Palm Coast is focusing on the positive: scoring $54.6 million out of $59.6 million in legislative requests, not including more than $1 million to be earmarked for a new YMCA in the city.
Florida
Tampa Is Latest City to Unveil Climate Action Plan, Tapping Tax Credits
Tampa’s plan comes just days after two federal agencies released guidance that will for the first time allow local and state governments and nonprofit organizations to access clean energy tax credits that come from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, which contained nearly $370 billion in climate provisions.
Surveying Why Visitors Choose Florida
A University of Florida survey examined the various factors involved in visitor decision-making and found that social media plays a huge role in why people visit Florida.
As Florida Floods Private Schools with Public Money, Schools Raise Tuition to Capitalize
The Florida allocation of public money per private school student is expected to be about $8,000 a year — more than some private schools were charging for annual tuition. As a result, some private schools raised their prices.
Once a Model of Independence, Florida’s Judicial Nominating Process Is Now an Irrelevant Farce
Veteran prosecutor Victoria Avalon, a Florida Supreme Court candidate, warned that the judicial nominating process that once was a model of independence under Gov. Reubin Askew has been politicized to the point of irrelevance by Republican governors since Jeb Bush, with all picks pre-ordained.
Florida Republicans Think Trump Did Nothing Wrong
Florida’s Republican establishment raced to the defense of former President Donald Trump following his indictment this week, with Gov. Ron DeSantis denouncing “an uneven application of the law depending on political affiliation.”
Anti-Trans Politicians Take Pages from Nazi Playbook
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders are following the Nazi playbook, substituting transgender youth for the Jews. They industriously promote hatred, fear, and physical revulsion of this small group — also barely 1 percent of the population — and pretend it’s out of concern for children.
Lawyers Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Halt Duane Owen’s Killing, Arguing Mental Incompetence
Attorneys for convicted murderer Duane Owen on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block his execution, after Florida courts rejected arguments that he was not mentally competent to be put to death.
Trump Indictment: 37 Felony Counts in Classified Documents Probe
According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret and other sensitive national security documents from his presidency and concealed those documents even from his own lawyers, who sought to comply with a federal order to return them.
Appeals Court Will Decide Whether DeSantis Violated Public Records Law in Migrant Flights Case
A state appeals court Tuesday will hear arguments in a dispute about whether Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration violated Florida’s public-records law by not properly providing documents about a controversial plan to fly migrants from Texas to Massachusetts last year.
DeSantis Lawyers Tell Court That Bill Targeting Drag Shows Doesn’t Target Drag Shows
State lawyers filed arguments Friday as U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell prepares to hold a hearing Tuesday on a motion by operators of the Orlando restaurant Hamburger Mary’s for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the law, which DeSantis signed last month.
Take Pride
This Pride Month, there’s not much to be proud of in people who to this day would rather burn than raise the Pride Flag. It’s about time it replaced all those MIA flags in school yards and at courthouses. LGBTQ victims, unlike the mythical missing, are real, and they’re piling up.
To Survive Poverty, Prayer Helped. But So Did Government.
In Florida, I worked three jobs — not enough to make ends meet, but enough to disqualify me from food stamps and cash assistance. Politicians who cut our safety net say these strict rules encourage work, but for me it was the opposite.
DeSantis Lifts Hold on Killing of Duane Owen as Attorneys Battle Over Competence
Gov. Ron DeSantis has lifted a temporary hold on the planned June 15 execution of convicted murderer Duane Owen, as attorneys for Owen and the state continue to battle at the Florida Supreme Court about whether he is mentally competent to be put to death.
Voters Approved an Amendment For Racial Equity in Districts. DeSantis Wants It Ignored.
A lawsuit filed by voting-rights groups focuses a Jacksonville-area district that helped elect Black Democrat Al Lawson until a DeSantis plan redrew it and installed two white Republicans instead. Now DeSantis is asking a court to ignore a 2010 constitutional amendment requiring “Fair Districts.”
A Memorial Month for Our Rights
Tuesday begins a month of memorial days as we watch our Supreme Court continue to roll back those very rights soldiers died for, trampling them more effectively than any enemy foreign or, for the most part, domestic, ever has.
A Trans Teen No Longer Feels Welcome in Florida. So She Left.
Josie moved more than a thousand miles from St. Augustine — and her parents — to start a new life in Rhode Island to escape a state where Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP Legislature politicized and passed policies that de-legitimize and demonize trans people.
The Supreme Court Just Plundered Wetlands Protection
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Sackett v. EPA that federal protection of wetlands encompasses only those wetlands that directly adjoin rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. This is an extremely narrow interpretation of the Clean Water Act that could expose many wetlands across the U.S. to filling and development.
