Tag Archives: Florida

Miami School Board May Reject LGBTQ Declaration

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: Declaring an LGBTQ history month used to be routine at the Miami-Dade County School Board. Not anymore. “We have to uphold state law, and it’s very clear what that law is,” said board member Monica Colucci [photo] at Wednesday night’s committee meeting. “Matters of gender identity and sexual orientation are family issues and are parental rights, …

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DeSantis Refuses To Meet With Biden On Idalia Tour

CNN reports: A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that there are no plans for the Republican to meet with President Joe Biden when he travels to Florida on Saturday, contradicting comments Biden made earlier in the day indicating they would. “We don’t have any plans for the Governor to meet with the President tomorrow,” DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfern …

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Prosecutors Seek Prison For FL “Don’t Say Gay” Author

Gainesville’s ABC affiliate reports: With a sentencing hearing scheduled Sept. 11, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Thursday that former state Rep. Joe Harding, R-Ocala, should be sent to prison for fraudulently applying for business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Joseph Harding is a businessman and former member of the Florida House of Representatives,” the filing said. “As he …

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Florida Parents Can Spend Money From Private School Vouchers On Giant TVs, Theme Park Tickets, And More

The Tampa Bay Times reports: As Florida lawmakers expanded eligibility for school vouchers this year, they also gave parents more ways to spend the money. Theme park passes, 55-inch TVs, and stand-up paddleboards are among the approved items that recipients can buy to use at home. The purchases can be made by parents who home-school their children or send them …

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Woke Beer Company Ships Emergency Water To Florida

Florida Politics reports: Anheuser-Busch has delivered two truckloads of water — more than 100,000 cans — to areas impacted by Hurricane Idalia, after a request from the American Red Cross to assist with recovery efforts. The cans of water were delivered to Tri-Eagle Sales in Midway, who will work with the American Red Cross to distribute the water to those …

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DeSantis PAC Issues Desperate Plea For $50 Million

The New York Times reports: Hours before the Republican Party’s first presidential debate, the chief strategist for the super PAC that has effectively taken over Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign met with donors in Milwaukee. “Now let me tell you a secret — don’t leak this,” the strategist, Jeff Roe, told the donors last Wednesday, according to a recording of the …

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DeSantis Backs Shooting Looters: “This Is A 2A State”

“This part of Florida, you’ve got a lot of advocates and some proponents of the Second Amendment. And I’ve seen signs in different people’s yards in the past after these disasters, and I would say it’s probably here, ‘You loot, we shoot.’ You never know what’s behind that door. If you go break into somebody’s house and you’re trying to …

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God Smashes Giant Tree Into FL Governor’s Mansion

Axios reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mansion experienced the impact of Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in the state as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday. The storm, continuing inland into Georgia and northern Florida, felled a 100-year-old oak tree that landed on the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, Fla., Casey DeSantis, Florida First Lady, said on Twitter. The storm is …

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Major Trump Donor Takes Over FL “No Labels” Chapter

Politico reports: A major Republican donor and one-time financial backer of former President Donald Trump is now a leader in the Florida chapter of No Labels’ third-party presidential bid. Allan Keen, a Florida-based real estate developer and investor who gave more than $137,000 to Trump-related election entities last cycle, has joined the centrist political group in a leadership role with …

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DeSantis Dodges Questions About Property Insurance

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed Monday that he wanted to do more to reform Florida’s troubled property insurance market than the Legislature sought to do. But on Tuesday in Tallahassee, DeSantis deferred explaining what exactly the House and Senate wouldn’t do that he desired. “We can talk about the policy stuff,” DeSantis said. “I think, right now, we’re …

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Hurricane Idalia Nears Florida Landfall At Category 4

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane I​dalia is beginning to make landfall as a Category 4 along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it’s likely to bring catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and flooding rain. I​dalia will then move quickly inland which will bring significant wind and flooding concerns, as well as the threat of tornadoes, into parts of Georgia, as well …

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Idalia Strengthens To Category 2, Starts Lashing Florida

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Idalia is producing bands of heavy rain, gusty winds and coastal flooding in Florida as it continues to intensify over the Gulf of Mexico ahead of its likely landfall at Category 3 strength Wednesday morning. Catastrophic, life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain are all expected along portions of the west coast of Florida …

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Florida Sought “Opposing Viewpoints” On Slavery

The Miami Herald reports: When Florida rejected a new Advanced Placement course on African American Studies, state officials said they objected to the study of several concepts — like reparations, the Black Lives Matter movement and “queer theory.” But the state did not say that in many instances, its reviewers also made objections in the state’s attempt to sanitize aspects …

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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Suspends Presidential Bid

The Miami Herald reports: After laying low for a week, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Tuesday that he has suspended his presidential campaign. Suarez, an attorney and private equity executive, announced his decision on social media. Suarez, who was the only Hispanic candidate seeking the GOP nomination, launched his campaign on June 14 after teasing a run for months. …

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DeSantis Warns Of 8-12 Ft Surge: “Run From Water”

The Orlando Sentinel reports: “If this storm hits at high tide, storm surge could and would reach 8 to 12 feet in some areas and so that would be life threatening storm surge,” DeSantis said Tuesday morning. “I know all those areas are under evacuation notices in the low lying and coastal areas. You run from the water and you …

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Idalia Becomes Hurricane As Evacuations Ramp Up

The Associated Press reports: Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday as it intensified on a path toward Florida’s Gulf coast, with the National Hurricane Center warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds in Florida in the next two days. It’s projected to have sustained winds of up to 120 mph (193 kph) as it …

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DeSantis: “Roomer” I’m Dropping Out Is “Fake News”

Axios reports: GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign on Monday dismissed former President Trump’s suggestion that he had plans to drop out of the 2024 race. “Clearly, Donald Trump and his army of consultants are panicked about Ron DeSantis’ winning debate performance and the strong momentum that has followed,” Bryan Griffin, a press secretary for DeSantis’ campaign, said in a …

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Florida Officials Forecast Idalia To Become Category 4

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tropical Storm Idalia is anticipated to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, Florida’s emergency chief said on Monday morning as he urged Floridians to prepare for impacts. “People need to expect, even though they are well off outside of the cone, that we are going to have power …

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DeSantis: I’ll Pause Campaign For Coming Hurricane

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials gave an update on Tropical Storm Idalia on Sunday at the state’s emergency operations center. As of this report, the storm is 80 miles off the coast of Cozumel with 35 mph winds. It will become a hurricane by late Tuesday afternoon. The storm could arrive as strong as a …

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Gunman Identified In Jacksonville Mass Shooting

NBC News reports: A white gunman killed three Black people in what the sheriff called a hate-motivated shooting at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday.  Authorities identified the shooter as Ryan Christopher Palmeter, a 21-year-old from Orange Park, Florida. They also confirmed he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters earlier described the gunman …

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