The most recent research on frequency of mass shootings indicates that, while still rare, they are becoming more common, though the exact number each year can vary widely, while the number of Americans who are victims of crimes involving a firearm approaches half a million a year.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
I’ve Recovered From Covid. Why Do I Still Have to Mask Up?
As the federal government doubles down on their importance, some states have thrown caution — and face coverings — to the wind. Here are the science and motives behind the masking recommendation.
Covid-19 Daily Data for Florida and Flagler: Cases, Testing, Locations, Hospitalizations and Deaths
Florida’s and Flagler’s complete daily reports by the Health Department of Covid-19 data including county-by-county infection numbers, testing, people monitored and deaths.
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Suspension: A Doctor Explains What This Means for You
It is a testament to the emphasis by the CDC and FDA on vaccine safety that J&J vaccinations have been paused while this is studied by independent scientists and medical experts, explains Dr. William Petri in a Q&A about the J&J vaccine’s pause.
Bill Criminalizing Or Increasing Penalties for Certain Protest Activities Heads to Gov. DeSantis
The sweeping proposal, titled “Combating Public Disorder,” would create a new crime of “mob intimidation,” enhance penalties for riot-related looting and violence and create an affirmative defense for individuals who injure or kill violent protesters.
Anti-Trans Bill Clears Florida House, Barring Transgender Girls from High School and College Sports Teams
The Republican-dominated Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban transgender females from playing on girls’ and women’s high-school and college sports teams, with Democrats arguing the measure is purely political.
Court Rejects Challenge by Cities and Counties of State Law Banning Stricter Local Gun Regulations
In a win for Republican lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, an appeals court upheld a 2011 state law that threatens tough penalties if city and county officials approve gun-related regulations.
Bill Cracking Down on Protests Heads for Senate Floor Amid Outcries Over Free Speech and Discrimination
With critics warning that the bill would chill free speech and have a disparately negative impact on Black people, a key Senate committee Friday approved a controversial measure that Republicans argue is needed to crack down on violent protests.
Despite Covid and Housing Crisis, Florida Lawmakers Approve Gutting Affordable Housing Trust Fund
Lawmakers have approved a permanent, massive reduction of money earmarked for the state’s affordable housing fund. Those dollars come from documentary stamp revenues. The legislation is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for his signature.
Martin Luther King Jr’s Vision of Democratic Socialism Is Still America’s Best Guide to Realize the Dream
Martin Luther King Jr.’s democratic socialism in the authors’ view is the fusion of King’s prophetic social vision, fully including his radical critiques not only of racism but also of capitalism and militarism, with his revolutionary methods of social change.
Bill Ending Bright Futures’ Guaranteed Funding Clears Florida Senate, Upending Scholarship Program
The bill would change a system that now provides scholarships to students at either 75 percent or 100 percent of the cost of tuition and fees by making funding dependent on appropriations in the annual state budget, which eliminates guaranteed funding for students.
Florida House Set to Approve Online Sales Tax on Out-of-State Retailers That Would Raise $1 Billion
The money would initially be used to replenish the state’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, which became depleted during the Covid pandemic. After the fund is replenished, the revenue would be used to make a major cut in a tax on commercial rent.
Stop Calling It a ‘Border Crisis’
Children are being jailed in deplorable conditions where they are susceptible to heightened and enduring trauma. Meanwhile our border remains largely shuttered to adult survivors fleeing rape and horrific gender-based persecution because the new administration has yet to repeal an illegal policy implemented under the last one.
Ban on Transgender Girls in Sports, Requiring Genital Proof in Disputes, Heads for Florida House Vote
The proposal would make participation in athletics contingent on determining a student’s “biological sex,” including the requirement, in disputes, of proof of a student’s birth genitalia as certified by “a health examination and consent form.”
Bridget “Bridie” Walsh, 1934-2021
Mrs. Walsh passed away on April 1, 2021, at her home surrounded by her loving and caring family. She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on September 17, 1934, a daughter of the late Thomas and Catherine Baxter Dewar.
A Recipe for Taxing the Rich in Seven Steps
Income and wealth are now more concentrated at the top than at any time over the last 80 years, and our unjust tax system is a big reason why, argues Robert Reich. These 7 ways of taxing the rich would generate more than $6 trillion over 10 years.
Plan to Raze 4 Prisons and Eliminate 6,000 Beds Alarms Communities Attached to Jobs
A plan to shutter up to four state prisons is alarming officials in Florida’s rural regions where correctional institutions have played an outsized role in providing jobs and supporting businesses for decades.
Backed by Millions in Public and Private Cash, Rapid Covid Tests Are Coming to Stores Near You
Scientists and lawmakers agree that over-the-counter covid tests could allow desk workers to settle back into their cubicles and make it easier to reopen schools and travel, though screening accuracy varies, as does the way consumers get results.
