If my dive through Florida history is correct, w/ Rubio's reelection and the Florida Cabinet in Republican control, there will be no statewide elected Democrat for the first time since at least the start of the 20th century.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is ridiculous.’ Honestly, it was embarrassing,” DeSantis said about a carveout for Disney in a 2021 bill.
But emails (first reported by
@Jason_Garcia
) showed his staff helped write it in communication with Disney.
Just recap, Florida: there's a DOJ investigation into a congressman, a tax collector is pleading guilty after being indicted, a disgraced lawmaker is facing felony charges & is accused of planting a sham candidate, and a "donor" to a different NPA candidate said he never gave $
It’s Primary Eve in Florida, and Charlie Crist just held an event at the Manhattan Casino, a place of historic importance to the Black community of St. Petersburg.
He said he’ll bring “decency” back to the Governor’s office. “That’s why this campaign is going to be successful.”
Wow. After 98 people died in the Surfside tower collapse, it's looking like the FL Legislature won't be passing a bill to address condo inspections/reserve money this session.
Read
@MaryEllenKlas
on what happened:
Rep. Matt Gaetz is now nationally known for leading the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, a move that brought intraparty fighting to a boil.
But it was in Florida that Gaetz honed his brash political style. And it is to Florida that he may try to return:
Hundreds of Florida inmates are serving drug sentences no longer in state law
This story is the result of months of reporting on an issue that few talk about: how Florida's evolving criminal justice laws have left many in legal purgatory.
Some news I'm excited to share: Soon I will be starting a new job as the
@TB_Times
Political Editor. Despite the title, I won't be editing — it's a senior reporting role.
I'm humbled by this opportunity and I can't wait to jump back into the world of Florida politics. (1/3)
BREAKING: Federal judge in Georgia denies landlords' request for a preliminary injunction cancelling the CDC's nationwide eviction moratorium.
The moratorium will continue to be in place as the trial proceeds.
Residents and community activists said this Tampa complex is plagued by mold, rodents and plumbing problems.
Nikki Fried held a news conference there to spotlight what she said is the result of affordable housing being ignored.
This is a big story. A document dump of more than 100k records obtained by the Times/Herald show the former CEO of an anti-domestic violence group FUNDED BY THE STATE made $7.5 million over 3 years
@GovRonDeSantis
says there may be criminal investigation
A few hundred people, most of them with prior felony convictions, chant “Our Vote, our voice” on the steps of the historic Capitol to advocate for full implementation of Amendment 4. This group, FRRC, led grassroots efforts to get Amend. 4 passed in Nov.
FL state agency confirms it was intentionally the only state not to preorder COVID vaccines for young children, attributing it to the fact it does not recommend the shots for healthy children.
@codonnell_Times
@IanJHodgson
NEW: This landlord company got a PPP loan between $2 million - $5 million. Its residents live with mold, rats & plumbing leaks which they say have gone unfixed for months.
It’s also filed more evictions than any other FL landlord during the pandemic.
Today is sure to be another newsy day, so I’m sharing some news of my own: this will be my last session at the Florida Capitol.
At the end of March, I’ll be moving to St. Pete to be the
@TB_Times
new real estate reporter. I could not be more excited for this new challenge!!
Hi Twitter, I know I’ve been absent from daily news a bit. That’s bc I’ve been working on this story, interviewing charity leaders, experts & crunching numbers which all say the same thing: donations to Hurricane Michael recovery are dramatically low.
@mareevs
Go to a bar, dance to live music and get more enjoyment than ever from people-watching and interactions with strangers. Then book a long trip to a bustling foreign city and repeat the above.
Since this tweet is going viral (I wish this one would too, though it likely won’t): for every person screaming at
@Acosta
there were also lots of
#trumptampa
supporters who came up to him and thanked him for being a professional and doing an important job (which he does)
ICYMI: Federal officials are investigating a FL contractor that hired workers in the country illegally, including a man later charged in connection w/ death of a Pinellas deputy.
The company does millions’ worth of business w/ DeSantis administration.
Florida has twice issued health guidance
(vaccines + gender-affirming care for kids) that goes against what the federal gov't & medical associations recommend.
Someone else that disagrees: FL's former surgeon general appointed by DeSantis.
