Tag Archives: Florida

CNN reports: The state of Florida has been struck particularly hard by the latest surge, with more than 17,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data Saturday from the US Department of Health & Human Services. And in the week beginning August 14, at least five police departments in South Florida reported the deaths of law enforcement officers from Covid-19. …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Florida once again broke a coronavirus death toll record as its case count soared past 3 million Friday. The state logged 150,740 new COVID-19 cases and 1,486 deaths among residents over the past week, more than it ever has. That’s more than any other state, data reported Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control …

The Associated Press reports: Twitter suspended the account of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary for violating rules on “abusive behavior” after The Associated Press said her conduct led to a reporter receiving threats and other online abuse. The DeSantis aide, Christina Pushaw, saw her account locked for 12 hours, a Twitter spokeswoman said. She won’t be able to tweet, …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The city of Orlando and its water utility on Friday appealed to residents to cut back sharply on water usage for at least several weeks because of a pandemic-triggered shortage of liquid oxygen used to treat water. Orlando Utilities Commission consumes 10 tankers of liquid oxygen each week to remove odor and color from water. A …

The Miami Herald reports: Broward County and Alachua County school board members who voted to impose a mask mandate could start losing their monthly pay as soon as next week unless they reverse their policy. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Friday issued the warning, saying he would begin withholding an amount equal to their salaries each month until they …

The right wing Floridian Press reports: With the 2022 elections on the horizon, Florida races on the state level are heating up, especially in Florida House District 6. Brian Clowdus, who is now officially on the ballot for the Republican nomination, has just scored a pivotal endorsement by Roger Stone. “As a former Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation, …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: A couple from Miami Beach was arrested in Hawaii last week after police say they attempted to use fake vaccination cards to travel into the island for a family vacation. Enzo Dalmazzo, 43, and Daniela Dalmazzo, 31, were charged with falsifying a vaccine card, with Daniela facing an additional two counts for submitting fake documents …

Fort Myers’ ABC News affiliate reports: The woman caught on camera yelling racist insults at a mother and kids is no longer employed by the Collier County School District. According to CCPS’ staff email directory, Patricia Schmidt was an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at Lely Elementary School, but she has since been fired, a spokesperson for CCPS confirmed. “Are …

Miami’s ABC News affiliate reports: A City of Miami Police officer is under investigation because of what he was doing in a photo taken while on duty. The picture in question was taken Friday after Miami police made a big gun bust, but now top department brass are taking a closer look. A commander posted the photo on Twitter, and …

From the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel: If you were one of the 1.1. million followers of DeSantis’ Twitter account, you would have little way of knowing — based on his tweets from July 1, around the time the outbreak began, through Wednesday — that COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths were surging in Florida. DeSantis tweeted about 130 times …

West Palm Beach’s NBC News affiliate reports: Palm Beach County leaders have declared a local state of emergency to hopefully improve what officials call a “disturbing” shortage of hospital resources for COVID-19 patients. “We are in the most challenging point of COVID-19 from a public health perspective since the onset of this pandemic,” Mayor Dave Kerner said. Darcy Davis, the …

Axios reports: After record-shattering daily COVID-19 counts, school boards in Florida’s Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties held emergency meetings Wednesday and voted to again require face coverings on campuses. The districts are the nation’s fourth- and seventh-largest — representing more than 600,000 students. They join Broward, Leon and Alachua Counties in openly defying Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department …

Fort Myers’ NBC News affiliate reports: The woman caught on camera yelling racist insults at a mother and kids was placed on administrative leave by the Collier County School District. According to CCPS’ staff email directory, Patricia Schmidt is employed as an Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Specialist at Lely Elementary School. The video shows Schmidt mocking the child behind the …

ABC News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has been criticized for opposing mask mandates and vaccine passports — is now touting a COVID-19 antibody treatment in which a top donor’s company has invested millions of dollars. DeSantis has been flying around the state promoting Regeneron, a monoclonal antibody treatment that was used on then-President Donald Trump after he …

Jacksonville’s NBC News affiliate reports: The State Board of Education on Tuesday voted in favor of a recommendation to “use its enforcement powers” against Alachua County Public Schools after the district defied a statewide order to allow students to opt out of wearing a face mask without a doctor’s note. With a unanimous vote, the board authorized the Florida Department …

From the Hillsborough County School Board: The Hillsborough County School Board will hold an Emergency School Board Meeting on Wednesday, August 18, from 1-3:30 p.m. in the School Board Auditorium. Board Members will meet to discuss the latest district COVID-19 impact and will discuss the best way to mitigate against the spread of the virus, up to and including mandatory …

Florida Politics reports: Florida recorded 1,071 additional deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report released Friday afternoon by the Florida Department of Health. That total — similar to what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed for Florida in that agency’s most recent seven-day total — represents the worst week for COVID-19 deaths since January …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis asked a judge Friday to throw out a lawsuit by parents in a half-dozen Florida counties challenging the state’s ban on mandatory masks in school. Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper set a hearing date for next week on the proposed dismissal, a first step before any discussion of the …

Politico reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration backed down from its threat to withhold school officials’ salaries if they resist his anti-mask rule, saying instead that the defiant officials should be responsible for the “consequences of their decisions.” The move by the governor’s office represents a tacit acknowledgement that it legally can’t take away the salaries of school board members and …

Miami’s NBC News affiliate reports: The Broward Teachers Union confirmed Thursday that three teachers and a teacher’s assistant have died from COVID-19 within the two days. Union president Anna Fusco said those teachers were on summer break when they got the virus. Their colleagues learned of the sad news on Wednesday when teachers returned to the classroom to prepare for …