Jay Waagmeester
@jaywaagmeester.bsky.social
Writing about Florida education for @floridaphoenix.com
University of Florida commits to ‘neutrality,’ institutionally floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/05/u...
University of Florida commits to 'neutrality,' institutionally • Florida Phoenix
The University of Florida will not be taken over for ideological purposes, it’s interim president declared Friday. Interim President Donald Landry and UF trustees expressed a commitment during a board...
floridaphoenix.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:24 PM
University of Florida commits to ‘neutrality,’ institutionally floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/05/u...
‘Age of darkness and deceit’: DeSantis proposes ‘AI bill of rights,’ legislative wishlist in crack down floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/04/a...
'Age of darkness and deceit': DeSantis proposes 'AI bill of rights' in crack down • Florida Phoenix
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday an artificial intelligence "bill of rights" to stymie unfettered AI growth, crack down on sexual AI chatbots, and restrict AI data centers in Florida.
floridaphoenix.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:32 PM
‘Age of darkness and deceit’: DeSantis proposes ‘AI bill of rights,’ legislative wishlist in crack down floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/04/a...
Keep gas leaf blowers legal: Farm bill passes first Senate committee floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/02/k...
Keep gas leaf blowers legal: Farm bill passes first Senate committee • Florida Phoenix
From leaf blowers, commercial driver’s licenses, and door-to-door salesmen, this year’s Florida farm bill addresses a range of issues. The omnibus 2026 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ...
floridaphoenix.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Keep gas leaf blowers legal: Farm bill passes first Senate committee floridaphoenix.com/2025/12/02/k...
Reposted by Jay Waagmeester
"We’re just seeing the start of what artificial intelligence and robotics can do in agriculture." floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/28/r...
Robotics, AI the answer to dwindling labor population, UF researcher says • Florida Phoenix
Artificial intelligence and robots have potential to boost agricultural production — and their possibilities are only beginning, a University of Florida researcher told the Florida Senate last week. U...
floridaphoenix.com
November 28, 2025 at 9:16 PM
"We’re just seeing the start of what artificial intelligence and robotics can do in agriculture." floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/28/r...
Attorney general will now ‘aggressively enforce’ social media ban on minors floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/26/a...
Attorney general will now ‘aggressively enforce’ social media ban on minors • Florida Phoenix
The preliminary injunction against the state’s social media ban on minors won’t last, an appeals court concluded this week. Two judges on a three-judge panel told the state Tuesday it may begin enfor...
floridaphoenix.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Attorney general will now ‘aggressively enforce’ social media ban on minors floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/26/a...
Judge: Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/j...
Judge: Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away • Florida Phoenix
A private school in Brooksville should be barred from access to state school vouchers after its operator admitted it wasn’t educating students the state paid it to teach, an administrative judge recom...
floridaphoenix.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Judge: Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/j...
UWF finds one leadership finalist: Interim President Manny Diaz floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/24/u...
UWF finds one leadership finalist: Interim President Manny Diaz • Florida Phoenix
Manny Diaz Jr. is the sole finalist to become the next University of West Florida president, the Pensacola school announced over the weekend. The move furthers Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mission to remake the...
floridaphoenix.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
UWF finds one leadership finalist: Interim President Manny Diaz floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/24/u...
‘Funding did not follow the child’: State audit displays school choice woes floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/21/f...
'Funding did not follow the child': State audit displays school choice woes • Florida Phoenix
The state’s school voucher program has exhibited “a myriad of accountability problems” and caused a funding shortfall for public schools, a state audit released this week shows. The audit, encompassin...
floridaphoenix.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
‘Funding did not follow the child’: State audit displays school choice woes floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/21/f...
Senate President Albritton’s ‘Rural Renaissance’ revived floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/20/s...
Senate President Albritton's 'Rural Renaissance' revived • Florida Phoenix
Having failed to negotiate bicameral support last year, Senate President Ben Albritton renewed Thursday his push to bolster rural Florida communities. SB 250, dubbed “Rural Renaissance” by Albritton, ...
floridaphoenix.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Senate President Albritton’s ‘Rural Renaissance’ revived floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/20/s...
