Florida

Florida schools ponder hurricane makeup days

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2024

Florida schools ponder hurricane makeup days

The big story: Students across Florida lost several hours of class time as their schools shut down for hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Once determining it was safe to resume classes, officials had another key decision ahead: How to make up the missed time, which for some children exceeded 50 hours. That’s nearly 5% of the year.

The choices included extending the school day, adding more days to the academic year and canceling vacations or parts of them.

“The driving question was constantly around, how do we make all the right moves for all the right reasons?” Pinellas County schools chief academic officer Donnika Jones said. Read more here.

Eckerd College students return to campus after a month away because of hurricanes Helene and Milton, WUSF reports. The school moved to remote online classes after evacuating.

Hot topics

Lunch lines: The University of South Florida has cut ties with its longtime cafeteria services provider. The move will affect about 400 employees. • Duval County school cafeteria workers are discussing whether to walk off the job after reaching an impasse in contract talks seeking higher wages, WTLV reports.

Referendum politics: Opponents of the Hillsborough County school district’s local-option property tax referendum have made allegations against superintendent Van Ayres in their effort to detract support for the initiative, Florida Politics reports. • A campaign to extend Escambia County’s local-option sales tax supporting construction projects has strong support, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.

Save Our School: Some Collier County residents are petitioning to prevent Bonita Springs Elementary School from being demolished, WINK reports. The school was damaged in Hurricane Irma. • Duval County residents want school district officials to consider equity, and not just the bottom line, as they prepare to shutter several schools as part of a cost-saving effort, Jacksonville Today reports.

School uses: The Highlands County school district is transforming its prekindergarten center, which sat about half vacant, to other program uses, Highlands News-Sun reports.

Union busting: A group that tried to push out United Teachers of Dade says it won’t give up despite losing its initial effort, the Miami Herald reports.

Vouchers: Both the Democrat and the Republican seeking a state House seat representing Palm Beach want more accountability for Florida’s school voucher system, Florida Phoenix reports.

From the police blotter … The principal of a Lake County high school was arrested on an allegation of driving under the influence, WESH reports. • Schools in Bonifay in Holmes County have canceled all outdoor activities during a police investigation into a nearby weekend murder, WJHG reports.

Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to Friday’s roundup.

Before you go … What’s that? New Wallace and Gromit?

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Florida

Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

Published

31 minutes ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Evacuations underway as crews battle multiple wildfires in Georgia and Florida

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Florida

Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university

Published

13 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Florida investigating AI role in mass shooting at university

Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.

The decision to launch an investigation came after prosecutors reviewed exchanges between OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT and the suspected gunman, who opened fire at Florida State University last year, according to state Attorney General James Uthmeier.

“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.

Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.

In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.

“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.

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Florida wildfire strands Amtrak passengers for over 24 hours

Published

2 days ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Florida wildfire strands Amtrak passengers for over 24 hours

A massive wildfire in Putnam County in northern Florida left Amtrak passengers stranded on a train for more than 24 hours.

One train heading to New York City was forced to turn around, arriving back in Miami Monday night, including one passenger who said he had been on that train for about 38 hours.

He says he and other passengers were left uncertain about what was going on.

“Angry, confused, uncertain, in the dark,” said John Reardon.

Reardon, who lives in New York City, says he boarded the train around 7 a.m. Sunday to go back home. He said around 3 p.m. Sunday, the train stopped near Jacksonville.

“Finally, after about 5 hours, they said we’re not going to New York, we’re going back to Miami,” Reardon said. “One stop at a time.”

Amtrak said for the safety of its passengers, the train couldn’t continue going north because of the fire.

“Amtrak sends a notification to the phone saying, ‘Hey, there’s an issue with the wildfire, it’s too close to the railway,’” said passenger Katrinia Wheeler.

Multiple crews are battling multiple fires in two Florida counties, leaving at least 3,000 acres burned.

“I saw that there was a lot of smoke coming from the woods, and then I saw the fire trucks and emergency services,” Wheeler said.

The train that left Miami at 7 a.m. on Sunday returned around 9 p.m. on Monday, leaving passengers frustrated.

Amtrak corporate says they made the decision out of safety for their customers and said customers would receive full refunds and vouchers.