The final report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol includes chilling sections about the force of extremist groups from Florida that formed an alliance, traveled to Washington, D.C., and stormed the Capitol.
Florida
New Smyrna Beach Weighs Development Moratorium in Wake of Storms. Shouldn’t All Coastal Florida?
Moratorium: Using this word in Florida is like that scene in “A Christmas Story” where Ralphie says a word that he shouldn’t and gets his mouth washed out with a bar of Lifebuoy soap. But the sense that sprawl is out of control is springing up all over, not just Deltona and New Smyrna Beach.
Acceding to DeSantis, Florida Supreme Court Impanels Grand Jury to Investigate Vaccines
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday approved a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate alleged wrongdoing related to Covid-19 vaccines.
DeSantis Stokes Culture Wars at the Expense of Bright Schools and Free Speech
The culture war battles being waged in Florida are not only doing lasting damage to the public education system but to the basic constitutional rights of all Floridians. Freedom of speech protects the right to freedom of conscience, debate ideas and question authority.
Florida Ranks Poorly in Social Capital, Personal Freedom and Governance in Milken Center Report
Florida ranks 31st in overall prosperity according to the American Dream Prosperity Index (ADPI), 47th in social capital and 37th in personal freedoms, significantly lower marks than Gov. Ron DeSantis has been giving himself.
Democracy Has Its Place, But Apparently Not at the Florida Capitol
Determined to keep the Free State of Florida the most incredibly free in the Land of the Free where freedom rings 24/7, Gov. Ron DeSantis is going to stop loud, tacky, possibly gay people from waltzing into his Capitol to “protest.”
Sen. Marco Rubio Wants TikTok Banned. His Bill Has Bi-Partisan Support.
Two years after former President Donald Trump called for a ban on TikTok, Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio this week introduced legislation that would impose a national ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform that has become immensely popular with young Americans.
DeSantis Picks 4 Judges for Revamped 5th District Court of Appeal, Which Hears Flagler Cases
DeSantis named Florida Gaming Control Commission Chairman John MacIver, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Paige Kilbane, Duval County Circuit Judge Adrian Soud and Putnam County Judge Joseph Boatwright to serve on the appellate court, which will hear cases from a large swath of North Florida and Central Florida.
Flagler County Unemployment Rate of 3.2% Stays Where It’s Been Most of the Year
Flagler County’s labor force reached nearly 51,000 in August and October, falling back modestly to 50,676 in November, with an employed labor force of 49,000, out of a population of about 120,000, and 1,600 unemployed people.
Ten Big Issues in Florida’s Just-Enacted Insurance Overhaul
Florida lawmakers this week held a special session and passed a 105-page bill aimed at stabilizing the state’s troubled property-insurance system. The bill (SB 2-A) deals with numerous issues, including lawsuits, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and critical reinsurance coverage. Here are 10 key issues that lawmakers addressed.
Perry Mitrano Elected Flagler’s REC Chair, Defeating Renner-Backed Jill Woolbright By Big Margin
Internal party elections are not ordinarily newsworthy. This one, however, reflects political dynamics that reverberate beyond the party and the county, especially as Republicans control all but a handful of Flagler’s elected seats, when Renner is House speaker, and in his last term, and when Republicans are cleaved by fierce divisions, in Flagler as elsewhere, over the direction of their party.
Florida GOP and Insurance Companies Won Big ‘Bailout’ in This Week’s Special Session
The Florida Legislature’s special session on insurance reform ended Thursday with final passage to a bill extending a $1 billion subsidy to insurance companies but doing little to decrease premiums any time soon or provide relief for ordinary homeowners.
Flagler Public Health Officials Reassert Efficacy of Covid Vaccines as DeSantis Intensifies Denialism
In a sharp escalation of Covid vaccine denialism by a sitting governor, Ron DeSantis on Tuesday called on the state Supreme Court to empanel a grand jury to investigate alleged “wrongdoing” related to the vaccine, as Flagler County’s architects of the response to the pandemic reasserted the efficacy of the vaccine and relied on the latest science.
