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.”
Florida
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.
What in Jesus’s Name? Saving the Savior from Christian Nationalism.
In their zeal to stoke the fires of a culture war, conservatives have drafted Jesus into their army, with some proudly espousing Christian nationalism, which combines two character traits: religious zealotry and fascism. Meanwhile charlatan theologians give the politicians religious cover enough so that they can be assured that Jesus would vote Republican.
Cities, Including Flagler Beach, Looking Into Banning Smoking and Vaping on Beaches
Several communities in coming weeks and months could move forward under a new state law that allows cities and counties to ban smoking cigarettes and vaping at locally controlled beaches and parks.
Ex-Judges, Prosecutors, Police Chiefs and Legal Scholars Lambast DeSantis Suspension of State Attorney
More than 100 legal scholars and dozens of former judges, prosecutors and police chiefs are decrying Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension of Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, arguing that the move runs counter to professional standards, sets a dangerous precedent and violates the constitutional separation of powers.
Flagler Schools’ Budget Is Millions Short from 10 Years Ago as District Is Forced to Shift Tax Dollars to Private Schools
Historically lower taxes it has no control over, a state funding formula that cheats it of 5 cents of every dollar it sends the state, and a state-required $6 million transfer to pay for private education vouchers have again left the Flagler County school district scrambling to balance its budget. But it’s been an annual erosion of local dollars, entirely at the expense of public education.
DeSantis Press Conference: Bash Biden. Praise Self. Bash Biden. Campaign Shrilly. Bash Biden.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “news conferences” are heavy on campaigning and Biden-bashing and light on actual policy announcements. The governor packs these events with supporters who cheer him plus local officials and administration figures who lavish him with praise.
Less Than Half of Flagler’s 10th Graders Pass English, Worst in 11 Years; FPC Down 9 Points, to 45%
On the heels of a year and a half of a dysfunctional school board riven by ideological battles, only 49 percent of Flagler County’s 10th graders last school year were reading English at grade level, the lowest proportion in over a decade and a decline from 53 percent in 2021. Flagler’s 10th grade reading scores have declined every year since 2018.
Florida Sets Limits on How Much Medical Pot Doctors May Order for Patients
The highly anticipated emergency rule sets a 70-day total supply limit of 24,500 mg of THC for non-smokable marijuana and establishes dosage caps for different routes of administration such as edibles, inhalation and tinctures.
Federal Judge Urged to Halt Law Muzzling Instruction on Gender and Sexual Orientation
The 26-page motion contends that the law, passed this year by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, “was enacted with the purpose to discriminate and has the effect of discriminating against LGBTQ+ students and those with LGBTQ+ family members.”
Marco Rubio and Rick Scott Fight Phantom Commies As the World Burns
Our two upper-chamber gents aren’t merely lobbing charges of Banana Republicanism at Democrats. At the recent CPAC meeting, Rick Scott gave a rootin’ tootin’ slap-your-dog-and-arrest-your-undocumented-mama speech warning, “The militant Left has now taken control of our economy, our culture, and our country.”
In America, Cancer Patients Endure Crushing Debt on Top of Disease
Medical breakthroughs mean cancer is less likely to kill, but survival can come at an extraordinary cost as patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes, an investigation finds.
Crist Adds Teachers Union Leader Karla Hernandez to Gubernatorial Ticket
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist on Saturday formally announced Karla Hernandez, the teachers union president in Florida’s largest school district, as his running mate in the November election.
Citing Grand Jury Report, DeSantis Suspends Broward School Board Members Over Parkland Massacre
The grand jury report, completed in April and released last week, said the targeted board members’ and Runcie’s “uninformed or even misinformed decisions, incompetent management and lack of meaningful oversight” resulted in cost overruns and delays in a $1 billion school-safety program approved by county voters in 2014.
Almost No Florida University Students Responded to New ‘Intellectual Freedom’ Survey
Florida’s public university students seemed reluctant to fill out a controversial survey on so-called “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” that was prompted by the Legislature, as about 8,800 of some 368,000 students bothered to submit responses.
