Sign holding protestors called for everything from the destruction of ICE, to the overthrow of Trump, and the protection of Social Security and Medicaid. Above the crowd, someone waved a cardboard sign reading, “Americans Are Angry.” That sign summed up the mood well.

Following the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, all eyes were on the over-2000 No Kings protests appearing everywhere from Mississippi, to Montana, to Malawi. In Florida alone, there were 22 protests. According to the No Kings website, these protests were a national “day of defiance” against President Donald Trump’s military parade to celebrate the military’s 250th birthday. Tallahassee’s No Kings protest drew thousands.

The protests were organized by The Indivisible Project. Founded by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the group began as a response to Donald Trump’s first election but has quickly transformed into a national movement of 2,200 chapters appearing in all fifty states. Their network of grassroots groups works to “ defeat the rightwing takeover of American government, and win an inclusive democracy and bold progressive policies.”

Indivisible has come under fire recently for taking money from liberal dark money groups like George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and the Arabella Advisors network of funds. Critics have called them “the kings and queens of the Democratic political machine summoning their minions to take to the streets to feign a fake people’s revolution.”

At the Tallahassee protest, Margaret Clark, who runs the Tallahassee chapter of Indivisible, estimated that there were 3,000 to 4,000 people at the protest — a significant increase from their ‘Hands Off’ protest which drew 2,000. She was also excited to see a more diverse demographic. Past protests grew a predominantly older crowd, but this one contained people of all ages.

One man said he had to come out to see the protests out of curiosity. “I definitely see some signs I don’t agree with,” he told me. “I’m definitely anti-king though.”

Sabrina Hartley, a media director for Indivisible Tallahassee, told me that she was grateful for a peaceful and smooth protest. “We want everyone to get along. We want to get along with the police.” If you looked up, you could catch glimpses of military and police personnel keeping watch from the tops of buildings.

At one point a small group of men walked through the protest wearing “Make America Great Again” hats and holding up a picture of assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Some protestors booed them, but they were able to walk through the crowd undisturbed.

A number of political figures made appearances. Ryan Ra, who heads the Leon County Democratic Party, said “Our town is coming together in a major way in the face of Far Right extremism in high office.”

While the chair of the Republican Party of Florida Evan Power criticized the protest, “They don’t understand that Floridians want safety, not chaos. We want a secure border, law and order, and leaders who respect this country — not those who rally mobs.”

After having her lawsuit dismissed in U.S. District Court, Biro appealed the decision. On April 9th, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously sided with U.S. District Judge Allen Windsor.

The court’s opinion states, “Thus, we hold that the district court properly dismissed with prejudice Biro’s complaint for First Amendment retaliation because she failed to demonstrate that her free speech interest outweighs the City’s interest in the efficient and effective administration of government services.”

The controversy arose in late 2022 when Biro was using a coffee cup that had an “Abolish Police” sticker. Court documents indicate that “During her two years of serving on the Board, Biro attended all meetings, bringing a cup with a sticker that says, “Abolish Police” that was “prominently displayed” in front of her. This cup was always placed on the table in front of Biro. “

Some claimed that this showed a clear bias against the police on an oversight committee created to build trust between law enforcement and the community. The Big Bend Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association claimed that Biro was “promoting an inappropriate, incendiary, and anti-police message at a recent CPRB meeting.”

The Tallahassee City Commissioners reviewed the matter and voted 3-2 to remove Biro from the board. Commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow voted against the removal.

Biro maintained that the city removed her from the CRPB because she doesn’t abide by conventional societal standards. Biro said, “I have never shied away from wearing my values on my sleeve, or on my cup, and that’s why I have that sticker on there.”

The CPRB members also released a statement saying they all supported Taylor Biro remaining on the board.

Biro filed a complaint against the city in early 2023. A federal district court ruled that the CPRB was created “[t]o enhance trust between the Tallahassee Police Department and the community by creating an unbiased panel of volunteers” and dismissed the complaint.

The court determined that Biro’s claim was invalid as it failed the Pickering test — a previous ruling that found government can allow an entity’s interests to take precedence over an individual’s interests if sufficient evidence is provided to pass the four-part test. In other words, an employee’s right to express an opinion is not always absolute.

