Tag Archives: Florida

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Florida’s former top public health official criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest foray into COVID-19 vaccine skepticism, saying the state is wrong to discourage those under age 65 from getting the new booster. Dr. Scott Rivkees, who preceded Dr. Joseph Ladapo as the state’s surgeon general, said the move runs counter to the goals of public health. …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The University of South Florida/Florida Atlantic University public opinion survey that probed what people know — or think they know — revealed sizable numbers of Florida residents believe inaccurate assertions about the vaccines. The biggest factor associated with beliefs in misinformation was political affiliation, with Republicans far more likely than Democrats and independents to agree with …

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: According to a list released by Florida’s Department of Education, school districts across the state issued a combined total of 386 book bans after receiving a total of 1,218 objections in 2022. More than half of the objections were raised by the same two people: Bruce Friedman, the founder of the Florida chapter of the activist …

Gainesville’s CW affiliate reports: The Marion County County Sheriff’s Office arrested a pastor after two underage girls described the sexual abuse they endured at his hands. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Derrell Redding, 54, of Ocala, on Wednesday after two girls gave detailed reports at the Kimberly Center of the many instances of abuse they faced. Redding is charged with two counts …

CBS News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the NAACP is pulling a “stunt” by calling Florida hostile to Black Americans, other minorities and LGBTQ+ people. In an interview with DeSantis, CBS asked if he would represent the entire country, and whether everyone could feel welcome in DeSantis’ America. “A hundred percent,” DeSantis responded. “And that is politics. That’s a …

The Hill reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state’s surgeon general are advising against the use of updated COVID-19 vaccines for anyone under the age of 65, a move that counters a new recommendation from the CDC. “I will not stand by and let the FDA and CDC use healthy Floridians as guinea pigs for new booster shots …

Florida Politics reports: Florida law enforcement officials arrested a Cape Canaveral man who led a Nazi demonstration in Orlando in June. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced Jason Brown, 48, was arrested for violating a new Florida law forbidding the display of images on structures without permission. Officials said Brown has claimed membership in the Order of the …

“You have to identify them as being hostile. I mean, if there’s a woman with a baby, they are not a cartel member. There’s not going to be authorization to just shoot somebody like that. But when somebody’s got a backpack on and they’re breaking through the wall, you know that that’s hostile intent, and you have every right to …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Manatee County officials have removed “Christian, the Hugging Lion” by Justin Richardson, a 32-page children’s book about two men who raise a lion named Christian in a London apartment. When Christian becomes too big, the two men release the lion into the wild in Africa. When the men go to visit Christian in Africa, they find …

Fox News reports: While speaking at a Thursday news conference for Gov. Ron DeSantis in Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, that state’s surgeon general, advised people to steer clear of the updated booster vaccine for COVID-19. “There’s a new vaccine that’s coming around the corner, a new mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, and there’s essentially no evidence for it,” Ladapo said during …

Tampa’s CBS affiliate reports: A Polk County man who spent much of his professional and church life working with children was arrested in November 2020 after investigators found more than 700 pictures and videos of child porn on his phone, the sheriff’s office reported. Shawn Fitzgerald, 49, — a former Lakeland High School teacher, soccer coach and youth minister — …

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports: The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into New College of Florida’s trustees and administration following a civil rights complaint filed on Aug. 22, according to a letter sent Friday from the agency to college Interim President Richard Corcoran. The DOE’s Office of Civil Rights said it plans to investigate the college on the …

Axios reports: Florida’s public universities will now permit the Classic Learning Test in admissions, offering a conservative-backed alternative to the SAT and ACT. Florida is now the first state university system in the country to allow for the Classic Learning Test (CLT), which has gained recent popularity among the state’s Christian and charter schools. The classical education model — not …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Donelle Evensen, principal at Bunnell Elementary School, informed Superintendent LaShakia Moore that she is resigning from her post, the Flagler County School District said in a news release Thursday morning. Evensen and a teacher were placed on leave following the assembly that was held for “African American students that scored below a three on testing.” Furious …

Florida Politics reports: Florida’s Governor and Surgeon General came to Jacksonville to talk COVID-19, but ended up talking about the killing of three Black people by a White gunman with swastikas drawn on his AR-15. However, the state leaders had more criticism for the man asking about how state laws led to an avoidable racist mass murder than they did …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis is appointing Tina Descovich, a leader of one of the nation’s leading parental rights groups, to the Florida Ethics Commission. The Governor’s Office notes that Descovich, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, “was previously elected to the School Board of Brevard County in 2016 and served as the President of the Florida Coalition of …

West Palm Beach’s NBC affiliate reports: The city of Lake Worth Beach has become a sanctuary city for the LGBTQ+ community and their families, the first of its kind in the Sunshine State. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, commissioners voted unanimously for the declaration. “I think it’s time to take a stand that we affirmatively accept the people as they are,” …

Via email from the Florida Democratic Party: In response to the delivery of antisemitic propaganda to homes and multiple neo-Nazi demonstrations across Florida, the Florida Democratic Party has issued the following statement: “Ron has failed time and time again to denounce neo-Nazis — even when they’re chanting “Jews get the rope” in front of his campaign signs,” said FDP Chair …

The Miami Herald reports: Homeowners, which of these consumes more energy in your house: space heating or water heating? Either way, Uncle Sam is ready to help you pay for some energy-efficient upgrades. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden a year ago, created two energy-efficiency rebate programs that could pay some, or even all, of the …

From the editorial board of the Orlando Sentinel: Even after all the news coverage, it’s hard to fathom the depths of toxic, illogical thinking behind a missive sent to Mount Dora city leaders by the Lake County legislative delegation, in response to the city’s approval of a “safe spaces” program that encourages business leaders to offer refuge to people threatened …