By: Mitch Perry – ( Florida Phoenix ) – Tampa Bay area Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor remains livid that Gov. Ron DeSantis turned down $354 million for energy-efficient measures provided through federal legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden. Among the $511 million in projects that DeSantis vetoed at the end of June […]
Climate Change has landed Florida in Hot Water, with Worse to Come if we Keep Burning Fossil Fuels
Craig Pittman ( Florida Phoenix) – As a collector of clever Florida signs, I could not decide which one was a better commentary. One, circulated by WINK-TV, showed a sidewalk chalkboard announcement: “The heat index is between OMG and WTF.” The other, on a sign outside the Red Barn Bar in Sarasota, made the […]
Not so Pro-Life? As US Maternal Mortality Rates Surge, Idaho Abolishes Panel Investigating Deaths in Pregnancy
By: Natalie Schachar – ( Florida Phoenix ) – On July 1, Idaho becomes the only state without a legal requirement or specialized committee to review maternal deaths related to pregnancy. The change comes after state lawmakers, in the midst of a national upsurge in maternal deaths, decided not to extend a sunset date for […]
Restricting College Tenure will hurt State Economies, Many Warn
By: Stephen Elliott – Daniel Brinks, who chairs the government department at the University of Texas at Austin, doesn’t usually have a tough time recruiting professors. After all, UT is one of the best research universities in the country, located in a high-tech boomtown with a thriving music scene, a warm climate and first-rate enchiladas. […]
Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a Debt Limit Deal to avert U.S. Default, but it Imposes Work Requirements on Benefits
By: Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa – WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. The agreement would address the nation’s debt limit and include […]
Chinese Immigrants sue over New DeSantis Law in Florida Barring them from Buying Homes or Land
By: Mitch Perry – Chinese citizens who live and work in Florida have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis restricting any “foreign principal” from China or six other “countries of concern” from purchasing property in the state. The suit contends that the law, set to […]
Bernie Sanders unveils push for $17-an-hour federal minimum wage, citing state increases
By Ariana Figueroa ( Florida Phoenix ) WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday announced Democrats’ plans to mark up legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, pointing to an increase in the cost of living. Outside the U.S. Capitol, Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Health, […]
DeSantis ramping up his campaign against Disney, accusing it of “Sexualizing Children,” closeness to “Chinese Communism”
By Michael Moline – ( Florida Phoenix) – The legal fight between Gov. Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Co. broadened Monday when a board hand-picked by the governor voted to countersue the company over its development plans. The move came less than a week after Disney filed a First-Amendment lawsuit accusing the […]
Climate Change makes ‘Florida Rain-bombs’ more Common, as DeSantis would Know if he had bothered to Visit Ft Lauderdale
Craig Pittman ( Florida Phoenix)- If you live in Florida, you never suffer from an irony deficiency. Case in point: Flood managers from across the nation gathered in South Florida last week for a conference — only to run into the region’s worst flooding in yeeeeeeeeears. (Hey, do you think we can get the […]