The Tallahassee Reports Daily Briefs: Tuesday, February 13, 2024

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LOCAL NEWS

Tallahassee Reports has learned that taxpayers are footing the bill for City Commission Jack Porter’s activities with a national progressive group called Local Progress. The group provides information designed to help local elected officials advocate for a host of policies from the progressive perspective.

Donna Adelson will stand trial September 30 in the murder for hire of her former son-in-law FSU Law professor Dan Markel. A judge set the trial date during a five minute court hearing Monday afternoon. Donna Adelson appeared via video link from the Leon County Jail as attorneys in the case gathered in the courtroom. Circuit Judge Stephen Everett asked both the prosecution and the defense if either side has extended any plea offers in the case and both said “no.”

A Tallahassee man accused of a deadly late-night shooting at a crowded gas station has been found not guilty at trial. Dreshawn Barber, 25, was acquitted of first degree murder charges Friday evening. Barber was accused of killing Cordarius Johnson on July 25, 2020 at the Marathon Gas station on West Orange Avenue.

LOCAL SPORTS NEWS

The No. 22 Florida State men’s tennis team defeated Oklahoma 5-2 on Sunday, marking the Seminoles’ third straight win over opponents in the ITA Preseason Top 25. Florida State improved to 6-2 this season and will hit the road for two matches this week, taking on Holy Cross and Boston College.

FLORIDA NEWS

A Florida bill banning lab-grown meat, allowing the state to regulate electric vehicle charging stations and other provisions passed a House panel on Monday. The bill by Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Riverview, would specifically prohibit and create criminal and civil penalties for the production, sale and distribution of cultivated meats within the state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested President Joe Biden can be removed from office in light of a special counsel report further calling into question the president’s mental fitness to serve. The report focused on Biden’s “willful” handling of classified documents while a private citizen, but also mentioned various memory lapses when asking him questions during the investigation.

Today the Florida House’s PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee will consider Rep. Chuck Brannan’s HB 1349, which would compel schools to start teaching the “History of Communism” in grades K-12. The bill would also require a Communism Education Task Force to be appointed by August 2024, just one month after the bill’s contemplated effective date. That panel would help to craft this curriculum.

NATIONAL NEWS

A special election takes place today in New York’s 3rd Congressional District in which Republican Nassau County legislator Mazi Pilip will face off against former Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi to replace former Rep. George Santos (R), who was expelled from Congress. The winner will serve the remaining 11 months of Santos’ two-year term. 

Oil producer Diamondback Energy announced yesterday it will acquire Endeavor Energy Resources in a $26B cash-and-stock deal expected by the end of the year. The merger, which creates the third largest oil producer in the shale-rich Permian Basin, follows similar acquisitions from energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil last year.

Cities around the world are set to celebrate Mardi Gras today, the final day before the Christian fasting and religious observance period of Lent begins. Mardi Gras is the culmination of Carnival season, which officially begins Jan. 6 every year—the 12th day after Christmas—and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. 

US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.1%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq -0.3%); Dow notches record close (More).

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