Category: Florida

Florida Men Charged with Falsifying Voter Registration Forms

Grant Holcomb

Two Jacksonville men have been charged with registering dead people to vote. Devin Deangelo King and Jordan Rayeshaun Daniels have both been arrested, and the motive does not appear to be political, but personal financial gain.

“This was a group working with what we call a third-party organization,” said Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan. “… We did not see anything political about it. It was, I think, people who were greedy. There’s an incentive there to get as many as you can in.”

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Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Don Gaetz Extortion Effort

Grant Holcomb

A Florida man, Stephen Alford, has plead guilty regarding his involvement in attempting to extort $25 million from Congressman Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL-1) father, former Florida Senate President Don Gaetz.

The latest development is part of a sex trafficking investigation where Stephen Alford attempted to secure a presidential pardon for Matt Gaetz, as Gaetz continues to face questions surrounding his friendship with former Seminole County, Fla. tax collector Joel Greenberg and Gaetz’s involvement into allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old arranged by Greenberg.

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University of Florida President Supports Testimony by Political Science Professors

Casey Owens

After months of back and forth between University of Florida (UF) and three of its political-science professors who were blocked from participating in a high profile lawsuit against Florida’s new election law, UF President Kent Fuchs approved a report Tuesday that called for that decision to be reversed.

In a separate report sent to an accrediting organization, UF denied that its Board of Trustees or any outside forces influenced their previous decision to prevent professors, Sharon Austin, Michael McDonald and Daniel Smith, from testifying against the law that was approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during the 2021 legislative session that ended in April.

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Republicans Overtake Democrats in Florida Voter Registration

Grant Holcomb

For the first time in the state of Florida’s history, Republicans now outnumber Democrats in official voter registration totals. According to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections, there are 5,118,657 registered Republicans and 5,114,039 registered Democrats.

The Florida Capital Star reported as early as September that Democrats weree poised to lose their lead. As recent as 10 years ago, Democrats held a 700,000-voter registration advantage.

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Florida Governor DeSantis Appoints Democrat, Republican to Broward County Commission

Casey Owens

During a press conference in Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his appointment of Democrat Jared Moskowitz and Republican Torey Alston for two Broward County commission seats.

Moskowitz, the former Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), and Alston, the current Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), look to replace the seats that were opened due to Dale Holness and Barbara Sharief resigning in order to run for Congress.

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Latest Polls Show DeSantis, Rubio Outperforming Democratic Challengers

Grant Holcomb

In a newest poll from St. Pete Polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is outperforming his likely Democratic challengers in a hypothetical head-to-head general election. According to the poll, DeSantis would defeat Congressman Charlie Crist (D-FL-13) 50.6-44.8 percent. DeSantis would also defeat Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) 51.2-42.3 percent.

Surprisingly, in the matchup between DeSantis and Crist, DeSantis outperformed Crist among young voters by carrying 57.5 percent of likely voters aged 18-29. The youngest age bracket saw the most swing in favor for DeSantis.

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Federal Judge Rules Against Sports Betting Agreement with Seminole Tribe

Steve Stewart
Sports Book Betting

Late Monday, U.S District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled the deal allows online sports betting through the Seminole Tribe violates the federal law that regulates gambling on tribal lands.

Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe of Florida celebrated the approval of the historic Seminole Gaming Compact in August after a 45-day review of the agreement was completed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The agreement included online sports betting that took place off of tribal lands but was processed on tribal property.

“The final approval of this historic gaming compact is a big deal for the State of Florida,” said Governor DeSantis in the release. “This mutually-beneficial agreement will grow our economy, expand tourism and recreation and provide billions in new revenue to benefit Floridians. I again want to thank Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr., Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls for their part in getting this done for our great state.”

However, Friedrich ruled that the deal violates the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, or IGRA. The IGRA requires gambling activity take place on tribal lands. Friedrich wrote that, “over a dozen provisions in IGRA regulate gaming on ‘Indian lands,’ and none regulate gaming in another location.”

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Proposal for $1 Billion in Gas Tax Relief

Casey Owens
Ron DeSantis proposing that the Florida legislature provide more than $1 billion in gas tax relief to help Florida families save at the pump.

Amid the rising cost people across the country are paying at the pump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday his proposal for $1 billion in gas tax relief, which will be discussed by state lawmakers during the legislative session of 2022.

According to DeSantis Office, if approved, the proposal – or as stated, “gas tax holiday” – would save up to $200 on average per family.

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Investigation Reveals Florida Democrats Used Dark-Money Organization to Support Candidates

Casey Owens

A statewide investigation that made its way into an alleged scheme by Republican state Senator Frank Artile to influence a Miami-Dade County election in 2020, revealed that a dark-money organization was used by Florida Democrats to pay for “sham candidate mailers.”

