By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced that all Floridians ages 40 and older will be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations starting Monday and that all adults will be eligible on April 5. The announcement came after eligibility expanded to people ages 50 and older this week. “We have made […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican lawmakers are pushing ahead with sweeping election changes largely focused on making it more difficult for people to vote by mail, an effort mirrored in GOP-led state houses throughout the country. In a party-line vote Monday, the House Public Integrity & Elections Committee […]
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried – a former cannabis lobbyist whose fiancee created a cannabis company with Fried’s father – recently tweeted that “Legalizing cannabis solves lots of problems and creates none.” Fried’s comments come despite several reports that show increases in hospitalizations and suicides due to the legalization of marijuana. Also, in 2019 a […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Miami-Dade County state attorney has charged former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles with election fraud for allegedly propping up a sham candidate in a razor-thin Senate contest in which an incumbent Democrat was ousted by a Republican challenger in November. Artiles is accused of using […]
By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that Florida will start offering COVID-19 vaccines to all people age 50 and older starting Monday. This week, Florida lowered the age threshold from 65 to 60, but the governor said softening demand convinced him the state could go to 50. “The demand has […]
Relying on federal coronavirus relief funds for schools, Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing to spend $106 million to bolster civics education, including offering bonuses to teachers who complete training. During a news conference Wednesday in Naples, DeSantis announced what he’s calling the “Civic Literacy Excellence Initiative.” Part of the plan would direct the Florida Department […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Despite the leisure and hospitality industry still struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s unemployment rate continues to improve as vaccinations increase and people return to the workforce. The state Department of Economic Opportunity reported Monday that Florida’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.8 percent in January, […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After debating whether county school board members should be paid, and if ending salaries would threaten diversity on the boards, a House panel took a first step Friday toward letting voters decide the issue in 2022. The Republican-controlled House Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee, […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With backing from Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Senate committee on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging proposal to revamp vote-by-mail laws, including banning the use of drop boxes and taking aim at a practice known as “ballot harvesting.” The bill (SB 90) comes amid efforts in […]
One day after Tallahassee Reports published an investigative report on Nikki Fried’s connections to a cannabis related businesses created by her fiancé, Jake Bergmann, Bergmann filed paperwork to remove a principal of Iconoclast, Inc. that Fried appointed to a medical marijuana advisory board she created. According to state records, Jake Bergmann removed Zachary Kobrin as […]