Florida’s Dennis Baxley, a Republican member of the Florida House representing the Ocala region, made the startling comparison of lesbian moms to abusers and dysfunctional parents during a House subcommittee meeting on middle school reforms this week.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
XBox Murders Ringleader Victorino Closer to Execution as He Loses Supreme Court Appeal
Troy Victorino lost his latest appear in a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court Thursday. He was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder and numerous other charges, including the abuse of a dead human body, and sentenced to death for the killings at a Deltona home in 2004.
“Girl Rising”: Karen Barchowski’s Movie Event for Palm Coast, In Education’s Name
Karen Barchowski, the co-owner of Sally’s Ice Cream in Flagler Beach, succeeded through word of mouth and more than a little conviction in organizing one showing of “Girl Rising,” the groundbreaking documentary about the importance of girls’ education, at Epic Theater in Palm Coast on Oct. 13.
Senate Proposal Would Bar “Aggressors” From Using Stand Your Ground; Approval Unlikely
Prompted by a national outcry over George Zimmerman’s acquittal this summer in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a Florida Senate committee gave approval to minor changes in the state’s “stand your ground” law. But whether a Legislature dominated by gun-loving lawmakers will ultimately sign off on a bipartisan compromise remains a long shot.
Kathleen Sebelius to Florida Legislature: That $51 Billion Offer Is Still Good for the Taking
Kathleen Sebelius has visited Florida half a dozen times since June, trying to get the word out to the state’s millions of uninsured to sign up for a health plan., but she hopes the Florida Legislature reverses its opposition to expanding Medicaid and accepting $51 billion over the next 10 years.
Assisted Living Facilities Beware: State Looking to Shut Down Unlicensed Operations
A Florida Senate panel Tuesday instructed the Agency for Health Care Administration to draft legislation — fast — that would allow the state to shut down unlicensed assisted-living facilities as quickly as possible.
Bank of America Robber Kevin Cotterman Is Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison, No Parole
Kevin Cotterman, the 42-year-old serial bank robber who stole $805 from the Palm Coast Bank of America branch on Palm Coast Parkway in May 2012, was sentenced today (Oct. 8) to 15 years in prison, with no possibility of parole, by Flagler County Circuit Judge J. David Walsh.
Should Cops Have Power to Track You in Real Time Through Cell Phones? Court Will Decide.
Grappling with privacy rights amid fast-changing technology, the Florida Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a challenge to police using “real-time” cell-phone information to track a suspect in a drug case.
Fast-Tracking Executions Proves Slower than Expected Under “Timely Justice Act”
The new law designed to fast-track executions in Florida, called the Timely Justice Act, will not spark a flurry of executions after all even as 132 convicts have been certified as being partially “warrant ready” to be killed, perhaps dashing some lawmakers’ expectations.
A Confederacy of Choices: Marketplace Plans Vary Widely In Costs, In Counties And Across U.S.
Consumers shopping in the new health insurance marketplaces will face a bewildering array of competing plans in some counties and sparse options in other places, with people in some areas of the country having to pay much more for the identical level of coverage than consumers elsewhere.