Tag: florida

Florida Judge Sides With Paramedic Who Was Fired Over Legal Medical Marijuana Use

A Hillsborough County judge has ruled in favor of a paramedic and medical marijuana patient who was suspended by the Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue Department in 2019 after testing positive for cannabis use.

Judge Melissa Polo ruled on Tuesday that Hillsborough County is prohibited from discriminating against and must provide accommodations to employees with valid medical marijuana cards who test positive for the drug—as long as there is no evidence the employee was using illegal substances at work, on county property or in county vehicles, or reported to work under the influence.

She also ruled that the plaintiff, Angelo Giambrone, is entitled to  back pay, compensatory damages and attorney fees and costs associated with his case.

Florida’s medical marijuana statute does not require an employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace or any employee while working under the influence of marijuana but is silent about whether employers must accommodate off-site or off-work use of marijuana.

Officials with Hillsborough County issued a statement on Wednesday about the decision.

“Following the recent court ruling involving a former employee of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and the use of medical marijuana, Hillsborough County is carefully evaluating possible next steps related to the case,” it said.

Democratic lawmakers have filed bills in recent sessions to give employees who are medical marijuana patients legal protections at work, although they haven’t moved in the GOP-controlled Legislature.

“It’s finally what I think the people voted for in 2016 for medically marijuana coming to fruition,” said Tampa attorney Michael Minardi, who defended Giambrone in court. “We think this is obviously a correct verdict and hopefully allow marijuana patients to stop being discriminated against when they’re using medicine so they can be functional human beings in life again.”

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Pasco County Sheriff Will End Predictive Policing Program to Settle Lawsuit Over Harassment

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is permanently scuttling a predictive policing program that was the subject of critical media investigations and a pending civil rights lawsuit alleging the program amounted to frequent unconstitutional harassment of families.

In a settlement agreement ending that civil rights lawsuit, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that its “Intelligence Led Policing” (ILP) program exceeded officers’ implied license to knock on doors and perform offender checks, interfering with the plaintiffs’ First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

One of those plaintiffs, Darlene Deegan, was harassed for three years by Pasco sheriff’s deputies after her opioid-addicted son was flagged by the program. This included repeated, day-after-day visits to her house by police, demanding to know where her son was, and accruing $3,000 in fines for petty code violations, allegedly in retaliation for her refusal to cooperate.

“For years, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office treated me like it could do anything it wanted,” Deegan said in a press release issued by the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that represented her and several other county residents. “But today proves that when ordinary people stand up for themselves, the Constitution still means what it says.”

The Institute for Justice filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2021 on behalf of Deegan and three other Pasco County residents who claimed the harassment violated their constitutional rights.

In addition to ending the ILP program and agreeing not to create a similar one, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office will pay $105,000 to the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

A 2020 Tampa Bay Times investigation first revealed how the ILP program used algorithms to flag “prolific offenders” that it believed were likely to be future offenders. Many of them were juveniles, such as 15-year-old Rio Wojtecki. Once someone was added to the list, deputies targeted their family, workplace, and friends and associates for suspicionless “checks,”  including at nighttime. Deputies contacted Wojtecki or his family 21 times over a four-month period—at his house, at his gym, and at his parents’ work. When Wojtecki’s older sisters refused to let deputies inside the house during one late-night visit, a deputy shouted, “You’re about to have some issues.”

“Make their lives miserable until they move or sue,” was how one former deputy described the program to the newspaper. Body camera footage obtained by the Tampa Bay Times backed up both the residents’ and whistleblowers’ claims that deputies used frivolous code violations to retaliate against targets.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office originally defended the ILP program. A department spokeswoman told a Florida news outlet in 2022, in response to another lawsuit over the program, that the “ILP philosophy attempts to connect those who have previously offended with resources to break the cycle of recidivism. This ILP philosophy has led to a reduction in crime and reduction in victimization in our community and we will not apologize for continued efforts to keep our community safe.”

But last year the department announced in court that it was phasing out the “prolific offender” list. The Institute for Justice hopes that the settlement agreement will stop the program from ever being resurrected.

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Florida Surgeon General Urges End To Water Fluoridation

Florida’s top health official on Friday advised governments across the state to stop adding fluoride to their water, citing the neuropsychiatric risks — particularly for pregnant women and children — associated with the practice.

“It is public health malpractice, with the information we have now, to continue adding fluoride to water,” Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo said.

Ladapo made the announcement last week during a press conference. His office also issued written guidance detailing the latest research showing that exposure to fluoridated water can lead to neurodevelopmental issues in children, including lower IQ.