Florida Senate Approves $100 Million in Beach Erosion Aid, Part of $750 Million Disaster Relief Bill
The bill includes $100 million for beach-erosion recovery, an amount certain to help boost Flagler County’s prospects for tapping many of those millions as it faces vast challenges on 18 miles of its eroded coast.
Jacob Oliva Warns Districts That Their LGBTQ Support Policies Don’t Align With Parental ‘Rights’
Jacob Oliva, senior chancellor for the education department–and a former superintendent in Flagler schools–wrote letters to school superintendents in 10 districts, warning them that LGBTQ support policies may run afoul of current law and state board rules. The state board will discuss the policies during a meeting Wednesday.
Water Management District Now Accepting Cost-Share Project Grant Applications
Through its cost-share programs, the District partners with communities on projects that stretch local dollars to support water resource protection. The application window is open through January 31, 2023.
Major DeSantis Donor and Board of Governors Member Kent Stermon, Under Investigation, Takes His Own Life
Kent Stermon, a Jacksonville-area businessman and member of the state university system’s Board of Governors, was found dead in an apparent suicide. Stermon was president and chief operating officer of Total Military Management.
Don’t Vote for Just One: Ranked Choice Voting Is Gaining Ground
Ranked choice voting has seen steady success in recent years. Proponents of the voting method argue it leads to better representation of voters’ viewpoints and more collegial campaigning while eliminating the need for costly runoff elections. Opponents say it’s too complicated for the average voter to understand.
Don’t Say Fraud? Joe Harding Has Resigned, But Effects of His ‘Parental Rights’ Law Live On
The Florida House of Representatives is down a member following the resignation of former Rep. Joe Harding following his federal indictment on fraud charges. Harding sponsored the “Parental Rights in Education” or “Don’t Say Gay” bill from the 2022 session that became law in July.
State Panel Developing Guidelines on Book Bans for School Librarians May Be at an Impasse
A new law that intensifies scrutiny of school library books requires school boards to adopt procedures that provide for the “regular removal or discontinuance” of books from media centers based on factors such as alignment with state academic standards. The panel designated to develop the training playbook for librarians is mired in disagreement, with a Jan. 1 deadline looming.
FPL Rates Will Go Up $10 a Month by February
FPL residential customers in areas traditionally served by the utility will see 1,000-kilowatt-hour bills go from the current $120.67 to $125.39 in January. They will go up again to $129.59 in February.
Flagler’s Kindergarteners Have Florida’s Highest Rate of Religious Exemptions from Immunization
Flagler County’s kindergarteners enrolled in public schools have the highest rate of exemption from immunization on religious grounds in Florida–5.5 percent, according to a new report by the Florida Department of Health. It now appears that disinformation about Covid vaccines, which played a large role in keeping the Covid-immunization rate below 70 percent, is infecting trust in other vaccines. That trust is being undermined even by the Florida Department of Health.
GOP’s Election Afterparty: Owning the Libs, No Matter the Cost
True, the U.S. Senate is still in the hands of the godless Democrats who want to destroy America, but the House of Representatives now belongs to Republicans, the party of God, AK-47s, F-150s (and not the electric kind, either), manliness, Merry Christmas, and our lord and savior Donald Trump.
Federal Lawsuit Charges DeSantis Migrant Relocation Program Is ‘State-Sponsored Harassment’
Accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of an “attempt to legalize state-sponsored harassment,” immigrant-advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit challenging an “unauthorized alien” relocation program approved by state lawmakers earlier this year.
DeSantis Continues Attacks on Disney on Word of Lawmakers’ 2nd Thoughts
A spokeswoman for Gov. Ron DeSantis called “fake news” on reports that Republican lawmakers are working on legislation to scale back a law rushed through earlier this year stripping Walt Disney of its unique self-governing power in Central Florida.
