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  • More than 12.1 million MREs and 43.5 million bottles of water have been distributed so far.
  • Voters looking to skip the polls and opting to mail-in their choices for Florida’s 2024 primary election must request a ballot by August 8, 2024. Here's how to request a vote-by-mail ballot and what’s new this election cycle.
  • In the 1960s, a proposal was made to build the world's largest jetport in the heart of the Everglades. It was a battle fought and won by environmentalists — leaving a single runway as a lasting reminder.
  • State health officials reported 219 new coronavirus-related deaths, Tuesday, increasing the statewide death toll to 9,758 fatalities since the start of the pandemic. Tuesday marks the tenth consecutive day the Florida Department of Health reported more than 200 COVID-19 related deaths in a single day.Health officials also reported 3,838 new cases of the virus, Aug. 18, bringing the statewide total to 579,932 cases. Tuesday marked the third consecutive day health officials reported fewer than 4,000 new cases of the virus in a day. The last time that happened was June 21-23. Tuesday was also the 23rd consecutive day the health department reported fewer than 10,000 new cases in a day.
  • State health officials reported 1,613 new COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths on Monday. So far, more than 7.2 million people in Florida have been vaccinated including more than 2.8 million who have received a first dose and more than 4.4 million people who have completed the series.Governor Ron DeSantis is railing against YouTube and Google and accusing the tech giant of censorship for removing a video of a COVID-19 discussion he had with scientists who oppose government lockdowns, school closures and mask wearing.Florida is suing the Biden administration and the CDC to let cruise ships sail again after being shut down for more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Florida Education Association is seeking clarity on recently adopted exemptions to testing requirements for this school year.Public school districts in Southwest Florida plan to scale back their distance learning options for students returning to school in the fall.A bill to make pandemic-induced expansions on the use of telemedicine permanent continues advancing in the state legislature.FEMA is now offering financial assistance to help cover the cost of funerals for those who have died of COVID-19.Lee County Commissioners stopped manning toll booths to collect bridge tolls on the outset of the pandemic and now they’re considering making that change permanent. They’re also considering a proposed increase in bridge tolls paid by motorists.A Florida woman was sentenced to 30 days in jail, last week, for deliberately coughing on a cancer patient during a dispute, last year, that was caught on a video that went viral.
  • Estas son las noticias de WGCU para los residentes de Immokalee.
  • A mandatory mask order in the city of Sarasota will end later this month.
  • A community-wide survey to gather information on what Southwest Floridians found to be the most pressing need identified affordable housing and homelessness as the top concerns.
  • Amid a flurry of legal fights, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to put on hold a judge’s ruling that required winding down operations of the Everglades immigrant-detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”Attorneys for the state filed a 52-page motion at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a stay of a preliminary injunction issued last week by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and joined by the Miccosukee Tribe.
  • Two lawsuits over mask wearing in Florida schools will get hearings today. A state judge is considering whether local school district mandates will be able to stay in place until an appeals court weighs in on a ruling last month that struck down Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order barring school districts from imposing student mask mandates. A separate federal suit arguing that kids with disabilities and severe medical conditions are so vulnerable that they won’t be able to go to school unless everyone is wearing a mask.Statewide COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are on the decline. Health officials are cautiously optimistic as hospital resources remain strained.More COVID-19 cases have been reported in Lee County schools in the first four weeks of this school year than were reported in the entire last school year. The number of COVID infections reported in Collier County Schools is on pace to surpass the last school year’s total by the end of this month.Gas prices in Florida over the Labor Day holiday weekend were at their highest level in seven years due to the pandemic and impacts from Hurricane Ida.
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