Florida voters could offer significant property tax exemptions to Florida’s teachers, firefighters, active-duty members of the U.S. military, and other specified professions, amid a relatively hostile housing market. But a well-meaning tax exemption may bring about other complications, such as a loss of local government tax revenue.
Florida
Sen. Ben Sasse, ‘Sole Finalist,’ Chosen by Trustees to Lead University of Florida After Secret Search
The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve Nebraska’s U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as the new president to lead Florida’s flagship institution, despite weeks of outcry, questions about the senator’s political views, and an air of secrecy around the search process that led to his candidacy.
The board agreed to provide compensation for Sasse that would be up to but not exceed $1.6 million.
‘A Failed Model Ends Today,’ Recovery Pioneer Says in Flagler Launch of New Drug Treatment
Dr. Kenneth Scheppke, a state health official, appeared in Flagler County alongside others in a formal launch of a $1.3 million, medically assisted drug-addiction treatment system called Coordinated Opioid Recovery, or CORE. Flagler is one of 12 counties in the state to enact the program.
Halloween Hangover: Gas Prices Will Jump at Least 25 Cents Tuesday as Election Ploy Ends
The GOP-dominated Florida Legislature and the Biden administration have both manipulated gas prices ahead of the 2022 election, with a gas-tax cut in Florida that ends tonight, sending prices soaring 7 percent overnight, and continued releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, now at its lowest since 1984.
Churches Are Breaking the Law by Endorsing in Elections, Experts Say. The IRS Looks the Other Way.
For nearly 70 years, federal law has barred churches from directly involving themselves in political campaigns, but the IRS has largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities as churches have become more brazen about publicly backing candidates.
Expect Higher Power Bills: FPL Wants to Make Customers Pay $1.1 Billion More for Ian Repairs
About $220 million of the $1.1 billion would be used to replenish a storm reserve, Kirk Crews, executive vice president and chief financial officer of NextEra Energy, FPL’s parent company, said Friday during a third-quarter earnings call with analysts.
DeSantis Administration Violated Public Records Law With Snub of Migrant Flight Data Request
A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration did not comply with the state’s public-records law after an open-government group sought records about a controversial decision to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Culture Wars, Abortion, Crime, Immigration and Spin Dominate Raucous DeSantis-Crist Debate
Crist opened the evening as a clear underdog whom DeSantis has far outstripped in fundraising and polling. The governor’s sitting on more than $107 million in cash on hand. Crist has just $2.2 million in comparison.
Nation’s Report Card Echoed in Florida Shows Alarming, Appalling Losses in Reading and Math
A large majority of Florida eighth graders do not read proficiently and struggle with 8th grade-level math skills, according to a nationwide assessment of students in 2022 — an uncomfortable reality for teens unprepared for a rigorous high school schedule.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Law Banning Payments to Petition Gatherers for Ballot Measures
The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, made it a crime to continue a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. Experts have said the changes doubled the cost of getting initiatives on the ballot.
Florida Man Genesis: Why So Many People Move to Sunshine State and Into Harm’s Way
Over 22 million people currently live in Florida. That’s about 37% more than the 16 million who resided in the state in 2000.Today’s new and part-time Floridians are drawn by the same factors that have lured settlers and snowbirds for a century: warm weather and waterfront views, along with lower taxes and fewer regulations than in other parts of the country.
School Boards Now Required to Out LGBTQ Bathrooms and Muzzle Discussions of Gender and Race
County school boards and charter schools will have to follow new requirements for notifying parents about policies involving access to bathrooms and locker rooms, and teachers could be fired if they violate two controversial new laws muzzling discussion of gender identity and racial matters.
Demings and Rubio Have a Combative, Substantive Debate, But It May Not Change Minds
Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and his Democratic challenger, Congresswoman Val Demings, quickly got combative Tuesday as they sought to sway remaining undecided voters in their only head-to-head meeting ahead of the Nov. 8 election for a seat the GOP must retain if it wants to take control of the U.S. Senate.
DeSantis, Transportation Department and Contractor Sued Over Records on Migrant Flights
The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed a lawsuit last week against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the governor’s office and this week against against the Florida Department of Transportation and a state contractor, alleging they did not comply with public-records requests stemming from controversial flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
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Development on Florida’s Barrier Islands Made Ian Evacuation Virtually Impossible
Builders trying to exploit a hot housing market for big profits ran roughshod over common-sense regulations intended to protect the public. Meanwhile, our elected officials went along with whatever the developers wanted. Hurricane Ian did the rest.
Federal Judge Weighs ‘Stop Woke Act”s Gag on Certain Forms of Instruction About Racism
A federal judge on Thursday sparred with attorneys about a controversial state law that restricts the way race-related concepts can be taught in classrooms, as university professors argue it violates speech rights.
Florida Politicians Decry Jury Verdict Against Death Penalty for Parkland Murderer
Many Florida politicians think life in prison for Nikolas Cruz isn’t “justice” for the 17 students and school staff he killed on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Under Florida law, the jury’s duty was to weigh factors aggravating in favor of death against mitigating factors.
