Kudos to the local officials who helped facilitate the Florida Technical College expanding its operations by opening a new campus in Kissimmee, on West Vine Street.

Beginning at 5 p.m. today, the college will celebrate the grand opening of that campus, which will help educate local residents for jobs in growing professions. Any new use of empty space along West Vine Street is welcome news. Situated at Osceola Square Mall, the college will offer programs in healthcare, business, beauty, culinary arts and other higher-demand careers.

Kudos also to the Osceola County Commission and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office for beginning to look at the the issue of pain management clinics, or pill mills, in the unincorporated areas of the county. We believe Osceola County government needs to develop an ordinance – just as the city of St. Cloud is doing and Orange and Polk counties did last year – for getting control of this activity. A county moratorium on the licensing of pain management clinics would be a good idea and a good first step.

We also applaud Gov. Rick Scott for establishing a multi-agency strike force for combating illegal drug activity in Florida – including prescription drugs – by helping local law enforcement. If all the statistics being cited by the governor and local law enforcement authorities are correct – and we have no reason to doubt them – then getting control of pill mills on the state level is long overdue.

Scott said the new anti-drug initiative addresses the multiple threats to public health and safety, including “pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, unscrupulous doctors, storefront pill mills masquerading as legitimate health clinics and street corner dealers.”

As the governor said, the numbers show that Florida has a serious problem that demands a serious, coordinated law enforcement response. We certainly agree with that assessment.

Kudos also to the county' Tourist Development Council for recommending several important changes to its governance Tuesday. We agree that more representation is needed from the lodging sector on the council and that term limits for both appointees and chairmen are appropriate.