After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police last year, Miami joined the nation in widespread protests to bring attention to racial injustices and police brutality in the United States. Most of the protests were peaceful, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis latched on to the few occasions that became disorderly to propose a new law that would increase penalties for crimes committed at demonstrations.
Critics cried foul, saying the legislation criminalizes protests, creates a chilling effect on free speech, and unfairly targets Black people who are speaking out against injustices. But the bill moved through the Florida legislature this past session, and DeSantis signed the Combating Public Disorder Act into law last month.
At the same time that he fights federally imposed public health measures, DeSantis has contested the ability of the cruise industry to safeguard crews and passengers by requiring proof of vaccination. He has been abetted by the Republican-dominated state legislature that, on April 29, passed a wide-ranging bill that would make permanent a ban on COVID-19 vaccine “passports,” while also handing the governor power to override local orders during health crises.
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The pandemic’s impact on the cruise industry in Florida resulted in a loss of $3.2 billion to the state’s economy through August 2020, and the loss of nearly 50,000 jobs. Rather than taking action to show he is serious about making it safe to board cruises out of the Port of Miami and other South Florida ports, DeSantis’s lawsuit argues that CDC rules damage the South Florida economy to the point of interfering with the state’s sovereignty under the federal system, and that the pandemic is, in any even
Posted By Ken Storey on Thu, May 13, 2021 at 11:38 AM click to enlarge Adobe At the same time in 2019 that coronavirus was spreading across Wuhan, a bacterial infection was jumping from puppies to humans in Florida. The Campylobacter outbreak would stretch across seventeen states. Fifty-six positive cases were found, with sixteen percent of the cases resulting in hospitalization. Campylobacter infections are a common cause of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder where one s immune system attacks the body s nerves. The disorder can result in paralysis. The outbreak was linked back to pet stores where puppies from commercial breeding facilities are sold. Nearly nine percent of the cases were employees from Petland, the only national pet store chain to still s
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STATEWIDE Gasoline-industry officials said Tuesday they expect minimal but possibly deeper short-term effects on Tampa Bay and Central Florida gas prices from the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline.
What You Need To Know
Gov. Ron DeSantis declares state of emergency over disruption of Colonial Pipeline operations
Trade group official: Gas prices could increase by a few pennies in Central Florida, Tampa Bay
Gas distributor official: An increase of 10, 15 cents is possible if shutdown lasts longer than Friday
SUSPECT PRICE GOUGING? Call the Attorney General’s Price Gouging Hotline at 1-866-966-7226
That’s because neither region depends on the pipeline for gasoline.