The state’s latest number is down from an adjusted total of 45,590 first-time claims during the week that ended Aug. 29 and 51,647 claims during the week that ended Aug. 22.
Florida
Renatha Francis’s Appointment to Florida Supreme Court Draws Renewed Challenge
Rep. Geraldine Thompson’s attorneys challenged the constitutionality of the appointment and contended that the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission should provide a revamped list of candidates to DeSantis.
State Puts Gag Order on Flagler Health Department’s Public Release of Covid Numbers in Schools
The state’s gag order falls as the Flagler health department was preparing to issue a weekly reports of cases in schools, and as a drizzle of covid cases continues to affect Flagler schools, with a few classrooms, individual faculty and students required to quarantine. The district intends to issue some of the information.
State’s Legal Fees Top $800,000 In Court Fights to Keep Schools and Colleges Open
Florida officials have committed to spending more than half a million dollars on private lawyers to defend a mandate that schools reopen brick-and-mortar classrooms, and upwards of $300,000 in a parallel fight involving college and university reopenings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
3 Covid Cases at Bunnell and Old Kings Elementary, 2 at FPC; 21 Cases at 7 Assisted Living Facilities
Flagler County’s Covid-19 numbers have been trending downward for the last five weeks. But new infections have emerged in schools as faculty and staff returned to campuses and, after a long period of calm, in more than half a dozen local assisted living facilities.
Cookies, Cakes and Candies: Florida Health Department Clears the Way for Edible Pot Products
The emergency rule on medical, edible pot dictates that “edibles shall be produced in a manner to minimize color intensity and other color and visual characteristics attractive to children.”
Florida’s Colleges and Universities Are Suspending Students Who Flout Covid-Safety Rules
Florida university officials have started suspending fraternities and punishing students who flout coronavirus-safety measures, as schools grapple with cases of the virus at the beginning of the fall semester.
Flagler Courtroom Holds 1st In-Person Criminal Trial in Florida With Conviction of Car Thief, Masks and New Exclusionary Rules
A socially distanced jury found Brian Johnson, 22, guilty of car theft and fleeing police in a 2019 incident in which Sheriff Staly was involved, after a two-day trial that excluded the public and press but was entirely webcast on YouTube for the first time ever.
Upwards of 700 Covid Cases Tied to K-12 and Higher Ed Students Across Florida in Last Two Weeks
The cases reflect a two-week period in which thousands of students throughout the state returned to classrooms or began moving into dorm rooms at colleges and universities.
Judge Rules Florida ‘Ignored the Requirement of School Safety’ by Opening Campuses Prematurely
Accusing the state of ignoring the Florida Constitution, a Leon County circuit judge on Monday sided with teachers unions that challenged a state order mandating that schools resume in-person instruction this month amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Florida’s Universities Prepare to Reopen in Uncertain Times, With Dozens of Covid Cases at 2 Campuses Already
The situation at some Florida universities has mimicked events in other parts of the country, where several colleges experienced an uptick in infections days after students returned to campus this month.
What the Post Office Needs to Survive a Pandemic Election
Fueled by the president’s unfounded claims about rampant voter fraud, and reports of equipment being removed, the plight of the United States Postal Service has captured America’s attention. Will it collapse? Here’s what you need to know.
Federal Court Freshly Stocked With Former DeSantis Picks In Showdown Over Florida Felon Voting
As Floridians went to the polls in Tuesday’s primary elections, an Atlanta-based appeals court held arguments in a showdown over voting rights that could determine whether hundreds of thousands of convicted felons will be able to cast ballots in the November presidential election.
Last Day to Vote in Primary Began With 21,000 Ballots Already In and Historic Mail-In Count
Though powered by the largest vote-by-mail volume in the county’s history, Flagler County’s 2020 primary election turnout would need a relatively strong in-person voting tally today to exceed 2018’s turnout of 30 percent. The 2016 primary turnout of 27 percent is a closer target.
Tourism Visits to Florida Drop 60% as State’s Poor Handling of Pandemic May Take Heavier Toll
The tourism industry must combat ongoing negative perceptions of Florida’s handling of covid-19, international travel bans, people slow to return to entertainment venues and double-digit unemployment.
As Trump Steps Up Vote-By-Mail Attacks, Postal Officials Warn Florida of Ballot Deadline Problems
With millions of Floridians seeking to vote by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic, postal officials have warned Secretary of State Laurel Lee that the state is at risk of having ballots go uncounted in the November presidential election.
Flagler Records 14th Covid Death; 15% of Flagler Children Tested Are Positive a Week Before School
Florida and Flagler continues to add new infections at elevated rates even as the overall numbers have fallen from their July peak. Despite the decline, the state is experiencing new cases at a rate of nearly 7,000 a day, averaged out over the past seven days.
