Black leaders warn Florida is undoing civil rights gains.
Florida's attorney general says affirmative action laws are unconstitutional and racially discriminatory. Black lawmakers want Gov. Ron DeSantis to remove Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier from office for pledging not to enforce state racial quota laws. House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell questions whether he even understands why they're important.
"Civil Rights laws are protections against discrimination, not preferences. This is about leveling the playing field, making sure that Floridians who look like us and the Floridians who look like General Uthmeyer, have the same opportunities to succeed."
Democrats also called Uthmeier’s statement on Monday inappropriate. It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In other news from Tallahassee, Florida Democrats announced a bill Thursday to reverse the state’s current ban on most abortions after six weeks. The measure would also protect access to birth control and fertility treatment.
Two Florida House committees advanced property tax proposals Thursday that could go before voters later this year. Over the objections of Democrats and local government officials concerned about reduced revenue, the Republican-dominated House Ways & Means Committee approved a measure that, if approved by voters, would increase the homestead exemption by 100 thousand dollars over the next decade.
Opponents of the legislation argue that any property tax amendment before voters in 2026 is simply intended to drive voters to the polls without addressing the consequences that local governments won’t be able to provide critical services demanded by residents.
A Florida Senate bill would allow schools to partner with local food banks and nonprofit organizations to recover and redistribute edible cafeteria food. WFIT’s Terri Wright tells us more.
Environmental advocates say Florida schools discard large amounts of food each day, even as many families across the state face food insecurity. The bill aims to reduce that waste while helping communities in need.
The measure also promotes student health by encouraging a reduction in single-use plastics, which can break down into microplastics that accumulate in the body and potentially disrupt the endocrine system, affecting growth and sexual development.
Next rocket launch scheduled for Sunday.
It’s been a week without a rocket rumble, but that will end this Sunday. SpaceX will send a military GPS satellite to medium-Earth orbit. The short 15-minute launch window opens at 11:46PM Sunday night.
In other space news, the launch date for NASA’s Artemis II mission may be just weeks away. While no specific date has been set yet, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is offering viewing packages for the launch. You can watch from the Saturn V center inside KSC for $250 a person, or from the visitor complex for $99.
Kayaker drowned in Turkey Creek
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is investigating the drowning of a kayaker in the Turkey Creek area yesterday afternoon. Authorities responded to one of the narrow, winding waterways in Turkey Creek not far from the Palm Bay Library. First responders in airboats located a 60 year kayaker in about 15 feet of water.
