Flagler County Health Department Director Patrick Johnson defended the state’s controversial ban from DOH property against outreach workers called Navigators, who help uninsured people sign up for subsidized health coverage under Obamacare–a law Florida officials have actively and chronically obstructed.
Florida
Life Sentence for Rest-Stop Murder That Shattered Florida Tourism Is Reduced
Audra Akins was 14 when he murdered British tourist Gary Colley at an I-10 rest stop near Tallahassee 20 years ago. His life sentence was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He was re-sentenced to 40 years, making him eligible for release in 12 years.
Banned in Flagler, Welcomed in Prisons: Corrections Reverses Cigarette Prohibition in Work Camps
Corrections officials quietly reversed a blanket ban on tobacco at prisons this summer and are now allowing inmates at work release centers to have up to 10 packs of cigarettes each–just as Flagler County readies to ban smoking among new employees.
Supervisors of Election Weary of State’s Renewed Push for Voter Purges
Secretary of State Ken Detzner will go on the road next month to pitch for a revived voter scrub, but supervisors of elections, caught in the crosshairs of last year’s problematic purge, and voting-rights advocates remain skeptical.
Sheriff Trumpets Bi-County Synthetic Pot Bust, But Inaccuracies About “Epidemic” Abound
Some 80 cops fanned out Thursday in Flagler and St. Johns to arrest 11 individuals allegedly involved in the synthetic pot trade, charging five of them under the severe racketeering law, but in an orchestrated news conference at the sheriff’s office in the afternoon, officials inaccurately hyped the synthetic marijuana problem with little evidence to boot.
Despite 1,000-Acre Trim, Environmentalists Warn of Too Much State Land for Sale
The trim still leaves 4,250 acres at 48 state-held sites, such as parks, trails and management areas, that remain under consideration for sale by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection even though the lands fit criteria for protection.
Only in Florida: Attorney General Bondi Reschedules Execution to Avoid Conflict With Her Fundraiser
Marshall Lee Gore was to be executed the evening of Sept. 10 until Attorney General Bondi rescheduled the killing so it wouldn’t conflict with her “campaign kickoff” fundraiser in Tampa. She now says she shouldn’t have done that.
DCF Looking to Bring Family Drug Court to Florida as an Intervention Method
With substance abuse still threatening to overwhelm child-welfare systems like Florida’s, officials are looking at drug courts for troubled families as a way to address the problem.
Projection Shows $846 Million Surplus Ahead of Florida’s 2014 Budget
The estimated $845.7 million surplus could be used during the 2014-15 fiscal year to increase spending or cut taxes — or it could be rolled into the budget for the following year. The projection comes with all sorts of caveats, as the 2014-15 year will not start until July 1.
Coitus Prophylacticus: Advocacy Lawsuit Wants Florida Porn Flicks To Wear a Condom
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Health, targeting a South Florida-based company it charges with making an adult video without protecting the performers from sexually transmitted diseases via the use of condoms.