Tag Archives: Florida

Law & Crime reports: The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday arrested 25-year-old Brad Markey-Perez after he allegedly shot his pal by mistake, authorities said. Deputies found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the jaw. Markey-Perez told deputies he and the victim like to have “drills” where they “practice with each other the importance of being vigilant of …

Florida Politics reports: Smart & Safe Florida, the campaign behind a recreational marijuana amendment, announced it has raised more than $15 million. While the campaign up until now has largely been backed by Trulieve, its financial support now comes from a number of cannabis businesses and investors across the country. Those include: Verano Holdings, Curaleaf Holdings, AYR Wellness, Cresco Labs, …

NPR reports: A federal judge in Boston has ruled that migrants flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 can proceed with a lawsuit against the Florida company that took them there. The judge also dismissed claims against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials named in the suit. Three migrants from Venezuela, along with an immigrant rights group, filed …

From hate group leader Mat Staver: Today, the Florida Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that a deceptive ballot initiative that proposes to codify unrestricted abortion in the state’s constitution may appear on the November ballot. Now Floridians must defeat this deceptive amendment. This amendment is not about protecting women. In fact, this amendment will throw women into back-alley abortion butchers. The …

“We are very disappointed that a deceptively worded pro-abortion amendment is allowed to appear on Florida’s ballot in November. If passed, it will allow abortions up to 6 months of pregnancy and, thanks to a loophole, even to point of birth. “Florida will become the most pro-abortion state in the southern U.S. That is NOT what Florida wants, and the …

Florida Insider reports: The Florida Supreme Court had until the end of the day to decide whether or not voters will be able to comment on two proposed amendments that deal with marijuana use for recreational purposes and abortion rights in November. The court decided not to make its opinions public on Thursday. Over the weekend and on Friday, the …

NBC News reports: While hundreds of thousands of new residents have flocked to the state on the promise of beautiful weather, no income tax and lower costs, nearly 500,000 left in 2022, according to the most recent census data. Contributing to their move was a perfect storm of soaring insurance costs, a hostile political environment, worsening traffic and extreme weather, …

The New York Post reports: Former 2 Live Crew rapper Luther Campbell is planning to run for Congress to rep his home state of Florida — accompanied by a flashy documentary film to chronicle his challenge to the Washington establishment, The Post can confirm. Campbell, 63, the frontman of the hip-hop legends whose 1989 album “As Nasty As They Wanna …

Florida Politics reports: The Florida Supreme Court must make a consequential decision between now and Monday, April 1, on whether to allow two significant ballot initiatives on the November 2024 ballot. Attorney General Ashley Moody asked the court to block the marijuana amendment from the ballot, but the scope of questions during the Supreme Court hearing suggested that several Justices …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed board and Disney settled lawsuits Wednesday over who controls the governing district of Disney World’s theme parks and resorts. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s board voted to accept the deal, which ends much of the litigation between Disney and Florida officials. The agreement says development agreements and covenants approved by a …

The Tallahassee Democrats reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday signed into law sweeping social media restrictions that also requires age verification to access pornographic websites in Florida. The measure would take effect at the beginning of 2025 – if it survives expected lawsuits from the nation’s largest tech companies. In that case, minors under 16 would be barred from social media …

The Florida Phoenix reports: As lawmakers were winding down in the Capitol, Florida lawmakers finally passed a contentious bill that has irked local governments over the past decade — a proposal to give the state more power to regulate short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo platforms, which have changed the vacation landscape in a tourist-heavy state. But a …

The Florida Phoenix reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday authorizing 16- and 17-year-olds to work more than 30 hours per week with their parent’s approval. The governor’s signing of HB 49, which had garnered criticism from workers’ advocacy groups early in the session, came without fanfare. In fact, his office announced the approval in a press release …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending legislation he signed this week that bans people from sleeping in public, saying it doesn’t punish the unhoused, but helps them. “It’s not criminalizing homelessness. What they’re saying is you don’t have a right to just sleep in front of somebody’s business or you don’t have a right to just take over …

NBC News reports: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is moving up the list of former President Donald Trump’s potential vice presidential picks, according to six people familiar with the presumptive Republican nominee’s search for a running mate. Trump’s apparent seriousness about Rubio, 52, a third-term senator, hints at his priorities and presents an intriguing set of potential complications. The Constitution prohibits …

The South Florida SunSentinel reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill Wednesday that forbids homeless people from sleeping in public places and prevents local governments from allowing them to stay there unless the state authorizes them to do so. The governor was joined at a news conference announcing the signing by local South Florida leaders and representatives at Santorini …

Florida Politics reports: Florida often hosts so-called “snowbirds” from Canada during the winter months. But U.S. Sen. Rick Scott wants to clip the wings of Canadian elected leaders who may want to visit the state in the wake of a decision to ban arm sales to Israel amid its war with Hamas. “Canada is sending a clear signal of being …

Newsweek reports: Donald Trump suffered a blow in Tuesday’s primary in Florida, a state he only narrowly won in the 2020 presidential election, after thousands of Republicans refused to vote for him. While the former president won the primary with 910,857 votes, 81.2 percent of the overall share, some 197,000 people, or 17.8 percent, voted for either Nikki Haley or …

The Florida Trident reports: Former Florida GOP chairman Christian Ziegler and his wife Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota School Board Member and cofounder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, have filed a lawsuit seeking to bar the release of records involved in the husband’s criminal rape investigation. The once powerful Republican power couple sued the City of Sarasota and State …

Florida Politics reports: The return of Air DeSantis may be imminent. Gov. Ron DeSantis said some undocumented immigrants intercepted while attempting to land in Florida from Haiti may lead to a trip to New England for those refugees. “We do have our transport program also that’s going to be operational,” DeSantis said. “So Haitians who land in the Florida Keys, …