Florida Couple Indicted for Teacher Certification Test Cheating Scheme

Florida Couple Indicted for Teacher Certification Test Cheating Scheme

At a news conference today, U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe announced the indictment of Estero, Fla. teachers Jeremy and Kathleen Jasper for an alleged teacher certification test cheating scheme. The indictment comes after a two-year investigation. See press release here. The indictment alleges that the Jaspers repeatedly took the Florida Teacher Certification Exams (FTCE) and the […]

Indictment of “Statewide Significance” Slated for Tomorrow

Indictment of “Statewide Significance” Slated for Tomorrow

U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe is slated to announce an indictment of “statewide significance” tomorrow at a virtual press conference. According to a news release, “U.S. Attorney Keefe will be joined by representatives from the law enforcement agencies who conducted the investigation leading to this indictment.” Keefe is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of […]

City Commission Approves Tallahassee Human Relations Committee Appointments

City Commission Approves Tallahassee Human Relations Committee Appointments

During its meeting today, the City Commission approved new appointments to the Tallahassee Human Relations Committee (THRC). The commissioners assessed recommendations for the positions made by Mayor John Dailey, as there are currently several vacancies on the committee. The THRC works alongside the City Commission and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to serve as […]

UPDATED: CRA Rejects $750,000 Funding Request for South City Business Incubator Project, Approves $75,000

UPDATED: CRA Rejects $750,000 Funding Request for South City Business Incubator Project, Approves $75,000

At the December 9th meeting the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Board decided not to approve a $750,000 funding request from Loved by Jesus Family Church, which asked for funding for a business and job training incubator project within the Towne South Shopping Center. Loved by Jesus Family Church presented the idea for the incubator center […]

UPDATED: City Commission Approves Reimbursing Mayor Dailey for Attorney’s Fees Related to Ethics Complaint

UPDATED: City Commission Approves Reimbursing Mayor Dailey for Attorney’s Fees Related to Ethics Complaint

At today’s City Commission meeting, the Commissioners authorized the City to reimburse Mayor John Dailey for attorney’s fees related to an ethics complaint. Dailey prevailed against an ethics complaint filed against him in June 2020 and is now requesting to be reimbursed for $5,092.10 in legal costs. The ethics complaint was filed by K. Lennorris […]

UPDATED: County Commission Receives Sidewalk Program Status Report

UPDATED: County Commission Receives Sidewalk Program Status Report

The County Commissioners received a status report on the County’s sidewalk program at their meeting today. The Commissioners receive the report annually to review sidewalk program activities and consider adding new sidewalk segments. Leon County funds sidewalk constructions with half of the County’s share of the five-cent gas tax and the Blueprint 2020 sales tax. […]

DeSantis Recruits Corey Simon for Volunteer Florida

DeSantis Recruits Corey Simon for Volunteer Florida

By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday tapped Corey Simon to lead Volunteer Florida. Simon will succeed a former teammate from Florida State University’s 1999 national championship football team as CEO of the agency, which currently oversees more than $43 million in federal and state funding to support efforts to expand […]

FDLE Obtains Search Warrant, Raids Home of Former Health Department Employee

FDLE Obtains Search Warrant, Raids Home of Former Health Department Employee

By Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida State police agents on Monday raided the home of a former Florida Department of Health employee who helped build the state’s first COVID-19 dashboard. Rebekah Jones was fired earlier this year after complaining that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration was manipulating COVID-19 data to make the virus appear […]

UPDATED: County Commission Approves Update on Guidelines for Policy Debates on Social Media

UPDATED: County Commission Approves Update on Guidelines for Policy Debates on Social Media

During their meeting today, the Leon County Board of County Commissioners approved updates on guidelines for policy debates that take place through social media websites. This comes after other counties across the state have set up specific frameworks for abiding by the Sunshine and Public Records Laws on social media platforms. In order to update […]

UPDATED: County Commissioners Approve $30.5 Million in Bonds for Orange Avenue Redevelopment Project

UPDATED: County Commissioners Approve $30.5 Million in Bonds for Orange Avenue Redevelopment Project

At their meeting today, the County Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the Housing Finance Authority to issue millions of dollars in bonds to finance phases of the Orange Avenue Apartments redevelopment project. The project developers, Columbia Residential and the Tallahassee Housing Authority, requested two bonds totaling $30.5 million to finance the Magnolia Family II and […]