April 29, 2021
The Escambia Children’s Trust planned their future course as the first meeting with a full 10 member board was held this week.
The trust has until July 1 to determine a millage rate up to .5 mill to be added to property tax bills in the county. But first, they must determine community needs and how to pay for solutions.
The trust will hold meetings on May 11, May 25, and June 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the chambers of the Escambia County Commission, with possible a fourth meeting to be scheduled. There will also be subcommittee meetings. Beginning in July, they will start meeting on the second Tuesday of each month.
April 18, 2021
The Escambia County School District wants students back on campus by the fall, and fask masks won’t be required.
In the next school year, the ECSD will not offer remote learning, but students will have an option of enrolling in the state’s Florida Virtual School.
“We need to get kids back in school as fast as possible,” Escambia County School Board Chairman Bill Slayton said during a board workshop.. “It’s so important that we get this into the hands of the parents and them knowing that (for) not only VPK and kindergarten students, but our existing students, next year will look different.”
Hetherington s use of the phrase lifelong Republican resulted in a $200 fine from the Florida Elections Commission.
Hetherington, who has again filed to run for the same seat in 2022, partnered with the Institute for Free Speech to file a federal lawsuit Thursday against the state over the fine and the prohibition on candidates for nonpartisan offices telling voters their party affiliation. Fining a candidate for telling voters their party affiliation is a clear violation of the First Amendment, Institute for Free Speech attorney Owen Yeates said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. Florida’s law bans speech that is important to voters, and the candidates appealing to them, at precisely the time it is most relevant.
Local advocates hope scrapping much of their proposed Safe Walkways to School Act for a much shorter bill will help improve walking conditions for schoolchildren in the future.
Rep. Michelle Salzman amended her bill to call for the Department of Transportation to study what constitutes a safe and suitable walkway for children from kindergarten through 12th grade, and ultimately recommend criteria for what would be considered hazardous. The amended bill, HB 229, passed the Florida House s Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee on Thursday. It s a huge win for Florida. It s a long, long, long run but it s still a huge win. It s a step moving forward and we ve never made it this far ever, Salzman said.
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