Gov. Ron DeSantis took a wisely cautious approach on reopening, but his caution contrasted with his ridicule of models that predicted grim outcomes for Florida in March. His criticism reflects a simplistic misunderstanding of models’ purpose, especially when they have their intended effect: to minimize loss of life.
Florida & Beyond, and All Opinions
Florida Supreme Court Weighs Wording of Recreational Marijuana Ballot Proposal
An attorney for Make It Legal Florida, said the proposal “piggybacks” on a system resulting from a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the state. Lawmakers and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce trying to block the measure.
Why You Can’t Always Trust Your Coronavirus Antibody Test Results
There are questions about how accurate antibody tests are. And even with a very good test, it’s possible to test positive for antibodies even when you don’t actually have them. Watch this video to learn why.
Florida Regulators Issue Permissive Rules for Restaurants In Reopening Steps
Servers and other employees won’t be counted toward limits on occupancy when restaurants reopen Monday under coronavirus guidelines, the state’s top business regulator said.
FPL Customers’ Bills Will Drop 24% in May, Resulting from Lower Fuel Costs
The savings stem from lower-than-expected costs for natural gas to fuel power plants. Utilities are required to pass along savings to customers when fuel costs drop, but the money typically goes to customers gradually.
How Many Deaths Can We Live With?
The coronavirus emergency is raising ethical questions as communities reopen: how many deaths are we willing to live with, and whose deaths? The questions are at the heart of the debate on reopening, but are not being confronted honestly.
Anti-Vaccine Activists Latch Onto Coronavirus To Bolster Their Movement
While most of the world hungers for a vaccine to put an end to the death and economic destruction wrought by COVID-19, some anti-vaccine groups are joining with anti-lockdown protesters to challenge restrictions aimed at protecting public health.
Millions of People Face Stimulus Check Delays for a Strange Reason: They Are Poor
The IRS has had trouble getting money to people quickly because millions of Americans pay for their tax preparation through a baroque system of middlemen.
Florida Jobless Claims Nearly Triple to Over Half a Million in a Week, U.S. Unemployment Over 16%
More than one in 10 new jobless claims–505,137 first-time applications of the 4.4 million new claims–across the United States last week were made to Florida’s overwhelmed unemployment system.
American Carnage: How Donald Trump Is Killing Us
The coronavirus has mutated into ideological variants. We are moving from a natural disaster to a man-made one, from statistically unavoidable deaths to deaths willed by indifference, ignorance, selfishness, and the political calculations of a single man. The consequences will compound rather than mitigate the pandemic.
113 Prisoners Test Positive for Covid-19, 47 of them at Volusia’s Tomoka Correctional
Along with the 113 inmates, 80 corrections workers had tested positive for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Four inmates had also died, all at Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Santa Rosa County.
Only 4% of Florida’s Unemployed Have Received Checks Since Losing Their Jobs
The state’s benefit checks of $275 a week remain among the stingiest in the nation. Separately, 23,801 checks have gone out to people who have qualified for federal money under a new federal stimulus law. The federal payments go up to $600 a week.
Trump’s Covid-19 Power Grab
The real hoax is Trump’s commitment to America, argues Robert Reich. In reality he will do anything – anything – to hold on to power. In his mind, the coronavirus crisis is just another opportunity.
Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s “Poll Tax” on Felon Voting Rights Expanded to Hundreds of Thousands
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued an order last week after saying he intended to grant class certification to plaintiffs, who allege that the 2019 law amounts to an unconstitutional “poll tax.”
Coronavirus Traffic Lull Is Accelerating Work on I-4’s Widening Project, Now Nearly a Year behind Schedule
The $2.3 billion project is more than 250 days behind schedule. Sections of the massive Interstate 4 “Ultimate” project will see accelerated work as the state takes advantage of a coronavirus-created reduction in traffic.
Crush of Initial Claims Push U.S. Unemployment Rate Past 10%, Florida’s Past 7% and Rising
Initial unemployment claims totaled 6.6 million for the week ending April 4 across the nation, and 169,885 in Florida. In the last three weeks, initial claims have totaled 16.8 million in a labor force of 163 million. That equates to an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent, a rate never reached during the Great Recession.
It Was Never a Strong Economy For the Working Poor. Now’s the Time to Change That.
