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Florida in the Middle of New Report Ranking State’s Gun Laws and Gun Violence

October 18th, 2016 by flanews

Florida is right in the middle when it comes to a new report correlating state’s gun laws and gun violence. But as Matt Galka tells us, some democrats in the state say we are going in the wrong direction.

Stricter gun laws equals less gun violence. That’s the takeaway from the Center for American Progress that ranked every state in order of how their mandates related to gun violence.

The findings: the 10 states with the loosest gun laws had more than three times the amount of gun violence than the state’s with the 10 strictest laws. Florida was 27.

But Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum says things are going in the wrong direction.

“I think it’s appropriate in this state that we take a really good, hard, strong look at the laws that we’ve enabled, or the absence thereof, that are creating the conditions, in my opinion for gun violent events that could be prevented,” he said.

And he says his hands are tied.

“In the state of Florida we pre-empt local governments from making their own decision making when it comes to keeping their community safe,” said Gillum.

But over at Talon gun range, about 20 minutes away from the Capitol, they say the laws are working. J.D. Johnson helps run the classes that allow people to get concealed carry permits.

“Florida has kind of been the trendsetter a lot of other state’s laws, like the Castle Doctrine laws, and the self defense laws in Florida, are mirrored in a lot of other states,” he said.

This isn’t Gillum’s first time taking on the gun issue. He’s currently involved in a lawsuit with the NRA and other pro-2nd amendment groups for not repealing an ordinance banning the firing of weapons in city parks.

The criteria used to measure gun violence included suicide, fatal gun accidents, gun murders, and mass shootings. Louisiana ranked worst for gun violence while Massachusetts ranked best.

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Judge Rules in Favor of Dems, Orders Mismatching Signature Fix

October 17th, 2016 by flanews

Voters who mail in their ballots now have some peace of mind if they scribble their names too sloppy. As Matt Galka tells us, a federal judge made sure that people will have the chance to fix a signature mistake – and make sure their vote counts.

“The state of Florida has consistently chipped away at the right to vote,” and “this court knows disenfranchisement when it sees it and it’s obscene.”

Those are just two lines ripped from a blistering ruling from US district judge Mark Walker. He ruled against the state’s policy allowing county canvassing boards to throw out mail in ballots with mismatching signatures without providing a fix.

Missing signature voters are given the chance to fix their ballots. Leon County supervisor of elections Ion Sancho walked us through the process.

“Basically it’s developed off of the same form to cure a non-match, all we did was change a “no” signature cure, to signature cure. There’s several ways you can cure by coming in in person, you can cure by mail, you can cure by email,” said Sancho.

The ruling is the second win for Democrats in the past week. The same judge ruled to extend Florida’s voter registration deadline after Florida Democrats filed a lawsuit following Hurricane Matthew.

“In Florida we have elections won or lost by 1 percent, any little bit counts, and it’s just real important to make sure every vote is counted,” said Max Steele with the party.

More than 513,000 Floridians have already voted by mail. In 2012, around 23,000 mail in ballots were thrown out because of mismatching signatures.

The Department of State responded to us in a statement saying that they just received the ruling last night and were in the process of reviewing it.

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Supreme Court throws out new death sentencing scheme, inmates in limbo

October 14th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

The Supreme Court of Florida today said that a unanimous jury was required for the state to impose death, throwing out a newly enacted law that allowed ten jurors to impose the ultimate penalty, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the court left unanswered what happens to the nearly 400 people already on death row.

 

12 Jurors found Timothy Hurst guilty of the 1998 stabbing of a co worker at a Pensacola Popeyes. But only seven of them voted for death, which a judge imposed. This January, the US Supreme Court used the Hurst case to throw out that sentencing scheme,  in Florida, saying a jury not the judge had the final say.

House will come to order”

Then lawmakers enacted a 10-2 requirement for a death sentence this spring.  Now the Florida Supreme Court has said the Hurst decision demands a unanimous jury.

Nancy Daniels is Hurst’s Public Defender.

“So, they threw out the new Florida statute that had allowed the death penalty by a ten to two margin. And said going forward, we’re going to have to have unanimous verdicts in Florida” says a happy Daniels.

Nancy Daniels says Hurst will get a new sentencing hearing

death row 1

Ah, it’s about time” Mark Schlakman told us. He’s been working for almost a decade to require a unanimous jury when death is on the table. “Why is unanimity important your mind?” we asked.

“It goes right to the core of our system of our jurisprudence” says the Human Rights Lawyer.

The court was asked to declare the entire death penalty unconstitutional. It refused. But it left unanswered what happens with the other 384 people who woke up on death row Friday morning.

