Randy Fine fights back.
State Rep. Randy Fine's contempt of court hearing is set to begin today, despite a string of last-minute legal maneuvering.
Fine has meanwhile called on Florida House leaders to open an impeachment case against Judge Scott Blaue, escalating his criticism of the judge in the case.
WFIT’s Rick Glasby has more:
Blaue called Fine back to court earlier this month after the Brevard County legislator was caught on camera appearing to give the middle finger during a virtual court hearing. Fine has denied any misconduct, and he has filed a flurry of motions over the past weeks, continuing efforts to delay the hearing or have Judge Blaue removed from the case. His most recent action was to request impeachment proceedings against Blaue to State House leaders last week. Fine is running for state senator in the November election.
Container traffic at risk in South Florida with dockworker strike
South Florida’s busiest ports are included in those impacted by a longshoreman strike. But not all operations at PortMiami and Port Everglades are affected.
PortMiami and Port Everglades are two of the three busiest ports in the world for cruising.
That business will not be affected by a strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association against a group of cargo terminal and ship operators.
The ports in South Florida are not directly involved in the labor dispute, which is over wages and the use of automation loading and unloading cargo ships.
Some of those containers sailing toward PortMiami carry tables, sofas and lamps for City Furniture. It is one of the largest importers at the port.
City Furniture CEO Andrew Koenig (KAY-nig) says they ordered more items in hopes of getting ahead of a strike.
AUDIO: Koenig-2
our manufacturing partners around the world, uh, tried to ship earlier, And, um, we've done everything we possibly could do. To prepare for this. And unfortunately, It's a bummer.
Port Everglades handles not just cruise and cargo, but also gasoline and cement supplies for the region. Those shipments are not affected by the strike.
However, America could see some shortages of chocolate, alcohol, popular fruit, including bananas and cherries, and even certain cars if the strike lasts a long time. That could mean higher prices for the goods that are available.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and custom policy for the National Retail Federation, the federation and its members are concerned with how long it will take to recover from even a short strike.
"A one-day shutdown takes three to five days to recover from," he said. "The longer it goes, the worse it gets."
He said the last major port labor dispute, an 11-day lockout of the union workers at West Coast ports in 2002, meant that it took six months before things were back to normal.
Politifact FL: Clips don’t show Hurricane Helene in Florida
Set to the wail of sirens, a viral video on social media claims to show scenes of Hurricane Helene and its aftermath. Text on a Sept. 27 Facebook video said simply, "Florida Hurricane Helene."
Plenty of legitimate footage exists of the hurricane, which made landfall and caused extensive wind and flood damage across the Southeast. But this video is not authentic. Some of its clips are from previous storms in different states and different years. Some were altered with artificial intelligence or existed online before Hurricane Helene formed.
The Facebook video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
More info www.floridatoday.com
