Prison guard changes pitched for ‘system in crisis’
Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Mark Inch has been making the rounds in Tallahassee to pitch lawmakers on a plan to spend more than $26 million to shorten prison guards’ regular daily work shifts. Inch sells the switch from 12-hour shifts to 8.5-hour shifts, already in effect at roughly a third of Florida’s state-run prisons, […]
DeSantis pushes for election changes
Contending the state needs to strengthen election integrity, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday proposed a series of changes in Florida’s voting process.
DeSantis made the announcement three months after proclaiming that Florida had vanquished the “ghost” of the 2000 presidential recount and other well-documented election problems.
Florida to lower flags for Limbaugh
Florida will lower flags to half-staff after funeral plans are set for conservative media icon Rush Limbaugh, a Palm Beach resident who died Wednesday after a battle with cancer, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.
Session opening not so festive during pandemic
Breaking with longstanding tradition because of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Florida Senate and House will not gather in one place to kick off the 2021 legislative session and hear Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State of the State address.
By the numbers: COVID-19 vaccinations by age
Through Wednesday, 2,551,882 people had received COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida. Here is a breakdown of the number of people vaccinated by age group:
— 16 to 24 years old: 30,908
— 25 to 34 years old: 100,169
Court rejects challenge to armed ‘school guardians’
Three years after a mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led lawmakers to pass a major school-safety bill, an appeals court Thursday rejected a challenge to allowing armed “guardians” on campuses.
Visit Florida tries to speed up tourism’s return to normal
After COVID-19 cut Florida visitor numbers last year by about a third, tourism-marketing leaders have set a goal of beating a projection that the vital leisure and hospitality industries won’t return to normal until 2024.
Challenge to mask mandate goes to Supreme Court
After months of legal wrangling across Florida about mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge to a Palm Beach County mask mandate has gone to the state Supreme Court.
Money boosted for concealed weapons background checks
Lawmakers shifted $4.34 million on Thursday to cover a projected deficit caused by an uptick in people applying for concealed-weapons licenses. Without comment, the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, made up of House and Senate members, approved the funding request from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Licensing, which oversees permitting for concealed weapons.
Lawmakers give backing to seat-less bikes
Florida lawmakers moved ahead Wednesday with tweaking a law that can lead to people receiving citations for riding bicycles without seats.