During the legislative session, prosecutors had objected to requiring unanimous jury verdicts, saying no two people should be allowed to impose their will on the majority. The Supreme Court disagrees.

Lawmakers meet agin two weeks after next months election and could take action to confirm or overturn the court decision.

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Feds Suspect Florida Hack

October 13th, 2016 by flanews

Is Florida voting information in the hands of Russian hackers? As Matt Galka tells us, the feds think it might be, but a state agency says all is well.

Cyber security and hacking have become prominent in the election cycle.  Federal investigators believe Russian hackers are behind the attacks. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is skeptical.

“You ever notice anything that goes wrong they blame Russia! Russia did it! They have no idea, we’re being hacked because we have people that don’t know what they’re doing,” said Trump at a Wednesday Ocala rally.

Now the FBI thinks Russian hackers have hit a vendor for Florida’s election system – possibly putting voter data at risk.

Supervisors from around the state were on a conference call last week with the feds regarding cyber security. Leon County Elections supervisor Ion Sancho was on the call.

“To my knowledge I have no information to confirmed that Florida has been penetrated or even scanned,” he said.

Sancho maintains elections in Florida are secure and better than ever – but even casting a little doubt in a voters head can hurt the process.

“I think one of the concerns is to make people fearful. For example, you may not vote by mail, but by attacking the state’s website they could alter for example, your party affiliation, or cause a mail ballot to get mailed to you. You’d say “I didn’t do this! What’s wrong! Something’s going on!” and potentially become apprehensive about the process,” he said.

The Department of State says everything is fine. In a statement, a spokeswoman said they have no indication of a Florida issue and they do not use a vendor for voter registration services.

Other states are thought to be victims of hacks including Arizona and Illinois where thousands of voters’ personal information may have been compromised.

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Trump Remarks: Unsafe on any Campus

October 12th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

The book Unsafe on any Campus was released in July and details administrators inability to adequately deal with sexual assaults on campus, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the author now says their problem could be more difficult because of lewd remarks by Donald Trump.

When the Washington Post released the video of Donald Trump making lewd remarks about women: “I moved on her #### but I couldn’t get there and she was married” Trump is heard to say on a decade old video.

Sam Staley, the author of Unsafe on Any Campus was angry.

“Eighteen to twenty percent of women will report, by the time they have graduated will report they have been sexually assaulted.They have actually experienced the things that Donald Trump is bragging about in that tape” says the author.

unsafe-on-any-campus

Staley has spent years teaching women about self defense, and he says the Trump video only emboldens a corrupt,  uncaring. demeaning treatment of women.

“He seems completely unaware of how that kind of talk is contributing to a campus climate that supports sexual assault. And its very clear, and we actually have a lot of research that shows its these group attitudes about how they diminish the dignity and agency of women that really sets up an environment in which sexual assault happens”.

The book advocates bystander intervention. Friends telling friends, back off.

campus-rape00000006

And the author says no one on the bus stopped the banter,

“Yes, the Donald has scored. (laughter) oh my man” was attributed to Billy Bush, cousin of former Governor Jeb Bush. (Bush was suspended from the Today show for the remarks).

Making them co-owners of the remarks.

“I can’t imagine that if those guys were talking about Trump’s daughter that way that he be anywhere near as calm or willing to justify their behavior, but it gets them off the hook” says Staley.

The author says he is a libertarian and he is not voting for Trump or Clinton.

When it comes to campus assaults, he said she said makes criminal prosecution difficult, so the the author says Colleges and Universities need other tools such as suspension when charges can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

campus-rape00000007

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Coalition calls for more Robust Zika Response, Input

October 12th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

A coalition of groups including Planned Parenthood and Equality Florida delivered a letter to Governor Rick Scott today, asking the state to open a two way communication on Zika and birth control issues. Kimberly Diaz of Planned Parenthood says legislation signed into law and later declared unconstitutional would have taken away access to birth control for low income women.

“And it basically took away access to birth control which is a form of contraception that can prevent the ability of women to get pregnant if she did have Zika.”

The groups hope state health officials will include them in future discussions about prevention efforts, including any efforts to limit access to abortions.

zika-troubles

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Fire Safety Week

October 12th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

 

This is Fire Prevention Week and people visiting the state capitol are being asked “when was the last time you used a fire extinguisher? The question was posed to reporter Mike Vasilinda, who like most of us, said quite awhile. He then got a demonstration for the office of the Fire Marshall’s Renee McCord.

“The acronym that we use is PASS, so its Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. You want to pull the pin, aim the nozzle, pull the handle and sweep, so when you sweep the fire you aim at the base of the fire” she explained.