In a second complaint against the city, Biro claimed that she was terminated because she pushed back against police training that the Tallahassee Police Department participated in with ex-Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher. At the time of the training, Gallagher was facing murder and war crimes charges but was later acquitted. The city dismissed the complaint saying that Gallagher only observed the training along with other trainers.

When both of these cases were dismissed, Biro went to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

The ‘open house’ style of the meeting meant that there was no formal presentation or Q&A section, but FDOT members walked around discussing the project and referencing informational posters.

Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Ian Satter says plans to resurface the road have been in the works for several years. The other proposed changes come from the city of Tallahassee and the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, he says.

“During the course of the past several years, we’ve been approached by the city of Tallahassee in a partnership for them to be able to do some utility work during the resurfacing,” Satter said. “And a proposal also came to us from Blueprint to add sidewalks along the corridor and remove that center turn lane. So, tonight’s meeting, we’re presenting two different options: One is to resurface the roadway and it would remain in its current existing state. Or we have another option where Blueprint has proposed adding those sidewalks and reducing that turn lane.”

The project would also include stormwater sewer improvements and reconstruction of several traffic signals.

The cost of all three projects totals $10 million and will take just over one and a half years. FDOT’s project will cost around $1.8 million. The City’s project will cost nearly $3 million, and Blueprint’s project will cost around $5.5 million.

One concern members had going into the meeting was traffic. Blueprint’s plan introduces bigger sidewalks onto Thomasville Rd. starting after the 6th Ave. intersection. This means that the left turn lane will be eliminated. Many residents feared this would create additional traffic in that corridor. However, the left turn lane on Thomasville Rd. southbound will still be there, which will help.

Other concerns were voiced by business owners. The project will take over one and a half years, and the construction will close all northbound traffic on Thomasville Rd. This has the potential to hurt the businesses along this road as many of them rely on their street view and foot traffic to generate more traction with customers.

Sally Bradshaw owns a bookstore on Thomasville Road, the Midtown Reader. She says she’s concerned about all the businesses in in the area, not just hers.

“We’re working really hard to build a sense of community in Midtown. And I think even though the idea of expanded sidewalks is well-intentioned, the way this proposal is attempting to fix the problem is actually going to create more problems for businesses. If the center turn lane is eliminated, there will be very limited access to businesses in Midtown.”

This part of the plan is proposed by Blueprint, and with no Blueprint representative at the meeting, questions went unanswered.

While FDOT’s plan to conduct road re-pavements is a moving forward as planned, it appears the City of Tallahassee’s utility project and Blueprint’s sidewalk installation are still subject to debate.

The Department of Transportation is still accepting comments until March 14th.

When NGA911 released their system a few years ago, it was hailed as a game changer in emergency response technology. Their system connects to the terminal police stations use and allows dispatchers to access callers’ location, as well as receive texts, photos, and videos from the caller. This new system is also more resilient to power outages making it effective during most natural disasters. NGA911 uses the Amazon Web Service’s cloud to house their data.

During the commission’s discussion of NGA911’s technology, Commissioner Bill Proctor raised questions about the future of emergency response since the Trump Administration has decided to review the effectiveness of FEMA. Kevin Peters, the Director of Emergency Management, responded to his questions about FEMA by pointing out that all emergencies are inherently local and Leon County holds most of the responsibility for managing disaster response. When it comes to requesting federal aid, that power lies with the state governors.

Commissioner Proctor concluded his concerns over the future of FEMA by saying, “We ought to, at some point, look at our emergency services as if we had to go at it alone.” The motion to award NGA911 the contract passed unanimously. NGA911 will implement and maintain their Next Generation technology for the next five years.

Commissioners Nick Maddox and Carolyn Cummings conveyed their concern about how Trump’s early executive orders (EO) will affect Leon County.

Ms. Street spent the majority of her presentation updating the commission on the Trump Administration’s EO. She stressed that while the EOs can become law, they are not guaranteed to do so; she noted a few litigation efforts already and also suggested that some of those efforts would end up in the Supreme Court.

The Trump Administration has issued EOs on foreign aid, immigration, energy, tax reform, and DEI. A lot of these EOs are broad, and it is yet unclear how they will affect local governments.

