Author: Mark Brooks

The patients at Juana Duran’s maternity clinic are terrified. Many are undocumented, and, according to Duran—an administrative staffer at the Florida facility—they are worried that a new law championed by Gov. Ron Desantis could put them at risk of deportation when they give birth. “I know my people,” says Duran. “They are scared.” At the heart of that fear is Senate Bill 1718, one of the strictest anti-immigration laws in the nation. Signed by DeSantis in May and slated to go into effect on July 1, the legislation places stronger requirements on employers to check immigration statuses of new employees, restricts undocumented immigrants’…

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his bid for the presidency on Twitter Spaces last month, he touted Florida’s low crime rate as a proud accomplishment. “Claiming that Florida is unsafe is a total farce,” DeSantis said in the announcement. “I mean, are you kidding me? You look at cities around this country, they are awash in crime. In Florida, our crime rate is at a 50-year low.” But his statement rests on patchy, incomplete crime data. About half of the agencies that police more than 40% of the state’s population are missing from figures the Florida Department of Law Enforcement…

Authorities in Miami County have arrested 5 men and have warrants for 6 more after finding they were not making child support payments during Child Support Amnesty Month. The investigation into non-payment of child support in Miami County began in March when the county prosecutor’s office sent a statement to the local Peru Tribune newspaper warning those with delinquent child support payments that they will be arrested. The statement read: “Non-custodial parents with child support cases through the Miami County Title IV-D / Child Support Enforcement Office, who are delinquent on their child support payments, may avoid jail time and…

A Florida woman was arrested on Thursday after her child died after being left in a hot car earlier this week, according to the Palm Bay Police Department. Police said that on May 28, first responders arrived at Mount of Olives Evangelical Church after receiving reports about an unresponsive 11-month-old girl. Responders discovered that the girl had been left in a car for approximately three hours by her mother — 37-year-old Bulaine Molme — as the suspect and her family attended services at the church. Investigators determined that Molme arrived late to the service, which she was set to officiate. Molme believed…

Boating accidents in Florida decreased in 2022, but deaths from the accidents were up, according to a new report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The state recorded 735 boating accidents last year, 16 fewer than in 2021. However, accidents caused 65 deaths in 2022, an increase of five from 2021, according to the annual Boating Accident Statistical Report released Thursday. Lt. Col. Brian Smith, acting director of the commission’s Division of Law Enforcement, said in a statement that the “hope is we will see both of these statistics decrease next year.” Just over 40 percent of the…

The state of Florida ranks nearly dead last when it comes to average teacher pay, according to a new report from the National Education Association. The report, released this week, examined teachers’ salaries across the country. It says Florida is 48th in the country for average teacher pay, with teachers making about $51,230. The minimum living wage, it says, is $49,625. Florida ranks better when it comes to average starting salaries for teachers at 15th in the nation at about $45,337.  Nationwide, the report said the average public school teacher salary last school year was about two percent more than the previous…

What happens when your property insurer goes out of business? It is happening quite a bit in Florida and is leading to all policyholders paying more. The Florida Insurance Guaranty is adding a 1% assessment to policyholders starting in October to cover claims for insolvent companies. A Seminole County couple has lived without a fully functioning kitchen for three years because their insurer went out of business. Sandra Braga Alfonso said what started as a leak under her sink has turned into a three-year nightmare. She said there was already a fight with her insurer to pay out the claim,…

Dr. Mahmut Cengiz, an assistant professor at George Mason University in an analytical report claims that ISIS is rapidly growing, and will take the lead in conducting terror attacks in Afghanistan. Dr. Changis believes that the Islamic Emirate has not been successful in establishing a strong government and the Daesh (ISIS) is trying to fill the vacuum. He has written on the ‘Home Security Today’ website that prior to the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, ISIS presence was not tangible in Kabul – they were mainly based in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. With the return of the Taliban to power, ISIS…

Who is at fault when a child shoots themselves or someone else fatally or otherwise in Florida? That’s a question local prosecutors may face following the tragic death of a 3-year-old boy in the DeLand area. The boy, the son of a Florida corrections officer, fatally shot himself Wednesday evening. Tragedy near DeLand:3-year-old boy who fatally shot himself was son of corrections officer Florida law allows authorities to pursue charges in such cases when firearms are left accessible to minors. Will the parents or guardians face charges?Whether or not the parents of the boy face charges is ultimately up to…

ORLANDO, Fla. — Shortly after 1 p.m. on Monday, social media began swarming with reports of flights heading into Florida being halted or canceled. The FAA told WESH 2 Monday: “The FAA has slowed the volume of traffic into Florida airspace due to an air traffic computer issue that is being resolved…The ERAM system is a modern computer system at the air traffic centers that handle en route traffic.” Miami International Airport stated that there was a nationwide ground stop to and from Florida due to a “radar data link outage.” “It’s been resolved and planes are slowly being allowed…