Florida Felons and Lawyers Face ‘Tremendous Confusion’ On Regaining Voting Rights
The legal wrangling and incomplete or contradictory court records have erected at-times insurmountable barriers for Florida felons who want to participate in one of the bedrock elements of democracy: voting.
Superintendents Asking State for Help on Rapid Testing and Response to Positive Students and Staff
Health officials are concerned concerned that the infrastructure doesn’t support the capacity to test a large number of students and school staff members if there is a covid-19 outbreak at a school.
In Good Shape? If Flagler Were Its Own Country, We’d Have the 10th Worst Covid Rate in The World
Flagler County officials often speak triumphantly of the county’s lower covid numbers compared to the rest of the state. It’s a deceptive and reckless comparison that denies the severity of the local pandemic when placed in its proper context.
Flagler Crosses the 1,000 Mark in Covid Cases as It Edges Past Peak, But Significant Load Persists
Even as Flagler crossed past 1,000 covid cases, key trends have been falling from the peak of mid-July, though if numbers are stabilizing, they are doing so at still high numbers relative to the April wave.
Constitutionality of Mask Ordinance Goes Before Appeals Court in Case With Broad Implications
Plaintiff Evan Power, the Leon County Republican Party chairman, is teaming with state Rep. Anthony Sabatini, R-Howey-in-the-Hills, to challenge the county’s ordinance, which a Leon County judge found constitutional.
Back To School Sales Tax ‘Holiday’ This Weekend Includes Computer Costs of Up to $1,000
Many children are expected to start the school year taking classes online because of concerns about the spread of the virus, likely spurring some families to look for computer equipment.
Voting By Mail Is Safer and Very Popular in Florida, But It May Also Exacerbate Existing Inequalities
Even Floridians who are experienced, in-person voters have a higher chance of having ballots rejected when they switch to voting by mail, according to an analysis by Smith of Florida’s March presidential primary election.
Flagler Beach’s Bruce Garrison One of 2 More Covid-Related Deaths, Bringing Flagler’s Total to 14
Bruce Garrison, 66, had been a supervisor at Flagler Beach’s city-run sanitation department. His death and that of a 69-year-old man bring Flagler County’s total to 14, including two non-residents, as covid-19 cases nearly tripled locally since the beginning of July.
‘Phew, We Dodged One,’ Storm Surge ‘No Longer an Issue’ and Evacuations Unnecessary as Isaias Threat Diminishes
Tropical Storm Isaias will not be much of an issue anymore and evacuations in Flagler won;t be required as emergency personnel ramped down their response Sunday afternoon.
Florida Pediatricians Say Districts With Positivity Rate Higher Than 5% Must Delay Opening
Florida pediatricians Wednesday released recommendations aimed at reducing risks to children and teachers, saying the benefits of reopening schools will not outweigh the health risks in many areas for the next four to six weeks.
Flagler Health Department’s Medical Chief Rebukes ‘Covid Minimizers’ as Deaths Surge and Hospitalizations Persist
Dr. Stephen Bickel, the medical director at the Flagler and Volusia health departments, criticized “covid minimizers” for seizing on rogue data to diminish the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic, hurting efforts to fight it.
Union Calls for Online Classes Only at Florida’s Colleges and Universities
The push to keep university and college campuses closed during the fall semester, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, adds another pressure point on the Republican governor, who is increasingly facing criticism for how he has reopened the state.
Not Much More Than Wind or Rain Event Expected in Flagler from Tropical Cyclone Heading for Gulf
A tropical cyclone moving over the Caribbean is not expected to bring more than wind and rain by Saturday evening or Sunday morning to the Flagler region, and current forecasts don’t see it developing into a hurricane.
Flagler Adds 2 More Covid Deaths, for Total of 12; Flagler Children’s Overall Positivity Rate at 10%
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 55 Flagler County children ages 17 or younger have tested positive out of 545 tested, yielding a positivity rate of 10.1 percent–a rate higher than commonly assumed.
Florida Regulators Looking for Ideas on Reopening Bars to Stem Business Losses
Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears said he will begin setting aside time to discuss his June 26 order that banned on-site consumption at bars to try to help stem the spread of covid-19.
Underfunded and Under Threat: Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus
The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources to confront the worst health crisis in a century. In Florida, 2% of state spending goes to public health. Spending by local health departments in the state fell 39%, from a high of $57 in inflation-adjusted dollars per person in the late 1990s to $35 per person last year.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: On Misogyny, Impunity and Decency
“In using that language in front of the press,” U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said of Rep. Ted Yoho’s misogynistic insult, “he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable.
