calling 1-866-341-8894 or TTY 1-866-763-9630.

The Presidential Preference Primary (say that three times fast!) is coming up quickly - January 29, 2008 will be here before we know it.

Do you need to register to vote or change your party affiliation? Better do so now, because the book closing for this election (the date when your forms must be received or postmarked by) is December 31, 2007. More information can be found at the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections website.

Holiday hustle and bustle got you stressed? Avoid the lines at the post office - The U.S. Postal Service offers FREE package pickup!

According to this press release, Governor Crist is moving his "open government" initiative forward in part by partnering with Google to make more state government information available via the popular search engine. State agencies whose records were formerly hidden from the search engine will now be more accessible.

Open enrollment for Medicare Part D starts today! If you are newly eligible or need to change your plan, you can compare plans at the Medicare website.

Are you a holder of one of the nearly 74,000 State Farm home policies that will be dropped in the coming year? Perhaps you are curious to discover what other insurance companies are writing policies in your area. Find information about homeowner's insurance at this site established by the state government to help citizens find coverage.

Looking for a government website, but getting too many questionable results using Google? Try Google's Government Search, which searches across federal, state and local government websites.

A great place to start (or continue) your job search can be found at Employ Florida. This site allows you to create a resume and search jobs throughout the state, including government and private sector jobs.

When trying to access the online application for food stamps in Florida (also known as ACCESS Florida), please make sure you are:

1. Using Internet Explorer (it will sometimes work in other browsers, but not all the time);
2. Turning OFF the Pop-Up Blocker; and
3. Writing down the ACCESS Florida online number the site assigns to you and making sure you either remember or write down the password you choose. This is how you get back in to your application if you can't finish it in one sitting or you need to make changes to your application.

If you are unable to complete the application on the computer, there are print applications available from their website. Click here to access them.

The list of e-government services can be found here. My del.icio.us tags are here (and on the sidebar ------> as well).