Ms. Street did note that Republicans in Washington, D.C. are considering tax reforms and spending cuts that might increase the taxes for constituents in Leon County. She also noted that the immigration EOs are so broad that it is impossible to say how they will exactly play out at the local level.

Many of the commissioners questioned the federal government’s spending cuts and how they will affect Leon County. Commissioner Rick Minor asked about funding for an infrastructure project concerning roads, which Ms. Street seemed to think would be fine. Commissioner Bill Proctor asked about funding to Florida A&M and specifically noted that the ROTC building is in need of repairs.

Commissioners Maddox and Cummings expressed their concern over the EOs. Commissioner Cummings asked about the effect that a potential tariff war would have on the local economy, while Maddox asked about the polarizing nature of federal politics. He expressed his desire for a more civil form of politics to return—a hope that Ms. Street affirmed.

The National Association of Counties Legislative Conference is set to take place on March 1-4 in Washington, D.C., and it will allow local representatives to engage D.C. lawmakers directly.

While many of these EOs leave us in uncertainty, Ms. Street endeavored to answer the questions of the county commission and provide clarity. She expressed the need and hope for bipartisan efforts as this new presidential administration begins its four years in office.

The commission accepted the update in a unanimous vote.

Commissioner Christian Caban pointed out that the efforts to revitalize and improve this area of Tallahassee began in 2004, but he believes that there has not been much progress made. He described the efforts as “disappointing.”

More recently, during a commission meeting on September 17, 2024, the members heard a crime report on this area and commissioned a report to be made about the progress to improve the safety and development of the area. Commissioner Caban said that since that crime report, things do not appear to be getting better. He pointed to one business that was robbed two times in a month and decided to relocate from the W Pensacola St. area. He stated, “I do appreciate the effort, but I don’t like the direction this is going.” His sentiments were echoed by several other elected officials.

Several of the people in charge of the revitalization project responded to Commissioner Caban’s remarks. Artie White, Director of Planning, Land Management & Community Enhancement (PLACE), explained that these efforts take time to implement and suggested that gradual progress has been made. White noted that the private sector along that corridor has seen some growth with an Aldi, Starbucks, Planet Fitness, and others opening stores. They have also been working to connect the public amenities along that corridor.

There have also been concrete efforts to combat homelessness and human trafficking along the corridor in conjunction with the Big Bend Continuum of Care and the Sheriff’s HOST unit. According to the status report, “These public and private sector investments will continue to enhance the safety, mobility, and aesthetics along the West Pensacola Street corridor.”

After listening to the testimonies from the PLACE staff, Commissioner Nick Maddox sympathized with the work being done along the W Pensacola St corridor. He said that while frustrating “progress is being made.”

The commission accepted the status report with a unanimous vote.

Ramaswamy alleged fundamental issues within the U.S. workforce. Musk, who uses the H1-B program to hire workers for Tesla, argued that “if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be.” With the tech industry poised to play a key role in rebuilding the economy, Musk and others claim that accomplishing this means recruiting the best and the brightest.

Critics of the H1-B visas accuse the program and its proponents of taking jobs away from Americans by incentivizing companies to hire cheap overseas labor. Increasing H1-B visas would mean taking more jobs away from American workers. Former Senator Nikki Haley responded to Musk: “Invest in our American workforce. We must invest in Americans first before looking elsewhere.” And Laura Loomer, a far right MAGA influencer, even claimed that the visas were being given to “third-world invaders from India.”

President Donald Trump issued a statement endorsing Musk’s position on H1-B visas—a program he previously spoke out against.

The state of Florida ranks tenth in the nation in the use of H1-B visa workers with 14,093 visas given out. The average annual salary for those workers is $111,233. The total for 2024 was 17,344 H1-B visas, who had an average annual salary of $111,830. Tallahassee accounted for 443 of those visas with an average annual salary of $89,893.

Florida’s public universities are among the highest users of H1-B visas in the state. In 2023, the University of Florida topped the charts with 252 visas followed by the University of Miami, who took 116. Florida State University took 88 visas, while Florida A&M accounted for 9.

If an H1-B visa-holder is looking for work, they typically use a sponsor company as a go-between. These companies connect workers with government entities. State departments like DOE or FDOT will post job applications, and a recruiting company will bid on the contracts. If they win, then they can connect one of their H1-B visa workers with the State for an interview. This is a common practice throughout the country.

