Tag Archives: Florida

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board: The tough guy in the flight helmet is afraid of Charlie Crist. “Never, ever back down from a fight,” Gov. Ron DeSantis insists in a campaign ad. Then he runs away from an invitation to debate Crist on statewide television. Considering DeSantis’ obvious vulnerabilities in a format he can’t control — especially on …

Politico reports: The Miami Dade School Board on Wednesday night struck down a proposal that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month” out of concern that it would violate the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, known by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay.” Miami school board members passed a similar resolution acknowledging LGBTQ history month in 2021 by a …

Florida Politics reports: Jacksonville Democrat Kim Daniels has completed her second political resurrection, returning to represent Florida House District 14 after a two year absence. No General Election is needed in the district after all. Daniels’ write-in opponent, Patrice Wynette Jones, withdrew from the race. The Florida Federation for Children PAC, which is chaired by Step Up for Students founder …

Via press release: To protect free speech, the government must censor. That’s the absurd argument put forth by Florida lawmakers in the controversial “Stop WOKE Act.” The law suppresses viewpoints disfavored by Florida lawmakers, threatens tens of millions of dollars in annual funding for universities that don’t crack down on faculty who “promote” an opinion on a government blacklist, and …

Click Orlando reports: A woman sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that set sail from Port Canaveral was killed Tuesday in a shark attack while on an excursion in the Bahamas, according to a cruise line spokesperson. The woman, a guest on Harmony of the Seas, was attacked while on an independent shore excursion in Nassau, the cruise line …

Florida Politics reports: A new poll shows Sen. Marco Rubio is under the critical 50% mark with Florida voters. The survey results, conducted for AARP Florida by two top pollsters, reveal the Republican Senator with a slim lead, winning 49% support among likely voters to Democrat Val Demings’ 47%. That puts the race well within the poll’s 4.4% margin of …

The Palm Beach Post reports: For the third month in a row, Florida logged more COVID-19 deaths than anywhere else in America. The state’s COVID death toll grew by 1,614 people in August, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. As coronavirus omicron subvariants swept the state this summer, Florida fatalities topped the nation from June through August. …

Florida Politics reports: A new positive ad from the Ron DeSantis re-election campaign finds a lot of ways to say thank you … to the Governor. “When they attacked you, you didn’t cave,” the script contends. “You stood strong for the people of Florida.” A female bartender with a Midwestern accent declared in agreement, “he saved our jobs.” A short …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: A Tampa woman was arrested after a toddler in her care shot a 5-month-old baby, according to police. A release from the Tampa Police Department said officers responded to a home in Sulpher Springs just after 1 p.m. on Saturday after the caller said a 5-month-old baby was shot in the hip. Officers said Paula Marie …

Florida Politics reports: Labor Day brings a fresh email from the Marco Rubio campaign. identifying two so-called “peas in a radical pod” that suggests a re-election fight resembling a tag team wrestling match. Rubio’s campaign spotlighted a joint campaign appearance between his General Election opponent, U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Orlando, and the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, Karla Hernández. …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: The second attempt to launch NASA’s Artemis I mission from Kennedy Space Center has been scrubbed for Saturday. The Artemis I mission management team tried to launch the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft Saturday afternoon. Artemis I will launch the SLS rocket – also called the mega moon rocket – and send …

Popular Information reports: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), his campaign, and the Florida Republican Party have launched a coordinated attack on Karla Hernández, the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida. They claim Hernández, as president of the United Teachers of Dade (UTD) union, “protected a sexual predator for years and accompanied him through numerous investigations into his sexual assaults …

The Florida Phoenix reports: In Florida’s public schools, the 10th grade statewide English Language Arts assessment has been a crucial exam — kids have to pass it to get a standard high school diploma. But the 2022 spring exam results show that fewer than half of Florida’s 10th graders passed the ELA exam, troubling because students will be getting closer …

“There are two things happening here. The first is they are criminalizing and dehumanizing their opposition. So this is what they have been doing for a while. If you criticize them, they will claim that you are putting them in danger. “They, on the other hand, do not criticize Republicans, they try to dehumanize, defame and smear Republicans by calling …

Bloomberg News reports: Democrat Charlie Crist said he is resigning Wednesday from his US House seat as he campaigns to reclaim the Florida governorship from Republican incumbent Ron DeSantis in the November elections. Crist, whose decision shrinks Democrats’ already slim House majority, had previously announced he wouldn’t seek another House term amid his challenge to DeSantis, who is running for …

Florida Politics reports: A new poll shows Florida’s U.S. Senate contest tied within the margin of error and Democrat Val Demings winning independents. Impact Research released polling that showed Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio winning 49% of the vote, while Demings, an Orlando Congresswoman, takes 46% of the vote. That puts the candidates within the poll’s 3.5 percentage point …

Slate reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a spectacle out of the round of arrests made by his election police force earlier this month, jailing 20 people on charges of voter fraud and promising more prosecutions to come. At least one target was dragged to jail in his underwear by a SWAT team at 6 a.m. But it turns out …

Politico reports: Former President Donald Trump has hired Chris Kise, Florida’s former solicitor general, to represent him in the criminal investigation related to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago resort in early August. Kise’s hiring comes at a critical juncture for the former president, whose legal team has faced criticism for its handling of the case in the Southern District …

Florida Politics reports: Vandals sprayed a hateful, vulgar message on a window and damaged door locks at the Seminole County Republican Party headquarters. Someone sprayed the words “Eat Sh** Fascists” on the storefront window of the Seminole Republicans’ office in Casselberry. A symbol for anarchists was added. The door locks were damaged with glue, preventing officials from being able to …

The New York Daily News reports: Attorneys with the 17 law firms who brokered the $1.1 billion settlement between Florida’s Champlain Towers and victims of its deadly 2021 collapse were awarded $70 million in fees Monday. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzma expressed satisfaction that the families of the 98 people killed in last summer’s tragedy were “in essence being made …