Saturday, March 18, 2023

Now, it’s Florida Trying to Muzzle the League of Women Voters

Photo: League of Women Voters

Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought to reshape a wide range of discourse, including by making it easier for public officials to sue for defamation and restricting discussions of systemic racism in workplace trainings. The league revealed that it had been denied permission by the Florida Department of Management Services to hold an outdoor rally on the steps of the Old Capitol in Tallahassee under a new DeSantis administration rule requiring groups to first get sponsorship from a sympathetic state agency.

More HERE

Publisher Deleted KEY DETAILS In Rosa Parks Story For Florida Schools


Tampa named one of the world's greatest places


The Tampa Bay are has a lot to offer with beaches, warm winters, great restaurants. It's now getting recognized with TIME Magazine ranking it as one of the "World's Greatest Places."....MORE

Tampa Bay Area prosecutors, advocates look to address teen gun violence


It’s a troubling trend that Tampa Bay Area prosecutors and advocates want to find the answer to teen gun violence.

“We have prosecuted more juveniles as adults because more juveniles are committing serious, violent, gun-related crimes,” said Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez.

More HERE

Protestors call for resignations after students, employee arrested on USF campus


Protestors at the University of South Florida are calling for the resignation of the school’s police chief and president following arrests recently made on the campus.....MORE

Station House BBQ - Lutz

VISIT THEM HERE

Rep. Maxwell Frost on being the first Gen Z member of Congress


What Stogie Had For Lunch

Garbanzo Soup with Bloody Mary

Caroline Kole - passive aggressive



Ybor Life

7th and Grove

Former DeSantis Staffers Spill TONS of Dirt


Friday, March 17, 2023

Ybor Paparazzi

Gabby and Gaby

Florida textbook altered to remove references to Rosa Parks’s race: report

Rosa Parks – File image. (Associated Press/JOE HOLLOWAY, JR.)

A Florida textbook publisher removed all references of race from a lesson about civil rights icon Rosa Parks in order to get a Florida committee’s approval, according to The New York Times.....MORE


House approves universal private school voucher program


Florida drew one step closer to becoming one of a handful of states offering all families, regardless of income, a voucher to attend a private school of their choosing.

House legislation (HB 1) that could transform the state’s education system passed largely along party lines, 83-27, according to the announced vote.

More HERE

Texas, Florida push border laws as governors eye presidency

A migrant woman carries a child on her back while looking at the line of fellow migrants attempting to enter into El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Led by tough-talking Republican governors weighing presidential runs, Texas and Florida are debating especially strict legislation on border security as the GOP tests federal authority over immigration.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered Donald Trump's strongest possible GOP competitor so far in next year's presidential primary, has proposed making human smuggling in the state a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Hospitals would be required to collect data on patients' immigration status and people in the U.S. illegally would be denied state government ID cards.

More HERE


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Woman said she was tied up and raped. Then Florida cops discovered something ‘disheartening’


A South Dakota woman recounted a harrowing crime to Florida 911 operators through tears last week — saying she was shoved in the back of a car, tied up and raped.

Deputies quickly moved to find an alleged rapist but soon learned the woman was lying, authorities said. She’s now looking at jail time for taking advantage of law enforcement.

More HERE

Florida Board of Medicine's ban on transgender treatments for minors takes effect

Creator: Ted Eytan / Creative Commons

Florida doctors could lose their medical licenses if they order puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, under a Florida Board of Medicine rule that took effect Thursday.....MORE

DeSantis seeks to limit Sunshine laws


A dark cloud is descending on Florida's Sunshine laws. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers are seeking to roll back open records laws.....MORE



Tampa City Council Inches Closer to Approving New Attorney for Police Review Board


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Thursday, March 16, 2023

Polk County nonbinary 6th-grader speaks out against new education measures


Florida lawmakers are considering House Bill 1223 and Senate Bill 1320, which would ban discussions in schools about gender and sexuality until ninth grade and bar teachers and contractors from referring to someone by a pronoun that doesn’t correspond with that person’s biological sex.

But one Polk County nonbinary student whose pronouns are them/they is touring around other rural Florida counties sharing perspective.

More HERE

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Lady Godiva in Ybor City


Keel Farms Blueberry Festival


Trump spends all day working on Ron DeSantis nicknames


Lawsuit limitation bills keep rolling through the process


A bill that gives insurers, and businesses more protections against lawsuits could pass the House on Friday.
The Florida business community’s top priority for the 2023 Legislative Session, a sweeping bill to limit lawsuits against insurance companies and businesses, was center stage Thursday.

More HERE

‘Toxic political ideology’: Florida English professor fired over racial justice unit blames DeSantis


After working for Palm Beach Atlantic University for more than 20 years, Dr. Samuel Joeckel of West Palm Beach has been fired over the teaching of a racial justice unit.....MORE

Florida GOP Proposal Would Ban Pride Flag—But Let Confederate Flag Fly At State Buildings


A Republican lawmaker in Florida filed legislation Tuesday exempting the Confederate flag from a broad proposal to ban most flags from being flown outside government buildings in the state—including LGBTQ pride flags—as culture war issues take the forefront at Florida’s GOP-led legislative session.....MORE

Ron DeSantis Wants to Make It a Felony to Have an Undocumented Person in Your Home or Car


Around 772,000 Florida workers, students, and community members are undocumented. And Governor Ron DeSantis wants to make it a felony for anyone to have them in their home or even give them a ride.....MORE