By Ana Ceballos, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Vacation rentals in seven Panhandle counties Tuesday were allowed to reopen with some restrictions, after weeks of being shut down as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. Halsey Beshears, secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, approved plans […]
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration said Tuesday evening that a Department of Health employee who helped create Florida’s COVID-19 information “dashboard” was fired for insubordination, disputing allegations that she was terminated for refusing to manipulate data. “Rebekah Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the department, including her unilateral decisions to modify […]
UPDATED The Independent Ethics Board tabled their decision on a pay raise for Attorney John Reid at their May 19 meeting. Reid has been the Board Counsel to the Ethics Board since Feb. 2019. ORIGINAL The Independent Ethics Board is considering a pay raise for Attorney John Reid at their May 19 meeting. Reid has […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — State university system Chancellor Marshall Criser next week will present guidelines for reopening university campuses in the fall, after students were sent home in March to curb the spread of COVID-19. Criser is slated to offer the guidelines during a May 28 meeting of the […]
Sales of existing single-family homes in Leon county were down 16% when compared to numbers sold in the same month one year ago. There were 319 single-family home resales in April 2019 and 268 resales in April 2020. Last month there were 254 existing single-family homes sold. The average sales price in April 2020 increased […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida Democrats hope to make wildfires that destroyed homes and other structures in the Panhandle the latest political wedge between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who some believe could clash in the 2022 gubernatorial election. The Florida Democratic Party wasted little time […]
At their May 13 meeting, the City Commissioners voted to award a $1,460,327.40 construction contract for extensive improvements to an air traffic control tower at the Tallahassee International Airport. The contract will be awarded to OliverSperry Renovation and Construction, Inc., a Tallahassee construction company that has previously renovated several restaurants, churches, office spaces, and more […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gyms and fitness centers can start to reopen Monday and restaurants can seat more customers, as Gov. Ron DeSantis continued Friday to take “small steps” with his economic recovery plans amid the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis said restaurants on Monday can expand their indoor seating to […]
At the May 12 Leon County School Board meeting, Superintendent Rocky Hanna announced that the school district will form a task force for reopening Leon County Schools in the fall. The task force will be responsible for planning multiple components of the 2020-2021 school year, including issues related to the budget and the digital divide. […]
In an effort to measure the impact of COVID-19, a number of experts are turning to a measure called excessive deaths. Excessive deaths occur when deaths during a current time period are greater than what would be expected based on an average of deaths over a previous time period. The measure of excess deaths does […]