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Former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham will lie in state, attended by military and state law enforcement honor guards, in Florida’s Historic Capitol from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 26. Following the Historic Capitol ceremony, Governor Graham will be buried in a private, family service. On Saturday, May 11, at a time to be announced, he will be remembered at a memorial service at the Miami Lakes United Church of Christ in his hometown of Miami Lakes, Florida.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a measure that will authorize school districts to allow volunteer school chaplains to provide services to students, amid opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union.Speaking at a high school in Osceola County alongside Republican allies and a local pastor, the governor touted the measure (HB 931) as bolstering existing resources that could help students with their mental health.
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As director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management since April 2021, Kevin Guthrie has run point on disasters from Category 4 hurricanes to a deadly condominium-building collapse in Surfside.Guthrie also has been charged with overseeing the evacuation of Floridians from strife-torn Haiti, along with a controversial program to transport migrants to “sanctuary” areas of the country.
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Flanked by veterans who served in the Bay of Pigs invasion, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a measure that will lead to the history of communism being taught in grades as low as kindergarten.The governor, standing behind a placard that read “anti-communism education,” touted lessons that will be required under the bill.
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Design contracts have been awarded for two popular Fort Myers Beach sites that were destroyed by Hurricane Ian in September 2022.At the Lee Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, the board voted to award contracts for the Fort Myers Beach Fishing Pier and nearby Lynn Hall Memorial Park, both just off the Times Square area.
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Lee County’s contractor, OHLA USA, begins work this month to widen Ortiz Avenue from Colonial Boulevard to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The project will widen the roadway from two lanes to four travel lanes and include a 6-foot sidewalk on the east side of the road and a 10-foot paved trail on the west side of the road.
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Lots of trash — collection — news from Lee County:Beginning Monday, April 29, residents of the City of Bonita Springs and the Town of Fort Myers Beach only have to put their trash, recycling and yard waste to the curb once a week. And:Village of Estero residents may safely and responsibly dispose of household chemical waste (HCW) such as leftover paints, cleaners, herbicides, pesticides, automotive fluids and pool chemicals on Wednesday, April 17. The collection event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Estero Community Park, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd.
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A Florida appeals court has effectively opened a loophole in the state's long-standing law against recording telephone conversations without the permission of both sides of the call, ruling that law enforcement officers performing their official duties can be secretly recorded because they have no expectation of privacy.The court's decision — involving a citizen who accused the Citrus County Sheriff's Office of misconduct — is the latest to provide new mechanisms for civilian oversight of law enforcement, even as others were curtailed in recent days by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature.
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The state Agency for Health Care Administration on Friday announced plans to award contracts to five health plans to take part in the Medicaid managed-care program. The contracts will involve tens of billions of dollars in the coming years, with about 3.45 million people receiving health care through the managed-care system as of February, according to data posted on the agency’s website.