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floridaphoenix.com
Florida Phoenix
@floridaphoenix.com
2.3K followers 260 following 13K posts
We don’t pay attention to the media bashers. We’re too busy reporting on how Florida’s policies and politics affect you. Quality journalism for critical times.
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1h
Those fighting against Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act “want to make the right to vote nothing but words on a paper. They want to take away anything that feels real about our ability to have these rights,” Graves said. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/16/r...
Voting Rights Act supporters rally outside Supreme Court as justices hear Louisiana case • Florida Phoenix
WASHINGTON — Oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday drew protests from activists and lawmakers who warned the case threatens to gut a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and strip minor...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1h
The Prison Policy Initiative says that four state House districts in Florida illustrate how the policy of counting prisoners where they are incarcerated instead of where they hail from distorts the process and gives some residents a louder voice in government. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/16/r...
Reports says prison gerrymandering gives unfair voting power to four Florida House districts • Florida Phoenix
While both Blue and Red states (including Florida) undertaking mid-decade congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 election, a report critizes the way the U.S. Census and state government count p...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2h
Uthmeier announced the effort Wednesday night on the Fox News’ “Hannity,” blaming California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, for enacting laws that Uthmeier believes harm American citizens. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/16/u...
Uthmeier moves to take California, Washington to Supreme Court over undocumented trucker crash • Florida Phoenix
After an undocumented truck driver licensed in California and Washington flouted traffic laws and killed three Floridians, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is asking the U.S. Supreme Court if h...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 6h
Space X is not NASA. It’s just a for-profit business, putting more money into Musk’s already bulging pockets. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/16/s...
Space X has big, destructive plans for its big rocket in Florida • Florida Phoenix
This is such a breakable age. Things we thought would last are, to our surprise, now in danger of shattering. You think our state parks will always be preserved? Nope, we’re going to try to put golf c...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 19h
“In this time where we’re having more political violence, more strife, the Commission on Ethics, an independent agency that serves to ensure that our Constitution is followed when it comes to ethics, is constantly under attack." floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/15/c...
Citing safety concerns, Commission on Ethics chair requests public records exemption for staff • Florida Phoenix
Saying that this week alone an individual has called more 35 times making threats to the Florida Commission on Ethics, the chairman of that state agency is requesting that lawmakers provide a public r...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 20h
HB 6003 reignites a long-standing fight between trial attorneys, organized medicine, and insurance companies over Florida’s medical malpractice laws and the amount of noneconomic damages plaintiffs can recover. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/15/d...
Déjà vu: House subcommittee passes 'free kill' bill governor vetoed last year • Florida Phoenix
Florida’s Republican-controlled House, undeterred by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s veto earlier this year of identical legislation, is pushing ahead again with an effort to broaden the class of people who can b...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 21h
“We are managing today with relatively the same number of staff we had 10,000 inmates ago, so you can imagine what that’s doing to the staff and inmate ratios,” Dixon said. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/15/c...
Corrections secretary asks for 'staggering' $500+ million to maintain operations • Florida Phoenix
Sounding as desperate as he ever has since being appointed four years ago, Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Secretary Ricky Dixon asked a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday for more than $512 m...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
Florida’s new law is part of a growing movement known as YIGBY — Yes in God’s Backyard. The movement imagines a connection between a religious mission to serve and the very real hurdles of building affordable housing. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/15/r...
Can states, and a little bit of faith, convert church land into affordable housing? • Florida Phoenix
Yes In God’s Backyard? Some states hope so. Lawmakers see the potential for much-needed housing on church-owned land.
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
“We are closing up programs that are Democratic programs that we wanted to close up or that we never wanted to happen and now we’re closing them up and we’re not going to let them come back,” Trump said. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/r...
Trump targets ‘Democratic programs’ as shutdown standoff heads for third week • Florida Phoenix
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday following a four-day weekend, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to work toward ending the government shutdown follow...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
“If Trump and Republicans continue to refuse to negotiate our way out of this health care coverage crisis, it’s going to be absolutely brutal, disproportionately for Florida." floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/d...
Democrats warn about Florida's looming health care crisis • Florida Phoenix
Florida has more to lose than any other state if Congress doesn’t extend enhanced premium tax credits for so-called Obamacare coverage. That was the message a trio of Democratic members of Congress de...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
Speaking before the House Careers and Workforce Subcommittee on Tuesday, Kelly discussed what he said was a “huge challenge” in getting young people interested in working in a skilled labor environment, saying a high salary isn’t always the driving factor. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/f...
Florida's manufacturing workforce is 'aging out,' says Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly • Florida Phoenix
While Florida leads the nation in attracting and developing skilled workers, headwinds are approaching, according to Florida Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly. Florida is now third in the nation in terms ...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
“This is wrong and it violates Florida’s commitment to parental rights,” Uthmeier said. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/f...
Florida attorney general alleges Roku sold kids' information • Florida Phoenix
Roku, the smart TV company, has raised the eyebrows of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who alleges the company sold children’s consumer data. Uthmeier’s Office of Parental Rights is taking ac...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 1d
The suit alleges “[s]elective over-enforcement of those new and arbitrary policies against TBSDS and its members to interfere with and terminate pro-Palestinian events and cripple the TBSDS organization on campus.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/p...
