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Gov. DeSantis preaches anti-‘woke’ sermon to suburban audiences up North
By: Michael Moline - February 21, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a sharply anti-“woke” message during his Presidents Day speeches to police audiences outside three Democratic-controlled northern cities, sounding for all the world like a candidate for president himself. The Florida governor, fresh off his 19-point reelection win, traveled to suburban Chicago and Philadelphia plus Staten Island, N.Y. (the only NYC borough […]
DeSantis near Chicago to address cops; state’s Dem governor not impressed
By: Michael Moline - February 20, 2023
Will Gov. Ron DeSantis try to poach Chicago area-cops for Florida when he addresses that city’s Lodge No. 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police? Stands to reason: The governor’s been aggressively courting law enforcement officers from states where cops feel undersupported by political leaders, through offers of $5,000 signing bonuses and other inducements. DeSantis, […]
Andrew Warren asks FL Supreme Court to reinstate him as state’s attorney
By: Michael Moline - February 16, 2023
Andrew Warren, a twice-elected state prosecutor suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis, has taken his case for reinstatement as Hillsborough County state’s attorney to the Florida Supreme Court. In a motion filed with the court on Thursday, attorneys for Warren cited a federal judge’s Jan. 20 ruling that DeSantis violated the state and federal constitutions by […]
Gov. DeSantis quietly signs migrant-transport measure
By: Michael Moline - February 15, 2023
Update: The governor’s office issued a terse press release at 5:37 p.m. announcing that he had signed the bill. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation shoring up his authority to transport asylum seekers to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, but he didn’t do it before news cameras during a press conference. His aides hadn’t even issued a press […]
New measure could grease the skids on DeSantis’ elections-crimes prosecutions
By: Michael Moline - February 15, 2023
Update: The governor’s office issued a terse press release at 5:37 p.m. announcing that he had signed the bill. Say you’re a governor who announced during a splashy press conference that your new and much vaunted elections-crimes unit had rounded up some 20 former felons for improperly voting, only to see the cases fall apart […]
Is DeSantis running? ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’
By: Michael Moline - February 14, 2023
Was Ron DeSantis about to be goaded by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s announcement that she is running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary into revealing his own plans? “Wouldn’t you like to know?” the Florida governor responded to a reporter who asked him about it on Tuesday. He even kind of giggled, eliciting […]
Andrew Warren asks federal appeals court to undo his suspension as state’s attorney
By: Michael Moline - February 14, 2023
Andrew Warren, suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis for reasons a federal trial judge ruled were politically motivated, has taken his fight for reinstatement as state’s attorney for Hillsborough County to a federal appeal court. The twice-elected prosecutor filed a notice of appeal on Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in […]
DeSantis pushing legislation to expand his crusade against ‘woke’ capitalism
By: Michael Moline - February 13, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders are promising to extend the governor’s campaign against “ESG” investing through legislation barring state and local agencies from putting taxpayer money in banks that consider more than the naked bottom line in managing investments. “ESG stands for “environmental, social, and governance” considerations in investments on behalf of stockholders or […]
FL Legislature OKs migrant-relocation plan; critics say it’s shameful, a waste of taxpayer dollars
By: Michael Moline - February 10, 2023
Legislation that passed its final vote in the Florida house Friday confirms Gov. Ron DeSantis’ authority to round up migrants and deliver them to Democratic-dominated states. In fact, it expands that authority to the point that state agents can seek these migrants anywhere within the United States. Two days after the state Senate approved the […]
DeSantis’ migrant-transportation revamp clears FL Senate, despite lawsuits, Constitutional issues
By: Michael Moline - February 8, 2023
The Florida Senate has gone along with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to fix problems in his asylum-seeker airlifts, voting along party lines to place it on firmer but not unassailable constitutional footing. The focus now shifts to the Florida House, where that chamber’s version of the legislation (HB 5B) passed its last committee meeting Wednesday […]
Fixes to DeSantis’ immigrant program won’t necessarily solve his legal woes
By: Michael Moline - February 8, 2023
The Florida Legislature is trying to repair Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legally embattled asylum-seeker airlifts but, no matter what lawmakers pass during a special session going on this week and next, it won’t eliminate the governor’s legal exposure in state and federal courts. Prominent on the House and Senate calendars for the special session that opened […]
Trans kids want ‘lives of dignity and acceptance’; DeSantis, surgeon general want bans on therapies
By: Issac Morgan, Danielle J. Brown, Michael Moline and Mitch Perry - February 3, 2023
James, of Central Florida. Nov. 15, 2022: “This rule cruelly and unfairly attacks vulnerable trans youth in our state by banning their access to gender-affirming healthcare. Young people who want only to be who they are and live lives of dignity and acceptance, something we ask for all people. In addition, as this rule does […]