In Local Interview, Paul Renner Repeats Baseless Claims About Drag Queens and ‘Sexualization’ Of Children
Rep. Paul Renner, the Palm Coast-based Republican just elected Speaker of the House, returned to his criticism of “drag queen storytime” today in an interview on WNZF, repeating controversial–and baseless–claims that some parents are more interested in defending drag queens than ensuring that children learn to read.
DeSantis’s New Target: Restricting Demonstrations at State Capitol in Name of Protecting Children
The state Department of Management Service’s proposal, in part, seeks to prohibit actions or displays that are “harmful” to children from taking place in the Capitol. The DeSantis Administration proposal is the latest in a series of measures restricting protest and speech.
Ex-Palm Coast Doctor Doesn’t Contest Civil Suit Alleging Grave Claims; Judge Sets Trial for Damages
An unusual trial for civil damages that may feature only the plaintiff is scheduled in Flagler County Circuit Court for January against former Palm Coast physician Gerard Abate in a lawsuit he did not contest, alleging he drugged and raped a woman he had met on a dating site.
In Flagler Schools, New Regime of Book Challenges Is Laborious, Subjective and Fraught With Uncertainties
Gray areas of uncertainty, anxiety, subjectivity and a gaping lack of state direction are shading the new regime of serial book challenges and book bans in the Flagler school district as the state Department of Education has yet to issue directions on library holdings.
State Wildlife Crews Will Again Feed Lettuce to Manatees as Pollution and Algae Blooms Deplete Seagrass
During the 2021-2022 winter, 202,000 pounds of lettuce were fed to manatees, with nearly $117,000 spent on the project. Wildlife officials say the public should not feed manatees.
Coalition Calls for Florida Legislative Committee Focused on Climate Change
More than a dozen environmental and community-based organizations are calling on the new leaders of the Florida Legislature to create a special committee to address climate change, saying that the issue is the biggest threat to the state.
Florida Voters Are Willing to Save Environmental Lands. Politicians? Not So Much.
In Florida, our politicians are constantly promising more tax cuts. Yet these voters opted to tax themselves more. And they did it because they wanted to save some greenery in an ever-increasing sea of gray asphalt. Politicians aren’t getting the message.
Florida Is Turning Its Back on the New South, Embracing its Dixie-fied Past
Florida for decades was determined to leave Jim Crow behind and separate ourselves from the likes of Alabama, with leadership committed to equal justice, open government, and voting rights — however imperfectly achieved. No more. With the reelection of Ron DeSantis, and ultra-conservative victories in gerrymandered congressional districts across the state, Florida is sliding back into the mire of its Old South past.
75,000 Abortions in Florida in 2020 Before Restrictions and Strike-Down of Roe v. Wade
Florida reported 74,868 abortions during 2020. Of that number, 3,988 abortions or about 5.3 percent were obtained by out-of-state residents. The CDC’s report tracks what’s called the abortion rate, the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. For Florida, that rate was 19.1 for the year, among the higher rates in the data set.
As Hurricane Season Ends, Sort of, an Unfond Look Back at Ian and Nicole, and a Special Committee
Rep. Paul Renner set up a special committee to study lessons learned from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, and Kevin Guthrie, director of state emergency management, says a second cone of probability should be added to the National Hurricane Center’s forecasts, this one focusing on storm surge.
Renner Takes on ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ and Social Governance in 1st Speech as House Leader
In his first speech as Florida Speaker of the House, Paul Renner focused Tuesday on bread-and-butter measures such as reducing taxes and making housing more attainable but also touched on a culture war agenda that has defined the Ron DeSantis regime in Tallahassee.
Hidden Until Now, Audits Reveal Millions in Medicare Advantage Overcharges
Newly released federal audits reveal widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average. Medicare Advantage, a fast-growing alternative to original Medicare, is run primarily by major insurance companies.
Flagler County Democrats’ Only Way Forward: Become Republican
Contrary to media interpretations, Democrats underperformed woefully nationally, and in Flagler County they were again all but wiped out. To survive locally they have two choices: either run their candidates as Republicans (and support other moderate Republicans), or keep dying at the polls.