Measure Forcing Colleges and Universities to Survey Students’ Ideological Viewpoints Set to Pass
The proposal also would prevent colleges and universities from “shielding” students, faculty and staff from any kind of speech. Opponents have argued the provision would allow groups like the Ku Klux Klan to come to campuses.
Unlike Many Republican Leaders, Gov. DeSantis Says Yes to Getting Vaccinated
According to one survey in 22 states, Republicans were being vaccinated at a little more than half the rate for Democrats. The governor is 42, and so is included among the latest cohort to become eligible.
I Want Civil Rights. They Want to Talk About Sports.
The Equality Act would extend basic civil rights protections to Queer people in housing, employment, education, and other arenas. Support tops 70 percent. Many people assume a federal law like this already exists. But in dozens of states, it’s perfectly legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Florida Lawmakers Want Their Home Addresses and Phone Numbers Kept Secret
The House and Senate are advancing proposals that would create a public-records exemption for information about lawmakers, including their home addresses and phone numbers, but opponents question how the measures would interact with a requirement that lawmakers live in their districts.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz Under Federal Investigation Over Allegation of Relationship With Minor Girl
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is under Justice Department investigation over a possible sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, The New York Times reported Tuesday evening.
Among Stingiest in the Nation for Years, Florida’s Unemployment Benefits Could Rise $100 a Week
The proposal (SB 1906), which cleared the Commerce and Tourism Committee, would lead to a range of unemployment benefits of $100 to $375 a week. That would be up from the current range of $32 to $275 a week.
Anti-Asian Hate, Enduring and Violent
As our nation grapples with its legacy of anti-Asian racism, it’s important to consider the subtler forms of racism too. Racism occurs on a spectrum, from social degradation all the way to — as we saw recently in Atlanta — mass murder.
In Florida, Companies Will Be Shielded from Covid Lawsuits, Leaving Frontline Workers to Fend for Themselves
Opponents of the bill heading for Gov. DeSantis’s signature warn it will protect corporations more than people and offers no protections for front-line workers who contracted the virus while on the job. Employees are required to use the workers’ compensation insurance system for on-the-job injuries, but claims often are getting denied.
Florida House Passes Controversial Bill Criminalizing Or Increasing Penalties for Some Acts at Protests
The sweeping bill would, among other things, create a new crime of “mob intimidation” and stiffen penalties for injuring police officers during protests that become violent. Also, it would establish an “affirmative defense” for defendants in civil lawsuits involving deaths, injuries or property damage if the injuries or damages were sustained while plaintiffs were participating “in furtherance of a riot.”
The Worst Attack on Voting Rights Since Jim Crow
Expanded voting by mail, no-excuse absentee voting, curbside voting, and early voting made the ballot box more accessible. But now, Republican lawmakers in 43 states are introducing hundreds of restrictive “voting rights” bills to roll back these measures.
Senators Drop Plan to Dock Students’ Bright Futures Awards If They Don’t Seek Profitable Degrees, But Anxiety Remains
A huge outcry included a student-led opposition campaign causing most controversial parts of the bill to be eliminated. Opponents are now focusing criticism on whether the measure will jeopardize future funding for the program.
Four Years Ago the Trump Administration Said Manatees Weren’t Endangered Anymore. Now They’re Dying in Droves.
Months after Trump’s election in 2017 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared manatees were no longer “endangered” and would be reclassified as “threatened.” Through March 5, 435 Florida Manatees have died, on pace for a year in which total deaths could top 2,000, or roughly a third of the total manatee population.
Florida GOP Pushing Ahead With Sweeping Election Changes Restricting Mail Voting and Supervisors’ Role
In a party-line vote Monday, the House Public Integrity & Elections Committee signed off on a measure that would give supervisors of elections less leeway when comparing signatures on mail-in ballots, require voters to request mail-in ballots for each general election and make it harder to submit other people’s ballots at drop boxes.
Covid Vaccine Eligibility Is a ‘Crazy Quilt’ of State Rules, Unleashing ‘Vaccine Jealousy’
The different vaccine-eligibility rules among states — and sometimes varying rules even within states — has created a mishmash. This has unleashed “vaccine jealousy” as people see friends and family in other states qualify ahead of them even if they are the same age or have the same occupation.
Democrats Call for New Senate Vote in Place of Fraudulent Election of Garcia; GOP Says No.
Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on Thursday filed felony charges against former Sen. Frank Artiles for allegedly recruiting and paying an old pal nearly $45,000 to disrupt the November election between former Democratic Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez and Republican challenger Ileana Garcia.
‘Covid Passports’? Not in Florida, Governor Declares, Threatening Sanctions Against Companies That Try It
DeSantis this week suggested he may go after companies if they require customers to show proof that they are vaccinated, saying “it’s more than just a private decision.” The governor was referring to what have been called Covid-19 passports, a phenomenon gathering momentum abroad.
