DeSantis signs controversial bear bill
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DeSantis signs controversial bear bill

Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 20 signed a controversial measure that will bolster self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property. The bill about bears (HB 87) provides a sort of stand-your-ground defense for people who shoot bears to defend themselves or property. But with bear hunting long a controversial issue in Florida,…

Simon touts school choice in campaign stop
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Simon touts school choice in campaign stop

Freshman State Senator Corey Simon, running for a second term in the state legislature, stopped by Apalachicola last month as part of a fundraising and campaign swing in Franklin County. After a robust introduction by Sheriff A.J. Smith, and some get-fired-up remarks to the Republican audience by county chairman Kristy Banks, Simon spoke June 20…

Tax collector races highlight local ballots
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Tax collector races highlight local ballots

With the presidential race in November likely to attract record turnout, and with qualifying now closed, voters in Franklin and Gulf counties still will have several local races to consider, particularly on who will fill their open tax collector seats in both counties. In Franklin County, Republican Amy Braxton Cook and Teresa Ann Martin, a…

Simon blasts potential drilling in Dead Lakes area
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Simon blasts potential drilling in Dead Lakes area

State Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) has come out strongly against potential drilling in the Apalachicola River floodplain. “It is unconscionable that efforts to drill for oil are happening at the same time that we are fighting for the revitalization of the Apalachicola Bay,” he wrote in an April 30 statement. “The $25 million we’re trying…

Millender named Carrabelle interim mayor
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Millender named Carrabelle interim mayor

Carrabelle City Commissioner Anthony “Tony” Millender was selected by the city commission May 2 as the city’s interim mayor. Millender will serve as interim mayor-commissioner until the November election.  Because he had to resign from his commissioner seat to serve as interim mayor, this left open his commission seat. Commissioners appointed former Carrabelle Mayor Mel…

Carrabelle mayor to step down Sunday
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Carrabelle mayor to step down Sunday

In a letter Monday afternoon to City Administrator Courtney Dempsey, Carrabelle Mayor Brenda La Paz said she plans to not see re-election, and will step down this Sunday, March 31. “The reasons for my resignation range from personal, health, family, and financial,” she wrote. “I will not get into specifics as these matters are personal….

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Outdoors Brief

FWC law enforcement achieves highest accreditation level The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement was awarded the Excelsior Status, the most prestigious achievement in Florida accreditation, by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation at their February 2024 conference.  Excelsior Recognition is reserved for criminal justice agencies that have received accreditation…

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Franklin County voters to weigh millage shift

Money would be earmarked for pay increases Franklin County voters in November’s general election will be asked to decide whether they favor shifting a half-mill in property taxes, now devoted to capital outlay, to operating revenues, where they can be spent on hiking teacher pay. After the school board voted unanimously last month to support…

Florida Democratic Party suspends Franklin County chair
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Florida Democratic Party suspends Franklin County chair

In a sign of the challenges facing Democrats in an ongoing shift among Franklin County voters to the Republican party, the chair of the county Democratic Party was suspended last week. The suspension of Carol Barfield from her post as chair was one of three suspensions announced last week by Nikki Fried, chair of the…