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Florida News Archive

Dec 11, 2020

Weekly roundup of Florida news

As the state approaches another morbid coronavirus milestone of 20,000 deaths, Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered some glad tidings to Floridians this week: Hope is on the horizon.

Florida is in line to receive nearly 180,000 doses of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine as soon as federal health authorities sign off on the drug, with 81,900 doses slated to be used in long-term care facilities and the remainder going to five hospitals throughout the state.

But the news wasn’t all giddy for DeSantis and his administration this week.

Dec 11, 2020

Grand jury calls Florida’s mental health system a mess

A statewide grand jury studying school safety issued an interim report Thursday that tore into Florida’s mental-health system, saying that “deficiencies in funding, leadership and services related to mental health care tend to turn up everywhere like bad pennies.”
Dec 11, 2020

Challenge to mask ordinance dismissed in appeals court

For the second time this week, the 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed a challenge to a requirement that people wear masks in certain public places to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Dec 10, 2020

Uber CEO: Drivers need prioritized vaccine

Saying drivers and delivery people have been a “lifeline to their communities,” Uber’s chief executive officer on Thursday asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to prioritize the COVID-19 vaccine for the online platform’s workers.
Dec 10, 2020

Pensacola State College faces fight over in-person classes

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to climb, faculty members at a Northwest Florida college are challenging administrators’ decision to boost face-to-face instruction during the upcoming spring semester.
Dec 10, 2020

Florida joins lawsuit targeting Facebook

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined 45 other states Wednesday in a lawsuit against Facebook, accusing the social media giant of exploiting its dominance in the digital marketplace and engaging in anti-competitive practices.
Dec 9, 2020

Florida attorney general backs Texas effort to block election results

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Wednesday joined 16 other states in backing a last-chance effort by Texas to get the U.S. Supreme Court to block election results in four swing states where the vote went in favor of President-elect Joe Biden.
Dec 9, 2020

Court rejects murder appeal on cell phone mapping

An appeals court Wednesday upheld a first-degree murder conviction in a 2013 shooting at a Palm Beach County restaurant, rejecting arguments that a detective was not qualified to serve as an expert witness about mapping cell-phone locations.
Dec 9, 2020

DeSantis outlines vaccination plan

TALLAHASSEE — Participating in a White House vaccine summit on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined what appeared to be the state’s final COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan.

DeSantis said the state’s proposal calls for vaccinating seniors in nursing homes before the end of December, while also getting vaccines into the hands of “high-contact” front line health-care workers in five urban areas by the end of next week.

Dec 8, 2020

Florida launches ‘strong case’ for Space Force

TALLAHASSEE — Space Florida leaders on Tuesday praised aerospace facilities and commercial operations in the state, as site selectors inspected Patrick Air Force Base as a finalist to be the permanent command headquarters of Space Force.

Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello told the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors that Florida has made a “very strong case” for the Brevard County military base south of Cape Canaveral, which is one of six finalists for U.S. Space Command headquarters.

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