Q:And the question was, when was the last time you used a fire extinguisher and most people answer answer like me…I don’t know.”

“Exactly, never. But you want to be prepared if you need one” she replied.

Sounds like good advice anytime of the year.

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Voter Registration Deadline Extended

October 12th, 2016 by flanews

Floridians who didn’t register to vote…guess what? You have more time. As Matt Galka tells us, the deadline was extended in a short hearing Wednesday morning, and voters who end up registering can thank a hurricane for the extra time.

It took about 40 minutes for Floridians to get an extra six days to register to vote. U.S district Judge Mark Walker extended the deadline to October 18th.

The Florida Democratic Party filed the lawsuit in the wake of Hurricane Matthew and the chaos it caused.

“When a storm hits with the severity of a Hurricane Matthew it’s incumbent upon the government to make it easier to vote, not harder, that’s what our country is all about is voting,” said Democratic Party attorney Kevin Hamilton.
Governor Rick Scott said he had no plans of having the deadline extended last week while Florida was in a state of emergency and some were ordered to evacuate.

“The registration, everyone has a lot of time to register, on top of that, we’ve got lots of opportunities to vote,” he said last week.

The judge ruled that the Governor wasn’t even allowed to extend the deadline if he wanted to because of state law.

Some of the groups involved in the lawsuit hope there can be a legislative fix to avoid this issue in the future.

“The reality of Florida is that there are going to be natural disasters, and Florida needs to have plans and policies in place that will account for this. I hope this is an opportunity for the legislature to revisit Florida’s election practices,” said Myrna Perez with the Brennan Center for Justice.

A spokeswoman for the governor’s office said they’d be having a conversation with members of the legislature about a possible fix.

Attorney’s for the state didn’t argue a defense during the hearing.

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GOP Members Fleeing From Trump

October 11th, 2016 by flanews

Republican infighting, sparked by nominee Donald Trump, may be at an all time high. As Matt Galka tells us, some members of the party are doing something they never thought they would – cast a ballot for Hillary Clinton.

Mac Stipanovich is a proud member of the Republican party. He was Governor Bob Martinez’s chief of staff, an adviser to Jeb Bush during his 1994 gubernatorial campaign, and an adviser to Secretary of State Katherine Harris during the infamous election recount in 2000.

He’s also going to vote for Hillary Clinton.

“If you told me that a year ago I would have laughed at you,” he said when we reached him by phone.

Stipanovich says the behavior of GOP nominee Donald Trump put him in this position. Stipanovich – an active twitter user – has frequently used a #NeverTrump hashtag.  He says he’s not surprised more members of the party are deserting Trump now.

“He’d make the country sick, and we’d never recover, or certainly not recover fully from it,” he said.

And with all the divisiveness in the party it could be bad news for some members down ticket.

Florida State Univeristy Political scientist Dr. Carol Weissert says she’s never seen infighting like this during a campaign.

“The House, the Democrats need to pick up 30 seats, but in the Senate that’s very close, they’d have to pick up four or five depending on if they win the White House, so Florida is very much in the mix here,” she said.

But it’s still too early to tell if deserting Trump or sticking with him will help or hurt members of the party in races aroudn the state and the country. Just like much of 2016 – the outcomes could be unpredictable.

Speaking of Twitter…earlier today Trump went on a tweet storm lambasting some members of the GOP including House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump called Republicans turning on him “disloyal.”

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New Twist in Murder for Hire Plot?

October 11th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

A recorded confession by the get away driver in the murder for hire of an FSU law professor appears to indicate the ex-wife was aware of the plan before it was carried out. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, proving that may come down to how much the latest person charged in the case cooperates.

Katie Magbanua was nervous as a cat as she waited for the judge in her video first appearance.

“All rise” ordered the bailiff.

She is the mother of two children fathered by accused triggerman Sigfredo Garcia. The 32 year old was brought to Tallahassee Monday after being charged earlier this month the with murder of law professor Dan Markel.

“Your client will be held without bond” say Judge Lane Smith.

Magbanua was arrested when get away driver Luis rivera started talking.

“Katie is the one in the middle doing everything. Put it like that” rivera told investigators in the case.

killer-confession00000006

Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman says Magbanua is the key to tying the law professor’s ex-wife’s family to the murder plot.

“If I was to be able to charge a member of the family as being implicated as part of the conspiracy, I would require a witness, possible such as Ms. Magbanua” said Cappleman after the hearing.

Luis rivera told investigators he learned early on the motive for the hit. “That lady wants her two kids back. She want’s full custody of the kids.”