Sea Turtles Hatching on Florida Beaches Are Feeling the Heat from Warming Climate
Florida plays an outsize role in the reproduction of loggerheads. Scientists estimate 90 percent of all the Atlantic Ocean’s loggerheads lay their eggs on Florida beaches. Then the ones that hatch here come back years later to lay their own eggs. But something funky is happening on those beaches: male turtles are disappearing.
Citing Orwell, Federal Judge Calls DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke Act’ Unconstitutional Muzzling of Academic Freedom
Calling the state’s approach “positively dystopian,” a federal judge on Thursday blocked a law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts the way race-related concepts can be taught in universities. The law is “antithetical to academic freedom and has cast a leaden pall of orthodoxy over Florida’s state universities,” Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in the 139-page ruling.
Marco Rubio and Rick Scott Reject Protecting Gay Marriage as Key Step Clears Senate; Waltz Had Voted Yes
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 62 to 37 to move ahead with a historic bill that would give federal protection to same-sex mariage, with 12 Republican senators joining Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold for a filibuster. Both of Florida’s Republican senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, voted against the measure.
DeSantis Deflects But Doesn’t Silence Speculation on 2024 Presidential Bid
Following former President Donald Trump officially launching his 2024 presidential campaign, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday didn’t acknowledge Trump’s big announcement last night. And former President Trump didn’t mention DeSantis’ name during his speech at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday evening.
State Emergency Management Chief Kevin Guthrie Calls for ‘Holistic’ Re-Engineering of Florida Coast
Speaking at Flagler Tiger Bay Club, Kevin Guthrie, the state emergency management director, never used the words “climate change,” but nevertheless addressed needed changes in how Florida manages and re-engineers its coastline in words that would intrigue even Greenpeace activists.
Sen. Travis Hutson Will Chair Fiscal Policy Committee in Senate President’s Leadership Team
Incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo rolled out her leadership team Monday, as the Senate prepares for an expanded Republican majority next week. In his new role, Hutson will run a committee that Passidomo described as a path for “legislation that may contain a fiscal impact.” Hutson had vied for Senate presidency against Passidomo but fell short.
Ladapo Will Continue as DeSantis’s Controversial Surgeon General
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that controversial state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo will remain in the post as DeSantis enters his second term.
Nicole’s Damage to A1A ‘Much Worse’ Than Matthew, Over Longer Stretch; Parts of Flagler Beach Flood
An assessment of Tropical Storm Nicole’s damage of the shoreline from the north end of the county to South 25th Street in Flagler Beach left county officials disheartened at the flooding and the recurring destruction of State Road A1A, which is severe in many places and may require the road to be closed for weeks or months at least in one direction.
Florida Voters Reject Additional Property Tax Breaks or Ending Constitutional Revision Commission
Florida voters late Tuesday appeared to have rejected three proposed constitutional amendments that would have provided property-tax breaks and eliminated the state’s Constitution Revision Commission.
Leann Pennington, Theresa Pontieri, Will Furry and Cathy Heighter Win, Half-Cent Tax Passes, Amendments Fail
For Flagler County and Palm Coast, it is an election of new faces: four races, four newcomers to elected office: Leann Pennington won a seat on the County Commission, Theresa Pontieri and Cathy Heighter won seats to the Palm Coast City Council, and Will Furry won a Flagler County School Board seat.
‘Chaos and Confusion’: The Campaign to Stamp Out Ballot Drop Boxes
Drop boxes have become a symbol of the attacks on voter access even though there’s been no cases of fraud, vandalism or theft involving drop boxes that could have affected election outcomes. Up to one-fourth of Florida drop-boxes had to be eliminated due to a new law restricting their use and locations.
In latest Intrusion on Academic Freedom, Tenure Review Could Be Tied to How Professors Teach Race
A controversial law designed to restrict the way certain race-related topics can be taught in Florida classrooms could factor into a new tenure-review process for university professors, under a proposal that higher-education officials will consider next week.