In an attempt to make gains against a Republican-controlled Florida Senate, Josh Weierbach, the executive director of a progressive group called Florida Watch Inc., had $115,000 on hand leading up to the 2020 election that he wanted to use in support for Senate Democratic candidates, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

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Federal Judge Denies Florida’s Motion on Vaccine Mandates

Steve Stewart

In an 11-page order released on Saturday, U.S District Judge M. Casey Rodgers rejected Florida’s motion to block a Biden administration rule that requires workers at hospitals and other health-care related facilities be vaccinated against COVID.

The decision was is response to a motion filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody seeking a preliminary injunction against the federal rule which takes effect Dec. 6.

Moody’s argument contended that the requirement would increase health-care staffing shortages. However, Judge Rodgers concluded that Florida had shown “irreparable harm” to justify an injunction.

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody Investigating Meta/Facebook Marketing Practices Related to Minors

Grant Holcomb

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) announced she is launching an investigation against Meta, the company previously known as Facebook before its recent rebrand. Moody is joining seven other attorneys general in launching an investigation into its targeted marketing practices toward children and teenagers.

“We have serious concerns about how social media is impacting the lives of young people in this country, and as a mother, I want to know how Facebook/Meta is targeting youth and what strategies this Big Tech giant is using to entice children and teens to lengthen engagement on its platforms,” Moody said in an official statement. “I am proud to lead these efforts with our partner states to find out if Meta violated any consumer protection laws and put our children at risk.”

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State and Federal Policies Seek to Expand Broadband Access in Florida

Casey Owens

Expanded infrastructure for enhanced broadband internet could be coming to Florida as state lawmakers and the Florida Internet and Television (FIT) addressed new state and federal policies Thursday that aim to provide internet access to more Floridians. 

Following Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act being signed on Monday, which allocated $42.5 billion for broadband with at least $100 million of that going to Florida.

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Orlando-Area High School Launching Magnet Culinary School

Peter D'Abrosca

As the political left continues to advocate against parents who want a say in their children’s education, alternative options to traditional public schools are exploding, including a new culinary magnet program at an Orlando area high school. 

“Our operational mission is for Culinary Arts students to successfully run an internal restaurant, create, prepare, and market unique products, explore food science, as well as cater on- and off-campus banquets and special events,” says Wekiva Culinary’s website. 

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Florida Senator Joe Gruters Proposes Bill to Establish Incentives for Film Industry

Casey Owens

Senator and Chair of the Republican Party of Florida, Joe Gruters, proposed a bill (SB 956) Tuesday that would offer financial incentives for the film industry to shoot, and produce, movies, television, and digital media projects within the state.

As the bill states, it looks to create the “Targeted High Wage Production Program” within the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), which will be under the supervision of the state’s Commissioner of Film and Entertainment.

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Visit Florida Reports Tourism Numbers Up in Third Quarter

Casey Owens
People on the beach during daytime

Recent data released by Visit Florida regarding the third quarter of 2021 saw the number of U.S. travelers to Florida exceed the numbers from the same three-month period in 2020, and in 2019, while international travelers slowly make their way back to the state.

The number of domestic travelers in quarter three of 2021 was 31.204 million, 55.3% more than quarter three of 2020. With other countries loosening their COVID-19 border policies, the number of overseas and Canadian travelers was 1.226 million and 85,000, respectively, which toppled 2020 quarter three data by 604.1% and 512.3%, respectively.

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New Iowa GOP Poll Shows Trump 4-to-1 Favorite Over DeSantis

Neil W. McCabe

A new poll released Monday shows that President Donald J. Trump is the overwhelming choice of Iowa Republicans with support from 56 percent of respondents compared to 12 percent supporting Florida Ronald D. “Ron” DeSantis in the poll conducted November 3 through November 5, and November 8 and 12, by Neighborhood Research and Media.

Neighborhood Research and Media asked participants: “If the 2024 Iowa Caucus were today, who would be your first choice for president?”

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Florida Governor DeSantis Announces Request for $25 Million to Repair Freedom Tower Amid Cuban Protests

Casey Owens
Ron DeSantis announcing repairs for Freedom Tower

Four months after the island-wide Cuban protests in July, new protests brought together by the Assembly of Cuban Resistance on Monday encouraged Nicaraguan and Venezuelan exiles in South Florida to join in on pro-democracy demonstrations.

The same day, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a request for $25 million to repair the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami that was the main location for processing and documenting Cuban refugees escaping to Miami during the Cold War. The Freedom Tower now serves as a museum and offices for Miami Dade College.

