This week on Florida Matters, lawmakers talked with host Carson Cooper about the billions they cut for the 2008-2009 budget year. Then they discussed looking through special tax loopholes for more money. By Natasha Samreny

This week we bring you sounds from the University of South Floridas School of Fine Arts where a technician demonstrates the many uses of a horizontal band saw. By Kristal Roberts

Tuition for new university students is going up 6 percent this fall. Universities plan to use much of the additional money to make up state budget cuts and lower the faculty-student ratio, but some of the money is already promised. By Bobbie O'Brien

It's been a little less than a week since the state budget was finalized. Yet various institutions and agencies are still determining the effects of this year's money crunch. One example, the legislature's funding of university research projects. By Bobbie O'Brien

The first of several public hearings on developing an offshore natural gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico was held this week in Palmetto. By Steve Newborn

Florida legislators wrapped up their session last week after trimming several billion dollars from the state's budget. While millions were cut from education, a change for Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test passed legislators' tests with flying colors. By Natasha Samreny