News
From “no collusion” to “evidence of corruption:” FL lawmakers in Congress divided on Mueller report
Florida lawmakers in Congress are splintered along party lines over findings in the long-awaited Mueller report that investigated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — which isn’t unusual in the partisan bickering of Washington, D.C. “Special Counsel Mueller has found staggering evidence of corruption, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice by President Trump […]
Getting unemployment compensation could save domestic violence victims; legislation could make that happen
Carolyn Siegelman says the violent abuse she endured from her ex-husband was so severe that there were nights that she went to sleep not knowing if she would wake up alive. She says she wrote a letter to let people know about the violence, to be opened in the event that she were murdered. Siegelman […]
Gov. Ron DeSantis reaching into Trump World to staff his administration
Ron DeSantis won Florida’s governorship by cleaving to President Trump. He’s maintained those ties by attending Trump events, frequently conferring with the White House, and by bringing former Trump insiders to Tallahassee to help staff his administration. To keep us all up to date, here’s a rundown, so far, of Trump administration people who are […]
Florida to FBI: If you think our elections system was hacked, tell us what you know
Florida’s election overseers insisted Thursday that the state’s 2016 elections process had not been hacked by the Russians, notwithstanding a suggestion by special counsel Robert Mueller that Russian security agents (the GRU) cracked at least one county’s system. The Florida county is not identified in the Mueller report. “We understand the FBI believes that this […]
New Senate voucher program suddenly changes, allowing more kids and wealthier families to take part
Early in the legislative session, Republican senators proposed a new voucher program that would start out by serving up to 15,000 students from low-income families. But by Thursday, the program called the Family Empowerment Scholarship had changed dramatically. It would allow up to 18,000 students to take part in 2019-20, and let wealthier families get […]
College coaching icons join North Florida lawmakers in calling for Hurricane Michael relief funding
With both Congress and the Florida Legislature yet to pass disaster relief funding for Panhandle residents devastated by last fall’s Hurricane Michael, who better to try to rally state lawmakers to dig deep than some of the most legendary college football coaches in state history? That’s sort of what happened at the Capitol on Thursday. […]
FL Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady issues order to cut restrictions on public court records
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady has come to the aid of Floridians who want to see public records stashed in county courthouses around the state. In an order released this week, Canady rewrote the rules for access to the records, erasing a requirement imposed by circuit clerks who were demanding restrictions that […]
New report says U.S. lets oil industry write its own rules, doesn’t have proper safeguards to prevent another oil spill disaster
Nine years ago this week, the worst oil spill ever to hit the U.S. happened at the BP’s Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil rig off Louisiana. The slick killed sea life, suffocated the Gulf, and slimed wetlands and beaches in Lousiana, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. In a new investigative report, the nonprofit group […]
More secrecy than sunshine: Lawmakers push for exemptions to public records, open meetings laws
Florida has long been known for “government-in-the-sunshine” – laws that promote transparency and the public’s right to know about elected officials, open meetings and public records. But open meetings and public records have become oxymorons as the Florida Legislature this session has been moving to create more secrecy than sunshine. The nonprofit First Amendment Foundation […]
Florida House votes to require parental consent for teen girls seeking abortion; similar legislation ruled unconstitutional in 1989
A major move to restrict reproductive rights in Florida advanced on Wednesday evening when the Florida House voted 69-44 to require teenage girls to get parental consent before having an abortion. The bill (HB 1335) would add a parental consent requirement to an existing state law that says women under 18 have to notify their […]
Gov. DeSantis links today’s Venezuela political situation to Cuba Bay of Pigs invasion
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday linked efforts to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. “They were fighting the good fight – against tyranny, against communism, against oppression,” he said during a luncheon in Miami commemorating the 58th anniversary of the disastrous CIA-backed incursion by 1,000 […]
Teachers with guns: Republican-led Legislature a step closer to allowing it
A proposal that would allow teachers to legally carry guns on school campuses is one step closer to becoming law, after the full Florida Senate advanced legislation Wednesday. The controversial measure passed 22-16, with Republicans approving and Democrats opposing. (Democrat Kevin Rader from Palm Beach and Republican Anitere Flores from Miami did not vote. Flores […]