DeSantis from Governor’s Mansion to Presidential Run
Now that Gov. Ron DeSantis has filled out the federal paperwork to officially become a 2024 candidate for president of the United States, here’s a chronicle of the trajectory of DeSantis’ tenure, from moving into the governor’s mansion on Jan. 8, 2019, to a presidential run, as compiled by the Florida Phoenix.
Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new rule that will lead to Florida officials publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that have drawn public objections, in a move that the board’s chairman said will “provide transparency for our families.”
DeSantis Names Meredith Sasso, Another Federalist Society Apostle, to Supreme Court
Continuing to mold a conservative Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday named Meredith Sasso, another Federalist Society faithful, to succeed former Justice Ricky Polston, who stepped down in March.
Law Requiring Later School Start Times Is Causing Significant Push-Back from Local Boards
Several members of the Flagler County school board as elsewhere in Florida districts are not thrilled by the late start time for middle schools, or the earlier start for elementary schools. Opposition is focused on expected additional costs.
Joe Jacquot Latest DeSantis Acolyte Appointed to New College Board
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Joe Jacquot to the New College of Florida Board of Trustees, after the Florida Senate failed to confirm a previous trustee tapped by the governor.
At 2.9%, Flagler Unemployment Continues in Same Low Range for 13th Month, With More than 50,000 Employed
For 13 months running, Flagler County’s unemployment rate has remained steady, fluctuating by a few decimal points between 2.6 and 3.4 percent. In April, it was 2.9 percent in the seasonally unadjusted calculation the state’s labor department released today.
DeSantis Will Announce His Presidential Bid From Dunedin
Gov. Ron DeSantis expects to announce his candidacy for president after Memorial Day and from his hometown of Dunedin, the more conservative part of what has been considered a politically moderate county.
A Federal Lawsuit Is Filed Against Florida School District, Calling Book Bans Unconstitutional
The lawsuit is against the Escambia County School District and its local school board. Plaintiffs include PEN America, powerhouse publisher Penguin Random House, several authors, and parents of children. A remedy: Return books to school library shelves, particularly books considered “targeted,” according to the lawsuit.
Nearing Presidential Run, DeSantis Signs Series of Anti-LGBTQ Bills Critics Call ‘Slate of Hate’
With LGBTQ advocates decrying it as a “slate of hate,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a suite of bills that will prohibit or limit medical care for transgender people, prevent minors from attending drag shows and impose restrictions on which bathrooms trans people can use.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Wants Supreme Court to Kill Recreational Pot Initiative
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has submitted ballot language to the Florida Supreme Court for a proposed 2024 constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida. She also informed the court that she opposes the measure.
Federal Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against Andrew Gillum Weeks After Mistrial
Less than two weeks after a mistrial, federal prosecutors on Monday filed a motion to dismiss conspiracy and fraud charges against former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum.
DeSantis Signs Most Restrictive Bill Against Undocumented Migrants in the Country
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what both he and his critics agree is the strongest anti-illegal immigration bill passed by any state legislature in the country on Wednesday. Speaking in Jacksonville behind a podium with a sign reading, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” the governor blasted the president for the large influx of undocumented immigrants that has occurred across the U.S.-Mexican border over the past couple of years.
At Charter School, DeSantis Signs Bills Against Teacher Unions and For School Board Term Limits
The bill (SB 256) bars public sector unions, including those for teachers but not for police or firefighters that tend to support the governor, from deducting dues from members’ paychecks, requiring employees to write checks instead. Furthermore, unions’ membership would have to constitute 60% of a bargaining unit, an increase from the old threshold of 50%.
DeSantis, On a Death Run, Signs 4th Execution Warrant in Less Than 4 Months
Duane Owen, 62, is scheduled to die by lethal injection June 15 in the murder of Georgianna Worden, who was bludgeoned with a hammer and sexually assaulted in her Boca Raton home in May 1984, according to the death warrant and court records.
Rick Scott Wants Full-Time Armed Security in Every School in the Country
Sen. Rick Scott has filed federal legislation that would create a block grant program to be run through the Department of Justice to support hiring law enforcement officers to provide full-time security at every K-12 school in the country.
Later Start Time for Middle and High School Students in Flagler Means Earlier Start for Younger Ones
A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would ban school start times before 8:30 a.m. for high schools and 8 a.m. for middle schools, starting in the 2026-27 school year. The Flagler County School Board had been reconsidering its own start times–but in the other direction. Now, it may be faced with making tough choices regarding elementary-school start times, which would go from latest to earliest starting times in the county.
