Florida State Wide
On August 16, 2022, in News Releases, by Staff
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced three proposals for the 2023 Legislative Session that will help support and grow Florida’s teaching workforce and leverage the talents of Florida’s retired veterans and first responders. The proposals include a recruitment initiative targeted to bring retired first responders and retired veterans to the classroom through fee waivers and bonuses; an apprenticeship program that provides bonuses to teachers for mentoring aspiring teachers with an associate’s degree to gain hands-on teaching experience; and a scholarship program for K-12 teachers interested in teaching dual enrollment courses on high school campuses.
“These three initiatives will build on our efforts to increase recruitment and retention of high quality teachers. Great teachers don’t become great teachers because they are sitting in a university lecture hall. What makes a teacher great is being in the classroom, watching other teachers, and seeing what works,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “With today’s announcement we will be helping more teachers gain that critical firsthand experience and we will be recruiting first responders and veterans to continue their service in the classroom. Our students will greatly benefit from these programs.” Continue reading
On August 17, 2022, in News Releases, by Staff
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis highlighted proposals for the 2023 Legislative Session that will help support and grow Florida’s teaching workforce and leverage the talents of Florida’s retired veterans and first responders. For more information about Governor DeSantis’ teacher recruitment proposals, click here.
Governor DeSantis also announced that today the State Board of Education will adopt military-friendly amendments to the Florida Administrative Code that increase educational and employment opportunities for veterans and active servicemembers. Today’s actions solidify the pathway for veterans to obtain a temporary teaching certificate before receiving their bachelor’s degree and assist veterans in gaining college credit for military experience and coursework. Continue reading
Governor DeSantis appoints current Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez to serve as Acting State Attorney of the 13th Judicial Circuit
TAMPA, Fla.— Today, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit due to neglect of duty. The Governor has the authority to suspend a state officer under Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Florida. The Governor has appointed Susan Lopez to serve as State Attorney for the period of suspension. She has most recently been serving as a Judge on the Hillsborough County Court.
“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.” Continue reading
In Florida, if you commit an Elections Crime, you will do the time
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that following investigations by the Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), 20 individuals are being arrested by FDLE for breaking Florida’s elections laws. All 20 of these individuals were disqualified from voting after they were convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, but they chose to vote anyway, and now they have all been charged with voter fraud — a third-degree felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison.
Additionally, Governor DeSantis directed the Department of State to communicate to county Supervisors of Elections with instructions on records they must preserve until additional reviews and investigations are complete. Continue reading
After success stories from Iceland and news about the large-scale field trial in Great Britain, a pilot project on the 4-day week is now starting in the USA. 38 companies are testing the 4-day week while the results are being scientifically analysed. Last year, some companies already tested the effects of shorter working hours – and have ended up switching permanently to a 4-day week.
They are on the rise in countries all around the world: the 4-day week and the 32-hour week. Some companies are testing shorter working hours to make themselves more attractive employers, others are already introducing them permanently. In countries like Iceland or Great Britain, there have been and still are large-scale field trials with thousands of participants. The aim is to investigate how working time reductions can be implemented and what the consequences are for employees, productivity and the working atmosphere. Continue reading
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) joined Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-04) and Rep. Tracy Mann (R-KS-01) in pushing back on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent proposed revisions to the interim decision for atrazine, a critical crop protection tool.
Atrazine is an herbicide used to protect corn, sorghum, sugarcane, and a variety of other crops from damaging weeds. For nearly 60 years, atrazine has been a reliable and proven herbicide for effective and efficient sustainable farming practices.
On January 30, 2022, the EPA released proposed revisions to the previous atrazine decision that included new labeling and mitigation requirements. The EPA decided to reduce the aquatic ecosystem CE-LOC from 15 parts per billion (ppb) to 3.4 ppb, a decision based on invalid studies and questionable conclusions. This change contradicts previous scientific evidence and will have widespread impacts on the use and effectiveness for atrazine. In addition, the EPA proposed an unworkable list of mitigation measures that producers would be required to implement when using atrazine. Continue reading
Rep. Cammack Joins Reps. Rutherford, Murphy In Letter To NOAA Administrator Calling For More Data Amid Consideration Of Red Snapper Fishery Closures
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03) joined Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL-04) and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-07) in sending a bipartisan, bicameral letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Richard Spinrad, calling for him to suspend further consideration of area closures in the South Atlantic until data from the ongoing South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count can be integrated into management decisions.
Over the last 10 years, fishery managers have been successfully working to rebuild the red snapper stock in the South Atlantic. However, as the stock recovers, more fish are being caught and thrown back. Due to a lack of good independent data, South Atlantic red snapper seasons continue to be extremely limited, with only a two-day recreational season this year. To fill the gaps, Congress has appropriated $5.1 million over the last three years to do the South Atlantic Great Red Snapper Count, which will provide better data on total abundance, genomics, and mortality data. Continue reading
GAINESVILLE, FL – Today, Congresswoman Cammack joined Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, members of the Florida Legislature, and employees of local governments that have enacted vaccine mandates.
“Our first responders are heroes, running toward danger and risking their lives to save others’. Their selfless service ensures our communities’ safety but requiring vaccinations or forcing our first responders out of their jobs does the exact opposite of protecting our citizens; instead, it disregards the very sacrifices these heroes make every single day,” said Congresswoman Cammack. “I’m proud to stand beside Governor DeSantis, AG Moody, CFO Patronis, and other local leaders in standing up to these unconstitutional, tyrannical government mandates. We will keep fighting to ensure every Floridian has the right to their own health decisions.” Continue reading
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is issuing a Consumer Alert to warn Florida business owners about a recent increase in spear-phishing reports. There are already more reports of spear-phishing in the first half of this year than received during all of 2021. Spear-phishing is an advanced form of a phishing attack. While phishing attacks cast a wide net via a more generalized message sent to large groups of people, spear-phishing involves narrowly tailored messages using personal information and sent to an individual or smaller group of people—like employees of a specific business.
Often, these messages are designed to appear to be from a manager or company executive. Scammers will typically include the target’s full name, title and an urgent message that distracts the target. Often, these messages contain or have links to malicious viruses designed to steal corporate data, usernames, passwords and personnel records.
Continue reading
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is leading a 23-state coalition in filing a brief in support of the plaintiff in Health Freedom Defense Fund Inc. vs. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States. Attorney General Moody argues that the district court correctly vacated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s interstate travel mask mandate in this case. President Joe Biden’s CDC order exceeds its authority and infringes on each state’s ability to enact its own public health rules.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “The American people and our courts have rejected the federal government’s unlawful mask mandate for air travel. It’s astonishing that Biden continues to fight to force passengers to wear masks on airplanes. We are once again pushing back, in court, against his unlawful federal overreach.” Continue reading