The coronavirus crisis is laying bare how record low unemployment and a booming stock market helped conceal the still weak levels of household wealth, public infrastructure, and overall socio-economic fragility of most Americans.
Jury Trials and All Other Non-Critical Court Proceedings Suspended at Least Until June
The order extended the suspension of criminal and civil jury trials, jury selection and grand-jury proceedings through May 29. It said circuit and county courts will “continue to perform essential court proceedings.”
Pat Ryan, 1932-2020
Pat Ryan, age 87, passed away on Saturday, April 4, 2020 at her residence in Palm Coast, Florida.
Fox News’ Jesse Watters Said Travel Bans ‘More Critical In Saving Lives’ Than COVID Testing. He’s Wrong.
Travel restrictions are most effective in combating viral spread if they are accompanied by targeted, robust testing and quarantining, which are the areas in which the Trump administration stumbled.
Where Religion Trumps Science as Pastors Keep Holding In-Person Services During Coronavirus
Top scientists and public health experts have warned that religious services appear to be particularly conducive to COVID-19 transmission, with multiple documented cases of spread in houses of worship across the globe.
Citing Emergency Powers, DeSantis Wants Lawsuit Disputing Beach Closures Tossed Out
The lawsuit was filed by Santa Rosa Beach lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder amid debate about whether groups of beachgoers — including spring break crowds of college students — have worsened the spread of COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
Stay Home. And Be Angry.
It’s important to remember we’re doing this in part because the people at the top screwed up. Meanwhile, millions are losing jobs, while others put themselves at risk working outside the home because they can’t afford not to.
Covidnotes: Voyager
If it’s perspective we’re looking for in the age of coronavirus, we could do worse than looking to Voyager 1 and 2, emissaries from Florida in another century, whose language and distance remind us of our random place in the universe.
Labor Groups Plead: Florida’s $275-a-Week Unemployment Checks, Among Lowest in Nation, Aren’t Enough
Union representatives and workers warned of a “massive wave of unemployment” hitting the state as they called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to expand jobless benefits.
CDC Bungling of Coronavirus Testing Likely To Haunt Nation For Months To Come
The CDC distributed just 200 tests roughly equally to 100 public health labs in all 50 states in early February. That decision presaged weeks of chaos, in which the availability of COVID-19 tests seemed oddly out of sync with where testing was needed.
Florida Prisons Stop Accepting New Inmates from Counties
The decision to curtail the flow of inmates into the state prison system, which houses roughly 96,000 offenders, comes a week after Department of Corrections officials canceled visitation until April 5.
Lawmakers Agree on $92 Billion Budget; Teacher Pay Increase Falls $400 Million Short of DeSantis Goal
Lawmakers agreed to put $400 million toward raising teachers’ minimum salaries and $100 million into giving veteran teachers pay hikes. DeSantis wanted $602 million to set a statewide $47,500 minimum salary for all public school teachers and $300 million for a new teacher bonus program.
In Stunning Reversal, Florida Supreme Court Rules Juvenile Prison Sentences May Exceed 20 Years
The 4-1 decision stunned public defenders, who expressed concern not only about its implications for juvenile sentencing but also about a reshaped court emboldened to revisit issues the legal community had considered settled.
Thursday Briefing: Tattoo Parlor Regulations in Flagler Beach, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. at the Auditorium, Bi-Lingualism
The Flagler Beach Commission considers tattoo parlor zoning regulations, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., original stars and lead singers of the The 5th Dimension, at the Auditorium.
Florida’s Public Universities Ordered to Shift to Online Instruction Only in Response to Coronavirus
As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread, “it has become clear that to protect the students and the residents of our state, proactive rather than reactive guidance to universities is necessary,” officials with the state university system said in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon.
Gov. DeSantis Declares Coronovirus State of Emergency, Broadening Powers
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency that would broaden his powers to respond to the novel coronavirus, including allowing him to deploy National Guard troops if necessary.
Tuesday Briefing: Superintendent Choice, Florida Park Drive, Palm Coast Survey Results, Bombing
The Flagler school board picks a new superintendent, there may be some live bombing in the Ocala forest, the Palm Coast council again takes up Florida Park Drive and discusses the latest survey of residents.
