Florida Senate considers spending up to $200M to clean up Piney Point
With work continuing to prevent a potentially catastrophic collapse of a reservoir wall, the Florida Senate will consider a budget amendment Wednesday to spend as much as $200 million to clean up the site of a former phosphate plant in Manatee County.
DeSantis threatens to pull vaccines from Manatee County after residents question site placement
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. โ Following reports that Gov. DeSantis was asked about the criticism from the community that followed the Tuesday report during a press conference on Wednesday. AdโI mean, if Manatee County doesnโt like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,โ DeSantis said. โThere is no reason that Governor DeSantis should be rationing vaccines based on political influence,โ Fried said in a press release. DeSantis pushed back on the claims that he set up the site because the communityโs developer and residents of the community support him politically.
Florida fire truck stolen while crew responded to call
This brush truck belonging to the Bayshore Fire Rescue was found about 80 miles away in Manatee County. NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. โ A fire truck was stolen from a Florida fire station while the crew was responding to a call Sunday. The Bayshore Fire Rescue department returned from the call to find a brush truck was missing. Several people posted sightings of the truck, which was eventually found about 80 miles away in Manatee County. โThank you, thank you, thank you.โThe truck wasnโt damaged.
Thousands of Florida students lack online learning equipment
Thereโs a growing consensus amongst educators and parents that remote learning is harder on students than most people anticipated. In Sarasota and Manatee counties there are still hundreds, if not thousands, of students who donโt always have access to their classes because of slow or no internet or a lack technology. Of the 12,539 parents or guardians who responded to the survey, 12% have either slow internet or no internet at all. And when the district isnโt able to provide a solution, it connects students and families with local nonprofits that can help out. But, like in Manatee where the hotspots donโt work for everyone, even the best possible solutions donโt always solve a familyโs problems.
Florida man who tried to get ballot for dead wife charged
BRADENTON, Fla. โ Florida authorities say theyโve filed a voter fraud charge against a man who said he said he โwanted to test the system" when he tried to obtain a mail-in ballot for his deceased wife. Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett said he contacted the sheriff's office after a review of voter rolls showed that Larry Wiggins' wife had been dead for two years. Staffers determined that Wiggins forged his late wifeโs name on the ballot request, according to the Bradenton Herald. Researchers say that voter fraud in general is rare in the U.S.โOur message is that the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections will prosecute any attempt at voter fraud. There was no online docket for Wiggins on the Manatee County Clerk of Courtโs website Saturday, so it was unclear if Wiggins had an attorney.
Floridas weekly jobless claims drop the most of any state
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Florida led the nation in a drop in the number of new jobless claims filed last week compared to the previous week, according to federal labor figures released Thursday. Some 55,106 Floridians filed for unemployment benefits last week, a decline of 23,180 claims from the previous week, the biggest drop of any state. Last week, Florida had third-highest number of claims after California and Georgia. By comparison, at the same time in August 2019, there were 5,978 new jobless claims in Florida. The Labor Department said applications fell to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week.
Floridas new jobless claims drop the most of any state
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida led the nation in a drop in the number of new jobless claims filed last week compared to the previous week, according to federal labor figures released Thursday. Some 55,106 Floridians filed for unemployment benefits last week, a decline of 23,180 claims from the previous week, the biggest drop of any state. By comparison, at the same time in August 2019, there were 5,978 new jobless claims in Florida. The Labor Department said applications fell to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week. Using contact tracing, the Manatee County school district and the Florida Department of Health in Manatee County found that a number of school employees had direct exposure to the infected person.
From 2 cases of coronavirus in Florida to 57,447 in 3 months. Where do we stand?
Those two cases were confirmed as COVID-19 -- the disease sweeping the world -- by the Centers for Disease Control the next day: March 2. On April 1 -- 30 days after those first two cases were confirmed in Florida -- the Department of Health reported 7,773 positive cases in the state. Thats also the day Florida became the 34th state in the nation to institute stay-at-home order. Three months after the first two cases were identified in Florida, the state reported 57,447 residents or people visiting the state have tested positive for the virus, 10,412 people have been hospitalized and 2,530 have died. Even Jacksonville, with one of the lowest rate of positive tests in the state, adds about 10% more cases each week.
Another 53 Hepatitis A cases reported
A microscopic image of the Hepatitis A virus, taken by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida had 53 new hepatitis A cases reported last week, bringing the total number of cases since January to 2,034, according to the state Department of Health. Pasco and Pinellas counties continued to lead the state in the number of reported cases, with 358 in Pasco and 328 in Pinellas as of Saturday. Manatee County led the state in the number of new suspected cases last week with six. The state data includes confirmed and suspected cases of hepatitis A.