Gopher Tortoises Are ‘Not in Danger of Extinction,’ and U.S. Denies Increased Protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a 113-page decision that said gopher tortoises would continue to be considered a threatened species in parts of southwest Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana under the Endangered Species Act, but not in Florida and elsewhere.
Florida Surgeon General Ladapo on Defensive After Directive Against Covid Vaccines for Men 18 to 39
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo continues to defend his agency’s new guidance against COVID-19 vaccines among adult men as medical experts point out flaws in the Florida Department of Health study intended to justify the recommendation.
Florida Center for Government Accountability Sues DeSantis Over Migrant Flight Records
The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed the lawsuit in Leon County circuit court and alleged that the governor’s office did not comply with requests to release a series of records about the migrant flights.
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse Final Choice for University of Florida President
The University of Florida Board of Trustees will interview Ben Sasse during a Nov. 1 meeting. If trustees approve Sasse’s selection, it would then go before the state university system’s Board of Governors for a final sign-off.
Rebuilding Southwest Florida Will ‘Take a Hell of a Long Time,’ Biden Says in Fort Myers
The president and First Lady Jill Biden surveyed storm damage by helicopter. He pledged that federal, state and local governments will work together to help the people of Southwest Florida recover from the massive Hurricane Ian disaster.
Emergency Management’s Kevin Guthrie Outlines Longer Sheltering Plan for Ian Refugees
State emergency responders are beginning the daunting task of finding temporary housing for people displaced by Hurricane Ian, Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Monday.
Flagler’s Ian Tally: 132 Homes With at Least 20% Damage, FEMA Aid Coming, So Are More Floodwaters
A tally of Hurricane Ian’s impacts on Flagler County reveals damage to 132 homes, with only seven experiencing severe damage or flooding from rainfalls totaling 15 inches in places. Flagler County is qualifying for three levels of aid from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, including aid to individuals. But there may yet be more flooding as the St. Johns River’s surge continues flowing north through Flagler.
Catastrophic Loss: Dunes All But Gone Along Flagler’s 18-Mile Shore, Leaving A1A and Properties Dangerously Exposed
While Flagler County was spared the brunt of Hurricane Ian’s fury, its shoreline was ravaged, and what remained of its already battered dunes and rock revetments sacrificed themselves to protect A1A and properties. There is no more protection should another storm strike. The disappearance of the dunes is stunning in Flagler Beach north of the pier, and in many other places along the 18 miles of beach.
Biden to Battered Florida: ‘We’re Going to Do Everything We Can for You’
Biden did not take questions from the press or say if he would visit Florida, but stressed the importance of the country coming together to help those affected by the hurricane. He mentioned he was in continuous contact with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as other coastal governors.
Pier’s End Collapses, More Flagler Areas Evacuated, 70% of County Without Power, Dunes Damaged
The severity of tropical Storm Ian continues this afternoon, demolishing parts of the Flagler Beach pier, inundating larger areas of Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, and downing trees and power lines as 57 percent of residents are without power.
Don’t Expect Flagler To Be At Top of FPL’s List for Power Restoration After Ian
Flagler County has an unhappy history of finding itself near the bottom of the list of counties to have their power restored in previous hurricanes. That may yet again be the case in the wake of Hurricane Ian’s devastation as more populous counties get attention first.
‘Extremely Dangerous’ Hurricane Ian Landfall, Then Path Through Flagler; Local Evacuations Readied
Hurricane Ian forecasts continue to worsen for both sides of Florida, with a Category 3 or more landfall in Tampa Bay and a path bringing a tropical storm to Flagler by Friday. Evacuation orders for parts of Flagler are imminent, schools are closed starting Wednesday.
Hurricane Ian’s 2-Day Stall Off Tampa Could Bring Flooding Rains and Wind to Flagler
Hurricane Ian is expected to nearly stall as a major hurricane off the coast of Tampa Bay, lashing the northeast of Florida with torrential rain and raising the potential for floods in addition to some tropical storm-force winds. Flagler governments are beginning to shut down regular operations and declare states of emergency.
As Hurricane Hermine Ian Gestates, King Tide Flooding Is More Immediate Concern in Flagler
What is expected to become Hurricane Hermine is now Tropical Depression 9. But Flagler County residents should be more immediately concerned about the effects of a king tide combining with remnants of Hurricane Fiona and the approach of Hermine, all of which will create significant flooding conditions along the Intracoastal and low-lying areas of Palm Coast and western Flagler.
Lawsuit Cites DeSantis Trickery in Seeking to Block Further Migrant Flights
Lawyers representing asylum seekers who were allegedly “tricked” into going from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard on flights funded by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration said Wednesday they are seeking a nationwide injunction to block the governor from luring immigrants to travel across state lines.
DeSantis’s Martha’s Vineyard Trafficking May Be Illegal
Transporting consenting migrants who have the paperwork to be in the U.S. is legal. But certain factors – like DeSantis’ intent and knowledge of the migrants’ immigration status – could create potential civil and criminal liability.