Beleaguered Crist Begs National Democratic Party: Don’t Abandon Us
Democrats fear needed money won’t come their way, what with concerns over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ massive campaign war chest, the GOP eclipse of Democrats in party registration, and shifts among the state’s Hispanic population toward the Republicans.
Federal Ruling Clears Way for Lawsuit Against School Officer Who Attacked Student
A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a district judge’s ruling that former Officer Mario Badia was entitled to immunity from allegations of excessive force and battery. The panel upheld immunity for Badia on a claim of false arrest.
Federal Judge Blocks Parts of DeSantis Anti-‘Woke’ Law Muzzling Race-Sensitivity Training at Work
The employment-related part of the law lists eight race-related concepts and says that a required training program or other activity that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual (an employee) to believe any of the following concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.”
DeSantis Touts Arrests of 0.000001% of Voters for Fraud in 2020
The general election drew 11.145 million voters, the primary drew 3.896 million, for a combined total of 15.041 million votes cast. The 17 arrests means that Florida had an astoundingly low rate of fraud of precisely 0.000001%.
In Latest Attack on Students, All LGBTQ Support Documents Are Ordered Out of Florida Schools
Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. on Wednesday gave his staff the go-ahead to “pull” LGBTQ support documents at all school districts, after a State Board of Education member asserted that some could violate a controversial new law.
DeSantis Would Expand Teaching Corps to Retired Cops and Firefighters
DeSantis teased legislation aimed at recruiting to teaching jobs retired law-enforcement officers, emergency-medical technicians, paramedics and firefighters who have bachelor’s degrees. They’d be eligible for $4,000 bonuses and would not have to pay for the state teacher-certification exam.
Military Vets Without Bachelor’s Degrees Will Soon Be Teaching in Florida Schools
Gov. Ron DeSantis has approved a new law to create an alternative temporary teaching certificate for military veterans, saying that their prior military experience will have value in the classroom. But the law would get around a prerequisite expected of thousands of teachers in Florida — a bachelor’s degree.
Study: Flagler’s Beaches Are Eroding Critically, and Will Cost County Alone $5 to $13 Million a Year to Slow
The most comprehensive study to date about Flagler County’s beaches paints a stark picture of the consequences of climate change and sea level rise, accelerating erosion, potentially crushing costs to local taxpayers to slow down the erosion with beach renourishment, and few sources of funding to do so.
Fried Criticizes DeSantis Attack on Law Enforcement Following FBI Search of Trump’s Home
“It also pains me that Ron DeSantis — who still has not condemned Nazis, even after multiple requests to stand united with me,” Fried said. “He won’t condemn January 6, but he has no problem attacking the FBI, an FBI that is run by a director that was appointed by Donald Trump.”
Appeals Court Will Decide Whether You Can Pass Water and Food to People in Line to Vote
Attorneys for the League of Women Voters of Florida, the Black Voters Matter Fund, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and other plaintiffs filed a 67-page brief asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a district judge’s ruling that said increased “solicitation” restrictions near polling places violate speech rights.
Arming Teachers Is Not the Answer. Limiting Access to Guns and Addressing Mental Health Is.
Problems have escalated to such a point that it has helped drive good people out of the classroom and negatively influenced people willing to become teachers. This is especially true in schools with a reputation for having a culture of discipline issues or weak community support.
Christian School Challenges Ban on Pre-Game Prayer, Citing Recent Supreme Court Ruling
A Tampa Christian school has asked a federal appeals court to find that the Florida High School Athletic Association unconstitutionally prevented a prayer over a stadium loudspeaker before a 2015 high-school football championship game.
Ballot Effort to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Florida Launches
Trulieve, the state’s largest medical-marijuana operator, and country-music legends The Bellamy Brothers are backing a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational use of marijuana by people 21 or older.
FPL’s Covert Campaign Against the Free Press
FPL got a consultant to hire a private investigator who spied on a Florida Times Union reporter, his girlfriend, and their dog. FPL CEO Eric Silagy swears he didn’t do it. And, if somebody did it, he didn’t know about it.
