More than 1,000 Florida Power & Light workers are still up north, helping homes and businesses restore power after a double whammy:  First, Hurricane Sandy and then a powerful winter storm that blew the lights out again.

"An irrelevant laughingstock," a "benign tumor," a state that should just be "

For Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein, the re-election of President Obama wasn't a sudden disaster as much as a last straw. All over Europe and in big parts of the United States, he saw socialism on the rise and voters as its willing hostages.

Dinerstein had been watching with increasing alarm.

11/09/12 - This week on the Florida Roundup.  The election is over, but again Florida is the state that can't vote straight.  Long lines for early voting and on election night in Miami-Dade leave voters frustrated, and Florida blank on the electoral map for days.  Even without the state's results President Obama wins reelection and Florida becomes bluer - with Democrats making gains at the state and national level, while Republicans take a hit.

Among the thousands of Floridians who voted by absentee ballot are work crews sent up north to help get the power back on after Hurricane Sandy.  

Days before Hurricane Sandy hammered the northeast, hundreds of Florida Power & Light workers got in their trucks and drove north.  

The crews were deployed as part of mutual assistance partnership between FPL and utilities along the east coast.  

Methamphetamine addiction came into the spotlight recently with the TV show, Breaking Bad. Now, a Fort Lauderdale native is returning to his hometown to premiere his first film about the subject. 

The movie, Junction, premieres at Cinema Paradiso, as part of the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival. It’s a gritty portrayal of methamphetamine addicts who unravel before our eyes.

Broward has joined Miami Dade in wrapping up its final vote count.

Kurt Vonnegut fans have a lot to look forward to over the next couple of weekends. First, a performance of a chamber music piece with a libretto by the iconoclastic author, and then a discussion of a new book of his letters at the Miami Book Fair International.

The Miami-Dade absentee ballots have all been counted. And color us blue. That blank on the U.S. map usually known as Florida is now filled in. Mitt Romney has conceded Florida. Miami-Dade County itself turned out for Barak Obama in a big way. The final results are :   62% for the President and 38% for Mitt Romney. Now the attention turns to what took so long and how to prevent a repeat performance. Elections Supervisor Penelope Townsley admits more and larger locations are needed and says her department, along with the mayor's office, will examine what can be done differently.