City Council finds agreement in series of unanimous votes
Lance Shearer
Columnist
The City Council meeting on Monday was something of a love fest, with every vote taken by the councilors coming in at 7-0 in approval of whatever the motion was.
That included not only the discussion of rental properties and noise, the only agenda item that sparked any heat or conflicting viewpoints, but a raft of other business that the council dealt with. Along with a pro forma approval of a proclamation declaring the week of May 22-28 National Safe Boating Week, clearly timed for when on the water activity up north is getting underway, as opposed to Florida where it has been in full swing all winter.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
The Democrat-controlled House Oversight Committee held a hearing today on the Capitol riots where the focus, per the way the hearing was billed, was the “unexplained delays and unanswered questions” in the aftermath of what happened on January 6th.
In particular, “this hearing will focus in particular on the Trump Administration’s preparations in advance of January 6 and response to the attacks,” Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney said in a statement posted to the committee’s website.
The hearing included three featured witnesses: Former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III.
Virtual water quality summit to address SWFL algae issues Monday
Published: May 10, 2021 7:05 AM EDT
Updated: May 10, 2021 9:33 AM EDT
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A group of water experts is taking its concerns about the state of Southwest Florida’s waterways to lawmakers Monday in the SWFL Virtual Water Summit hosted by the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Southwest’s Florida’s economy depends on our water quality, and the experts want to avoid a lot of algae dirtying our waters.
From Fort Myers Beach down to Naples, there is a mix of medium to high amounts of algae, some medium amounts in Charlotte Harbor and low amounts in Pine Island Sound.
By Joel Malkin
May 7, 2021
Democrats are speaking out loudly against Florida s new election law, and lawsuits have been filed by groups that claim it restricts minorities rights to vote.
Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Southwest Florida says there s nothing wrong with the law, which includes a ban on ballot harvesting. That s not discriminatory. It s not racist. It s not Jim Crow 2.0, which is just laughable to me. Especially as a Black man it s exceedingly laughable and frankly it s disgusting.
The Jim Crow line was uttered by South Florida Senator Shevrin Jones about the law, signed this week by Gov Ron DeSantis. It allows immediate family members or caregivers to collect voters ballots, but bars anyone else from getting your ballot and bringing it to the polls.