News
TAMPA, Fla. -- Going back to school as an adult has many challenges, but Leap Tampa Bay is helping local students complete their degree with free personalized coaching. The new initiative at Leap Tampa Bay mirrors what used to be a statewide program called Complete Florida Plus. Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the more than $29 million budget for the virtual program designed to help the state's almost 3 million adult college students.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The slowdown of mail service across the country is causing a ripple effect that is placing a strain on small businesses that depend on timely delivery.
While some cite political pressures for the slow down, the wide-ranging impact of the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on the U.S. Postal Service, now reporting a $2.2 billion loss in the three months that ended in June.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida will use nearly $1 billion in federal CARES Act funds to help schools reopen at full capacity in August, as educators say every penny counts in order to do so safely. Special-needs teacher Peggy Sue Sternad, president of Gilchrist Employees United, says schools will need additional personnel and supplies beyond papers, books and pencils.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - LGBTQ people in the southern U.S. are living under the "most hostile policy landscape" in the country, according to a new report that says Florida may be the exception.
The report by the Movement Advancement Project examined 14 southern states and found unfriendly policies for the one in three individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning - and who call the South home.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - About 30 Florida conservation groups are telling Congress to reject a proposal that could lead to more water being kept in Lake Okeechobee during the dry season. Sugarcane and other farmer companies are pushing for what's known as the "Savings Clause" to be included in this year's Water Resources Development Act. It would force the lake to be managed at higher water levels that critics say are outdated.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A federal judge has signaled he'll find part of a Florida law restricting the voting rights of people with felony records unconstitutional. At the end of the trial Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle made it clear he intends to rule that Florida cannot force a person convicted of a felony to pay outstanding court debts in order to be eligible to vote.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The first two deaths in Florida's prison system related to the coronavirus comes as the system is seeing a spike in both staff and people serving time testing positive for COVID-19. Just over a week ago, the Florida Department of Corrections said 12 staff members and no inmates had tested positive. As of Tuesday, that grew to 56 staff members and 35 inmates, with a majority of the case explosion happening at the Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Florida's Panhandle, where two individuals reportedly died.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In the quest to restore voting rights to the nearly 1.4 million Floridians with prior felony convictions, there is new hope that a class action designation will make that possible. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to review a prior decision which blocked a state law requiring former felons to pay back all legal financial obligations before they vote.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida's prison system has confirmed 12 workers testing positive for COVID-19, and some prison-rights groups say that alone should prompt testing of the prison population.The Florida Department of Corrections provides daily testing updates, and as of Tuesday, no one serving a prison sentence had tested positive, although a department spokesperson confirmed that they only test those experiencing symptoms, per county health department guidelines.