Andrew Gillum Fraud Trial Moved to April
A trial that could determine whether former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is convicted of federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges has been delayed until April, according to an order issued by a federal judge on Thursday. Pushing the trial back to April 17 from its initially scheduled August 16 date is “reasonable and appropriate” in the case, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor wrote in the order.
Gov.-Appointed Florida Board of Medicine Targets Treatments for Transgender Youths for Ban
Amid an outcry from the LGBTQ community and harsh criticism from a host of physicians and health-care professionals, the Florida Board of Medicine on Friday advanced a plan that would ban doctors from providing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender people under age 18.
Rejected in 2020, DeSantis Appoints Renatha Francis Again to Supreme Court, Despite Ethical Issues
The governor named Francis for a high court vacancy in 2020 but the sitting justices refused to seat her because she hadn’t been a member of the Florida Bar for the constitutionally mandated 10 years at the time. A recent news report showed she has been the subject of as many as five ethics complaints alleging she’d been unfair to litigants.
DeSantis Suspends Twice-Elected Hillsborough State Attorney Over Abortion Stance
Saying that a twice-elected Hillsborough County prosecutor has put himself “above the law,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren for pledging to not enforce Florida’s 15-week restriction on abortion.
First Lady Announces launch of Resource Site to Navigate Dizzying Realities of Cancer Care
First Lady Casey DeSantis on Wednesday announced the launch of Florida Cancer Connect, an online resource site for cancer patients to hear from survivors and access information to help navigate the dizzying realities of battling cancer.
Politically Appointed Florida Board of Medicine Will Weigh Blocking Transgender Treatment for Youths
The Florida Board of Medicine is slated Friday to consider a proposal by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to bar physicians from providing treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty-blocking medication to transgender youths.
Suddenly, Florida Is a Haven for Abortion-Seekers in the South. But For How Long?
As of this week, most abortions are banned in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. Other states in the South also have strict abortion bans that are in flux because of court appeals. But on the geographical edge of this block of Deep South states, abortion is expected to remain legal in Florida and North Carolina, at least until the November elections.
Due to Redistricting, Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book Faces Challenger in Re-Election Bid
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat elected in 2016, is trying to hold onto her seat after the makeup of Senate District 35 changed earlier this year through the once-a-decade reapportionment process. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Book has made her advocacy for preventing child abuse a top priority.
As Flagler Records Its First Case of Monkeypox, Florida and U.S. Cases Keep Rising
Florida is closing in on 400 monkeypox cases as of Friday, with the largest number of cases in South Florida and other urban settings. Flagler County recorded its first case this week. The United States is nearing 5,000 cases, more than in any country outside of endemic zones.
Paul Renner’s Stunning Attack on Green Energy Is Bad News for Florida’s Climate Change Challenges
Sea level rise is just the most obvious manifestation of our climate change peril. Yet Speaker-designate Renner has barely even mentioned that when talking about Florida’s future as he keeps raking in campaign cash from power and coal companies.
DeSantis and the Mis-Education of Florida’s Schoolchildren. With Test for Extra Credit.
Ron DeSantis wants the young ’uns educated with no unfair criticism of the Greatest Country that Ever Was. To that end, he’s bringing in a curriculum from Hillsdale College, a righteous institution where they love the Lord, the flag, and capitalism — not necessarily in that order.
Four School Boards Sued Over Enforcing ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law, Charging Violation of 1st Amendment
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Orlando, seeks to block the school boards in Orange, Indian River, Duval and Palm Beach counties from carrying out the law (HB 1557), which restricts instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. The lawsuit charges the law is unconstitutional.
Monkeypox Declared International Public Health Emergency; Florida’s 260 Cases Rank 3rd in U.S.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Saturday that the monkeypox outbreak that’s expanded globally is now a public health emergency of international concern. The Florida Department of Health shows monkeypox cases of 260 in 16 counties as of Saturday, none in Flagler.