Pro-Palestine student protesters allege constitutional violations against USF • Florida Phoenix
Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, a group protesting in support of Palestinian rights, filed suit last week against the University of South Florida, claiming the university violated members...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
Now individuals with felony convictions who have completed their sentences but remain uncertain whether they still have legal financial obligations to fill out a request form to the Department of State to inquire about voting eligibility. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/f...
Floridians with felony convictions can now contact the state to learn if they are eligible to vote • Florida Phoenix
For the first time since Floridians voted to restore voting rights to most people with felony convictions, the state has agreed to provide timely information about which of them have paid the financia...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
“Because petitioner has failed to show a clear legal right to the relief requested, he is not entitled to mandamus relief,” the brief denial reads, co-signed by five of the seven Florida Supreme Court Justices. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/s...
State Supreme Court rejects attempt to force Florida Bar to investigate Bondi • Florida Phoenix
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday refused to force the Florida Bar to investigate U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for alleged state ethics violations, denying a months-long request made by dozens of...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
Charles was charged with making a false statement to a grand jury or court, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The case is still pending. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/r...
New York State Bar slams DOJ over prosecution of attorney in Alabama gender-affirming care case • Florida Phoenix
The statement from the New York Bar Association said that a panel of judges and the bar associations are responsible for governing conduct.
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
“This was a heartbreaking decision, and the legal team remains committed to the rights of transgender and nonbinary South Carolinians and their access to gender-affirming medical care." floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/r...
ACLU drops challenge to SC law that stopped transition-related medical treatments • Florida Phoenix
The decision followed a Supreme Court ruling upholding a law in Tennessee and justices' request for reconsideration of a separate ruling.
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
“I have made the law my life’s work, and Jorge’s case caused me to question almost everything I believed about the legal system" floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/14/r...
The complicated case of Jorge Ruiz • Florida Phoenix
When 19-year-old Jorge Ruiz walked into the Autauga County Jail in handcuffs on Oct. 28, 2018, he wasn’t a typical suspect. He was out of place and in big trouble in a deeply conservative part of Alab...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
“What crisis pregnancies are they helping with? There aren’t any, because there are no options for pregnant women. So, this is just false. All of it is false and a misuse of taxpayer dollars.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/w...
Wrongful death for fetuses, elimination of pregnancy crisis centers on tap for 2026 session • Florida Phoenix
A pair of reproductive-related bills have been filed in the Florida Legislature in advance of the 2026 legislative session that starts Jan. 13. One proposal, filed by Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin G...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
The transfer does not require congressional approval and is expected to keep the program afloat through the end of this month. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/r...
Nutrition program for women, infants and children to stay afloat through end of month • Florida Phoenix
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is infusing $300 million into a key federal nutrition program to keep it running through October, while a government shutdown continues without an appar...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
In remarks to Israel’s Knesset, the country’s parliamentary body, Monday afternoon Jerusalem time, Trump hailed “the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/r...
Trump, U.S. leaders celebrate end of hostilities in Gaza • Florida Phoenix
WASHINGTON — After just over two years in Hamas captivity, the surviving Israeli hostages were released Monday as President Donald Trump visited Israel and Egypt to celebrate a U.S.-brokered peace dea...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
Chapter 876 of Florida statutes require state employees, including those serving on school boards and working for state or county school districts, to take an oath that they are a citizen of Florida and to support the U.S. and Florida constitutions. floridaphoenix.com/briefs/teach...
Teachers would have to take constitutional oath under newly proposed bill • Florida Phoenix
A bill filed Monday by state Rep. Tom Fabricio would require teachers to take an oath to the Constitution and nonpartisanship. The bill, HB 147, would require teachers to, “before entering upon the du...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 2d
Active duty military members are considered essential to federal operations and keep working during a shutdown, but a missed paycheck for troops has been viewed in the past as a pressure point on lawmakers to negotiate a deal. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/r...
Pentagon to shift research dollars to pay troops during shutdown • Florida Phoenix
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration plans to send paychecks to active duty troops this week, despite Congress not passing legislation to allow it during the ongoing shutdown. House Speaker Mike John...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 3d
"We will continue with our simple message of NO COMPROMISE. We will fight to make sure all Floridians, 18 and up, can freely exercise their Second Amendment rights.” floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/f...
Florida lawmaker proposes once again to reduce age to buy firearms in Florida • Florida Phoenix
A Florida House Republican has again filed legislation that would reduce the minimum to buy a firearm in the state from 21 to 18 years of age. The proposal (HB 133), sponsored by Rep. Tyler Sirois, a ...
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Florida Phoenix @floridaphoenix.com · 3d
“I think everything is a risk with this administration. … We in the states are kind of left holding the bag yet again as the federal government tries to sort out what it wants to be when it grows up." floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/13/r...
‘This shutdown feels different.’ States might not get repaid when government reopens. • Florida Phoenix
States are continuing to operate federally funded programs during the shutdown. But they say they can only front those costs for so long — and some are worried about getting repaid.
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