@KirbyWTweets
BREAKING:
@GovRonDeSantis
extends the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until July 1.
It was about to expire in a little more than 4 hours, at 12:01am tomorrow.
BREAKING: Gov. DeSantis just announced he's allowing the state moratorium on evictions and foreclosures to expire, citing the CDC's order that freezes evictions for certain tenants. Story coming.
I’m out covering protests in St. Pete today, and a group of about 100 people are laying down at 22nd Ave N and 4th St. N, blocking traffic and chanting “I can’t breathe.”
Cars are honking, one is revving its engine
In the 5 days after my story about the great need for donations for Hurricane Michael recovery, readers of the
@TB_Times
/
@MiamiHerald
mailed checks & gave online for a total of about $16,200, a massive uptick in donations. Our readers rock.
BREAKING: the CDC has issued a new eviction moratorium that applies only to counties experiencing "substantial" or "high" community transmission.
According to the CDC's map, that includes the entire state of Florida.
Passed my Florida real estate exam! Learned a lot in the process that will help me to better cover the world of real estate for
@TB_Times
.
It’s also is proof that my college cramming habits are still somewhat effective.
I would be remiss if I didn’t note the fact that while Moms for Liberty/
@FlaDems
conferences are happening simultaneously in Tampa, there’s also a Comic-Con.
Here is the Mandalorian and Boba Fett sitting behind me at the Moms for Liberty hotel.
Star Wars caucus?
NEW: How could the looming abortion decision change the landscape of the Florida governor’s race?
Nikki Fried predicted a “monumental shift,” saying “This is our moment.”
NEWS: Today is my last day as the senior political writer
@TB_Times
!
Next week, I'm so excited to be starting a new beat covering energy and climate (still at the Times!).
Hello, Twitter — today is my first day covering real estate/housing for the
@TB_Times
! I’m excited to be in St. Petersburg but know there’s a lot of work to be done telling important stories in this scary time.
Want to tell me yours? Send me a tip? Emahoney
@tampabay
.com
Jordan Coury, 24 was hit with a rubber bullet in the head. The front of his shirt is soaked in blood. Jakob Cuomo, 22, is holding gauze on the wound and called 911.
The dispatcher, on speaker phone, noted there’s already police on scene. “The police are the ones that shot him!”
I’m at the University of Tampa where President Biden is going to speak this afternoon. They are handing out mini pamphlets made to look like Sen. Rick Scott’s plan that proposes sunsetting federal legislation after 5 years.
It is dead. First year since Parkland that a school safety bill will not pass the Florida Legislature.
It would have added mental health training requirements for campus police/armed staff, banned the arrest of young children under 7 ...
The school safety bill -- yes, the school safety bill -- is the source of disagreement between the FL House & Senate. They can't agree on a few policy differences and are sending it back & forth.
There are 45 min left in regular session. If one chamber doesn't give in, it dies.
I know I’m working out of the
@MiamiHerald
newsroom today because it only took 1 hour for me to overhear someone ask: “does anyone have a good number for Pitbull’s spokesperson?”
Donors in Tallahassee gave more money to DeSantis’ campaign than the totals for every other city except NYC (and it's 2% the pop. size of the Big Apple)
The law firms hired by FL to defend DeSantis priorities also wrote big checks. w/
@teghan_simonton
Inbox: Democratic State Sen.
@ShevrinJones
sends a letter to Gov. DeSantis asking him to pardon people who have been convicted of marijuana possession at the state level
Wow. About 25 million gallons of polluted water have been released into Tampa Bay as of this morning, according to the DEP secretary, and an engineer fears a full collapse.
Keep following
@ZackSampson
who has been all over this story.
“I’m distressed that my quote was used to support what I think is a bad policy decision,” said a physician whose name appears in Florida’s new guidance recommending against healthy kids getting vaccinated.
Good digging by
@IanJHodgson
:
One former felon didn’t learn that he couldn’t cast a ballot until last month — when he was contacted by a reporter for this story.
“I should have known better,” he said. “This is Florida.”
Read this Amendment 4 deep dive by
@lmower3
@langstonitaylor
NEW: DeSantis’ office quietly helped write a bill to curtail wind energy, emails show.
