By Robert Herriman @bactiman63 On this week’s Outbreak News This Week Radio Show in the Tampa Bay area, two important topics were covered concerning Florida and the Tampa Bay area in particular with two great guests. In the first half, Regional Epidemiologist & Laboratory Liason with the Bureau of Epidemiology at the FloridaContinue Reading
A 26-year-old Tampa woman was arrested Friday morning after posting a threatening post on Facebook. Juliana Joy Cote wrote on her Facebook account Thursday: “Hello. I used to believe that guns were only for men and stable rational people. But I, Juliana Joy Cote, a unipolar maniac autistic, got this lilContinue Reading
On Friday, speaking from Sarasota, Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/HB 107: Wireless Communications While Driving. The law authorizes the enforcement of texting while driving as a primary offense. Additionally, the bill specifies that a person may not use a handheld wireless communications device while driving in a designated sensitive areaContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced Wednesday the arrest of a man charged with the shooting and murder of a woman in Brandon on April 7. Be’Quadre Jackson, 18, was arrested May 15 and charged with Murder in the First Degree, Robbery and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. OnContinue Reading
Florida gas prices declined an average of 7 cents during the past week. The state average has declined the past 9 consecutive days for a total decline of 8 cents. Sunday’s state average of $2.71 per gallon is 7 cents less than a week ago, 8 cents less than a monthContinue Reading
Measles has been a major topic in the media of late as the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 764 individual confirmed cases of measles in 23 states through May 3. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measlesContinue Reading
Florida ranks #4 for lowest dollar-for-dollar tax burden ($2,131) and #4 in effective tax rate (4.8%) in HireAHelper’s ‘True Tax Burden’ study. To calculate the rankings, HireAHelper surveyed mean wage data, state income taxes, sales taxes (state/local), and property taxes to estimate the ‘true’ tax burden for a typical residentContinue Reading
Florida is one of some 18 states experiencing a hepatitis A outbreak, reporting 1359 cases since 2018. The Tampa Bay area has been especially hard hit by the outbreak with five counties accounting for more than half the state total. Pinellas County has seen the most statewide with 300 cases,Continue Reading
Over the weekend, Baltimore Orioles infielder Chris Davis broke his historic hitting slump after getting a first inning single off of Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello. While Orioles fans let out a sigh of relief, the Sox fans are still scratching their heads over the Porcello slump. In October,Continue Reading
A pair of transgener actors are speaking out against the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) for allowing their birth names to be published the popular movie website. “Speaking on condition of anonymity, representatives for two trans actors with major television credits told IndieWire that they have not been able to removeContinue Reading
The Parkland school shooting put Florida in the cross hairs of gun control activists in Florida as a new bill which would arm teachers (if they choose and if they are licensed) advanced in Tallahassee. The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 11-9 for a bill to revise a school safety lawContinue Reading
From Florida’s House Speaker: THE FLORIDA HOUSE WILL ENSURE ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS (AOB) REFORM SAVINGS ARE PASSED ALONG TO CITIZENS’ RATEPAYERS Legislation Will Prohibit Raising Rates in 2019 unless Rate Filing Includes Savings Due to Reforms Speaker Jose Oliva released the following statement upon introduction of an amendment to HBContinue Reading
The Personal Insurance Federation of Florida (PIFF), a member of the FL DNT TXTNDRV COALITION, commended Florida lawmakers this week for supporting House Bill 107, Texting While Driving, which would make texting while driving a primary offense in Florida. The bill, sponsored in the House by Representative Jackie Toledo (R-Tampa) andContinue Reading
A federal jury has found JOSEPH MALDONADO-PASSAGE, also known as Joseph Allen Maldonado, Joseph Allen Schreibvogel, and “Joe Exotic,” 56, formerly of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, guilty on two counts of hiring someone to murder a woman in Florida, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine countsContinue Reading
In his recent Washington Post editorial Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg called for regulation for “harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.” Zuckerberg’s proposal appears to be part of an effort to set clear oversight principles for the industry and shift the burden for monitoring itself badly, which it does. “However, decidingContinue Reading
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Florida Roofing Experts Inc. for exposing employees to fall hazards at a Jacksonville, Florida, worksite. The company faces the maximum penalty allowed of $132,598. OSHA initiated the inspection as part of the Agency’s Regional Emphasis Program on Falls inContinue Reading
U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Ryan J. Fluke (28, Port Richey) to 21 months in federal prison for aiming a laser at a police helicopter. Fluke pleaded guilty on November 20, 2018. According to court documents, the offense occurred on December 5, 2017, around 10:50 p.m., whenContinue Reading
A woman in China has given birth twins with different DNA. The mother in Xiamen City, China has confessed to cheating on her husband on a one-night stand after one of the twin boys didn’t look like him. After a DNA test, the husband’s biggest fear was realized: one of theContinue Reading
Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to provide Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers, who are working on an appeal of his conviction, to keep the evidence secured. An appeals case regarding the murder of one suspect tied to the bombers, Ibrahim Todashev/Ibragim Todashev has alsoContinue Reading
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., plans to push more Republicans to support paid parental leave, a policy that has traditionally been a Democratic priority. “We are hoping that we can continue to work to preach the gospel of paid family leave within our own party and sort of reframe the orthodoxyContinue Reading
United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Sean Patrick Farrelly (47, Palm Coast) with sex trafficking of a minor girl. If convicted, Farrelly faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. According to theContinue Reading
