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‘Tidal Town Halls’ let voters talk to candidates about climate change
ReThink Energy Florida and First Street Foundation are holding a series of town halls where local and statewide candidates will talk about their plans to deal with rising seas and climate change.This is a chance for voters to ask them how they plan on protecting Florida. Here is the schedule: August 1, 5:30 – 8:30 […]
Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is causing a ‘state of emergency’ for people of color, governor’s candidate Andrew Gillum says
Democratic candidate for governor Andrew Gillum called Monday for Gov. Rick Scott to issue a state of emergency to suspend the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law because police didn’t arrest a white man who started an argument and then killed an unarmed black man – over a parking spot. “Stand Your Ground has created an […]
Frightened immigrant teen flees S. Fla. detention facility
An upset immigrant teenager fled a U.S. government detention facility in Homestead, saying she couldn’t take it anymore, and begging not to go back, reports the Washington Post. The teen is from Honduras. She was being held at the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children, the Post reports, adding that the Homestead shelter houses an estimated 1,200 […]
The Endangered Species Act has a target on its back
On a remote beach south of Tallahassee last week, a sizeable crowd gathered to watch legendary marine biologist Jack Rudloe release two rescued juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the wild. Kemp’s ridleys are the world’s most endangered sea turtles; these two were fixed up and ready to go after getting caught in fishing line. […]
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson calls for special legislative session to fix public beach access mess
U.S. Sen Bill Nelson on Friday called for a special session of the Florida Legislature to repeal the law that is causing controversy and legal problems over the public’s access to the state’s beaches. “This isn’t what Florida is about,” Nelson said in a Friday morning press conference on the Panhandle’s Santa Rosa Beach. “Beachgoers […]
Gwen Graham scrutinized over family’s partnership in developing America’s biggest mall near Everglades
Democratic governor’s candidate Gwen Graham was on the hot seat on CBS Miami when questioned about her family’s involvement in developing what is touted to be the largest mall in America – with a planned indoor ski slope and submarine lake – on the edge of the Everglades Graham continued to repeat a canned response […]
Panhandle county tells private beach grumps – pick up your own trash, we’re not doing it anymore
Commissioners in Walton County – which is in the middle of a high-profile fight over the public’s right to walk on the beach – is telling waterfront homeowners and condominium complexes that county workers will no longer collect the trash from their beach side bins, the Northwest Daily News reports. The county doesn’t want to […]
LGBTQ community rocked by series of Florida murders
In the past five months, four transgender women of color and an African-American gay man – possibly tied to the same drag show touring circuit – have been murdered in Florida. The murders are spreading fear through the LGBTQ community, with activists banding together to demand more action from state leaders and from law enforcement. […]
Grumpy rich people to public: Get off my lawn – er, public beach!
Maybe we’ve all been taking our right to stroll unfettered along Florida’s beaches for granted. Because it looks like a flap that exploded last week over public beach access way up in the Panhandle’s Walton County may be a test case for a land grab by wealthy waterfront residents to shut out the rest of […]
Making history: Reporters vote for a union at Jacksonville’s 154-year-old daily paper
Sick of stagnant pay, shrinking benefits, and newsroom layoffs, reporters and other workers at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville voted to join a national union this week, a historic vote that makes the 154-year-old newspaper the third in Florida to do so. “We think organizing as a union lets the staff speak in a voice […]
Orlando City Council approves Trust Act
(UPDATE) The Orlando City Council on Monday became the first municipality in the South to pass what is called the “Trust Act,” which would ban city employees from asking suspects about their immigration status. Similar measures have been passed in California, Connecticut and U.S. cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Chicago. In some of those jurisdictions, […]
Gov. Scott has no business seeking money from oil, coal execs in Oklahoma, Florida Democrats say
Florida Democrats blasted Gov. Rick Scott for flying off to Oklahoma City today to solicit campaign donations from prominent American fracking, oil, and coal company executives. Scott’s appearance at a luncheon at a restaurant in the headquarters of Devon Energy Corp. was first reported last week by the media outlet Energy & Environment News. Scott’s […]