The Walt Disney Company is starting mass layoffs this week as the entertainment giant looks to reduce its employee headcount by 7,000 positions as it goes into cost-saving mode.....MORE
Monday, March 27, 2023
Push for partisan School Board elections advances
A bill that would have voters decide in the 2024 election whether School Board candidates should declare a party affiliation is taking a step toward becoming law.
Legislation (SJR 94) that Republican Sen. Joe Gruters filed received a nod from the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee, with Democratic dissent at its second committee stop.
More HERE
Tossing of Florida's so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ lawsuit is appealed
Photo via Dave Decker
A challenge to a 2022 law restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation has gone to a federal appeals court, as state lawmakers and education officials look to expand the restrictions.
Attorneys for students, parents and teachers filed a notice of appeal at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal after U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor last month dismissed — for the second time — a lawsuit arguing the law is unconstitutional. Winsor on Feb. 15 ruled that the plaintiffs had not “alleged sufficient facts” to show they had legal standing to challenge the law.
More HERE
Nikki Fried files ethics complaint against Ron DeSantis
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried has filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics against the Florida Governor. At issue: purported “gifts” from DeSantis’ state-level Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee that violated a statutory ban, particularly in light of the Governor being termed out of office in 2026.....MORE
Gov. DeSantis signs sweeping new education law allowing universal school choice
Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation making private school vouchers available to all, regardless of income.....MORE
Efforts to add open carry to a permitless carry bill in Florida fail
The Florida House has passed a bill that would allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit, but it wouldn't allow them to openly carry firearms.....MORE
Ken Welch will not be swayed by lawmakers’ ‘threats and attempts to intimidate’ on abortion issue
Responding to a letter from Reps. Mike Beltran and Berny Jacques, neither of whom represent the city of St. Petersburg, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch tweeted last week that his administration would “embrace our responsibilities to our great community.”.....MORE
Ron Desantis Pushes His ABSURD Rule Over Florida
GOP Governor Ron Desantis looks to push and expand on the "Don't Say Gay" bill that restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade. Senator Nina Turner and Dan Evans break it down on Unbossed.
Sunday, March 26, 2023
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Tampa hemp businesses concerned about newly-proposed restrictions
Chillum Dispensary in Ybor City
Carlos Hermida has been selling hemp products out of Chillum Dispensary in Ybor City for the past five years. He said he got into the industry to help people – especially veterans – experiencing anxiety, insomnia and pain.
“They come to us because they can’t afford medical marijuana," Hermida said. "They can’t be part of that system, so they come to us. If we’re not here, they’re going to go to the black market. If these bills pass, a lot of my customers are going to become criminals overnight.”
Hermida is referring to a pair of bills filed in the Florida Senate and House of Representatives that would add more regulations on hemp.
More HERE
A lot of thought, little action: Proposals about mental health go unheeded
Thousands of people struggle to access mental health services in Florida. The treatment system is disjointed and complex. Some residents bounce between providers and are prescribed different medications with clinicians unaware of what happened. Jails and prisons have become de facto homes for many who need care.
These problems and more were identified in a scathing report released earlier this year by the Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, a 19-person panel that Florida lawmakers created in 2021 to push for reforms of the state’s patchwork of behavioral health services for uninsured people and low-income families.
What’s most troubling about the group’s findings? They aren’t new.
More HERE
Satellite images show 5,000-mile seaweed belt creeping closer to US
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Photo by Jonathan Wilkins
Over the next few months, a massive belt of seaweed is projected to make its way closer to Florida and the Caribbean, and pile up in mounds as it washes ashore. It’s not just an eyesore — the seaweed, called sargassum, smells terrible as it rots, and can cause breathing issues for some.....MORE
Other states are copying Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” efforts
Two other states, Alabama and Arkansas, have enacted laws similar to Florida’s since last year.
Florida’s move to expand its prohibition on teaching sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom comes as Republican lawmakers in other states are pursuing their own versions of what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
More HERE
The Ybor City Stogie Is No Longer Banned on Facebook
THE BAN HAS BEEN LIFTED!
Last month we asked our readers to contest the facebook ban on sharing of Ybor City Stogie posts. We gave you instructions on how to contact facebook and contest this ban and apparently enough of you followed up on this that it caught the attention of facebook administration. We'd like to extend our thanks to all of you out there.
You can now share posts from the Stogie to your facebook page. Just click on the facebook icon below the post you want to share.
Legislature moves quickly on Gov. DeSantis priorities
From expanding gun rights to going after “woke” investors, the Florida Legislature is quickly moving on a list of bills that will give Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis conservative-pleasing policy successes as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign.....MORE
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