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Blaise Gainey

Blaise Gainey is a Multimedia Reporter for WFSU News. Blaise hails from Windermere, Florida. He graduated from The School of Journalism at the Florida A&M University. He formerly worked for The Florida Channel, WTXL-TV, and before graduating interned with WFSU News. He is excited to return to the newsroom. In his spare time he enjoys watching sports, Netflix, outdoor activities and anything involving his daughter.

Follow Blaise Gainey on Twitter:  @BlaiseGainey 

Email Blaise Gaineyat blgainey@fsu.edu

  • LGBTQ advocates say these bills are another attempt to restrict transgender rights. Republicans sponsoring the bills say the definitions are important to keep sex from being conflated with gender.
  • Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a new property insurance bill into law. The goal behind the measure is to cut down on litigation and stop rising insurance rates, but some question whether the changes will benefit consumers.
  • Governor Ron DeSantis says he will approve A bill that aims to fix Florida’s property insurance market. One change would increase the eligibility threshold for new policyholders to be admitted into the state-backed, Citizens property insurance group.
  • The Florida Supreme Court has found the state’s medical marijuana vertical integration system is constitutional. This comes after a years-long effort by Florigrown to open the state’s medical marijuana market to more businesses. The company was denied a treatment center license in 2017.
  • State health officials reported 2,327 new COVID-19 cases and 66 deaths, Wednesday for a total of more than 2.3 million infections and more than 37,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. So far, more than 10 million people in Florida have been vaccinated, including more than eight million people who have completed a two-dose series or received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.Governor Ron DeSantis singed a bill into law this week providing $1,000 bonuses to teachers and principals of charter schools and traditional public schools. DeSantis also signed a bill into law aimed at increasing protections against pandemic-related fraud and scams.The City of Naples is set to end its distribution of COVID-19 vaccines on Friday as demand has waned. The city is also looking to end temporary use permits for restaurants that have allowed for expanded outdoor dining.Florida Conservation Voters is criticizing Governor DeSantis and the Florida legislature for failing to put any federal pandemic relief money towards helping Floridians who’ve struggled to pay their utility bills during the pandemic. Between August 2020 and March 2021 more than 610,000 residential utility lines were cut off by the big five investor-owned utility companies in Florida. Of those, 59,000 haven’t been restored.
  • In an attempt to make traveling by plane during the pandemic safer Florida Senator Rick Scott is proposing that temperature checks be required at TSA screenings for all travelers.
  • Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says she won’t follow the Governor’s directive to lower flags to half-staff on the day of Rush Limbaugh’s funeral.
  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is drawing criticism after announcing he will order flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of long-time conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.
  • Concealed weapons license holders can carry their guns nearly anywhere in Florida --except schools. This holds true for private schools that share grounds with a church. Florida Republicans say there’ve been too many attacks on religious organizations to allow that exemption to continue.
  • Government agencies won’t have to purchase ad space in newspapers to publish public notices thanks to language in a bill advancing in the House. Opponents argue it’ll make public notices harder to find while also weakening the newspaper industry.