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Florida Democrats call for special legislation to ban terror suspects from buying guns

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

After the Pulse nightclub shooting last weekend, Florida Democratic lawmakers made it public Wednesday morning: they’re calling on Gov. Rick Scott and Senate President Andy Gardiner for a special legislative session to try and pass forward laws to ban suspected terror suspects from buying guns. Sen. Darren Soto, Rep. John Cortes, Sen. Geraldine Thompson and others gathered in front of the Orange County Courthouse on Orange Avenue and made their statement unified: it’s time to act on guns. Soto’s reason for the…

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Joe Henderson: Love is perfect message on day of horror

in Statewide by

(Editor’s note: We bring this column to highlight an important viewpoint on Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando.) The sermon Sunday morning in my house of worship was about love. In light of current events that seems odd, doesn’t it? We woke to the news that a gunman with apparent ties to radical Islam murdered at least 50 people during a shooting rampage in Orlando. Pastor Patina Ripkey acknowledged the horror 90 miles to the east. And then spent the next…

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Rick Scott declares a state of emergency for Orange County after Orlando shooting

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Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in Orange County after the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub Sunday morning, which has so far claimed 50 lives and is the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. In an executive order issued Sunday, Scott declared that Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Richard Swearingen would be the State Coordinating Officer for the duration of the emergency. In the order, Scott announced that Swearingen has the authority to direct the state’s…

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Study shows Florida has most toll roads in the nation, with more to come

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Florida has the most toll roads in the nation, with Orange County having the most per square mile in the state. There are 719 miles of Florida toll roads, reports LobbyTools, and Central Florida is at the epicenter. Orange County boasts 153 miles of toll roads, possibly making it an area with the most toll roads in the country. “Orlando has got a more fully developed, elaborate set of toll roads than really any other metro area in the U.S.,” says…

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Marco Rubio says federal government needs to provide more treatment funds for uninsured heroin addicts

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Sitting with Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Florida’s Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio pledged Monday to do whatever he can to help combat the growing heroin crisis, saying that federal funds for treatment of uninsured addicts are critical. Jacobs has made Orange County’s heroin crisis a top priority for her efforts, and recently oversaw a task force looking for answers to a dramatic increase in heroin usage and deaths in Central Florida. And Rubio arrived Monday to assure her that…

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Rick Scott suspends Eatonville Mayor Anthony Grant

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Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order Tuesday afternoon suspending Eatonville Mayor Anthony Grant over alleged violation of state election laws. In Executive Order 16-88, Scott cited Grant’s recent indictment by an Orange County grand jury over allegations the mayor conspired to commit election fraud by intimidating voters and fraudulently handling six absentee ballots. Grant, the chief municipal figure in the historically black Central Florida town, bonded out of jail on Tuesday after turning himself in to Orange County authorities late Monday night following…

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Obtaining police emails can take months, cost thousands

in Apolitical/Top Headlines by

When the editor of a gay-oriented newspaper in Florida requested records that he thought should be public, he cast a wide net, asking that the email of every employee of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office be searched for specific gay slurs over a five-month period. The sheriff’s office initially told Jason Parsley that his request would cost $399,000, take four years and require the hiring of a dedicated staffer. The response set off a public-records marathon that lasted nearly a…

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