DeSantis Pulls From Segregationists’ Playbook with Anti-Immigration Stunt
Governors Greg Abbott in Texas and Ron DeSantis in Florida are following the playbook of segregationists who provided one-way bus tickets to Northern cities for Black Southerners in the 1960s. At that time, the fight for racial equality was attracting national attention and support from many white Americans, inspiring some to join interracial Freedom Rides organized by civil rights groups.
Flagler District Pays $6 Million for 685 Students to Attend Private Schools, Many Out of County, or Homeschooled
A new state law requires the Flagler County school district this year to pay just over $6 million to underwrite the private-school education of 685 students, including at parochial and out-of-county schools. The money also goes to families home-schooling their children.
Judge Clears Way for Challenge to Law Allowing State to Override Local Police Budget Decisions
A Leon County Circuit judge on Tuesday cleared the way for a lawsuit challenging part of a controversial protest law that gives the governor and Cabinet the authority to override local governments’ decisions about police spending.
Federal Judge Skeptical of DeSantis Suspension of Elected Prosecutor, But No Reinstatement for Now
A federal judge refused on Monday to reinstate Andrew Warren as state’s attorney for Hillsborough County, saying he first wants to fast-track a trial to better establish the motivation behind Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension of the elected prosecutor.
Sen. Rick Scott’s Epic Fail: Squandered Millions and Crap Candidates
Republicans often have unsavory friends, people like Hungarian despot Viktor Orbán, white nationalist Tucker Carlson, and that petulant Oompa Loompa who kept top secret nuclear documents stuffed in a box at his beach house. So why is Rick Scott getting hated on?
DeSantis Pledges More Migrant Flights Out of Florida at State’s Expense
The flights Wednesday mostly involved Venezuelan migrants and included about 10 children. Two planes went from San Antonio, Texas, to the Florida Panhandle community of Crestview before going north.
DeSantis Defends Martha’s Vineyard Migrant Flight But Details of ‘Repulsive’ and ‘Cruel Ruse’ Scant
Saying undocumented immigrants were sent to “greener pastures,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday defended Florida’s participation in a pair of flights carrying about 50 migrants, including children, that landed Wednesday at Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
Another DeSantis ‘Press’ Conference Basks in Applause and Takes No Questions
Gov. Ron DeSantis opened the floor for questions at the end of a Jacksonville news conference Monday and left after allowing a single person in the crowd to shout what sounded like, “We love you.”
1st a Law Gagging Talk of Gender. Now a Gag Order on Lawsuit Information. Plaintiffs Complain.
Plaintiffs challenging a Florida law restricting instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in schools are asking a judge to reverse an order stalling their ability to gather information in the case, arguing that the law is being used throughout the state to “censor any positive or supportive reference to LGBT people.”
The Tragedy of Turning Florida’s Rural Lands Into Urban Sprawl
Lately, it seems Florida’s big-money developers, aided by politicians from the governor on down, have put a target on every rural spot that’s left on the map of Florida. From the Panhandle to the Keys, they want to change everything that’s now slow-paced and softly green to match the cookie-cutter concrete sprawl found everywhere else.
Federal Judge Clears UCF Prof Robert Cassanello to Sue Over DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke Act’
Cassanello, a history professor at UCF, and other plaintiffs, including public-school teachers and a student, filed the lawsuit in April after DeSantis signed the law (HB 7), arguing that it violated First Amendment rights and was unconstitutionally vague.
Florida Supreme Court Issues, then Retracts, Order on Anti-Abortion Law
The Florida Supreme Court issued an order rejecting a request by abortion providers to block enforcement of the state’s 15-week abortion ban — and then withdrew it, blaming an error by the court’s clerk’s office in releasing the order.
In 4th Legal Challenge Against DeSantis’s ‘Stop Woke Act,’ USF Professor and Student File Suit
In a 91-page complaint, lawyers for USF associate professor of history Adriana Novoa, student Samuel Rechek and the First Amendment Forum at University of South Florida raised a series of arguments that the law violates speech rights.
Nikki Fried Challenges Gov. DeSantis’s ‘Publicity Stunt’ in Vote-Fraud Arrests of 20 Felons
Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried notes that it is the responsibility of the Division of Elections to screen prospective voters for criminal records, because the county supervisors of election lack access to the necessary state databases.
Who Will Rescue Our Tender Youth from Deviant Professors and their Noisome Notions?
Give it up, wokester profs: Ron DeSantis will no longer tolerate your anti-American spin on our history, your critical race theorizing, your LGBTQ weirdo agenda, and your communist indoctrination of our kids in Florida’s great state universities.
Florida National Guard Could Be Used to Fill In at Short-Staffed State Prisons
As the state continues to struggle with a shortage of correctional officers, a legislative panel next week will consider a plan that would activate Florida National Guard members to help at prisons, according to a document published Friday.
Artemis Moon Shot, Twice Delayed This Week, May Have to Wait Until October
NASA now intends to roll the 322-foot rocket back to the VAB and to reset all systems. NASA requirements and launch window schedules suggests it will take at least 25 days to schedule the rocket for another launch.