Florida news

SANFORD (CBSMiami) — Police in Sanford, Florida say a student is in custody after shooting a classmate at Seminole High School Wednesday. The victim was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and officials say other students are not in danger. “Only thing we know, this is, again, an isolated incident. There is no one, currently, right now, that we have that’s outstanding. Meaning, they were looking at anyone else that’s involved. Um, right now, like I said, according to the investigators, this is this is an isolated incident and that those two individuals that were involved. It’s dealing with them at the moment,” explained Sanford Police Department spokesman Ronny Neal. Investigators have not put out a name of the suspect. … [Read more...] about Florida Student In Custody After Shooting Classmate At Seminole High School In Sanford

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – A Florida panther kitten has died after being struck by a vehicle. It’s the third panther death attributed to fatal collisions, out of three total deaths this year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. READ MORE: South Florida Healthcare System Facing Challenges With Rising Omicron Cases The remains of the 2-month-old male panther were found Saturday along a rural road in Collier County, wildlife officials said. READ MORE: Florida Agencies Grapple With Worker Shortage A total of 27 Florida panthers were found dead last year, with 21 deaths attributed to vehicles, according to state records. That was up from 22 total deaths in 2020. Florida panthers once roamed the entire Southeast, but now their habitat mostly is confined to a small region of Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 230 Florida panthers remain in the wild. MORE NEWS: Florida Legislators To Consider Plan To Eliminate Salaries For County School Board … [Read more...] about Officials: Florida Panther Struck, Killed By Vehicle

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — Amid a national worker shortage, state agencies are struggling to fill vacant positions and retain employees, including those who care for some of Florida’s most vulnerable citizens. Many employees are leaving state government jobs because they’re overworked and underpaid, according to a presentation Wednesday to a Senate committee. READ MORE: South Florida Healthcare System Facing Challenges With Rising Omicron Cases A flood of better-paying positions in the private sector that have opened up following widespread shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated hiring problems, officials from several state agencies told the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee. The number of applicants responding to state-government job advertisements dropped by nearly 35 percent over the past three years, while the number of job postings increased by 7 percent, Department of Management Services Secretary J. Todd Inman said. The … [Read more...] about Florida Agencies Grapple With Worker Shortage

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – The Florida Senate is set to vote Thursday on new congressional districts that, at least for now, don’t follow lines proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration. The Senate on Wednesday took up its proposals for congressional districts (SB 102) and state Senate districts (SJR 100) and positioned them for votes. That came after DeSantis’ general counsel filed a congressional proposal during the weekend that drew controversy. When asked about the DeSantis proposal, Senate Reapportionment Chairman Sen. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, said Wednesday the Senate will follow the legislative process. “We’re gonna wait for the House to bring forth a map, and then the two of us are going to have to get together and reconcile and see what that looks like,” Rodrigues said. He declined to comment further on the governor’s proposal, saying he didn’t want to debate through the media. Critics of the Senate’s proposal contend it would not provide … [Read more...] about Florida Senate Poised To Pass Redistricting Plans

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — The state’s Senate Education Committee approved a bill on Tuesday that takes aim at critical race theory, though it doesn’t mention it explicitly, on party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. The bill, pushed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, would prohibit public schools and private businesses from making white people feel “discomfort” when they teach students or train employees about discrimination in the nation’s past. READ MORE: Feds: Florida Man To Serve 3 Years In Prison, Pay Back Over $800,000 In COVID-19 Relief Fraud Democrats argue the bill isn’t needed, would lead to frivolous lawsuits, and said it would amount to censorship in schools. They asked, without success, for real-life examples of teachers or businesses telling students or employees that they are racist because of their race. “This bill’s not for Blacks, this bill was not for any other race. This was directed to make whites not feel bad about what … [Read more...] about Florida Could Shield Whites From ‘Discomfort’ Of Racist Past

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man convicted of fraudulently collecting more than $1.3 million in COVID-19 relief funds has been sentenced to five years in prison. Johnson Eustache, of Palm Bay, was sentenced Tuesday in Orlando federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. He must also forfeit approximately $700,000 seized from several bank accounts, as well as real properties in Palm Bay and Poinciana. According to court documents, Eustache submitted 13 different fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection Program applications to the Small Business Administration and other lenders from March 2020 to April 2021. In total, he sought more than $2.1 million in pandemic-related emergency benefits, according to the documents. Eustache included false statements in the applications regarding criminal history, number of employees and total payroll, prosecutors … [Read more...] about Florida man gets 5 years for COVID-19 relief, tax fraud