One big criticism of the H1-B visa program is that it offers foreign labor as a cheap alternative to hiring American workers. A recruiting company may charge the State $100+ an hour for their H1-B talent and only pay their workers $15-30 an hour. The difference is pure profit for the recruiting company. In some instances, these sponsor companies will invest the surplus money into housing for their workers.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has come out strongly against the visas. “We’ve seen how companies will bring in H-1B [workers], the Americans train the H-1B [workers], and then they fire the Americans and hire the H-1B,” said DeSantis. “How would that even remotely be acceptable?”

If DeSantis is truly concerned about the use of H1-B visas, he could start by examining their impact in the capital of his own state.

An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified a technology solutions company while giving a hypothetical example of a typical H1B recruiting company. That company’s name has been removed.

So, how did it come to be that one of the most influential forces in our local election was a group headquartered 2,000 miles from Tallahassee?

Michael Kieschnick, founder of the Green Advocacy Project, knows his way around San Francisco’s political power circles. He worked for Governor Jerry Brown in the 80s, and he knows billionaire Tom Steyer and his wife well. He made his fortune with CREDO Mobile, a cell phone network provider and became a huge fundraiser of progressive causes. One of those progressive causes is the rapid transition of the power grid to renewable energy.

The Green Advocacy Project has given $150,000 dollars to the One Tallahassee PAC. Kieschnick himself even donated $25,000 to the cause. This PAC was created by City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow to fund Dot Inman-Johnson’s campaign.

But why Tallahassee? Throughout the country, coastal progressive groups are seeking to export their ideologies.

In 2004, the Democracy Alliance was founded by George Soros and other progressive donors in response to George W. Bush winning the Presidential election, an event one Democrat consultant called “our Pearl Harbor.” Rob Stein, one of the Democracy Alliance’s founders, explained that progressive change requires government control, and government control requires a certain infrastructure. The purpose of the Democracy Alliance is to fund the construction of that infrastructure. Kieschnick has been a member since the beginning.

In 2018, the alliance hosted a talk titled “Prosecutor Races—Winning Big in 2018?” The Real Justice PAC, an initiative Kieschnick helped found with Black Lives Matter founder Shaun King, acknowledges prosecutors as some of the “most powerful” local officials and lays out strategies to win those elections.

Also, Kieschnick co-founded the Secretary of State Project, an organization that funds secretaries of state’s campaigns in battleground states. “We’re tired of Republican manipulation of elections,” said Kieschnick.

Back in Tallahassee, Kieschnick seems to be engaging in his own election manipulation. Through his One Tallahassee PAC, Commissioner Matlow chose to support Jack Porter and Dot Inman-Johnson, and he did so mainly through Kieschnick’s donations, not the small dollar donations he promised.

The Green Advocacy Project funds campaigns across the country that are working to transition towards renewable energy. Local progressives have made the transition to green energy a campaign issue. Currently, 95% of the electricity produced in Tallahassee comes from natural gas sources, and Florida relies on natural gas for 75% of its electricity. A quick transition to renewable energy is not a simple endeavor.

Commissioner Jeremy Matlow and his aide Ryan Ray are the leaders of the progressive movement in Leon County and are in control of the Democrat party apparatus. Their messaging has been consistent with national progressives like Kieschnick, who has a history of latching onto local officials who can become pawns in the effort to orchestrate political change.

For residents of Tallahassee, local elections should be local affairs. Figures like Kieschnick give extensively to win elections and instill an ideology. However, issues like the transition to renewable energy impact people in Tallahassee, not dark money billionaires who live in California.

The briefing was followed by guidance issued by the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) on November 22, 2024, which stated that “State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo recommends against community water fluoridation due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure.

The FDOH cited various studies that reviewed fluoride exposure in vulnerable populations and found troubling outcomes.

“The briefing noted that since 1987, Tallahassee has been adding fluoride to its water system per the Leon County public health agency. Shortly before that, the EPA determined the appropriate fluoride levels and made those recommendations to local governments. However, the decision to add fluoride to the water system lies solely with local governments.

