Tag Archives: Florida

ABC News reports: Joel Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector who sources say agreed to cooperate in the federal probe into his one-time close associate, Rep. Matt Gaetz, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to crimes ranging from wire fraud to sex trafficking a minor. Greenberg pleaded guilty last May to six of the 33 …

Reuters reports: Florida’s Chief Financial Officer said on Thursday his department would pull $2 billion worth of its assets managed by BlackRock Inc, the biggest such divestment by a state opposed to the asset manager’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies. The move will hardly dent BlackRock’s $8 trillion in assets and drew a strong response from the company, …

ESPN reports: Florida backup quarterback Jalen Kitna was arrested Wednesday on two counts of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of possession of child pornography. Kitna, the 19-year-old son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, was arrested by the Gainesville Police Department and booked into the Alachua County jail at 3:20 p.m. ET. He is expected to appear …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: Days after the Brevard County School Board ousted the superintendent, plans are underway for a new school disciplinary policy in Brevard Public Schools. Flanked by Sheriff Wayne Ivey and State Attorney Phil Archer, School Board Chairman Matt Susin went on camera Monday in front of the Brevard County Jail in Sharpes to announce plans to impose …

Florida Politics reports: Pasco County Schools says it has reversed its decision to deny a mother’s request to give a Hanukkah presentation to her son’s fifth grade class after reporters contacted the district for an explanation. Rachel Long has visited each of her children’s classes yearly to explain Hanukkah — the Jewish “Festival of Lights.” That was until last week …

From the Justice Department: A Florida man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to performing a lewd act aboard an aircraft in flight from Newark to Boston on Friday, April 8, 2022. Donald Edward Robinson, 76, of Bonita Springs, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of …

Politico reports: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis put his weight behind dozens of conservative school board candidates across Florida during the midterms. Now they’re in office — and are purging some educational leaders who enforced Covid-19 mandates. New board members in two GOP-leaning counties essentially sacked their school superintendents over the span of one week. The ousters were spurred by how …

Florida Politics reports: Presented with regretful comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger about consequences for the company’s opposition to the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, DeSantis did not back down from previous critiques of the “Burbank-based” corporation. “We didn’t drag them in, Tucker, they went in on their own,” DeSantis said on Fox News. “And not only opposed the bill. They …

Fox News reports: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida will chronicle his life in public service in a new book that will publish in late February in what will be seen by political pundits as another step by the conservative champion toward a possible 2024 presidential run. The autobiography by DeSantis, who was overwhelmingly re-elected three weeks ago to a …

Florida Politics reports: For the second time in 2022, a football game in Jacksonville was used as a platform for an offensive message. Ahead of the Jaguars’ Sunday afternoon tilt against the Baltimore Ravens, a plane funded by the Save Southern Heritage group flew a banner above TIAA Bank Field calling for the restoration of confederate statues in Jacksonville. “Put …

The Associated Press reports: State-level law enforcement units created after the 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into scattered complaints more than two weeks after the midterms but have provided no indication of systemic problems. That’s just what election experts had expected and led critics to suggest that the new units were more about politics than rooting …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis cannot be compelled to testify in the federal case that suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren is making to be reinstated, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Warren’s case that his August suspension from office is a violation of his First Amendment rights that should be undone starts Tuesday in front of U.S. District …

Via press release from the City of Tampa: A man who fired his weapon outside a South Tampa bar after yelling racial slurs on Monday has been taken into custody. Just before 9 PM on November 21, 2022, the Tampa Police Department responded to the SOHO Saloon, located at 410 S Howard Ave for a call of shots being fired. …

Florida Politics reports: Paul Renner has been christened House Speaker as Republicans prepare for two years of conservative control over Florida’s legislative agenda. Taking the rostrum for the first time as Speaker on Tuesday, the Palm Coast Republican said his chamber is ready to deliver a bold agenda promoting economic strength and stymieing social movements in education and business. Renner’s …

The Daily Beast reports: One of the 20 Floridians arrested this summer for allegedly voting illegally in the 2020 election had his charges charges dropped by prosecutors on Tuesday, dealing yet another blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ increasingly shaky crusade against voter fraud in the state. Tony Patterson, 44, won’t be prosecuted because of “information received” from a supervisor of …

Bloomberg News reports: Governor Ron DeSantis portrayed his record in Florida as a blueprint for the US as some Republicans see him as a alternative to Donald Trump, telling a group of donors and activists “we’ve got a lot more to do, and I have only begun to fight.” DeSantis didn’t mention the 2024 presidential race he’s widely expected to …

The Miami Herald reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has so far paid more than $1.5 million to a politically connected contractor for a program to fly migrants from Texas to northeastern states — but the private jets chartered by the contractor cost only a fraction of that sum. Newly released public records show the contractor, Destin, Florida-based Vertol Systems Company, …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: A lawsuit filed by a professor and student at the University of South Florida, contesting the state’s “Stop WOKE Act,” officially titled the “Individual Freedom Act,” has temporarily blocked the law’s impact on public universities, thanks to an order from a federal judge. House Bill 7, dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act” when first announced by Gov. …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to be coy about plans to run for President in 2024, but supporters aren’t waiting to make that case for him, labeling DeSantis as “DeFuture.” The “Ron to the Rescue” super PAC is rolling out a new ad. The 60-second spot begins with newscasters discussing COVID-19 “lockdown” mitigation measures, over shots of barren streets …

Florida Politics reports: On Wednesday in Matlacha, the Governor sidestepped a question about 2024, preferring instead to focus on the Georgia runoff and governing Florida after his “historic victory” over Charlie Crist last week. “We just finished this election. People just need to chill out a little bit on some of this stuff,” DeSantis said. “We have this Georgia runoff …