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U.S. Rep. Cammack: Biden Administration Won’t Give Flight Info on Illegal Immigrants Being Flown into Florida

The Center Square
Kat Cammack

The Biden administration won’t give members of Congress access to flight manifests of illegal immigrants flown into states from the southern border, Florida Rep. Kat Cammack says.

Those entering the U.S. illegally, violating federal law, are instead being flown into the interior by the U.S. government paid for by taxpayers, a “slap in the face” to all Americans, she says.

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Florida’s Business Community Not Supportive of Vaccine Mandate Bans

Grant Holcomb
Young girl getting vaccine

As Florida’s special session regarding vaccine mandates began yesterday, Florida’s business community shares concerns and opposition to the prospect of vaccine mandate bans.  

Leading Age Florida represents continuing care retirement communities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. Leading Age CEO, Steve Bahmer, said it is not possible for the facilities his organization represents to be in compliance with state and federal law unless there is a carve out.

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Florida Special Session Over Vaccine Mandates Begins This Week

Grant Holcomb

After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called for a special session over vaccine mandates and mask mandates last month, the Florida Legislature convened for the first time yesterday and will continue to meet until Friday.

The goal of the special session for Florida’s in-power Republicans is to curb the scale of the vaccine mandates coming from the President Joe Biden administration. DeSantis has remained vocally opposed to Floridians losing their jobs over Biden’s OSHA rule.

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Conservative Commentator Ben Shapiro Speaks at Florida State University

Steve Stewart

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro spoke to a full house of approximately 1,500 students at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center Exhibition Hall on Florida State University’s (FSU) campus Monday night. The FSU College Democrats had requested that university officials cancel the event.

Shapiro is the host of the Ben Shapiro Show and is also the editor emeritus for The Daily Wire. He is the former editor-at-large of Breitbart News.

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Florida News Headline on the Number of Child Vaccine Doses Ordered Misses the Mark

Steve Stewart
Young girl with a blue shirt on getting a vaccine

A headline in the Tampa Bay Times last week said that “Florida ordered 90,000 child vaccine doses. Texas ordered 1 million.” However, a reading of the story reveals the headline does not match the facts included in the article.

The headline appeared to be written to imply Florida did not order enough vaccine doses for children relative to other states, like Texas and California. The first paragraph of the story continues this narrative. The writers note, the 90,000 doses are “enough to fully vaccinate 3 percent of Florida’s approximately 1.7 million children ages 5 to 11.”

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Feds Urge Circuit Court to Reject Florida Request for Hold on Vaccine Rule

Casey Owens

Federal attorneys for the Biden administration filed a document Friday evening requesting the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeal to reject a potential hold on the rule issued by Biden that would mandate employees of businesses of 100 or more people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or be regularly tested and forced to wear a mask.

The hold on Biden’s employee vaccine rule was requested by Florida, Alabama, and Georgia who argue that the rule, established under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), oversteps its authority and would result in thousands of people losing their jobs.

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Florida School Districts Drop Mask Mandates, End Legal Challenges

Steve Stewart

As the recent COVID wave in Florida recedes, all school districts that previously enforced mask mandates in Florida have dropped their masks requirements.  In addition, a number of school districts that chose to challenge the Department of Health (DOH) rule that banned mask mandates have decided to end their legal challenges to the rule.

Back in October, the Leon County School District – home to the state capitol –  ended a mask mandate policy with a parental opt-out provision. The decision came after the district was found to be violating the DOH rule.

Following the Leon County decision, the Broward County School District voted to remove its mask mandates for all school levels effective November 20th.

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Campaign Finance Reports Shows DeSantis with $62.6 Million, Huge Advantage

Casey Owens
Ron DeSantis

After formally announcing his re-election campaign last Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ campaign finance report was released Wednesday that showed that his committee – Friends of Ron DeSantis – raised $4.66 million in October and had $62.6 million in cash on hand.

Filed with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections, campaign finance data for all gubernatorial candidates in 2022 shows the already massive gap between them and Governor DeSantis is continuing to grow as DeSantis’ newly announced campaign account provides another source for fundraising.

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First Maps of Florida’s New Congressional Districts Released

Grant Holcomb
Florida State Capitol

The first look at Florida’s new congressional maps have been released, and Florida’s newest district could have Polk County existing within its own congressional district. Florida currently has 27 districts but gained one after the 2020 census.

Congressional District 15, which is currently occupied by Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL-15), represents northern Polk County, southern Lake County, and an eastern portion of Hillsborough County. Franklin could be inclined to run for re-election in the newest congressional district as he is a resident of Lakeland, Polk County’s largest city.