Given that risk, along with the wide availability of toothpaste, mouthwash and other alternative sources of fluoride, Ladapo recommended against community water fluoridation.

Florida’s new written guidance includes a tool for communities to determine if their local government fluoridates their water so they can contact local officials to discuss.

Ladapo said that as a physician, he previously supported water fluoridation because he learned in medical school that it was an important public health intervention. However, the landmark ruling in September by a California federal judge prompted him to review the science.

In that ruling, Judge Edward Chen concluded water fluoridation at current U.S. levels poses an “unreasonable risk” to children’s health. He ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take regulatory action in light of recent scientific findings.

Ladapo said that once he better understood the science, “I was appalled, frankly,” because scientists have been publishing high-quality studies demonstrating these neurotoxic effects for years yet the public has been largely unaware of those findings.

Stuart Cooper, executive director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) — a plaintiff in the lawsuit against the EPA — told The Defender, “Dr. Ladapo’s response is exactly how leaders ought to be reacting to this urgent public health crisis affecting over 200 million Americans, including 2 million pregnant women and over 300,000 exclusively bottle-fed infants who rely on fluoridated tap water for most of their nutrition.

Cooper added:

“He’s not alone. Municipal and state officials from around the country are now beginning to respond, by suspending or ending fluoridation locally …

“Citizens need to realize that politicians are voluntarily authorizing the addition of this neurotoxin to the water. The harm is needlessly self-inflicted, but that also means the solution is simple: ban the use of fluoridation chemicals.”

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Florida Republican Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to BAN Weather Engineering Amid Rising Concerns Over Climate Manipulation

A Florida Republican Senator has introduced SB 56, a bill that aims to prohibit weather modification activities within the state.

Introduced by Senator Ileana Garcia, this legislation targets chemical and technological methods used to manipulate weather patterns, temperature, or sunlight intensity, effectively halting a controversial practice often linked to geoengineering.

What Does SB 56 Say?

The bill repeals existing provisions in Florida statutes related to weather modification.

It specifically prohibits the “injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of 36 a chemical, a chemical compound, a substance, or an apparatus 37 into the atmosphere within the borders of this state for the 38 express purpose of affecting the temperature, the weather, or 39 the intensity of sunlight.”

Violators could face stiff penalties, including fines of up to $10,000 and potential misdemeanor charges.

SB 56 is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, but it will likely encounter opposition from industry stakeholders and environmental scientists.

Florida is not the only state taking a stand against weather manipulation. Earlier this year, the Tennessee State Senate took a definitive stance against the controversial topic of “chemtrails” by passing SB 2691/HB 2063.

The bill, which aims to ban the intentional release of chemicals into the atmosphere for geoengineering purposes, was sponsored by Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) and Senator Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) and won approval in the Senate on Monday, The Tennessean reported.

The legislation is predicated on the claim that “it is documented the federal government or other entities acting on the federal government’s behalf or at the federal government’s request may conduct geoengineering experiments by intentionally dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere, and those activities may occur within the State of Tennessee.”

This new bill seeks to outlaw any such activities, stating that, “The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited.”

In New Hampshire, two motivated House Representatives, Jason Gerhard, Merrimack – District 25, and Kelley Potenza, Strafford – District 19, have introduced “The Clean Atmosphere Preservation Act” NH House Bill (HB) 1700.

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Here We Go Again… Undercover FBI Set-Up Florida Man in Terror Plot to Bomb New York Stock Exchange Before Thanksgiving — Harun Abdul-Malik Yener Arrested in Explosive Scheme

Federal authorities arrested Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, a South Florida resident, for allegedly planning to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) capable of massive destruction outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

According to court documents reviewed by The Gateway Pundit, Yener’s motives were rooted in a desire to “reboot” the United States government.

Yener, 30, reportedly spent months crafting a detailed plan to construct and detonate the device in one of the world’s most critical financial hubs.

His alleged target date was the week leading up to Thanksgiving 2024, a time of heavy market activity.

The FBI’s affidavit claims Yener believed the attack would “wake people up” and disrupt the U.S. government.

Investigators revealed that Yener had a history of extremist behavior, including prior threats of violence and documented attempts to join militia groups.

The affidavit reveals that Yener, born in the U.S. in 1994, began crafting his plan as early as 2017, gathering bomb-making materials and researching high-impact targets. His stated motivation? A radical vision of triggering a “reboot” of the U.S. government.

Yener, who previously sought affiliation with extremist groups, constructed the IED with assistance he believed came from a militia, though these “militia members” were, in reality, undercover FBI agents.

The investigation began when a tip led authorities to Yener’s unlocked storage unit in Coral Springs, Florida, containing bomb schematics and other alarming materials.

