Gov. DeSantis touts new statewide education initiatives at Jacksonville charter school
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz were in Jacksonville on Monday morning to unveil a number of new education initiatives that will be a priority heading into this yearโs legislative session.
โOne personโs not enoughโ: State leaders considering expansion of Floridaโs school guardian program
The guardian program was introduced after the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and provides a framework for armed safety officers to police public and charter schools.
Mending partisan divide in national politics; focusing on Florida Legislature; Florida Democratic Party chair
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ On this edition of โThis Week in Jacksonville,โ former U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire weighs in on the national political scene now that President Joe Biden has taken office. State Rep. Paul Renner comments on the upcoming legislative session. And Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz talks about his new role and the election results.
After disappointing 2020, Florida Democratic chair looks to Duval County for inspiration
Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is the new chair of the Florida Democratic Party. โIt is a business, and its business is electing Democrats statewide,โ Diaz said. The last time a Democratic candidate took Duval in a presidential election was President Jimmy Carter in 1976. Diaz credited state Rep. Angie Nixon, Rep. Tracie Davis, state Sen. Audrey Gibson and chair of the Duval County Democratic Party Daniel Henry for the success in Jacksonville. โWhat they do is theyโre on the ground, and thatโs the kind of operation that Iโm gonna build statewide,โ Diaz said.
New school choice package raising alarms among Florida Democrats
Lawmakers heard from students and parents who have benefited from the stateโs private school scholarship programs Wednesday, as they considered this yearโs school choice bill. AdWhat gives Democrats pause, is that both private school scholarships would be funded through the main pot of money for public schools. โThe most important thing is weโre funding students and weโre funding them where theyโre being served. Between the five existing scholarships, nearly 185,000 students received school choice vouchers last year, costing taxpayers well over a billion dollars. Until the Legislature sets per-student funding for this upcoming year, itโs not clear how much overall spending on private school vouchers will rise.
Florida Senate releases sweeping school choice proposal
The Senate proposal also would establish the โGardiner-McKay Scholarship,โ by combining two existing voucher programs that serve students with special needs. Diazโs plan would result in the consolidation of five of the stateโs existing major school-voucher programs into two programs. Step Up for Students, a nonprofit organization that helps administer two of the stateโs existing voucher programs, also is backing Diazโs proposal. The Democrats expressed fear that Diazโs proposal would shift Floridaโs public schools toward a universal school-choice system. โWeโre going to have to fight like hell on this one.โThe Florida Education Association, the stateโs largest teachers union, also opposes the measure.
Florida Democrats elect ex-Miami Mayor Diaz as state leader
Diaz is taking over a state party that lost ground in November's election, causing some national political commentators to suggest Florida may no longer be a swing state but solidly Republican. AP VoteCast, a survey of the Florida electorate, found Trump won 58% of Cuban American voters statewide. Biden only won the county by 7 points, which accounts for most of Trump's increased victory margin in the state. Florida Democrats must win South Florida by large margins to offset the Republicans' strong support in north Florida. Diaz told Saturday's meeting that Florida Democrats are "at a crossroads.โ A lawyer, he served as Miami mayor from 2001 to 2009.
Miami QB D'Eriq King tore knee ligament, plans 2021 return
Miami quarterback D'Eriq King (1) looks for a receiver as Oklahoma State defensive tackle Sione Asi (99) rushes during the first half of the Cheez-it Bowl NCAA college football game, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)CORAL GABLES, Fla. โ Miami quarterback DโEriq King tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Hurricanesโ loss this week in the Cheez-It Bowl. The Hurricanes went 8-3 this season, the best record among the seven FBS schools in the state of Florida. King, in first season at Miami following his transfer from Houston, was a big reason for that. King completed 64.1 percent of his passes, the second-best single-season completion percentage for any Miami quarterback and one that qualifies him as, for now anyway, the most accurate passer in Hurricanes history. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
'Is Miami back?': Hurricanes may finally have a good answer
The annual question in Coral Gables โ โIs Miami back?โ โ might finally have an answer Hurricanes fans will like. 9 Miami gets its first ACC championship, a drought thatโs now 17 years and counting, but the Hurricanes (8-1, 7-1 ACC, No. Just finishing the right way, thatโs really, really, really important. โWe were taken away from each other for almost two weeks and didnโt really get back as an entire football team โ I mean, not even an entire football team, but anything resembling a football team โ until this past Monday. Odd as this sounds, thatโs Miamiโs second-longest ACC streak; the Hurricanes won 11 consecutive league games spanning 2016 and 2017.
Miami has 3 games PPD by virus; A&M on pause for 2nd week
So we can complain about this and this and that but, listen, weโre still getting to play football,โ Fisher said. Last week, 15 FBS games were called off because of COVID-19, the most yet this season. Major college football conferences have been tweaking policies to provide their schools flexibility to schedule games on short notice. That probably won't work for LSU-Alabama, which was among four SEC games postponed last week. __Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
DโEriq King leads No. 11 Miami to comeback win over NC State
Zonovan Knight had a 100-yard kickoff return to put NC State (4-3, 4-3) on top in the third quarter. NC State led at halftime on the strength of Hockmanโs 9-yard touchdown pass to Cary Angeline with 2:49 left. NC State: Angeline, a redshirt senior, has caught at least one touchdown pass in five of the Wolfpackโs games. With a victory, NC State would have been a candidate to climb back into the rankings. NC State: Hosts Florida State next Saturday.
No. 11 Miami holds off Virginia 19-14, moves to 5-1
11 Miami outlasted Virginia 19-14 on Saturday night. Harley's big night for Miami (5-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) started with a 43-yard touchdown grab on the Hurricanesโ second play from scrimmage. โIt was a really tough game," Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said. Virginia tied the game at 7-7 on its first drive, with Tony Poljan hauling in a 2-yard scoring pass from Armstrong. Virginia, however, was out of time-outs at that point and Miami punted the ball away with only 23 seconds left.
No. 12 Miami routs Florida State
12 Hurricanes beat Florida State 52-10 on Saturday night. Miami scored touchdowns on its five possessions and built a 35-point lead at halftime. He also ran for 65 on eight carries against Florida State. โAny time you give up 52 points, itโs never progress,โ Florida State linebacker Amari Gainer said. STREAK REVERSAL:Miami won its fourth straight over Florida State and leads the series 35-30.
How Bloomberg's $100 million Florida bet may shape campaign
Facing questions about whether he would fulfill his promise, Bloomberg moved over the weekend to direct $100 million to Florida alone in support of Joe Biden. โMike Bloomberg is an impact player,โ said former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who served as a co-chair of Bloombergโs presidential campaign. After spending $1 billion on his own campaign, Bloomberg won just one primary contest: American Samoa. And they say that, beyond Florida, Bloomberg is one of the Democratic Partyโs biggest funders. Many say Biden, who visited the state on Tuesday for the first time since becoming the nominee, has not reached out enough to Hispanics in particular.
Inconsistent Franks, No. 8 Florida rally to beat Miami 24-20
ORLANDO, Fla. - Feleipe Franks made up for three inexcusable turnovers by accounting for three touchdowns, doing just enough to help No. 8 Florida beat Miami 24-20 Saturday night in the opening game of the college football season. Florida's defense bailed Franks out time and time again, finishing with 10 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss. SPURRIER & MEYERFormer Florida coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer watched the game from a luxury suite alongside Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin. It's the first of two games the Gators play against Football Championship Series teams.