Tag Archives: Florida

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 …

The Daily Beast reports: Even though Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) is no fan of President Joe Biden, and vice-versa, the right-wing lawmaker had nothing but praise for the commander-in-chief over the federal government’s response to Hurricane Idalia. With Florida Gov. (and GOP presidential hopeful) Ron DeSantis apparently looking to avoid a Chris Christie-Barack Obama photo-op on Saturday, Scott—a former governor …

The Daily Mail reports: Multiple groups of professed neo-Nazis were spotted marching through parks in the Orlando area Saturday. Social media videos showed the groups – known as ‘Blood Tribe’ and ‘The Goyim Defense League’ – taking to the streets in Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Spring. The marchers, caught on video by State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, were raising …

The Miami Herald reports: A state judge struck down North Florida’s congressional districts Saturday, rebuffing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ open defiance of anti-gerrymandering protections, finding the governor’s map illegally reduced Black voters’ electoral power. DeSantis had wagered the state’s Fair Districts Amendment against the U.S. Constitution, arguing mandatory protections for Black voters violated the Equal Protection Clause. Second Judicial Circuit Judge …

The Associated Press reports: Some central Florida lawmakers said they were considering “all legislative, legal and executive options available” to stop business owners in a small town from voluntarily displaying rainbow decals in their windows indicating that they are “safe place” for LGBTQ+ people who feel threatened. Four Republican lawmakers wrote a letter to officials in Mount Dora two weeks …

Florida Politics reports: Labor Day Weekend may present the latest in a series of existential threats to Floridians from the White power movement. That’s the claim from the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism, which believes that a number of antisemitic, neo-Nazi groups will yet again mobilize in the Sunshine State. “Two extremist groups, the Goyim Defense League (GDL) and …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …