Briefs
NAACP Florida calls for reprimand of Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis
The NAACP Florida State Conference has condemned Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis for questioning an African-American clemency applicant at a recent June hearing about how many children he had and with how many different women. “CFO Patronis’s behavior emphasizes the need for automatic rights restoration and raises grave concerns about CFO Patronis’s fitness to participate […]
Update: St Augustine votes for Confederate monument with “context”
Update: The St. Augustine City Commission voted 4-1 on Monday evening to advance the recommendation by a local committee to add “context” to the city’s controversial Confederate monument and keep it standing, despite recent protests. Before voting on the matter, the city commission heard from the public for more than two hours, with supporters of […]
Patronis’ Democratic opponent calls him “unfit to serve” over comment to African-American clemency applicant; Patronis releases meeting transcript
The campaign for Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has released a statement in response to criticism from two Democratic candidates – CFO Democratic challenger Jeremy Ring and Attorney General candidate Sean Shaw (a member of the Florida House of Representatives) in response to a recent Florida Phoenix story. The story, published Thursday, highlighted a moment during […]
State Rep. Sean Shaw demands apology from CFO Jimmy Patronis for “racially biased” questions
In response to a Florida Phoenix story, Florida State Representative Sean Shaw, who is running for Attorney General, is calling for Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis to apologize for his “racially biased” questioning of an African-American applicant at the June 14 clemency hearing in Tallahassee. “It is one thing to try to determine the good […]
Cancer cluster in southeast Florida town?
ABC News reports from Satellite Beach, where a woman who was diagnosed with a rare kind of breast cancer at age 35 has been organizing with other cancer victims diagnosed around the same time. They are concerned about groundwater contamination from nearby Patrick Air Force Base – which officials say hasn’t affected the town’s water […]
Florida governor candidate Gwen Graham on abortion rights
With a new seat opening up on the U.S. Supreme Court, women everywhere are thinking about the Roe v. Wade decision that made it possible for American women to have access to legal abortion. The Tampa Bay Times’ Lawrence Mower has a story about how Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham – the only woman in […]
Florida felon rights restoration a national story
We’re not the only ones talking about Florida’s flawed voter restoration process for felons. Our Florida Phoenix story, written by CD Davidson-Hiers, covered the lack of standards for the Governor and Cabinet’s arbitrary decisions to either restore or withhold felons’ civil rights and includes some pretty weird public questioning by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy […]
Adam Putnam hearts resigned EPA head Scott Pruitt
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who has done one controversial ethical thing after another – and we’re not even talking about his evisceration of our clean air and water laws – FINALLY resigned. Florida Democrats were quick to remind everyone that Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam (currently Agriculture Commissioner) has been a big Scott Pruitt […]
Standing With The Capital
By the eeriest of coincidences, I happened to be at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., Thursday afternoon, with a group of a dozen journalists from across the country, when my phone began buzzing with news of the shooting at The Capital newsroom. How surreal to be in the shrine of our chosen profession, surrounded by artifacts […]
A “slap at teachers”
The Florida Education Association, local teacher unions and educators filed a lawsuit this week, hoping to block a new law that critics say violates the state Constitution and looks a lot like union busting. The lawsuit filed in Leon County Circuit Court stems from a July 1 law that could ultimately revoke a teacher union’s […]
Financial Help for South Florida School Shooting Survivors
The families of the 17 victims killed on Valentine’s Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland will soon receive $400,000 in contributions raised through a GoFundMe campaign by the Broward Education Foundation’s steering committee. The steering committee was led by former U.S. Senator George LeMieux. Nearly 450 students who were inside the building […]
Eastpoint wildfire victims file for state aid as relief efforts continue
Residents in the wildlife-ravaged town of Eastpoint, south of Tallahassee, have filed 89 claims with the state for aid in emergency living expenses – for up to $5,000 per household. A controlled burn by a state forestry management contractor went out of bounds two weeks ago, racing over 800 acres and destroying a big chunk […]