Fluoride both helps to prevent cavities from forming in teeth as well as stimulating new bone growth, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the fluoridation of the water system saves families money. In 2021, the American Medical Association reaffirmed the fluoridation standards and “urg[ed] state health departments to consider the value of requiring statewide fluoridation (preferably a comprehensive program of fluoridation of all public water supplies, where these are fluoride deficient), and to initiate such action as deemed appropriate.”

Two speakers commented on the issue. A representative of the Florida Dental Association encouraged the commission to support the continued use of fluoride, and an oral surgeon discussed the benefits of fluoride to patients he treats.

According to recent studies, there is evidence to suggest that fluoridated water might contain more cons than pros. Some believe too much fluoride can cause fluorosis, which damages the tooth’s enamel, and others question whether adding fluoride to the water is necessary given the heavy amounts in toothpaste and other dental care products.

“We should recognize that fluoride has beneficial effects on dental development and protection against cavities,” said Dr. Phillipe Grandjean, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “But do we need to add it to drinking water, so it gets into the bloodstream and potentially into the brain?”

The commission voted to accept the report. No changes were made to the water treatment process currently in place.

Board policy requires that all out-of-county travel be approved in advance by the School Board.

The agenda item notes that “reimbursements shall be made for reasonable and necessary expenses that are incurred during travel (meals, lodging, travel, and other incidentals) and must be submitted on the out-of-county reimbursement travel voucher. All itemized receipts must be attached for reimbursement.” 

The FSBA Annual Conference offers a forum for education administrators to discuss ideas.

The conference will run from December 3 – 6, 2024, and the school board will present a report of their experiences and findings to the school board on January 14, 2025. The attendees are members Rosanne Wood, Laurie Cox, Marcus Nicolas, Darryl Jones, and Alva Smith.

The FSBA is a nonpartisan corporation that convenes representatives of school boards and officials in the state. The goal of the FSBA is to “increase student achievement through the development of effective school board leadership and advocacy for public education.” They’re a forward thinking organization that contributes to lots of innovative and diverse education initiatives.

At the FSBA’s Annual Conference, members of the Leon County School Board will attend a wide array of lectures and meetings. These conferences provide an opportunity for administrators to exchange ideas and network. This year the keynote speakers are Damon West and Rennie Curran. West is a former college quarterback, who is now a motivational speaker to major corporations, sports teams, and the military. Curran is a former NFL and CFL player who speaks to major organizations about leadership, team building, and performance.

The proposal was awarded to the Zimmerman Agency, a local advertising firm with international clients including the Ritz Carlton hotels, helping to promote the HBO Max show “The Gilded Age,” and some promotional material for Belize tourism. The staff recommendation allocates $137,400 designated for the public relations and $249,000 for digital advertising. The contract will run for two years.

A part of the digital advertising campaign will be the creation of a mobile app to stimulate visitor engagement. The advertising campaign will promote many of Tallahassee’s most prominent destinations and work to engage influencers and media to garner positive coverage of those destinations. The award requires thorough reporting on the behavior and performance of these initiatives to provide informed feedback.

This is part of a larger initiative to increase tourism and build the Tallahassee economy. This funding will help the county support community events like sporting events, festivals, and performances. The meeting agenda states: “With strategic campaigns, media planning, content development, performance tracking, and creative marketing activations, the agreements will ensure an optimized and engaging visitor experience to grow the local tourism economy, its diversity, competitiveness, and economic impact.”

According to Ms. Personette’s resume, she’s worked several jobs including both Florida State University and Florida A&M in project manager and strategic planning positions. She brings twenty years of professional experience to the Tourism Development Council. She has been involved in the tourism industry through her work for FSU. She disclosed this conflict of interest, but the Board waived the employment conflict.

The Tourism Development Council is in charge of analyzing and making recommendations to the Board on any special projects. In total, there are nine members of the council.

The Tourism Development Council has been involved in many projects, including Tallahassee’s bicentennial celebrations. On November 10th, Tallahassee Mayor unveiled a replica log cabin of Tallahassee’s first capital at Cascades Park. This is a part of the Bicentennial Festival celebration. Other Bicentennial celebrations involve the renaming of a street for T-Pain, and a New Year’s celebration at Cascades Park.