From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Homewood: State regulators have suspended the alcohol license of a Birmingham-area bar over alleged violations of the state’s pandemic health order in what an official described as the first such case under COVID-19 rules. Regulators accused Grocery Brewpub in Homewood of violating rules about face mask requirements, occupancy limits and social distancing, Alabama ABC spokesman Dean Argo told WBMA-TV. The emergency suspension issued Tuesday was Alabama’s first license suspension linked to pandemic health rules, he said. Photos shared recently on social media showed people packed into the nightspot with few face masks visible. Bar owner Rayford Cook told the station the business was cited for violating Alabama’s mask ordinance, which requires facial coverings in public. “I look forward to our upcoming hearing regarding this matter and addressing it so we can provide a safe environment for patrons to enjoy in the future,” Cook
Have Iowans been watching what the Republican-led Legislature has been doing lately? Trying to pass laws that force schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, end tenure for colleges, require university staff to report their political affiliation on their application and not allow schools to teach gender identity unless a parent signs off. These are just a few of what they are trying to push through.
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The breadth of the liability protections and whether all long-term care facilities should be shielded are among the issues that will considered during the annual legislative session that begins Tuesday.
The Republican-led Legislature has promised to fast-track legislation to protect Florida businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits, but shielding the state’s long-term care industry at the same time is proving thorny.
The breadth of the liability protections and whether all long-term care facilities should be shielded are among the issues that lawmakers will consider during the annual legislative session that begins Tuesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at a South Florida assisted living facility last March after two of its residents died from COVID-19. The governor said a police investigation showed the facility didn’t screen everyone before they entered the building, as required at the time by state orders.
Bonding, legacy fund, pot loom in Legislature s second half washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Florida lawmakers reveal their âmost robust agendaâ on flooding, sea-level rise
The proposed legislation marks a departure in Tallahassee after years of ignoring climate change.
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House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, unveils bill proposals dealing with sea level rise and flooding. He spoke on the campus of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. [ Photo courtesy University of South Florida ]
Updated Feb. 26
ST. PETERSBURG â State lawmakers debuted on Friday what House Speaker Chris Sprowls called the âmost robust agenda to mitigate flooding and sea-level rise that the State of Florida has ever seen.â
Across multiple bills, the plan â deemed âAlways Readyâ â would create a hub for flood research and innovation at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, offer tax breaks to property owners who voluntarily raise their buildings and order the state to draw up a sea-level rise resilience plan.