Florida House Bill 1 is headed to its next committee in just two days and it could mean extra costs for taxpayers.
A new fiscal report found that HB1 could cost taxpayers more than $17 million a year. Dr. Rick Harper, an economist and former director of the University of West Florida Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development conducted the study explaining, “The bill, if passed and signed into law, will impose costs to the taxpayer and to those arrested that far exceed the possible benefits of the increased sanctions.”
The ‘anti-rioting’ bill combats public disorder by giving government authority the power to arrest on discretion if a protest is threatening. Protesting is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under HB1, if it becomes a law.
State to rollout coronavirus vaccine for inmates
After months of the state ignoring pleas, Florida inmates will finally be able to receive the vaccine for COVID-19.
Many families worried the state was not doing enough to help keep inmates safe. Nearly 18 thousand prisoners recently test positive for COVID-19 and about 214 have died because of it. Now, about 30 thousand vaccines are being rolled out to corrections facilities for inmates to receive if they choose.
Cyber fact or fiction?
Cyber Florida has launched a new program to help understand and battle misinformation in the media.
Since coronavirus shutdown schools, many students had to transition to online learning, spending more time on the internet than ever before and are being exposed to wrong and misleading information.
The K-12 Initiative for students is a program to help bring awareness to this issue. Staff Director at Cyber Florida, Ronald Sanders shares how important it is for students to know how to spot these errors.
“One of the things we’ve learned is that our young people, particularly the young people who are about to become first time voters are subjected to a blizzard of mis and dis information on the web,” Sanders states.
Cyber Florida have connected with several school districts, including Hillsborough county and work with teachers and parents to educate students about online safety. Their program also offer summer camps and prep courses.
Barbershop book club for kids
A Tampa Bay barbershop opens its doors every Wednesdays to host a book club for kids to receive a free haircut and book.
Antonio Brown, owner and operator, started the program in 2016 hoping to encourage kids to read.
“A lot of young black males do not like to read out loud, they are afraid and shy,” Brown says. “So, just seeing improvements in those areas has been very rewarding for me.”
Black children tend to struggle more with reading than their white peers since they have less access to education. “On national tests last year, only 18 percent of black 4th-graders scored proficient or above in reading; the figure for white 4th-graders was 45 percent”, according to Forbes assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Credits
Anchors: Dylan Zuccarello, Ginette Troya
Producer: Brad Haft
Reporters: Courtey Patterson, Carla Ibanez
Writer: Deanna Lampasona, Gabe Castro
Graphics editor: Sean Stover, Emma Kelley
Video Editors: Payton Kirol, Gabe Castro, Deanna Lampasona, Brad Haft
Show Editor: David Rose
Videography: Yara Zayas
Associate Producer: Gabe Castro, Carla Ibanez
Web Editor: Stephanie Vives
Copy Desk Chief: Austin Federau
Executive Producer: Niamh Larkin, Payton Kirol
Graduate Assistant: Emmanuel Maduneme
Faculty Adviser: Jeanette Abrahamsen, Wayne Garcia