Reposted by Jay Waagmeester
BREAKING: Trump administration unveils plan to try to dismantle Department of Education.
Story by Shauneen Miranda.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/brea...
Story by Shauneen Miranda.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/brea...
BREAKING: Trump administration unveils plan to try to dismantle Department of Education
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration took major steps Tuesday in trying to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, announcing six total inter-agency agreements signed with other de...
www.newsfromthestates.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:04 PM
BREAKING: Trump administration unveils plan to try to dismantle Department of Education.
Story by Shauneen Miranda.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/brea...
Story by Shauneen Miranda.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/brea...
House Dems wary about Florida’s adoption of Heritage Foundation pledge floridaphoenix.com/briefs/house...
House Dems wary about Florida's adoption of Heritage Foundation pledge • Florida Phoenix
The Florida Board of Education’s adoption last week of Heritage Foundation values will prompt possible perfidious legislative action and administrative rules to carry it out, a Florida House Democrat ...
floridaphoenix.com
November 17, 2025 at 6:36 PM
House Dems wary about Florida’s adoption of Heritage Foundation pledge floridaphoenix.com/briefs/house...
Lawmakers offer safety plan for students with autism floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/14/l...
Lawmakers offer safety plan for students with autism • Florida Phoenix
Democratic lawmakers in each chamber of the Florida Legisature have re-introduced a bill that would establish a protocol allowing schools to search for students with autism who wander off. The bills r...
floridaphoenix.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Lawmakers offer safety plan for students with autism floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/14/l...
Alachua County school board pressed again, this time on Sunshine Law. Includes comments from the chair and commissioner floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/13/a...
Alachua County school board pressed again, this time on Sunshine Law • Florida Phoenix
CRAWFORDVILLE — Again, the state Board of Education is focused on the Alachua County School Board, this time suggesting its members violated the Florida Sunshine Law and that a prosecutor might want t...
floridaphoenix.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Alachua County school board pressed again, this time on Sunshine Law. Includes comments from the chair and commissioner floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/13/a...
Florida affirms Heritage Foundation education priorities, first state to do so floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/13/f...
Florida affirms Heritage Foundation education priorities, first state to do so • Florida Phoenix
CRAWFORDVILLE — Florida became the first state to adopt The Phoenix Declaration, a product of The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that formulated the Project 2025 plan for Donald Trum...
floridaphoenix.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Florida affirms Heritage Foundation education priorities, first state to do so floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/13/f...
Is FSU the next school to get a new president? Board chair told me no, McCullough remains the man for the job.
University president carousel: FSU focused on McCullough floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/10/u...
University president carousel: FSU focused on McCullough floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/10/u...
University president carousel: FSU focused on McCullough • Florida Phoenix
Amid a flurry of moves that has seen several Florida university presidents get replaced in the past year one leader is staying in place. The chair of the Florida State University’s Board of Trustees s...
floridaphoenix.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Is FSU the next school to get a new president? Board chair told me no, McCullough remains the man for the job.
University president carousel: FSU focused on McCullough floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/10/u...
University president carousel: FSU focused on McCullough floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/10/u...
Do state universities use tax dollars efficiently? floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/07/d...
Do state universities use tax dollars efficiently? • Florida Phoenix
The results are in. The task force charged with assessing State University System efficiencies released a 26-page report that found the University of Central Florida, the school with the largest enrol...
floridaphoenix.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Do state universities use tax dollars efficiently? floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/07/d...
Presidents Washington and Lincoln could watch over Florida students next year floridaphoenix.com/briefs/presi...
Presidents Washington and Lincoln could watch over Florida students next year • Florida Phoenix
Two military veterans in the Legislature introduced bills Thursday that would require elementary students in Florida to take their classes with former presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln....
floridaphoenix.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Presidents Washington and Lincoln could watch over Florida students next year floridaphoenix.com/briefs/presi...