$500 Million for Teacher Raises, $100 Million for Florida Forever
The $100 million planned for Florida Forever isn’t the $300 million the program annually received more than a decade ago, but it’s a boost for supporters of the program, which got $33 million during the current fiscal year.
Florida House Speeding Toward Proposal to Allow Stadium-Wide Prayers at High School Games
Amid a long-running legal battle, the Florida House on Friday moved forward with a proposal that could allow schools to offer prayers over public-address systems before events such as high-school championship football games.
Showing No Signs of Infection Yet, U.S. Economy Adds 273,000 Jobs, Unemployment at 3.5%
Not yet showing signs of disruption from the coronavirus, the national economy in February added 273,000 jobs, leaving the unemployment rate where it’s hovered, at 3.5 percent, for the past four months.
DeSantis Favors Senate Bill That Would Require All Public and Many Private Employers to E-Verify
All public employers including school districts, state agencies and public universities and private employers with at least 50 employees would have to use the federal system, or one that the state Department of Economic Opportunity deems is “substantially equivalent” to E-Verify.
Thursday Briefing: Equal Pay, Superintendent Interviews, Flagler PAL Open House
The school board interviews the four superintendent candidates, then the candidates meet the public in a meet-and-greet, a Flagler PAL open house, “The Women.”
Full House and Senate Will Vote on Requiring ‘Moment of Silence’ in Schools
The Senate Rules Committee on Monday signed off on a bill (SB 946) that would direct principals and teachers to give students up to two minutes each day to reflect on anything they want.
Stop Cloaking Bigotry in Veils of ‘Religious Freedom’
A Supreme Court case could open the door to even more legal discrimination in the name of religious freedom. The intolerant should rethink their claim to piety and morals, which contradict their ends.
Once Again, Vacation Rental Plan to End Local Regulation Falters Over Committee Hurdles
The Senate Rules Committee was scheduled to hear the bill (SB 1128) Monday, but bill sponsor Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, said the measure was postponed because he lacked the support necessary to get it out of the committee.
State Labs in Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa Now Testing For Coronavirus
State laboratories in Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa can conduct tests instead of sending samples to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labs in Atlanta.
Secrecy and Stinginess Undermine Florida’s Claim To be Doing All It Can Against Coronavirus
Gov. DeSantis won’t say whether Florida residents are among those tested for coronavirus, and the state will not be providing free testing to people who are uninsured or underinsured.
Standoff Over Age and Tobacco Definition Could Doom Vaping Regulations
Florida House Speaker José Oliva is balking at raising the age to purchase cigarettes and vaping products to 21, despite a federal law, and would not identify vaping and e-cigarettes as “tobacco products.”
Thursday Briefing: How To Wash Your Hands, Cline’s A1A Art, ‘Romeo and Juliet’
City Repertory Theatre’s and the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” kicks off, a coronovirus reminder on how to wash your hands, Scenic A1A Art by Carla Cline.
Major $1.8 Billion FPL Solar Expansion Sparks Controversy Over Billing
FPL customers would be able to voluntarily pay more on their electric bills to finance the 20 solar-plant expansion and would receive credits that would result in them getting a “payback” in about seven years.
Tuesday Briefing: FTI’s Jalyn Clavizzao, Dune Restoration, Superintendent Search, Real Socialists, Hotel California at Auditorium
An explanatory meeting on the dunes restoration project in Flagler Beach, an Eagles tribute band at the Auditorium, Jens Bjørneboe explains why businessmen are the real socialists, FTI’s Jalyn Clavizzao.
Attorneys Urge Florida Supreme Court to Rethink Decision Making Unanimous Verdicts Unnecessary
Pointing to “evolving standards of decency,” attorneys for a Death Row inmate have asked the Florida Supreme Court to reconsider a major ruling that said unanimous jury recommendations are not necessary before death sentences can be imposed.
Lessons from the Border
Even if people know a little about the border with Mexico, many Americans simply have no idea about the U.S. policies that have created the displacement crisis, including American support for a criminal Honduran president.
Weekend Briefing: Native American Fest, ‘The Witness’ at Playhouse, Mardi Gras Pet Parade
“The Witness,” a Story of Racism in 1960s St. Augustine, at the Flagler Playhouse, the Flagler County Humane Society presents the 1st annual Mardi Gras Pet Parade at Central Park, Linda Cole Sunday Jazz Rendezvous.