More than 40 percent of FL kindergarteners are not ready for kindergarten; 'that’s a failure on us' • Florida Phoenix For many Florida families with young children, a child’s education starts much sooner than kindergarten. A new class of kindergarteners is expected to start school with some sense of the fundamentals, such as language, literacy and math. But for the 2020-21 school year, at least 43 percent of kindergarteners in classes now are not actually […]

"If you just take the 50 percent success rate, that means that 350,000 children have gone through our programs in the last four years and are not ready for kindergarten. That’s a failure. That’s a failure on us.” #Florida #K12 #FFLegislature

floridaphoenix.com/2021/03/10/mor…

Florida House approves greater autonomy for nurse practitioners • Florida Phoenix A bill allowing nurse practitioners, sometimes referred to as advanced practice registered nurse, or APRNs, to practice independently of doctors passed on a 94-12 vote in the Florida House on Friday. The legislation (HB 607) has been a major priority for House Speaker Jose Oliva, a Miami-Dade County Republican, who has expressed public support since […]

“This legislation is a shining example of innovative, forward-thinking ideas that will increase Floridians’ access to the high-quality care they need.” #Florida #Healthcare #FFLegislature

floridaphoenix.com/blog/florida-h…

Florida Republicans remain doggedly clueless about higher education • Florida Phoenix OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – Florida Republicans’ disdain for education is matched only by their ignorance of how education works. That doesn’t stop them from screwing around with curricula, micro-managing teachers, and undermining knowledge in their attempts to produce generation upon generation of pliant church-going consumer-cogs in the profit engine, unencumbered by critical thinking. The core education […]

The Florida Republican attitude to higher education has always ranged from cluelessness to raw hostility. They wish universities would just graduate business majors, support decent football teams, and shut up. #Florida #FFLegislature #FLRepublicans

floridaphoenix.com/2020/03/03/flo…

Proposal to cap THC in medical pot emerges in the Florida Senate • Florida Phoenix A plan to limit medical marijuana’s potency is gaining support as the 2020 Florida Legislature moves into its final two weeks. On Friday, Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Martin County Republican, filed an amendment to a bill (SB 230) involving the state Department of Health that would cap the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the chemical […]

The Senate rejected a similar proposal last year. But Senate President Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican, has said his chamber is open to considering the proposal in this session. #Florida #FFLegislature #Medicalmarijuana

floridaphoenix.com/blog/proposal-…

Peer counseling seen as salve for first responders' stress and despair • Florida Phoenix This time, the suicide call led Marion County sheriff’s deputies to one of their own. The victim was Adam Rendall, a 13-year veteran of the department who took his own life in July 2017. Sheriff Billy Woods, in an emotional video message to the county’s citizens announcing the tragedy, pointed to hotlines where people in […]

“The hope is that we’re able to get some of these first responders talking to their peers and friends about some of these minor incidents before it turns into a major incident." #Florida #FFLegislature #Firstresponders

floridaphoenix.com/2020/02/28/pee…

Florida Republicans embrace the heavy-handed Big Government they once derided • Florida Phoenix OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — While our reality show government lurches from atrocity to atrocity, here in the state capital, your imperial Legislature asserts more and more power over your life. I’m talking about preemption, the Legislature’s favorite laws, the ones overriding local governments when they differ, forbidding cities and counties to do things local people actually […]

"I mean, who are you, little Citizen Loser? You don’t contribute millions to political campaigns; you don’t control billions of dollars; you are nobody." #Florida #FFLegislature

floridaphoenix.com/2020/02/13/flo…

Bill would raise penalties for pollution and 'shame' offending municipalities • Florida Phoenix Florida lawmakers hoping to reduce the pollution choking bays, lagoons, and other waterways are proposing stiffer fines against cities around the state for spilling untreated sewage and other illegal discharges. Gov. Ron DeSantis called for such measures last fall to help reduce water pollution plaguing many waterways in south Florida. One bill (CS/HB 1091) sponsored […]

“This is an existential crisis in the state of Florida. We have to use the bully pulpit to somewhat shame the local governments." #Florida #FFLegislature #water

floridaphoenix.com/2020/02/11/sta…