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Senate OKs $2 million-plus for wrongful murder conviction; House claims bill pending
As Clifford Williams and family members watched from the gallery, the Florida Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to pay him more than $2 million in compensation for the 43 years he spent in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. “We cannot give him back his time, but we can certainly help him move forward. He […]
First responder confidential peer counseling bill heading to Senate floor
The Senate version of legislation intended to reduce depression and suicide among first responders by allowing them to confidentially talk about job stress with their peers cleared its final committee test Monday and was headed to the floor. The bill (SB 160) by Gainesville Republican Keith Perry would create a looser framework for informal therapy […]
Gov. DeSantis, V.P. Pence to huddle over coronavirus campaign
Gov. Ron DeSantis was to meet in South Florida with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday afternoon to discuss efforts to contain coronavirus, the governor’s office announced. The meeting was set for 3 p.m. at Palm Beach International Airport, according to the governor’s daily schedule. DeSantis’ press office had no immediate reply to a request […]
Peer counseling seen as salve for first responders’ stress and despair
This time, the suicide call led Marion County sheriff’s deputies to one of their own. The victim was Adam Rendall, a 13-year veteran of the department who took his own life in July 2017. Sheriff Billy Woods, in an emotional video message to the county’s citizens announcing the tragedy, pointed to hotlines where people in […]
Mayors to Legislature: Let Nikki Fried retain control of Fl Office of Energy
Forty local government officials have sided with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried in her effort to retain control of Florida’s Office of Energy. Fried’s office released text Wednesday from a letter the officials wrote endorsing Fried’s management of the office, which Republicans in the Florida House want to transfer to the Department […]
Gov. DeSantis schedules two briefings on coronavirus as CDC urges preparedness
The coronavirus threat has been commanding Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attention this week, as he scheduled two meetings on the topic Wednesday following a telephone discussion with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott the day before. DeSantis was to participate with a state action network conference call on coronavirus planning organized by the National Governors Association, and to […]
FL Senate needs to ‘hold the line’ on medical marijuana THC limits, senator says
A powerful state senator vowed Tuesday to resist efforts in the Florida House to limit the potency of cannabis available under Florida’s medical marijuana program. “What you’re hearing us say is that the Senate needs to hold the line,” Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Pinellas County Republican who chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil […]
Gov. DeSantis: Sanders’ ‘whitewash’ of Cuban government ‘totally unacceptable’ to Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis bludgeoned Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders Monday over the Vermont senator’s qualified defense, during a 60 Minutes interview, of left-wing governments in Latin America, including Cuba and Nicaragua. During the interview aired by CBS on Sunday night, Sanders criticized abuses by the Cuban and Nicaraguan governments, but also praised their advances in […]
Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried continues fight over FL Office of Energy
Nikki Fried, Florida’s only statewide-elected Democratic Cabinet member, is continuing her campaign to retain control of the Florida Office of Energy, even though legislation to wrest the agency from her grasp has already passed the Florida House. Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Fried held a news conference in Oakland Park in Broward County to […]
Federal appeals court sides with ex-felons on enforcing voter rights
A federal appeals court has rejected Gov. Ron DeSantis’ defense of a state law that blocks ex-felons from voting unless they have paid all court-ordered fines, fees, and restitution. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in an unsigned opinion published Wednesday, said the law unfairly punishes people merely […]
FL woman, man, among President Trump’s clemency recipients
Rod Blagojevich and Michael Milken – respectively, the former governor of Illinois and the fallen financier – were the headliners among the 11 people granted clemency or full pardons Tuesday by President Trump, but a pair of Floridians also benefited. Ariel Friedler of Miami, founder and former chief executive of Symplicity Corp., secured a full […]
Floridians have until Tuesday to register to vote in presidential primaries
Still haven’t registered to vote in Florida’s presidential preference primaries, or change your party affiliation? You’d better get a move on – the deadline falls tomorrow. Both the Florida Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Florida have been running voter-registration drives in anticipation of the primaries, scheduled for March 17, and general election, on […]