As business owners in Leon County wrestle with the impact of the county-wide mask mandate, leaders in Valdosta, Georgia recently passed a mask mandate that allows flexibility and relies on individual decisions. In a 4-3 decision near the end of August, the Valdosta City Council voted in favor of an ordinance requiring face coverings to […]
After three officer-involved shootings this year, the City Commissioners unanimously voted to introduce an ordinance creating a Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) at their meeting today. The City Commissioners approved the creation of the CPRB in June after weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality. The CPRB will be tasked with reviewing investigations of excessive […]
The Leon County School Board will hold their final public hearing for the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 budget this week. Local residents will be paying a total of $115.6 million in property taxes, compared to last year’s total of $112.7 million. The meeting agenda includes a discussion of the final budget and the new millage rates […]
Over the last week, new COVID cases have significantly increased in Leon County primarily due to a spike in cases reported in zip code 32304. TR reported last week about a decline in COVID cases before students returned to Tallahassee. Now that students have arrived, the number of COVID cases have spiked in 32304 and […]
At an unpermitted protest in downtown Tallahassee on Saturday, law enforcement officials arrested 15 people. The protest comes after a Leon County grand jury reviewed evidence in three police related shootings and concluded officer actions were justified. The Tallahassee Police Department issued a press release following the arrests – provided below – which describes that […]
Today a Leon County grand jury released information related to three fatal police shootings. The grand jury deliberations concluded that all three shootings were justified and issued no indictments. Details on the three police shootings are listed below with links to the grand jury presentments. Videos from the incidents can be viewed here. Mychael Johnson […]
Florida State University announced this morning that it plans to begin random COVID-19 testing of students, faculty, and staff. Students who do not comply could face penalties including student conduct charges. The announcement comes after a spike in COVID cases both in Leon County and at FSU. As of today, Leon County’s positivity rate is […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — As protests and political battles rage across the country about police officers using force, the Florida Police Chiefs Association has issued a report calling for a series of steps, ranging from largely banning chokeholds and other neck-related restraints to stepping up recruitment of police officers […]
Driven by new COVID cases in the 32304 zip code, the Leon County 7-day average positivity has more than doubled over the last six days. The 7-day average positivity rate was 3.71% on August 27th and has increased to 9.73% as of September 2nd. Over the last four days there have been 581 new COVID […]
Leon County Commissioner candidate Kelly Otte expressed her views about the recent altercation at a downtown protest on her candidate Facebook page. Referring to the man who brandished a gun after being attacked at the protest, Otte wrote, “I can’t imagine any legitimate scenario where he is not charged with a crime.” Otte went on […]