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Out-Of-State Corporations Pour Millions into Florida Gambling Ballot Initiative

Grant Holcomb
Sports Book Betting

DraftKings and FanDuel have contributed to more than $20 million to fund a ballot initiative hoping to expand gambling in Florida. The ballot measure would legalize sports betting at all pari-mutuels, professional sports stadiums and arenas, and throughout the state where betters could have access to a mobile sports betting platform.

After the two corporations were left out of the negotiations between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, leading to the Seminole Gaming Compact, the political action committee, Florida Education Champions, is backing this 2022 ballot initiative.

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Mayor Lenny Curry’s Proposal to Remove Confederate Monument Defeated by Jacksonville City Council

Casey Owens

Much to his dismay, a piece of legislation proposed by Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry to remove a Confederate monument in Springfield Park was withdrawn Tuesday evening by the Jacksonville City Council in a 12 to 6 vote.

Curry’s proposal to remove the Tribute to the Women of the Confederacy Monument would have would cost $1.3 million.

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Feds Defends Seminole Gaming Compact, Says It Is Not a Violation of Federal Law

Grant Holcomb

Attorneys for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have issued a 33-page court document earlier this week saying they did not feel the new Seminole Gaming Compact, signed by the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The new compact allows the Seminole Tribe to be the primary facilitator of sports betting in the state. The betting takes place on a downloadable app for smartphones, leading to questions about its legality since the betting does not have to take place on tribal land.

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Gov. DeSantis Proposes Sweeping Changes to Florida’s Education Budget

Grant Holcomb
Ron DeSantis of Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed sweeping education changes that would impact Florida’s budget. He proposes $1,000 bonuses for teachers, $600 million to raise minimum teacher salaries to $47,500, increased per-student funding to $8,000, and ending the annual standardized testing requirement called the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA).

DeSantis had already provided $1,000 bonuses for teachers over the summer for their work during the COVID school year and said he wants to do it again to “keep that momentum going.”

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Moms for Liberty Files Lawsuit Against Brevard County School Board

Casey Owens

A chapter in Brevard County of a conservative group titled, Moms for Liberty, has filed a lawsuit against the county’s school board for implementing a public participation policy that they feel is being used to limit free speech and discriminate against speakers with opposing views.

The public participation policy is said to prohibit speakers from making comments that are “personally directed,” “abusive,” or “obscene;” while the Board Chair, Misty Belford, enforces the policy so that speakers can only address her or the Board as a whole, rather than letting speakers talk directly to or about a specific board member.

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Florida Legislation Might Not Completely Ban Vaccine Mandates

Grant Holcomb

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session in order to ban vaccine mandates and mask mandates, but the legislation being proposed are not going as far as DeSantis initially called for.

One of the bills would require employers to provide alternatives to vaccination, and another bill would allow parents to sue school boards or districts over mask mandates. DeSantis has touted the slate of bills in next week’s special session as some of the “strongest protections for both private and public sector employees anywhere in the country.”

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Florida Democrats Working to Repeal Transgender Athlete Ban

Grant Holcomb
Kristen Arrington and Gary Farmer

Florida State Rep. Kristen Aston Arrington (D-FL-43) filed a companion bill to Florida Sen. Gary Farmer’s (D-FL-34) SB 212 to repeal a transgender athlete ban from last legislative session.

Last legislative session, Florida Republicans passed a transgender athlete ban which banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports in high school and college, and athletic participation is determined by sex assigned on a birth certificate. The ban, which many in the Florida Capitol thought was dead, was resurrected by Florida Rep. Kaylee Tuck (R-FL-55).

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Jacksonville Murder Case Involving Immigrant Creates Further Criticism of Biden’s Border Policy

Casey Owens
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Region IV Emergency Operations Center (EOC) personnel supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) partners monitor final preparations for Hurricane Dorian. CBP Air and Marine Operations aircrews, U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and Office of Field Operations (OFO) teams from Region IV are ready to deploy as needed for Hurricane Dorian response efforts. CBP Region IV is working closely with a far-reaching network of FEMA partners and local officials. CBP Region IV provides communications and coordination for all CBP surface, land and air assets in Region IV which includes Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands during major disasters and national emergencies.

The murder of a Jacksonville man has further stirred Governor DeSantis’ criticism of the Biden Administration’s border policies as news arose that the suspect of the crime was an immigrant who had faked his identity in order to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to a report by News4Jax, 24-year-old Yery Medina Ulloa from Honduras – who pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on Thursday – posed as a teenager at the border so that he could pass as an unaccompanied minor. However, federal officials have yet to comment on how Ulloa got to Florida.

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