During the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group meeting Thursday afternoon, Hillsborough Commissioner Sandy Murman discussed the recent in coronavirus cases as testing has risen during recent weeks. Murman warned that the George Floyd rallies and protests could further the spike, stating they “are like incubators for the virus.’’ “I’m pretty concerned,’’Continue Reading
Gov. Ron DeSantisannounced Phase Two reopening in Florida amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening movie theaters, bars and casinos with limited capacity. There will still be 50% occupancy limits at those locales, he said. “Those have not been operating up to this point,” DeSantis said. “They now have a pathway toContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) reported that of the nearly 41,000 COVID-19 tests performed Thursday, 1212 were positive, or 3 percent. This brings the state total to 54,497 cases. An additional 49 deaths were reported–Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Gadsden, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Jackson, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Orange,Continue Reading
Disney presented their reopening plan today during an Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force meeting, proposing a July 11 date for Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom with a July 15 reopen date for Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Jim MacPhee, senior vice president of operations for Disney World presentedContinue Reading
A federal judge ruled Sunday that the Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee issued a 125-pageContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released the Sunshine State’s unemployment, a tragic stat which hit a record high in April, at 12.9 percent. The state’s unemployment rate tripled from 4.3 percent in March to 12.9 percent in April. Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes the state re-opening can bring some ofContinue Reading
In the wake of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit across central Florida to meet with tourism officials Wednesday came a rebuke of reporters, journalists’ coverage of Florida’s response to the Wuhan Coronavirus and the false predictions in the media. “You’ve got a lot of people in your profession [journalists] whoContinue Reading
OPINION The Tampa Bay Times editorial board took aim at Gov. Ron DeSantis, circling the wagons around Rebekah Jones, calling the incident a “smear job by DeSantis’ office” to elevate Jones beyond her credentials and actual contributions. “Gov. Ron DeSantis loves to share praise from Washington about Florida’s handling ofContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Clerks Office says more than 180 filings have been set aside as foreclosures and evictions are being extended and delayed. Hillsborough County Judge Michael Baggé Hernandez told Fox that he had up to 10 eviction filings a day before the outbreak. “There has been a lot ofContinue Reading
State of Florida health officials reported 928 new positive COVID-19 cases (902 Florida residents and 26 non-Florida residents) and forty-two deaths related to COVID-19, according to the latest Department of Health (DOH) update. This brings the state totals to 44,138 Florida cases with 1,917 deaths related to COVID-19. On Thursday,Continue Reading
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed off on plans for Miami-Dade and Broward counties to reopen restaurants and other businesses that were previously deemed non-essential. During a press conference in Doral yesterday, DeSantis said that “Miami-Dade and Broward have both submitted plans that I’ve approved…Today we take another important stepContinue Reading
The city of Naples closed its public beaches at 12:01 a.m. Sunday after massive crowds turned out and Councilman Gary Price released the photo below. Price said he received a text from a friend Saturday that the number of people on the beach looked like a problem. “I went toContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) now reports 40,001 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1715 deaths through today. On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-114 to extend Florida’s state of emergency for 60 days. In addition, following consultation with Mayor Dave Kerner and local officials, the Governor has permittedContinue Reading
Today, the Florida Department of Health reported 497 new positive COVID-19 cases (483 Florida residents and 14 non-Florida residents) and fifty deaths related to COVID-19. This brings the state total to 33,690 cases with 1,268 deaths related to COVID-19. The fifty people that died who tested positive for COVID-19 wereContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) puts the total coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 cases at 33,193 (32,318 in residents) and 1,218 deaths, according to the latest DOH data. Counties reporting more than 1,000 cases include Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, Duval and Lee. To date, 411 long-term care facilitiesContinue Reading
More than a dozen members of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) have joined Governor Ron DeSantis’ initiative to re-open Florida’s economy and are participating daily in discussions to get Florida safely back to work. Members were appointed by the Governor to his Re-Open Florida Executive Task Force andContinue Reading
Today, Governor Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced that 32,614 laptop computers are being distributed to 34 mostly small, rural school districts throughout Florida and the Florida A&M University Developmental Research School. This was made possible through a partnership with the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium (PAEC), Northeast FloridaContinue Reading
Florida state health officials reported Thursday evening that the confirmed COVID-19 total case count has reached 9,008, including 144 deaths. Dade (2886), Broward (1481), Palm Beach (737), Orange (541) and Hillsborough (404) counties have reported the most to date. Of the nearly 8700 confirmed cases reported in Florida residents, 1167Continue Reading
Florida state health officials reported 17 additional deaths in people who tested positive for COVID-19 Friday in Broward, Dade, Hillsborough, Lee, Orange, Palm Beach, St. Johns and St. Lucie counties. This brings the death total in the state to 46: Broward (10), Citrus (1), Clay (4), Dade (2), Duval (3),Continue Reading
The Florida Department of Health reported three additional coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19 fatalities today with deaths being reported in St. Johns, Pinellas and Lee counties. This brings the total deaths to 20 to date. Officials are reporting 1,467 total COVID-19 cases–1,379 in Florida residents and 88 cases in non-Florida residents.Continue Reading
The Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group (EPG) Monday voted to move forward with plans to stand up a large-scale, COVID-19 coronavirus testing collection site at Raymond James Stadium. The site may open Wednesday if – and only if – the County has received from state government the necessary face masks,Continue Reading
