Culture & Society
Florida leads nation in signups to Affordable Care Act
The deadline for Floridians to sign up for health care benefits through the Affordable Care Act in 2019 expired over the weekend, and when final numbers are posted later this week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, there could be close to million people who signed up for benefits in Florida, by far […]
Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis’s inner circle
Here’s a look at who Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis has picked to head up the key positions in the governor’s office: Shane Strum, Chief of Staff Now working as a health care executive, Strum served as Chief of Staff for former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist. He served as vice chancellor of business development for Keiser University […]
Here are Gov.-elect DeSantis’s picks for five state agencies
In the run-up to his Jan. 8 inauguration, Florida Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis is building his administration, appointing people to head state agencies. Here are five he’s named so far, with background information provided by the governor’s office: Ken Lawson for Executive Director of the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO). Lawson was previously Secretary of the […]
Critics want Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis to kick off 2 members of education advisory committee
Controversy is stirring over picks on Governor-elect Ron DeSantis’s education advisory committee, with critics calling on DeSantis to remove two members accused of being “radical idealogues.” The two men, Keith Flaugh and Rick Stevens, are managing directors of Collier County’s Florida Citizens’ Alliance, described as a nonprofit, grassroots coalition providing “common sense solutions for K-12 […]
A tribute to T.K. Wetherell
T.K. Wetherell was one of a kind. A few days shy of his 73rd birthday, the former house speaker, former president of Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College entered Margaret Z. Dozier Hospice House, signaling the end of a 15-year battle against cancer. Friends said he died at 2:25 pm. Sunday. He will not be forgotten. […]
Former Trump spokeswoman is new Ron DeSantis spokeswoman
Florida Governor- Elect Ron DeSantis just named a former Trump White House spokeswoman as his new Communications director. She is Helen Aguirre Ferré, who worked as Trump’s Director of Media Affairs for Latino and African-American news outlets from January 2017 through August 2018. A Miami Shores native who is in the Florida Women’s Hall of […]
They’re sticking with the union: More Fla adjunct professors joining forces
The push for adjunct professors in Florida to collectively organize accelerated this week, with instructors at seven more state colleges filing to unionize. If the instructors at all of these schools ultimately decide to vote to unionize, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Florida Public Services Union would be representing 9,000 adjunct professors, more than […]
The core cause of pervasive discrimination and sexual harassment
Anti-feminist politicos and talk show yakkers try to ridicule the reality that women in our rich and advanced society might endure any “oppression.” America isn’t Afghanistan, they snort. Women here get to vote. Girls play all kinds of sports and can grow up to be astronauts or CEOs or anything. Why, we even had one […]
Florida U.S. Rep. Al Lawson takes heat for voting to cut off debate over Yemen human rights catastrophe
Florida U.S. Rep. Al Lawson is coming under fire for being one of a handful of Congressional Democrats who voted this week for a stealthy measure that killed any hopes of a U.S. House debate on possibly ending American military support for Saudi Arabia’s ongoing war in Yemen. Lawson’s vote on a procedural rule attached […]
Numerous government officials are to blame in the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS
A new 157-page draft report on the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reveals the myriad failures on the part of school officials, law enforcement officers and mental health providers on the day that shooter Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 students and staff members. The February 14 shooting at the Broward County high […]
Where’s the housing help for Hurricane Michael victims? Rubio demands answers
Two months have passed since Hurricane Michael slammed into Florida’s Panhandle – the fourth-strongest storm ever to hit the U.S. With victims struggling in places battered by winds that reached 155 miles per hour, like Panama City, Mexico Beach and tiny rural communities, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio sent a message of exasperation to […]
Staff at Florida emergency detention center not screened for abuse
Workers at a emergency detention center for migrant teens in Florida did not undergo background screenings for child abuse and neglect, the Associated Press recently reported. A state law that bans outside employers from reviewing information in Florida’s child welfare system allows for staff at to go unscreened at Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children. […]