Florida Cops in Use-of-Force Incidents Are Not Shielded by Victims’ Rights Law, Judge Rules
Two Tallahassee police officers contended that the amendment should shield the release of their names because they had been victims in incidents that required the use of force — including a high-profile incident in which an officer shot and killed a transgender man.
Flagler Covid Cases Set New Record for the Week, Including 6 Children 14 Or Younger; 22 in Treatment at AdventHealth
The latest Flagler County residents to test positive include girls age 2, 5 and 8 and boys age 8, 9 and 14, which raises concern for school and health officials looking at the reopening of local schools.
Bowing to Pressure and Sheriff, Trump Cancels Plans for Jacksonville Convention, Citing Covid ‘Flare-Up’
Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams this week expressed concern about a lack of preparedness for the event, which had long been planned for Charlotte, N.C., but was moved to Jacksonville last month. Mayor Lenny Curry agreed with Williams’ comments.
5th Covid Death in Eight Days in Flagler; 9 Year Old Dies in Putnam; Florida Reports Record 173 Deaths
The latest person to die locally is a 73-year-old man, bringing the total number of Covid-related deaths in the county to at least 10. Flagler has recorded 112 new cases in five days this week, with a rising positivity rate.
As Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless,’ Florida Among States Seeking Workarounds
Quest announced that turnaround times had slowed to a week or more, up from three or four days in June. It also said some patients may face wait times of up to two weeks. Quest officials warned this week that could get worse as flu season starts this fall.
Flagler Reports Another Covid Death; School District Postpones All Fall Sports Indefinitely
The Health Department said a 92-year-old woman who’d been hospitalized with Covid died in hospice. The school district announced that all fall sports, including football and volleyball, are postponed until further notice.
Jacksonville Sheriff Warns He Can’t Keep GOP Convention Safe. Republicans Move Ahead Anyway.
“Where we are today is we can’t support this plan,” Sheriff Mike Williams, a Republican, said. “Where do we go from here is a good question. But where we are today, we can’t support it.”
Teachers Unions Sue Gov. DeSantis and Corcoran Over “Unsafe” Reopening of Schools as Virus Surges
Florida’s teacher unions have sued Gov. Rick DeSantis today, calling a state order to open schools to in-person instruction as the coronavirus surges “unsafe” and in violation of the state Constitution’s requirement that schools are operated safely.
Settlement in Vote-By-Mail Lawsuit Calls on Supervisors to ‘Maximize’ Convenience
The legal wrangling over mail-in ballots in Florida has come amid a national furor over absentee voting, with the man at the top of the Republican ticket in November railing about vote-by-mail for months.
Flagler Covid Cases Jump By 38 In a Day; Positive Staffers at 2 Assisted Livings; Older Children Just as Infectious, Study Finds
Flagler has seen 157 new cases in the last seven days, a quarter of its total since March and by far the most accelerated pace of new infections since the pandemic began, with a positivity rate of 10.6 percent. The largest study to date on the subject finds that older school-children are just as likely to be infectious as adults.
‘We’re Getting Clobbered’: Woman, 50, Is 3rd Covid Death in 3 Days in Flagler as Local Cases Break Records
Flagler County reported 26 new cases today, a record, in a week that also broke a record, with 126 cases, and 16 hospitalizations for Covid-19 at AdventHealth Palm Coast.
Flagler’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.7% in June as 2,200 Reclaim Jobs, Just Before Covid Resurgence
The number of unemployed fell from 6,100 in May to 4,371 in June in Flagler, pointing to a substantial rebound, though the surge in Covid-19 cases statewide and in Flagler since the June 5 Phase 2 reopening is casting doubt on the extent of the recovery.
Supreme Court Refuses to Clear the Way for Felon Voting Rights in Florida
Hundreds of thousands of Florida felons won’t be able to cast ballots in next month’s primary elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to vacate an appellate court’s order in a closely watched legal battle over voting rights.
50-Year-Old Man Is Flagler’s 2nd Covid Death in 2 Days as Florida Sets Another Single-Day Fatality Record: 156
Flagler County has seen a surge of 102 cases in the last five days in tandem with a continuing surge in the state, with local residents complaining of long delays in getting Covid-19 test results.
Education Commissioner Corcoran’s Call to Reopen Schools Sparks Criticism from State Board
More than a week after Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran ordered schools to reopen in August, members of the State Board of Education on Wednesday said his order has sparked confusion, fear and angst.
6th Covid Death in Flagler; Florida’s Fatalities Surge and Cases Exceed 300,000; School District Announces Remote Option
Flagler County is coming to terms with a situation more serious than some officials–more particularly, a few county elected officials–have acknowledged, with the school district on Tuesday announcing what amounts to a return to remote instruction for all those who want it come Aug. 10.