The Tallahassee Reports Daily Briefs: Wednesday, March 20, 2024

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LOCAL NEWS

On Tuesday, fewer than 1 in 4 eligible voters turned out for Leon County’s Presidential Preference Primary and most of those voters voted by mail.

The Leon County Commission heard an update last night about the Amazon Fulfillment Center regarding its economic impact. Amazon has hired approximately 1,400 employees, and they’re making “$17 an hour or more which exceeded the projected hourly wage of $15 per hour.”

A FAMU tennis legend is getting a Tallahassee street named in her honor. Leon County Commissioners voted Tuesday to call a portion of Wannish Way “Althea Gibson Way” after the FAMU alum who broke barriers for African Americans in tennis.

On Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m., Village Square’s 12th annual Tallahassee Town Hall will be held at the WFSU Studios. The event will feature both Leon County and City of Tallahassee Commissioners. The event will be moderated by WFSU Public Media’s Tom Flanigan.

LOCAL SPORTS NEWS

No. 12 Florida State baseball defeated Stetson in the midweek pitchers’ duel with a 1-0 win on Tuesday evening at Dick Howser Stadium. James Tibbs III’s sacrifice fly to deep center sent Max Williams home for the game winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

No. 18 FSU softball is playing host to the No. 2 Texas Longhorns tonight as Florida State will have played five games at the Seminole Softball Complex all against teams ranked in the top 15. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. on the ACC Network. 

FLORIDA NEWS

Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday that migrants from Haiti finding their way into Florida’s territory could soon find themselves on a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. DeSantis originally ordered flights to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022, garnering national attention. Lawmakers have approved millions over the past couple years to fund the program orchestrating the flights.

Gov. Ron DeSantis officials went on the offensive against Axios and a “Holocaust historian” for amplifying a claim that there are parallels between the German Nazi Party and Florida’s parental rights laws in the modern day. DeSantis communications director Bryan Griffin called the Axios author a “journo-activist” for the characterizations.

The latest poll from St. Pete Polls, conducted March 11-13 – the first since last year – former President Donald Trump leads Biden by 6 percent. For comparison, in 2020, only a few out of dozens of polls had Trump winning narrowly – and of those, all were 3 percent in favor of Trump or less. The rate of polling ion Florida ahead of the presidential election is diminished, some speculating that Florida is already out of reach for Biden.

NATIONAL NEWS

A federal appeals court late Tuesday again prevented Texas from arresting and deporting migrants accused of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the the law briefly took effect. Before a divided U.S. Supreme Court earlier let the state law take effect while a legal challenge plays out, some sheriffs were ready to relish an unprecedented state expansion into border enforcement, while others were reluctant.

Legislators in at least two U.S. states are citing a recent decision in England to restrict gender transitions for young people as support for their own related proposals. They weren’t the first to turn to other countries, notably in Europe, for policy and research ideas. Lawmakers across the U.S., where at least 23 states now have tightened or removed access to transgender health care for minors, have routinely cited non-U.S. research or policies as justification for their legislation.

US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.8%, Nasdaq +0.4%); Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates steady today (More).

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