Nuñez lays out her vision for FIU: ‘Greatest responsibility of my career’ floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/24/n...
Nuñez lays out her vision for FIU: ‘Greatest responsibility of my career’ • Florida Phoenix
Former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez took her oath of office Friday, cementing her (semi-)new title: president of Florida International University. The FIU community and Nuñez’s network gathered for her pr...
floridaphoenix.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Nuñez lays out her vision for FIU: ‘Greatest responsibility of my career’ floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/24/n...
mRNA vaccine boosted immune response, life expectancy for cancer patients, UF research finds floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/23/m...
mRNA vaccine boosted immune response, life expectancy for cancer patients, UF research finds • Florida Phoenix
University of Florida researchers found that advanced lung and skin cancer patients lived “significantly longer” after receiving the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. This finding, in conjunction with the Univer...
floridaphoenix.com
October 23, 2025 at 7:05 PM
mRNA vaccine boosted immune response, life expectancy for cancer patients, UF research finds floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/23/m...
Florida lawmaker moves to replace ‘child pornography’ mentions in state statute, @livcaputo.bsky.social reports floridaphoenix.com/briefs/flori...
Florida lawmaker moves to replace 'child pornography' mentions in state statute • Florida Phoenix
Because viewing images of children being sexually abused is illegal, Florida shouldn't refer to the felony by the lawful term of "pornography," a Florida Republican argued in a bill filled Wednesday.
floridaphoenix.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Florida lawmaker moves to replace ‘child pornography’ mentions in state statute, @livcaputo.bsky.social reports floridaphoenix.com/briefs/flori...
Florida’s political parties call on each other to denounce political violence and hateful rhetoric, reports Mitch Perry of @floridaphoenix.com floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/22/f...
Florida's political parties call on each other to denounce political violence and hateful rhetoric • Florida Phoenix
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) called upon two congressional Democrats Wednesday to condemn extremist rhetoric they said was exhibited at some “No Kings” rallies held across the country last S...
floridaphoenix.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Florida’s political parties call on each other to denounce political violence and hateful rhetoric, reports Mitch Perry of @floridaphoenix.com floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/22/f...
Governor warns against changing auto, homeowners insurance laws in 2026 floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/22/g...
Governor warns against changing auto, homeowners insurance laws in 2026 • Florida Phoenix
Ahead of the 2026 legislative session, Gov. Ron DeSantis trumpeted Florida’s property and automobile insurance laws and warned members of the House of Representatives against trying to change them whe...
floridaphoenix.com
October 22, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Governor warns against changing auto, homeowners insurance laws in 2026 floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/22/g...
Moez Limayem ‘3.0’ is the new University of South Florida president floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/21/m...
Moez Limayem '3.0' is the new University of South Florida president • Florida Phoenix
Moez Limayem, former University of South Florida college of business dean and University of North Florida president, is the next USF president. Trustees unanimously approved Limayem, who’d spent 2012-...
floridaphoenix.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Moez Limayem ‘3.0’ is the new University of South Florida president floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/21/m...
Attorney general ups investigation into popular video game ‘Roblox’ floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/20/a...
Attorney general ups investigation into popular video game ‘Roblox’ • Florida Phoenix
Following a civil subpoena earlier this year, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that he is issuing a criminal subpoena to Roblox, an online video game. According to Uthmeier’s office, “...
floridaphoenix.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Attorney general ups investigation into popular video game ‘Roblox’ floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/20/a...
Reposted by Jay Waagmeester
I know the Republicans have talked about how we hate America. No, I love my country, and I hate what you are doing to it, Donald Trump. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/18/f...
Florida crowds throng to denounce Trump, 'facism,' on No Kings Day • Florida Phoenix
Floridians massed throughout the state Saturday for the second national No Kings day demonstrations against the increasingly authoritarian second Trump administration, marked as it is by aggressive im...
floridaphoenix.com
October 18, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I know the Republicans have talked about how we hate America. No, I love my country, and I hate what you are doing to it, Donald Trump. floridaphoenix.com/2025/10/18/f...