The Tallahassee Reports Daily Briefs: Monday, January 22, 2024

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LOCAL NEWS

On January 17, the Tallahassee City Commissioner postpone a new ordinance regarding the definition of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), known a mother-in-law suites. Find out why.

The Leon County School Board and the Leon County Commission are holding annual retreats today.

A man accused of shooting three family members and then killing a Tallahassee Police Officer who was trying to catch him, will spend the rest of his life in prison for it. Friday afternoon, Tyrone Cleveland entered a no contest plea to murder, attempted murder and other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the June 2022 murder of Tallahassee Police Officer Christopher Fariello. He could have faced the death penalty if convicted at trial.

LOCAL SPORTS NEWS

No. 15 FSU women’s basketball fell to the Virginia Cavaliers in a tight one 91-87 on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Ta’Niya Latson, who was honored prior to the game for reaching 1,000 career points, led FSU with 22 points and six assists. The Seminoles travel to Durham, N.C., for their game against Duke on Thursday at 6 p.m., then play Georgia Tech on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Atlanta. Both games will air on the ACC Network.

FSU men’s basketball also fell over the weekend to the Clemson Tigers 78-67. The Seminoles are now 5-2 in ACC play. Clemson is now 3-4 in league play. The Seminoles will now look forward, as they travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange in the JMA Dome on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

FLORIDA NEWS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump for president. The governor made the announcement just a couple days before the New Hampshire primary, where polls were projecting a single digit third place finish for him. On the former president, he said Trump is facing relentless “lawfare” from Democrats. Trump responded by saying he was “honored” to have the governor’s endorsement.

An anti-grooming bill passed through the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee by a vote of 15-2. Yarkosky explained during the committee meeting that the bill goes after sexual grooming that predators tend to use when targeting children before they continue to sexually abuse minors. Equality Florida, a progressive, LGBTQ activist organization labeled the legislation as the “Criminalizing Sex Ed Bill.”

The same House subcommittee passed a bill increasing the penalty for a minor possession of a firearm from a first degree misdemeanor to a third degree felony. “House Bill 1181 is a revamp of our juvenile justice statutes to add more accountability in the system. There is a focus on juvenile crimes,” said bill sponsor Rep. Berny Jacques.

The Florida House passed a bill that would establish a broad definition for antisemitism into state statute. The bill provided modern examples of anti-Semitism that include ”dehumanizing” stereotypes that Jews hold a large power of the world’s economy, Holocaust denial, double standards when criticizing Israel, and saying that the Jews killed Jesus.

NATIONAL NEWS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his Republican presidential campaign Sunday, two days before the New Hampshire primary. DeSantis, who came in second behind former President Donald Trump in last week’s Iowa caucuses by 30 percentage points, announced his exit on X (formerly Twitter) while endorsing Trump. 

According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales waned 1.0% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.78 million. Sales faded 6.2% from the previous year. The median existing-home sales price rose 4.4% from December 2022 to $382,600 – the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. On an annual basis, existing-home sales (4.09 million) fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years, while the median price reached a record high of $389,800 in 2023.

Over 80 people died amid a nationwide cold snap over the past week as arctic air pushed south as far as Texas and Florida. Frigid temperatures and ice storms are expected in much of the eastern two-thirds of the country today before a rapid rise in temperatures later in the week, a weather seesaw likely to prompt flooding. 

TALLAHASSEE WEATHER