Tallahassee – A federal judge has rejected much of a lawsuit challenging restrictions that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature placed on public-employee unions — but a fight will continue about a ban on deducting union dues from workers’ paychecks.
“To sail on a dream on a crystal-clear ocean, to ride on the crest of the wild raging storm, to work in the service of life and the living, in search of the answers to questions unknown…” – “Calypso” by John Denver.
Tallahassee – A second Florida Supreme Court case has emerged over a “financial impact statement” that will appear on the November ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment about abortion rights.
The 2024 All-Gulf South Conference preseason football team features 10 University of West Florida football players, the most of any school in the league.
As I write this column, I am in the last third of a two-week vacation. What exotic or exciting destination did I visit? Well, first, my yard, then my office, and soon I will be visiting my garage. Mine was a “staycation” involving yard maintenance, office and garage de-cluttering, and an unanticipated repair project in the master bathroom. No, it has not been the most restful vacation I’ve ever taken, but it has been refreshing, nonetheless.
Have you heard of the perfect storm? Well, we are being tested here as of the last two-three weeks. Our awesome bookkeeper for the past five years decided she would like a summer to stay home with her children, so she gave us plenty of notice to find a new bookkeeper. One we hired and waited two weeks for, emailed in the day before she was to start and said she took another position. Another person actually started training, and it was obvious in the first few days that she barely knew her way around a computer, much less QuickBooks, so we had to say no thank you. By that time, it was mid-July and rightfully so, our bookkeeper went home to be with her children. And, at the same time, our front desk admin gave her notice because she got a job with better benefits…i.e., a government job, and we hired someone to replace her and four days of training later, the last four days of our former team member’s time with us — she emailed us late one night and said she decided to stay home and homeschool her child. So that left us without a bookkeeper or a front desk admin. I told Gail, our Publisher, that this means something awesome is about to happen. And then, I found a quote from a friend of mine who is also going through some trying times. She wrote, “Whenever something important falls apart, it’s because something bigger and better is on the horizon. And, with sudden change always comes the deepest opportunities for growth. Well, we are definitely growing through this. The good news is that we used to put out a job opening and get zero applicants. Now, they are coming in all day long – which is a job in itself – weeding through applications, interviewing, onboarding, etc. However, well worth it when you end up with awesome team members like we have now.
In Santa Rosa County, there’s a group of recognizable faces that you see at most public meetings. Whether it’s the Santa Rosa County Commission or Milton City Council, the same people are usually in the crowd.
