Tag: Florida

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Woman Accidentally Shot Dead During “Citizens Academy” Exercise

Police Chief Tom Lewis

A 73 year old woman taking part in a “Citizens Academy” exercise with the Punta Gorda Police Department was accidentally shot dead by an officer who was unaware a live ammunition was loaded in the revolver being used.

Mary Knowlton, 73, died after being shot by a police officer during a shoot/don’t shoot scenario at a special Chamber Police Night similar to the department’s citizen police academy, the chief said.

The Punta Gorda Police Department has identified the officer involved in the shoot/don’t shoot as Lee Coel. Coel was hired by the police department on March 17, 2014.

Coel is frequently seen throughout the community providing department presentations and tours and specifically role-playing in these shoot/don’t shoot scenarios as well as a police presence at youth and neighborhood events, the police department said.

Coel remains on administrative leave while the investigation continues. The police department also said Coel is devastated by what happened and is receiving assistance from the department and the Police Benevolent Association.

According to reports, Coel was asked to resign from the Miramar Police Department after 14 months when he failed to complete an agency field training program.

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Donald Trump Losing Ground In Vital Swing State Florida

The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows GOP presidential candidate losing ground to Dem Hillary Clinton in the vital swing state of Florida:

From Politico:

Clinton leads Trump by eight points in Florida, 47 percent to 39 percent, up seven points overall from May when she was clinging to a 43 percent-to-42 percent advantage.

Trump’s advantage among Florida men dropped 9 points over the last month, from a 13-point lead to just four points, 45 percent to 41 percent in June.

Among women in Florida, Clinton’s advantage grew by 5 points, from 48 percent to 35 percent last month to 52 percent to 34 percent in the post recent survey.

White voters support Trump over Clinton 51 percent to 36 percent, while non-white voters backed Clinton 72 percent to 8 percent.

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Florida Congressional Candidate Comes Out As HIV+

Bob Poe, former state Democratic party Chair and currently running for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, shared with the public an (until now) private part of his life: that he is HIV+.

From the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Poe, 61, said he was diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS in 1998 and is currently in good health. He revealed the diagnosis in an interview with Watermark magazine as well as a video posted to his Facebook page. “I have a motto in my life: If you want to make a difference, you have to be the difference,” Poe said in the video. “And so today, I’m trying to be that difference in this community, so that we can begin to solve this problem once and forever.”

In an interview, Poe said he felt compelled to reveal his diagnosis after encountering a recently diagnosed HIV positive woman while canvassing in District 10. “She told me that she’s recently been diagnosed with HIV and thought she had a death sentence,” Poe said. “I really just wanted to hug her and let her know that I, too, have HIV and that I’ve been able to live out all of my hopes and all of my dreams, and she could, too.”

Poe hopes to be an advocate for HIV prevention in Congress, but he has other focuses as well. He supports a $15 an hour minimum wage; job training to help Americans adapt to a changing work environment; and wants to work to change the criminal justice system to be more fair .

You can watch his “coming out” message, via Facebook, below:

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Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Endorses Donald Trump

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has (not surprisingly) endorsed GOP front-runner Donald Trump a day before the state’s presidential primary.

I’m certain it has absolutely nothing to do with Trump’s $25,000 donation to her re-election campaign.

From The Intercept:

Trump just won a key endorsement going into Tuesday’s Florida primary: the state’s attorney general, Pam Bondi.

But her bigger favor to Trump may have been her decision in 2013 not to pursue an investigation of Trump’s for-profit education chain after he made a big donation to her re-election campaign.

As Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time, Bondi announced in September 2013 that her office was reviewing a series of complaints related to the Trump Institute of Boca Raton, a for-profit education company that is no longer in operation.

Three days after the report that Bondi was considering joining other states’ attorneys general in taking action against Trump’s for-profit education chain, the real estate mogul dumped $25,000 into a committee organized for Bondi’s re-election. Bondi ended up taking no action.

As my fellow blogger JoeMyGod points out, Trump is always quick to point out how he successfully “donates” to politicians because he’s such a good businessman. I guess when a loan is called in, you pay up.

Regular readers will recall that Bondi continually opposed same-sex marriage in her state all the way down to the very bitter end. Even when it was clear which way the courts were ruling, she was like a dog with a bone. Clearly, she assumed she was winning conservative points for fighting down the line.

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Latest Poll Shows Hillary Clinton Leads Bernie Sanders In OH, IL, FL & NC

 

The latest from NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls show former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leading in Florida, Illinois and Ohio ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primaries.

The only surprise here for me is I thought Ohio would be the closer race, but it’s looking like Illinois may be Bernie Sanders’ better hope for a win on Tuesday.

Of course, after last Tuesday’s surprise win by Bernie in Michigan, I’m not completely trusting any poll.

I should note there wasn’t an NBC News poll done for North Carolina which is also holding that state’s primary on Tuesday. However, Hillary Clinton leads in NC by an average of 20 points according to Real Clear Politics poll averages.

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Florida: Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board Can’t Endorse ANY GOP Candidate

This is unusual. And frankly, refreshing.