Imagining life in DeSantistan
In Caseytown, Desantistan, it’s Jan. 6, 2028, a year since Ron DeSantis declared himself President for Life, making this country the freest America in America, if not the world. Let’s recap.
Andrew Gillum Acquitted on Lying Charge, Mistrial Declared on Conspiracy and Fraud Charges
After five days of rocky deliberations, jurors on Thursday acquitted former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum on charges of lying to federal investigators but were unable to reach a verdict on conspiracy and fraud charges.
Bill Banning Books During Challenges and Banning Preferred Pronouns Ready for DeSantis Signature
The bill restricts the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, expands last year’s “don’t say gay” prohibitions to eighth grade, and makes banning books and instructional materials easier, with simpler forms and a requirement that challenged materials to be removed from schools within five days of the objection, until the challenge is resolved.
Bill Prohibiting College and University Decisions Based on Diversity Criteria Heads to DeSantis
Colleges and universities could soon be prohibited from requiring “political loyalty” tests for students and employees as a condition of admission or employment, under a measure passed Tuesday by the Senate.
Florida House Approves Lowering Age to Buy Assault Rifles to 18, Reversing Ban Passed After Parkland Massacre
The Florida House passed a measure that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other “long” guns, voting to scrap a high-profile change passed after a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. House bill sponsor Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, said the measure “corrects the wrong we did in 2018.”
How ‘Decorum’ Masks Discrimination
Republicans from Tennessee to Tallahassee to Tacoma struggle manfully to stop those rule-breakers who would keep disrupting white men’s God-ordained exercise of unchecked power. You know the kind: gays; transgender types; students; immigrants; women; Blacks. They’re getting uppity. They’re breaking the rules.
Florida Legislature Is About to Repeal All Local Tenant Bill of Rights Ordinances
As rent costs rise dramatically in Florida, dozens of cities and counties have been passing ordinances — often called tenant “bill of rights” — to give some protections to renters. But the Legislature is now looking to eliminate those ordinances.
With Travis Hutson Cheering, Bill Upending Flagler’s Vacation-Rental Controls Clears Last Hurdle Before Vote
The success of the vacation-rental bill sharply scaling back local regulation this year is a blow to Flagler County government, which was a leader in pushing for the 2014 regulations providing for local control, and has pushed back against attempts to weaken them since. The Flagler County Commission made preserving the 2014 law a legislative priority every year since.
Ron DeSantis Is in a War With Disney He Cannot Win
DeSantis is on an utterly pointless crusade, revealing a petty, petulant personality motivated by revenge and a pathological need to prove he is correct. It can’t even be disguised as a matter of principle when it’s so clearly ego run amok.
Disney Monorail Is Next on DeSantis Hit List
The Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, chaired by Travis Hutson, who represents Flagler County, on Tuesday amended a transportation bill (SB 1250) to apply Department of Transportation safety standards to monorail lines that connect Walt Disney World resorts and parks.
On Paul Renner’s Request, House Will Subpoena Trans Treatment Information
The decision to issue the subpoenas is among a series of moves by lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration targeting transgender people and the LGBTQ community. A lawmaker criticized the move as reminiscent of the Johns Committee, a Florida legislative investigative panel that sought to expose communists and gay people at state universities in the 1950s and 1960s.
In Florida, We Are All Child Abusers Now
The Florida Legislature is legalizing a Jim Crow-like system of punishing, demonizing and denying the existence of LGBTQ children. Few sessions of the Florida Legislature provided the legal framework for as much state-sponsored and citizen-empowered terrorism against children as this one.
It’s The Guns
They’re the constituents our elected officials value the most. To most of our lawmakers, guns need careful handling. Not because they’re instruments of death, but because they’re holy and blameless chalices of liberty.
Vote to End Diversity Programs in Florida Colleges and Universities Set Before Senate
A measure that seeks to prevent colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is ready to go before the full Senate amid strong objections from Democrats, with one Black senator calling the proposal “racist at its core.”
Chinese-Americans Fear Hate Crimes as Discriminatory Bill Advances in Florida Legislature
A legislative proposal would ban the sale of agriculture land and property within 20 miles of military bases and other critical infrastructure facilities to interests tied to the Chinese government and six other “countries of concern.”
Where DeSantis Goes and Who He Sees Is None of Your Business: Lawmakers Approve Secrecy
The Florida Senate on Wednesday approved a controversial measure that would shield travel records of the governor and other state leaders. The proposal also would withhold from the public names of certain guests at the governor’s mansion.