Ex-Sen. Frank Artiles Criminally Charged in Election Fraud Scheme to Prop Up Sham Candidate
The Miami-Dade County state attorney has charged former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles with election fraud for allegedly propping up a sham candidate in a razor-thin Senate contest in which an incumbent Democrat was ousted by a Republican challenger in November.
Finally, the Biggest Healthcare Expansion in a Decade. Now Make It Permanent.
This victory is only one step in efforts to expand health care access. The next step is to make them permanent — or, better yet, move toward a public option or universal, Medicare for All system that doesn’t tie health care access to employment or income at all, argues Olivia Alperstein.
Overriding Florida High School Athletic Association, House Backs Banning Transgender Female Athletes
Critics of measures targeting transgender student athletes argue the proposals are rooted in fear, misunderstanding and politics as a Florida House panel on Wednesday approved a controversial proposal that would ban transgender girls and women from competing in women’s high-school and college sports.
Florida GOP Rollback of Voting Rights Triggers Uproar Among County Election Supervisors
GOP legislative leaders are pushing changes to the state’s election process that Democrats are branding as “voter suppression,” county election officials “vehemently” oppose and experts say will “disproportionately” harm Black and Hispanic voters.
The Trump Health Care Policies That Deserve to Stick Around
The Trump administration’s attempted market-based interventions shined some light on dark corners of the health market and opened the door to some workarounds. They are not meaningful substitutes for larger and much-needed health reform. But as Americans await the type of more fundamental changes the Democrats have promised, they need every bit of help they can get.
Anthony Sabatini, ‘Worst Person in the Florida Legislature,’ Launches Bid for Congress on a Lie
The man the Orlando Sentinel once called “the worst person in the Florida Legislature” (and remember, y’all, there’s hell of a lot of competition) kicked off his bid by lying, assuring incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster that he would not run against him, then filing the paperwork to run against him.
Lawmakers Still Aim to Penalize Bright Futures Recipients for Not Taking ‘Approved’ Majors
Under the amendment filed by Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, Bright Futures scholarships would be “reduced” for students who don’t choose an academic discipline deemed promising for job prospects.
Lysenko, Stalin and Trump
On the one-year mark of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s malicious, politically motivated anti-science handling of a calamity that has killed more than half a million Americans so far recalls the alliance between fake Soviet scientist Trofim Lysenko and Stalin, which led to the death of millions.
With Stimulus Dollars On the Way, Florida’s 1st-Time Unemployment Claims Fall to Lowest Level in Pandemic
The U.S. Department of Labor estimated Thursday that Florida had 16,005 initial unemployment claims filed during the week that ended March 6, down from a revised count of 19,020 claims in the week ending Feb. 27.
In Spite: DeSantis Denies Pardon for World-Acclaimed Voting Rights Leader Desmond Mead
Meade said he is a victim of political infighting between DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who, as a member of the state Board of Executive Clemency, put forward Meade’s application for a pardon in September and again on Wednesday.
Far More Than Stimulus Checks: Premiums Will Fall for Many in Biggest Obamacare Revamp in 10 Years
The proposal would ensure no one who buys insurance on the exchanges pays more than 8.5% of income. It is part of the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill. But the Affordable Care Act revamp, largest in a decade, would expire in 2022.
Guantanamo, America’s Enduring Shame
Guantánamo is a crime against humanity and there will never be any justification to rationalize why hundreds of people were held indefinitely, without trial, without due process, without international observers and without ever seeing their families and loved ones.
In Debate Over Curbing Covid Lawsuits, Lawmaker’s ‘Christian, Not an Attorney’ ‘Joke’ Rankles Senators
State Sen. Jeff Brandes said he was just joking when he said he was a “Christian, not an attorney,” but at least three senators have described Brandes’ remarks as offensive.
Essential Workers Deserve $15 an Hour
I’m one of America’s millions of essential workers. We’re working in your children’s schools, at your grocery stores, and at drive-through windows. We’re cleaning your homes. And we’re struggling so hard to make ends meet.
Biden’s Criticism of Trump Team’s Vaccine Contracts Is Mostly False
The Trump administration could have acted more quickly to buy doses or increase vaccine manufacturing capacity. And the Biden administration has certainly taken significant measures to expand supplies. But it’s stretching the truth to say the Trump administration hadn’t contracted for enough covid vaccines to inoculate the U.S. adult population.
Biden Expands Vaccination Eligibility to All Teachers, Overriding DeSantis Cut-Off at Age 50
Since vaccines first became available in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has prioritized people ages 65 and older for the sought-after shots and until recently spurned pleas to expand the state’s vaccination program to include school employees. He announced Feb. 23 that teachers ages 50 and older would have access to vaccines.