News
National anti-censorship groups blast Florida Dept. Of Corrections for banning recent editions of socialist publication
National anti-censorship groups are chastising the Florida Department of Corrections for banning the Militant, a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Party. Christopher Finn, the executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, accused the Department of Corrections’ Literature Review Committee of abusing its censorship power in a letter sent last week to DOC Library […]
Beyond crime and punishment: A movement to stop Florida’s endless prison cycle and heal communities
Florida has an incarceration problem that is unsustainable, according to criminal justice reform advocates. The Sunshine State locks up people who commit a crime at a rate above the national average, and Florida is one of the top seven states that together hold nearly half of the nation’s entire incarcerated population, according to the research […]
FL Education Commissioner Pam Stewart is out; planning to retire
With “bittersweet feelings,” Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart submitted her resignation Tuesday, ending a five-year run at one of the largest education systems in the country. She plans to retire Jan. 8, 2019. The move was expected following the election of new governor Ron DeSantis, and rumblings in the media about a shift in the […]
Florida Dem chair says incoming GOP Congressman should be “disqualified”
Republican Congressman-elect Ross Spano is getting hammered from both sides of the aisle following his admission over the weekend that he may have used illegal campaign contributions to help win his Congressional seat. Spano, an attorney who won the Central Florida U.S. House seat last month, revealed in a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) filing that […]
Rick Scott won’t leave governor’s office early; delays swearing-in for U.S. Senate seat
Florida Gov. Rick Scott will not leave office before his gubernatorial term ends, and won’t be sworn in as a U.S. Senator with his colleagues in Congress on January 3, a spokesman said Tuesday. “When Governor Scott was elected Governor of Florida, he promised to fight for Florida families every single day of his term,” […]
Nation’s first charter school strike reverberates across the country
The nation’s first charter school strike launched Tuesday in Chicago, reverberating across the nation, including in Florida, where traditional public schools have been pitted against charters run by private groups. Media coverage in Chicago markets and nationwide took note of the historic strike, occurring more than a quarter of a century after so-called charters entered […]
DeSantis appoints transition advisors for environment, agriculture
Governor-elect Ron DeSantis has picked 40 unpaid advisors to help shape his administration’s appointments and policies when it comes to natural resources, agriculture, and the environment. The group will be chaired by Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast from Southeast Florida. The list includes representatives from the agricultural, development, fertilizer, and utility industries, as well as […]
The strange world of banned books in Florida prisons
More than eight years after it was published, author Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow continues to reap praise for its depiction of the racial impacts of contemporary criminal justice policies, with some book critics hailing it as one of the most important works of the 21st Century. But until the American Civil Liberties Union […]
Groups file lawsuit on behalf of Florida Keys resident who was almost deported – despite being U.S. citizen
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit against Monroe County Sheriff Richard Ramsay on Monday, claiming that he unlawfully detained and nearly deported a U.S. citizen in coordination with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to the suit, Monroe County resident Peter Brown turned […]
Online art project tells harrowing Hurricane Michael stories
A group of Tallahassee artists, a drone pilot and Nashville photographer Jeremy Cowart have a new online art project that highlights the devastation caused by Hurricane Michael in Florida’s panhandle. The project, Neverforgottencoast.com, shows arresting aerial photographs of storm victims lying on large red hearts placed where their homes and businesses used to be. The hearts […]
The elected vs. appointed debate: Lawmaker proposes to make FL’s Secretary of State an elected position again
It’s been two decades since the administrator in charge of Florida’s election system has been elected by voters – but a state lawmaker is hoping to change that. Fernandina Beach Republican State Senator Aaron Bean filed a resolution on Monday that would make the Florida Secretary of State an elected position as well as a […]
NAACP wants committee to reopen Supreme Court nominations after final applicant list fails to include any African-Americans
The Florida NAACP is unhappy that the final list of proposed justices for the state Supreme Court presented to Governor-elect Ron DeSantis this week does not include any African-Americans, and is calling on the committee that reviews applicants to reopen the nominating process. The Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission sent a list of 11 […]