As Rivera and alleged triggerman Garcia cruised this neighborhood the day before the murder, Rivera told investigators they saw Wendi Adelson, walking with her two kids.

“What is she doing up here? Rivera asked Garcia, who know who she was.

“She came to make sure everything is alright because he’s leaving out of town tomorrow” responded Garcia, according to the statement Rivera gave police.

We asked lead prosecutor Cappleman what she thought of the new twist.

“Do you believe this implicates her?”

“I think if it’s true, it implicates her, but I haven’t been able to confirm or deny that.”

And because of the taped confession, we now know the three co conspirators divided up a hundred thousand dollars the day after the murder.

Police have long suspected the law professors former brother-in-law and his parents in the conspiracy, but the addition of the ex-wife in the new testimony has comes as a surprise to many close to the case.

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One Month Left in Fight Over Medical Marijuana

October 10th, 2016 by flanews

The fight over medical marijuana is turning into a slugfest with money pouring in and ads hitting the air. Matt Galka tries to get a handle on the reefer madness.

It’s down to a one month campaign for both sides of the medical marijuana fight in Florida.  The Vote no on 2 campaign questions if Amendment 2 – the constitutional amendment legalizing medical cannabis in the state – is really all about helping sick people.

“This is not what you think it is, contrary to the other side, this is nothing more than legalized marijuana,” said No on 2 spokeswoman Christina Johnson.

The ads suggest that passing amendment 2 would be harmful for kids and would be “sold next to schools,” although the likelihood of pot shop being zoned next to a school isn’t exactly…high.

“I think that what you’re going to find is that when this amendment passes and there’s locals that want to have access to medical marijuana they’ll sue to get that in their neighborhoods,” said Johnson.

And the group pushing medical marijuana is doing a little fact checking of their own.

“The fact is that 25 states plus DC have medical marijuana laws, they all regulate the sale of marijuana to children as Florida’s law would,” said Ben Pollara with United for Care.

Amendment 2 backers United for Care equate the attacks to the 1930’s anti-drug film Reefer Madness and they’re being blunt: the ads are propaganda.

“This is absolutely ‘Reefer Madness’ type propaganda, this is the type of discredited stuff, the crazy scare tactics the hardcore drug warriors have been pushing for years and years and years,” said Pollara.

The madness ends in just about a month. If 60 percent of the voters don’t vote yes, then medical marijuana goes up in smoke.

And the high stakes surrounding medical cannabis means big money for both sides – in the last week of September – supporters of the amendment banked $1 million dollars from a Washington, D.C. political action committee while Drug Free Florida received $500,000 from Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

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2016 Too Close to Call?

October 10th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

Could there be a repeat of the 2000 election when the vote here in Florida was too close to call for more than a month? As Mike Vasilinda tells us, some inside both political camps say the margin is going to be razor thin.

Trump tallahassee officer manager John Konkus is teaching Joan Rosenberg to make calls on a Trump owned auto dialing computer.

“Hit allow here” he says.

The office opened Saturday in the former headquarters of conservative congressional candidate Mary Thomas. Her campaign stressed family values, but she says she is not backing away from Trump after the release of an embarrassing tape.

“I don’t agree with the comments that were made, I can’t justify them, but Mr. Trump apologized for them” explained Thomas.

The campaign expects the race to be close.

“It’s a tie, and every call that we make out of this office and every door we knock out of this office could be the difference maker” Konkus told us.

A tie would mean a replay of the 2000 election that dragged on more than an month with the eyes of the entire world on Florida.

So, could this street once again be filled with satellite trucks sixteen years later? Some insiders believe the election could be that close.”

too-clsoe-to-call00000008Democrats have filed suit to extend the Tuesday voter registration deadline. Steve Schale predicted two weeks ago the race was headed for a tie. Now, the former Obama Florida director is backing away from that prediction…slightly.

“This thing is definitely moving in Clinton’s direction” says Schale.

Q”So, two weeks ago you said it could be a repeat of 2000. You don’t think that anymore?” We asked.

A:”I still think Florida will be close.”

Mail ballots were a key on the 2000 outcome, and Democrats have also filed suit, seeking a cure to signature problems with mail in ballots.

Florida Democrats filed a law suit in Federal Court late Sunday,a sling the court to extend the registration deadline because of problems created with Hurricane Matthew. A hearing in the case could be held Tuesday.

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Dems Call For Voter Registration Deadline Extension in Wake of Hurricane Matthew

October 7th, 2016 by flanews

Safety remains the chief concern for people during Hurricane Matthew, but as Matt Galka tells us, the storm has some political fallout – particularly when it comes  to voter registration.

