Tag Archives: Florida

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Before first light on Wednesday, construction crews began the process of removing a Confederate statue in Springfield Park that has long been the subject of debate in Jacksonville. By 11 a.m., the monument had been taken down. Following a similar process undertaken in 2020 to remove a Confederate statue from what was then known as Hemming …

Real Clear Politics reports: “Let’s just be clear,” DeSantis said, “Trump is fine with weaponization if it’s against people he doesn’t like.” For proof, he points to a complaint filed with the Florida Ethics Commission. It was “bogus” and quickly dismissed, but he notes that when the complaint was filed by Trump allies, they explicitly called “to have me ejected …

“We have brave men and women of Border Patrol who are down there ready, willing and able, who want to enforce our laws, who want to fight for our country. And instead, as you point out, they’re being assigned tasks like passing out blankets and working as travel agents to just bring people into this country. “We don’t know who …

Florida Politics reports: “You deserve better than stressing over what you can afford for your family at Christmas, at Hannukah (SIC), or in the middle of the summer. You should never be under this much strain because of the leaders you trusted to elect,” DeSantis promised Saturday. “We will take back control of our destiny, and enjoy the financial freedom …

The New York Times reports: Mr. DeSantis has slipped in some polls into third place, behind Nikki Haley, and has had to downsize his once-grand national ambitions to the simple hopes that a strong showing in a single state — Iowa — could vault him back into contention. For a candidate who talks at length about his own disinterest in …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Time is running out for Florida to opt into a new federal program that would provide $248 million to help feed 2 million children next summer who might otherwise go hungry. But it isn’t likely to happen as the state agency best equipped to run the program said it wouldn’t be pursuing the funding for it. …

Florida Politics reports: Disney is suing its own government for records in the latest escalation in the long legal fight between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Republicans. Disney accused the state-controlled Disney board of taking months to respond to public records requests and self-selecting which records the board does release. Disney filed the lawsuit Friday, the last working day …

Florida Politics reports: Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson isn’t letting big government get in the way of jolly St. Nick. Simpson approved an emergency order waiving any and all state regulations through Dec. 25 that could delay Santa as he travels across the states delivering toys to children. The order states that the Free State of Florida, “hereby known as the …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge hearing a challenge to a transgender health care ban for minors and restrictions for adults noted Thursday that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly spread false information about doctors mutilating children’s genitals even though there’s been no such documented cases. The law was sold as defending children from mutilation when it is actually …

The Washington Post reports: Never Back Down, the embattled super PAC supporting Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, has canceled all of its planned television advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire just weeks before voting begins in the first nominating states. In a statement, Scott Wagner, the super PAC’s chairman, characterized the decision as part of a shift that would allow …

Florida Politics reports: Two Republican lawmakers from Miami-Dade County want to give Florida voters a chance to ban red light cameras across the state for good. Miami Sen. Ileana Garcia and Sweetwater Rep. David Borrero filed related resolutions (SJR 1042, HJ 805) proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting any “traffic infraction detectors” from recording motorists who fail to stop at stop …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A total of 673 books, from classics to best-sellers, have been removed from Orange County classrooms this year for fear they violate new state rules that ban making “sexual conduct” available to public school students. The list also includes popular novels by Stephen King, Sue Monk Kidd and Jodi Picoult, classics like “A Tree Grows in …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A select group of volunteers expected to help Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intercept migrants at sea gathered at a Panhandle combat training facility this fall for lessons on how to use rifles and pistols, treat “massive hemorrhages” and practice “aerial gunnery.” A $1.2 million purchase order signed in August makes clear the DeSantis administration felt it …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to advance the hypothetical of an attack from the Bahamas by way of illustrating support for Israel’s ongoing operations against Hamas. “Down in Florida, if we were getting rockets fired from the Bahamas to, like, Fort Lauderdale, we would level, we would never ever accept that. I mean, it would be flattened. The …

“Every Republican President in recent times, including Trump, has accepted this idea that agencies like the DOJ and FBI are ‘independent agencies,’ you can’t mess with them, you can’t do anything. “Well, excuse me, that means they’re not accountable to anybody. Every source of power needs to be accountable to somebody that’s elected by you. And if they’re not accountable …

Miami’s PBS affiliate reports: Groups behind the push to put abortion rights on the Florida ballot next year have reached a major milestone: They believe they have collected all the signatures needed to put it to a vote. The petition aims to place a state constitutional amendment to protect the right to an abortion on the 2024 ballot. It would …

NBC News reports: A Florida man has pleaded guilty in connection with threatening to kill a Supreme Court justice. The guilty plea from 43-year-old Neal Brij Sidhwaney of Fernandina Beach stemmed from a call he made to a Supreme Court justice in July, the Justice Department said in a news release Monday. Prosecutors said that Sidhwaney identified himself by name …

Politico reports: A watchdog group that has already filed several complaints against Gov. Ron DeSantis is now alleging that the Florida Republican and a super PAC aiding his presidential bid violated federal campaign finance laws. DeSantis’ reliance on Never Back Down, which was set up with an infusion of more than $80 million transferred from a committee that once was …

From the Justice Department: A Florida woman has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Her actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Barbara …

Florida Politics reports: City hall flagpoles around Florida could lose some color if a bill by Rep. David Borrero passes in the upcoming Session. Borrero, a Sweetwater Republican, refiled a proposal (HB 901) that would prohibit local governments and agencies from flying the LGBTQ pride flag or any other banner representing a social or political position. “The government agency must …