Surveillance and undercover operations confirmed his intent to target the NYSE, a symbol of American financial power.

He also recorded a manifesto intended for public release, warning the U.S. government to cease arms sales and implement mass deportations.

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Florida FEMA scandal exposes unaccountable bureaucracy that Trump targets for reform and cuts

An emergency response official’s decision to withhold vital assistance to hurricane victims that showed visible support for Republicans is a scandal that belies a larger issue, namely, an unaccountable federal bureaucracy left to police itself and which President-elect Donald Trump has eyed for reform and cuts.   

The concerns were raised by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer in a hearing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the dual crises of Hurricanes Helene and Milton that struck Florida and the wider Southeast earlier this year. 

“While today’s hearing will focus on FEMA, the issue at hand is part of a larger problem: the urgent need to hold the unelected, unaccountable federal workforce accountable to the American people and to the duly elected President of the United States,” Comer said in his opening statement. 

“The current system does not have strong enough mechanisms to ensure accountability. The disciplinary system is run by and for civil servants to protect civil servants,” he continued.

The hearing followed reports that during the hurricane response in Florida, one FEMA official instructed subordinates to bypass houses that displayed pro-Trump signs in Lake Placid, Florida, while they were canvassing to deliver assistance to the hurricane-stricken community. 

At least 20 houses were reportedly skipped under the guidance, and therefore were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance, Just the News reported. 

“I was simply following orders”

The FEMA official responsible, Marn’i Washington was terminated shortly after the public reports emerged of her conduct, but Comer says the accountability came too late, only after the conduct was exposed by reporting from the Daily Wire. For her part, Washington told NewsNation‘s Dan Abrams that “Firstly, I’m being framed,” said Washington. “There’s no violation of the Hatch Act. I was simply following orders.”

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Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz Calls Trump DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard A ‘Russian Asset’

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) joined MSNBC this week where she claimed Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard is “a Russian asset.”

“Tulsi Gabbard is someone who has met with war criminals, violated the Department of State’s guidance and secretly, clandestinely went to Syria and met with Assad who gassed and attacked his own people with chemical weapons. She’s considered to be essentially by most assessments a Russian asset and would be the most dangerous…” Schultz said before being asked by an MSNBC anchor if she considers Gabbard a Russian agent.

She answered, “Oh yes, there’s no question I consider her someone who is likely a Russian asset who would be, as the DNI responsible for managing our entire intelligence community, hold all of our most significant intelligence information and secrets, and essentially would be a direct line to our enemies.”

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Florida Sen. Rick Scott says he’ll vote against recreational pot after brother’s death

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida says he’ll be voting in November against a ballot amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in his state, a deeply personal decision based on his brother’s long history of addiction.

The senator and former Florida governor said he watched his brother Roger Scott begin smoking marijuana as a teenager and then struggle with substance use for the rest of life.

“People end up with addictive personalities, and so he did,” Scott said in an interview. “It messes up your life, and so that’s why I’ve never supported legalization of drugs.”

When Roger Scott died in April at 67, the cause wasn’t substance abuse, but rather “a life of drugs and alcohol” catching up with him, the senator said. He had lived in an apartment in Dallas, Texas, where he served jail time in 1990 on a misdemeanor conviction of possessing dangerous drugs, court records show.

Rick Scott became wealthy as a lawyer and health care industry executive before entering politics. Now running for reelection, he lamented that his brother had a “tough life” and says it all began with marijuana.

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FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs

A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees. 

A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire. 

The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”

It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.

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And the Meltdown Begins: Dangerous MSNBC Wacko Joy Reid Calls Florida an “Extreme Right-Wing Fascist State” and Attacks Half of the Country for Supporting Trump

The leftist media is having a meltdown as President Trump’s popularity surges across the nation. Now, Joy Reid, the famously radical MSNBC host, is throwing a tantrum on live television, calling Florida a “fascist state” and attacking half the country for supporting Trump.

Reid’s comments come on the heels of Trump’s record-breaking rise on prediction platforms like Polymarket, where he has seen his largest gain yet. Even The New York Times grudgingly acknowledges that Trump holds an 83% chance of winning.

As usual, Reid couldn’t hold back her disdain for conservatives and for Trump supporters for aligning with Trump’s vision to make America great again.

“You just think about just the last two weeks and the things that Donald Trump has said into, into the TV that people could hear him say and do. The vulgarity in front of families with young children and the threats to do mass deportation and a violent start, violent start to his dictatorship on day one. And you name it. If all of that gets you half of the votes, what does it tell you? I mean, we need to really take a step back and think about what does that say about us?”

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