Florida
Bexar County sheriff launches investigation into Florida flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard
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Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar has launched a criminal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flying 48 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Winery final week. The choice comes on the heels of immigration rights teams and Democrats accusing Republicans of exploiting susceptible migrants for political factors by promising them jobs and housing, solely to fly them to an island off the coast of Massachusetts that was not warned individuals needing assist had been coming.
Salazar, sheriff for the county the place San Antonio is positioned, mentioned it’s too early within the investigation to call suspects or know what legal guidelines had been damaged. However he mentioned he’s speaking to an lawyer representing a few of the migrants and making an attempt to determine what expenses ought to be made and towards whom.
“We need to know what was promised to them. What, if something, did they signal? Did they perceive the doc that was put in entrance of them in the event that they signed one thing? Or was this strictly a predatory measure?” Salazar mentioned.
Final week, DeSantis mentioned the planes had been a part of his state’s $12 million program to relocate migrants to a “sanctuary vacation spot.” Migrants mentioned a lady going by the title of Perla approached them outdoors San Antonio’s Migrant Useful resource Middle and promised them jobs and shelter. Some mentioned they had been informed they had been going to Boston. However they arrived in Martha’s Winery, the place native officers had been caught off guard. Migrants are at the moment being housed at Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s workplace mentioned it was not accountable for the planes, however he has employed an identical technique, busing migrants to cities run by Democrats to alleviate overwhelmed border communities. The strikes are supposed to name consideration to the Biden administration’s immigration insurance policies. Abbott has spent not less than $12 million busing migrants to New York Metropolis, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Final week, he despatched buses to Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence.
Immigrants’ rights teams and Democrats have likened these actions to human trafficking by treating migrants like “human cargo” to attain political factors.
At a Monday press convention, Salazar blasted the flights from his Texas county to Massachusetts, calling them “an abuse of human rights.”
“What infuriates me most about this case is that right here we have now 48 individuals which can be already on onerous occasions, they’re right here legally in our nation. At that time, they’ve each proper to be the place they’re and I imagine they had been preyed upon,” Salazar mentioned. “Any individual got here from out of state, preyed upon these individuals, lured them with guarantees of a greater life.”
Salazar additionally mentioned he’s working with personal attorneys who’re representing the migrants flown to Massachusetts, in addition to advocacy organizations, concerning this incident.
“I imagine there may be some prison exercise concerned right here, however at current, we are attempting to maintain an open thoughts and we’re going to examine to search out out and to find out what legal guidelines had been damaged if that does become the case,” Salazar mentioned.
DeSantis’ workplace didn’t instantly reply for remark.
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Florida
Former ‘Cafe Risque’ stripper files lawsuit against the state of Florida
MICANOPY, Fla. (WCJB) -The state of Florida now requires strippers to be at least 21 years of age.
A lawsuit filed by Serenity Bushey, “Cafe Risque”, and two other adult establishments claims the new law violates their First Amendment and equal protection rights.
Bushay’s attorney, Gary Edinger, says the law is unconstitutional.
“The idea that adult residents of the state of Florida don’t have the same rights as people who are a couple of years older than them… it doesn’t make any sense under the constitution.”
The federal suit claims at least nine women under the age of 21 perform at “Cafe Risque” and have since lost their jobs.
Edinger says the law doesn’t only apply to strippers at adult entertainment clubs.
“So whether they are performers, or cooks, or DJs, or security, they can no longer be employed,” he stated. “And that affects what you might think of as strip clubs, it affects adult theaters, and also adult retail stores.”
He also tells TV20 that the consequences are high stakes.
“If someone slips by with a particularly good fake ID that club is strictly liable,” he added. “If it’s a nude club such as ‘Cafe Risque’ in Micanopy that’s a third-degree felony, that means someone’s going to jail for that…”.
Edinger and Bushey are asking for attorney fees and calling for a permanent injunction on the law.
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Florida
Is Florida testing students too much? Why there's not an easy answer
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is continuing to dig deeper into Florida test scores just released from the state department of education. They show whether students are performing at grade level in a variety of subjects.
Education
Making the grade: Florida education leaders praise student test scores
3:21 PM, Jul 01, 2024
This was Florida’s second year of the progress monitoring testing style, measuring student success three times throughout the year.
Local school district leaders told WPTV education reporter Stephanie Susskind they really like it. But parents Susskind spoke to aren’t so sure yet.
“I just don’t get it. I truly don’t know how taking away one test to add three, there’s no logic to me. It doesn’t make sense,” said Palm Beach County mom of two Sheena Romano.
Romano shares a popular opinion with many parents Susskind heard from on Tuesday: there’s too much testing in school.
“You have the elementary school sitting three times a year for iReady to grade their progress. And then you have the [Florida Assessment of Student Thinking] to grade their progress. So it’s like, can we eliminate one?” Romano said.
North in St. Lucie County, Superintendent Dr. Jon Prince doesn’t disagree.
“Testing in Florida is rigorous,” Prince told Susskind. “I still say we’ve got a little too much assessment going on.”
But he does support the new style of progress monitoring testing using the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, or FAST. It’s given at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to measure what a student is learning and where they need to focus.
“It’s been a great blessing that we get these results back immediately. So we know exactly where these kids are weak,” Prince said.
Florida education leaders tout this state testing style as the first in the nation. It replaced the high stakes FSA exam, which was given once at the end of the year.
“We are finding there is a lot more interface between parents and schools,” Prince said. “OK, my kid didn’t do very well. What can I do as a parent? And what can we do to partner and help them perform better? So I think it’s helped not just student learning, but that interaction between parents and families and schools.”
While parents like Romano understand that perspective, they still feel there’s too much testing pressure on today’s students.
“I think a good teacher, just like a good parent, should be able to see the progress. If you are honed in on the children,” Romano said.
So why are these tests important? Not only do they measure student progress, but they are used to help determine school and district grades. Those are expected to be released later this summer.
Florida
My Safe Florida Home Program reopens: How to apply
TAMPA, Fla. – The My Safe Florida Home Program, helping cut property insurance costs for Floridians, reopened on Monday and will start offering grants again.
This program offers matching grants for Floridians of up to $10,000 to homeowners who shore up their homes with storm-protective upgrades like hurricane-safe doors or windows.
READ: Florida program aims to help ease sting of high property insurance premiums
Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7028 into law in April to allocate $200 million to the My Safe Florida Home Program.
READ: New Florida laws going into effect on July 1: Here are some of the highlights
The bill also allows applicants under the program to still receive home inspections even if they’re not eligible for a grant.
First-time applicants must complete an initial wind-mitigation inspection to proceed to the grant application. That inspection will then provide homeowners with:
- The opportunity to share that report with their insurance carrier to make sure they’re receiving all possible discounts on the hurricane portion of their home insurance premium
- A roadmap to retrofitting their home with improvements to strengthen it against hurricanes
Existing users can access their portal account to see their Grant Group Category number.
My Safe Florida Home was established in 2006 and brought back in 2022.
To apply, click here.
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