Staff suggested language to ban all wind energy anywhere in FL, a broader prohibition than what lawmakers eventually passed. (confirming
@Jason_Garcia
reporting)
"The league began its investigation after the Tampa Bay Times reported that Brown obtained and utilized a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, according to his former live-in chef."
Catching up on Surfside coverage & this story from
@anaceballos_
@MaryEllenKlas
is so valuable:
FL condos used to be required to be inspected every 5 yrs + do reports on their $ for repairs, which was quietly repealed during the Recession
If a shutdown begins, Florida would see funding for 272 disaster recovery projects “further delayed,” acc. to the White House.
A SW FL United Way leader told me it's all "too much for the people in our community to have to go through, after all of this."
One day before Hurricane Ian made landfall in SW Florida, a county commission there held a meeting.
They prayed for Tampa Bay.
@romyellenbogen
,
@bbehrendttimes
and I dug into whether residents had enough time to evacuate the quick-turning storm.
BREAKING: Gov. DeSantis extends the eviction and foreclosure moratorium again until Sept. 1, with some tweaks.
It was scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Story to come.
Updated with comments from
@AndrewPollackFL
, who said DeSantis should put pressure on Broward School board members to remove Runcie: “They should get ahead of it before they are removed ... We all know (DeSantis) will be quick to pull trigger on board members who don’t act.”
.
@RonDeSantisFL
:
@RobertwRuncie
's job appears safe. The governor said based on legal advice he's received, he doesn't think he can suspend Runcie bc he was appointed and not elected.
That recommendation cited several experts who told the
@TB_Times
that their work was taken out of context and that COVID-19 vaccines are in fact the best way to prevent serious illness in children.
I’m in downtown Tampa where things are getting tense between thousands of protesters and police. Protesters tried to march onto the freeway and the police fired rubber bullets. Now people are kneeling and saying “don’t shoot.”
Re: Disney's continuing response ... A reader emailed me this photo of an insert they said was placed inside their program at last night's opening performance of Frozen at the Straz Center.
BREAKING: Shooter charged with manslaughter in Clearwater stand your ground case. This signals that prosecutors believe they can show by "clear and convincing" evidence that a stand your ground defense is not applicable. Via
@kathrynvarn
Check out my shiny new job title! My actual job isn't changing much, though I am planning to dig in more on campaign finance in the 2024 race.
Send me your tips and wonky FEC jokes. (DM for Signal)
BREAKING: Florida DOE is "strongly recommending" that all school districts close for a week, added on to most districts' spring break. Corcoran told superintendents about it on a 4pm call today.
This story will be updated:
Black students from Parkland held a press conference today to highlight their concerns. This point was the main reason most black lawmakers in the Florida Legislature voted against SB 7026 (which dedicates millions for more campus police)
Kai says while some might feel comfort to have more police officers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, he does not. He says it's intimidating & that black students will face most of the consequences of an overmilitarized predominantly white school.
A Parkland-inspired bill that would require school panic alarms has increasingly become a magnet for companies bickering over who should get the state contract.
An example of how keeping kids safe has become a money-making enterprise:
"I have not encountered in the past this many voters calling, concerned that they may be prosecuted or what-have-you for voter fraud. And these are all eligible voters that have contacted me,” said Leon County SOE Mark Earley.
@newsservicefla
Florida no longer has a state eviction moratorium, leaving the CDC order as most renters' only protection.
Today, lawyers argued whether it should be voided as a suit goes to trial. The CDC's lawyer said that would put millions at risk just before winter.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top aides stopped the release of public records about his taxpayer-funded plane travel and retaliated against state police employees who disagreed with the decision, according to two former FDLE officials. via
@lmower3
There are ~935 Florida prisoners who are serving drug sentences no longer in state law, an issue we explored in a Nov. investigation.
But I wanted to know more: who are those inmates, and where are they from? The answer was stunning. (THREAD)
Hey Twitter, I know you probably think GIFs are just for memes/good comebacks. Think again. This one shows the number of structures built near Houston's dams over time, by ZIP.
(seriously, I worked on this GIF for days and I'm absurdly proud of it)
James Butler, 31, is a lawyer who came straight from work to join (he’s in the suit.) “it frankly shouldn’t be surprising I’m here in a suit because every other attorney like me swore an oath to uphold the constitution. We’ve all got to do what we can.”