Safety – and probably not  voting – was the top priority for millions of Floridians feeling the effects of Hurricane Matthew.  But even with the disruption the Governor said Thursday he had no plans to extend the Tuesday voter registration deadline.

“The registration, everyone has a lot of time to register, on top of that, we’ve got lots of opportunities to vote,” said Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida).

He doubled down on that Friday.

“I’m focused on a storm, I’m focused on making people, we don’t lose a life, we’re in the middle of a storm,” he said.

The issue could ultimately be settled in court, with the Clinton campaign pushing for an extension. Damien Filer with Progress Florida wonders if the Governor’s position as chair of Donald Trump’s Super PAC influenced his decision.

“If you look at the last election, it was actually decided by fewer people then registered in the last eight days that registered at the deadline,” said Filer.

Political Strategist Kevin Cate says the campaign should refocus their efforts.

“In Pinellas county there is a shortage of early voting sites in key locations, and it’s probably a better use of time trying to expand those early voting locations than the registration,” said Cate.

Florida Democrats have out registered Republicans by nearly 8 to 1 in the state so far.

Earlier today (Friday) Florida Democrats including Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Senator Bill Nelson signed a letter thanking Governor Scott for his handling of the storm…but requested him to extend the voter registration deadline.

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A look inside the state Emergency Operations Center

October 7th, 2016 by Mike Vasilinda

Today is the fifth day in a row the state emergency operations center has been working around the clock preparing for and now recovering from hurricane Matthew. As Mike Vasilinda tells us the people on duty there know peoples lives depend on what they do.

“The storm is still on top of us” was the message for those arriving at a shift change at the state’s emergency operations center Friday morning.

For the last five days, the states EOC has been working around the clock preparing for Matthew’s arrival.

”A request for shelter assistance” is just one of dozens of conversations we overheard.

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When a tree blocks a road, a bridge gets wiped out, or someone is stranded during a hurricane, the call comes here, likely to Sam Brackett. He is the funnel for incoming requests during a disaster.

“We’ll assign it  to a branch. Once we do that, they’ll task it to the specific ESF’s to follow up on.”

There are nearly two dozen ESF’s …or Emergency Support Functions A call for a rescue would be funneled to George Cooper in ESF 4.

”Busy Day for you?” we asked.

A:”Yes sir.”

The beverage of choice here? Coffee. Coffee, and more coffee.

Virtually everyone here is working long days. We asked Richard Butgereit just how long.

Div. Emergency management

”12 hour shifts?”

:”Yes..we been working at least 12 hour shifts.”

That goes for Governor Rick Scott too. He was here at 6 AM Friday, moving from ESF to ESF to assess specific damage caused by Matthew.

inside-the-eoc00000004

“I made the following request to the Federal Government. Food. Water. tarps. generators. water pumps. Search and rescue teams” Scott told reporters at a nine am briefing that started at least fifteen minutes late.

When we asked about the people working in the room behind the glassed in conference room, Scott was more focused on the danger still at hand.

“Everybody’s showing up to to their job. Now, we’re not through this at all, there’s no victory lap here.”

Which means the center will be staffed all night Friday, through the weekend, and beyond.

Governor Rick Scott was already touring  damage in Brevard County this afternoon while the storm was still hitting Jacksonville.

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Floridians Flee Coast and Head West

October 6th, 2016 by flanews

Hurricane Matthew has forced hundreds of thousands of Floridians to abandon their homes and seek safety, and as Matt Galka tells us, many are headed to Florida’s capital city.

People swarmed the Busy Bee gas station and rest stop off of Interstate 10 about an hour east of Tallahassee.

Susan Remal and her family were heading west from Flagler County. They’ve been living there for 14 years, but just relocated closer to the beach.

“We just bought this house off the intracoastal, and this is the first storm that this house is going to see because it’s a new house, so we just said ‘let’s go,'” she said.

And some people aren’t evacuating, but they are taking precautions. They’re filling up gas tanks and buying generators.

We ran into Roger Plouffe who was heading back to his family in Yulee, Florida in Nassau County where there were mandatory evacuations.

“I was in South Florida for Andrew when I was a kid, and went through that, and this aint that,” he said.

If evacuees got to Tallahassee without a reservation, they may have been out of luck.

“We’ve been full now for this weekend for quite some time now, since Wednesday mid-day. We’re doing our best to direct people to other hotels,” said Four Points Sheraton GM Bo Schmitz.

County officials said there are no more hotel rooms in Leon and neighboring counties. If someone still needs accommodations, their best bet is to keep heading west.

Visit Florida dedicated a portion of their website to evacuees looking for available hotel rooms across the state, the list and booking information is available at www.visitflorida.com.

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