Page 37 - First Amendment Foundation News Today

Florida Filters Public COVID Data While Virus Takes a Toll Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration continue to claim complete transparency when it comes to the state’s COVID data and response, but many researchers are unable to get any kind of robust look at the state’s numbers. Mary Ellen Klas, The Miami Herald   |   March 1, 2021   |  Analysis (TNS) — For months, Thomas Hladish, a research scientist at the University of Floridas Em...

Florida’s sunshine laws dim as DeSantis decides what to disclose Open government advocates say the state of Florida’s sunshine laws are darker this year because of Gov. Ron Desantis and his attempt at times to shield critical details about the crisis from the public.   Updated Mar. 1 TALLAHASSEE — For months, Thomas Hladish, a research scientist at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, asked the Florida Department of Health to let him use information f...

Mar. 1—TALLAHASSEE — For months, Thomas Hladish, a research scientist at the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute, asked the Florida Department of Health to let him use information from thousands of contact tracers the state had hired to interview Floridians who tested positive for COVID-19. He and his colleagues wanted to better understand where transmission was occurring in ...

Monday, March 1, 2021 by WFSU staff (WFSU) Floridas state capitol. A redistricting plan crafted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in Tallahassee was partially thrown out by a state judge. Stay tuned in to our local news coverage: Listen to 90.7 WMFE on your FM or HD radio, the WMFE mobile app or your smart speaker — say “Alexa, play NPR” and you’ll be connected. Budget and COVID-19—Florida faces a $2 billion budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year courtesy of the coronavir...

Privacy from big tech is high on legislative priorities this year, but lawmakers are also pushing legislation that would shield voter registration data and their own personal information from the public record.

Communications was supposed to be a key ingredient of Floridas vaccine rollout. Until it wasnt. A three-month vacancy in top communications personnel only deepened the continued lack of transparency that has plagued the states response to the pandemic since the beginning, say lawmakers and government watchdog groups who receive hundreds of calls from Floridians each day searching for answers. “These are crucial positions. That, combined with concerns these offices are slow-walking public re...

Records exemption sought for higher ed searches Ryan Dailey TALLAHASSEE — A proposal that would provide a public-records exemption for “personal identifying information” about people applying to become state college and university presidents is advancing in the Florida Senate. Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who is sponsoring the measure (SB 220), said it is aimed at attracting “the broadest pool of applicants” for the jobs. The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accoun...

Georgia Recorder Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton is stepping down after16 years on the court. Melton and former Gov. Nathan Deal collaborated on a wide-ranging criminal justice reform initiative over several years. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder (New Supreme Court unveiling, Jan. 2020) Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton announced Friday that he is stepping down on July 1 after spending 16 years serving on the state’s highest court, including the past year ...

In Florida's version of 'Groundhog Day,' a bill to make the searches for university and college presidents secret keeps happening over and over. Lawmakers need to stop trying to undermine the state's Sunshine Law.

Listen • 4:27 Free speech experts in Florida say not all speech is protected, and proposed legislation would violate sections of the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders recently announced proposed legislation targeting big tech giants that own social media platforms. They accuse them of censoring conservative voices. Legal experts say the proposed crackdown is unconstitutional. “Social media platforms have become among the most powerful mec...