What a sentence about conditions in Houston:
“Centerpoint said residents w/o power should not expect service to be restored before Tues. at the earliest, leaving families to choose between bad options: Hunker down ... or traverse icy roads to friends/relatives with electricity.”
1.2 million customers in the Houston region are without power right now, and Centerpoint says not to expect service to be restored today.
Most people rely on electricity for heat here.
It is 19 degrees right now.
Sunset is in five hours.
w/
@nkhensley
➡️
NEW: In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the CDC issued an eviction moratorium in early Sept.
But since then, hundreds of FL renters have lost their homes, including people who thought they met all the order’s criteria. With
@codonnell_Times
:
Some news I'm excited to share: Soon I will be starting a new job as the
@TB_Times
Political Editor. Despite the title, I won't be editing — it's a senior reporting role.
I'm humbled by this opportunity and I can't wait to jump back into the world of Florida politics. (1/3)
I talked to urban planning experts and ppl formerly involved in the push to bring the Rays to Ybor about how a stadium might fit into the Gas Worx development.
They weighed in on housing, parking, density, & whether this will end differently than 2018:
We know these things thanks to journalists at the
@MiamiHerald
@orlandosentinel
and others. Please subscribe to support local news like these publications, including the
@TB_Times
.
The governor’s office has repeatedly held briefings with lots of reporters in small rooms.
When our bureau asked for more social distancing, this was the result 👇
.GovRonDeSantis decided to violate the state's public meeting laws and chose to exclude the
@MiamiHerald
and
@TB_Times
from a media briefing at the Capitol. He was so determined to keep us out, he had an FDLE vehicle pick up TV reporter Mike Vasilinda to give him back door access
Florida’s moratorium on evictions is set to expire June 2.
In the time it’s been in effect, landlords have filed hundreds of eviction cases in Tampa Bay, getting the cases lined up. So what happens when it ends? With
@codonnell_Times
A lot of jaw-dropping facts in this story, but this one got me:
In 2012, Florida passed a bill that removed from law the state Health department’s duty to prevent the spread of diseases "to the fullest extent possible."
I think some false information is circling that I am a lawmaker associated with education. I've received about 20 emails encouraging me to "vote NO" on 7055. Just so everyone knows, I'm not an elected official. [I'm Emily Mahoney and I approve this message]
NEW: A bill advancing through the Legislature with the backing of the House speaker would delete the majority of references to climate change currently found in Florida law.
“Half the people in this town don't have a driver's license, don't have a car ... they’re poor. They’re fisherman.” My story w/
@samanthajgross
from the small Gulf town of Panacea today, where many are riding out
#HurricaneMichael
in mobile homes.
It’s hard to get a photo that encapsulates this as they weave through the street but this is one of the biggest marches I’ve seen in the Tampa Bay Area.
.
@RepJoseOliva
confirms that the House has “abandoned” the college merger bill for lack of support in the Senate. That sound you hear is New College and FL Poly breathing a sigh of relief.
FL's modified eviction/foreclosure moratorium is scheduled to expire tonight at 12:01 am.
@GovRonDeSantis
said Fri. that he would "probably" extend it, but we're still waiting on the official order. If you need a refresh, here's what changed last month:
Breaking: Ron DeSantis said he was briefed by the FBI and DHS on 2 Florida counties that had their elections info accessed by Russian hackers in 2016.
But he signed an NDA and can't share publicly which ones they are.
@TB_Times
NEW: Florida Board of Governors recommends that all Florida universities make plans to move to online instruction "as soon as possible."
Students should go home for 2 weeks and learn online, or if they're on spring break, should not come back for 2 weeks, release says.
Florida's moratorium on evictions prevents tenants from getting kicked out of their homes because of failure to pay rent.
But it does nothing to prevent small businesses getting evicted from their shops.
My first business story for the
@TB_Times
:
Congratulations to
@mahoneysthename
, who has won the
@TB_Times
newsroom's quarterly award for IMPACT. She wrote this story back in January highlighting how donations for
#HurricaneMichael
are way behind other big storms. Guess what, thousands donated after
Inbox: Rep. Val Demings traveling to Puerto Rico this weekend with a congressional delegation "to receive briefings and perform direct oversight of FEMA’s response to Hurricane Fiona."