By Betsy Calvert, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, Apr 7, 2021 What happened? Stacks of waste water and phosphogypsum remain at the site of the defunct Piney Point phosphate plant mine in Bradenton. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency last Saturday after a significant leak of wastewater threatened to burst a system that…
Editor’s note: You can watch the complete “60 Minutes” segment by clicking here and then click here to learn how retired NFL star Anquan Boldin helped his hometown of the Glades get vaccinated. By Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 4, 2021 The vaccine favoritism questions swirling around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received a national spotlight…
In these difficult times, Charlotte County Democrats have again risen to relieve community hunger and need. During the past few weeks, the Charlotte County Democrats have been collecting non-perishable food items and paper products to assist food pantries in Charlotte County during the Easter Holiday. Donations have been extremely generous and members of the party and…
By Jesse Mendoza, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, USA TODAY NETWORK, April 3, 2021 As yet another potential environmental disaster connected to the former Piney Point fertilizer processing plant along Tampa Bay in Manatee County unfolds, questions about accountability for the repeated problems loom. Elected officials and regulators at both the local and state levels have long grappled…
By Linda Porterfield, Charlotte Dems Writer Was CNN’s March 28th special, “COVID WAR – The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out” which gave the former administration’s public health officials valuable air time a truly relevant journalistic opportunity, or rather, a stage to highlight their shameful malpractice regarding their malevolent silence on the deadliness and spread of COVID-19?…
By Issac Morgan, Florida Phoenix, March 25, 2021 Tucked into the Biden administration’s massive federal relief package is a major provision to expand benefits for low-income people in Florida and other states that haven’t adopted Medicaid expansion, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The $1.9 trillion stimulus plan signed earlier this March provides financial…
By John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 23, 2021 TALLAHASSEE – Florida Republican lawmakers continued to push changes making it harder to vote by mail while limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, despite opposition Monday from elections supervisors and voting rights advocates who warn it will reduce turnout in Florida. A GOP-dominated House committee rolled out its overhaul package…
By Betsy Calvert, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, March 18, 2021 Echoes of the failed attempt to privatize the Punta Gorda Airport reverberated at the Airport Commission meeting Thursday, March 18th. Fight with consultant Airport lawyer Darol Carr told the commission not to sign a proposed termination agreement with the consultant they have accused of strategizing…
Editor’s comment: The pension this bill saves may be your own! By Hazel Bradford, Pension & Investments, March 10, 2021 President Joe Biden is expected to quickly sign the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure. Final passage of a massive COVID-19 relief bill came Wednesday with House approval, along a 220-211 mostly party-line vote. The $1.9…
By Vilia Johnson, Longboat Key, election reform chair, League of Women Voters of Sarasota County, published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, March 15, 2021 After the remarkable turnout in the November 2020 election, Florida was lauded for conducting a model election – efficient and transparent. However, current legislation in the Florida Senate would undermine this success…
Editor’s note: Tell Joe that you oppose SB 90. Vote NO on voter suppression! By Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 14, 2021 As Republican activists across the country work to enact new voting rules being touted by supporters as election integrity measures and slammed by critics as voter suppression, Sarasota lawmaker Joe Gruters is square in the middle of the…
By Laurie Ulrop, Charlotte Dems Legislative Action Committee There are multiple state preemption bills that have passed their committees and are headed to the floor of the Florida House. We oppose them all, but I want to highlight one in particular that needs you to take action by voicing your opposition to your local Representative,…
By John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 14, 2021 TALLAHASSEE – Joining a growing swell of states, Gov. Ron DeSantis appears focused on erasing mask requirements across Florida by now demanding that such emergency powers of local governments be rolled back by the Republican-led Legislature. The drive is being met with outrage by city and county officials, along with…
By Roxanne Moore, Charlotte County Democratic Club President and Charlotte Dems contributing writer Are you ready to lose local home rule? Are you ready to lose control? Get ready! Senate Bill (SB) 856 and companion House Bill (HB) 839 will see that you do lose control and in ways you’ve never imagined. These two bills…
Editor’s note: Total votes cast were 8,921, which was a strong turnout; attributed to an excellent get out the vote campaign by Alice and our sister Sarasota County Dems organization. Congratulations to all! This victory is an inspiration to Charlotte County Dems. We can win elections, too! By Craig Garrett, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, March 9,…
By Elitsa Bizios | Vanessa Borge HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) – Local immigration advocates sounded off on a reported decision by the Biden administration to consider reopening a detention center in Homestead as a temporary shelter for undocumented children. Speakers at a press conference held outside Homestead City Hall on Thursday expressed disbelief and disappointment after reports surfaced…
By Anna Bryson, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, Feb 23, 2021 Charlotte County Commissioners want to get COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities particularly following outrage after Gov. Ron DeSantis gave 3,000 coveted COVID-19 vaccine doses to select groups including the high-end Kings Gate community. “As we see these pop up sites at Kings Gate and these…
By Betsy Calvert, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, Feb 23, 2021 State Rep. Michael Grant Tuesday announced changes to his proposed election law that would provide protections for airport commissioners who opposed him in airport privatization. The Charlotte County Republican also said in a Zoom call Tuesday with his fellow legislators, that he will no longer…
Editor’s note: Read about what happened at the Feb 23rd meeting here. By Betsy Calvert, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, Feb 17, 2021 A plan to turn airport authority commissioners into at large representatives did not come up at a legislative delegation public meeting held in January in Punta Gorda. From left, Sen. Ben Albritton, Rep. Michael…
The Republican Party of Florida chair wants Florida’s best practices shared nationwide.