The editorial board of the Sun-Sentinel in Florida has chosen to not endorse any Republican candidate ahead of the March 15th primary.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board is not going to make an endorsement in Florida’s March 15 Republican presidential primary because the kind of person who should be running is not in the race.

We cannot endorse businessman Donald Trump, hometown Sen. Marco Rubio or Texas Sen. Ted Cruz because they are unqualified to be president. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is the best of the bunch, but if you measure a candidate by the caliber of his campaign, Kasich’s lack of traction and organization make a vote for him count for little.

[snip]

If he could survive the primary, Kasich would prove a strong candidate in November. Recent polls show he averages a 7.4 lead over Hillary Clinton, which is larger than the leads posted by Rubio, Cruz or Trump.

But while Kasich is the most qualified of the four candidates left standing, he lacks presidential presence. And he doesn’t have a chance of winning because the Republican base is in rebellion and he got out of the gate too late to build a viable campaign organization.

Perhaps in a more-rational election year, the Sun Sentinel would endorse John Kasich. But we can’t urge you to vote for someone who doesn’t have a chance of winning the nomination.

It’s notable that the Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board did enthusiastically endorse former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic primary based on her experience, resume and steadiness.

(tipped by TRR reader Tony)

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New Poll: Marco Rubio Trails Donald Trump By Double-Digits In His Homestate Of Florida

In the first new poll since former Gov. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump has a big lead over Sen. Marco Rubio in the state of Florida.

It goes without saying that Rubio represents Florida in the U.S. Senate.

This is very bad news for Rubio.

The survey, by Quinnipiac University, shows Trump leading Rubio 44-28 percent less than three weeks before Florida’s March 15 primary. And voters — tens of thousands of them — are already casting ballots by mail, which leaves Rubio very little time to make up the deficit against the Republican front-runner.

“If Sen. Rubio can’t win in his own home state, it is difficult to see how he can win elsewhere,” said a statement from Peter A. Brown, the poll’s assistant director.

It’s worth noting that the Florida Republican primary is “winner take all.” So Rubio’s current trend of coming in second will do him no good in this scenario.

Contrast this news with the RealClearPolitics Texas GOP poll averages showing Sen. Ted Cruz leading in HIS home state of Texas over Donald Trump and Rubio by about 7%.

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Florida State Senate Considers Comprehensive LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

Today, the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing regarding a comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill.

From Equality Florida:

The committee will hear The Florida Competitive Workforce Act (SB 120) which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations. This the first time the legislation will be heard by legislators.

“This is a huge breakthrough not only for Florida but for the South and the nation as the third most populous state takes up long overdue, basic protections.,” said Nadine Smith, Equality Florida’s Executive Director. “The Florida Competitive Workforce Act has bipartisan support in both chambers, the support of Fortune 500 Companies, over 400 small businesses and a strong majority of Floridians. It’s time for Florida to pass this common-sense legislation.”

Currently 55% of Florida’s population, in 38 municipalities, are protected at the local level by nondiscrimination laws, but no uniform statewide law exists, leaving many vulnerable to discrimination. The bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to pre-existing nondiscrimination laws that already cover race, religion, disability, age and other categories.

A recent Harris poll showed half of Americans believe “gay people have the same rights as everyone else.”

Unfortunately, the majority of states — 31 to be exact — don’t have fully inclusive laws in place that protect LGBT Americans from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

UPDATE: Time ran out in the Senate Judiciary Committee and no vote was taken on the Florida Competitive Workforce Act (SB 120) today.

But Chair Diaz de la Portilla guaranteed that it will be the first bill heard in next week’s committee meeting and that there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

“Having waited almost a decade for the most important civil rights legislation to be considered by the Florida Legislature in years, we can wait just one more week,” said Carlos Guillermo Smith, Equality Florida’s Government Affairs Manager. “We have been assured by Senator Diaz de la Portilla that our bill will be heard in next week’s committee, that it will be first on the agenda, and that it will be given the full hearing and debate the bill deserves.”

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Monday – The Day Off

Me with director (and star) of Hello, Dolly!, Lee Roy Reams

Enjoying having a little free time to get back to blogging today after two full weeks of rehearsals for Hello, Dolly! here in Florida at The Wick Theater.

Last night, we had our final run-through in the rehearsal hall, and tomorrow start tech rehearsals in the theater.

It’s always amazing to me to watch the “magic” show up. The run went well; our director (and star) Lee Roy Reams was a force of nature as “Dolly Levi.”

This marks my 8th production of Hello, Dolly! with Lee Roy after making my Broadway debut in the 1995 revival which he directed. Each and every production is an adventure. I so enjoy not only at Lee Roy’s talent, but when I ask him to tell tales from his storied career on Broadway, he always shares some hysterical chapter from his life. And the laughs don’t stop.

I should be taking more pics but I’ve had my hands full with dance rehearsals. Definitely more to come.

It’s wonderful, also, to be able to slow down today and remember how much I love working in theater. I ask the universe for these “adventures,” and they come.

Thank you.

Before the parade passes by, I’m going to get some life back into my life…