Recent polling shows the two candidates vying for governor in Florida practically tied. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is facing Democrat Charlie Crist — who served as governor more than a decade ago when he was a Republican. Though both have experience leading the state, they have very different views on the issues. Valerie Crowder spoke with voters in Leon County during last month’s primary election about who they’d like to see in the governor’s office.
LGBTQ advocates and allies are calling out Florida’s Republican government leaders for rhetorical speech they say has sparked violent and threatening behavior. But as Regan McCarthy reports linking speech to action isn’t so simple.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has a lot more power over local education policy after last month’s [08/23] elections. DeSantis' allies and appointees have taken seats on the boards of the state’s largest school districts. As WLRN education reporter Kate Payne tells us: The new members are well positioned to implement the governor's agenda in public schools.
Governor DeSantis has also been determined to ensure that anyone who votes has the legal right to vote in Florida. But that issue is a lot more complicated than it might first appear. We get that story from Gerard Albert the Third.
A new podcast series from WLRN News called Detention By Design has launched this week. In it, reporter Danny Rivero uncovers the origins of the immigration detention system in the US – a system that has its roots in South Florida. In the following excerpt from the first episode, we take a look at what led to the first Haitian boats reaching the shores of South Florida. That was 50 years ago – when people were fleeing conditions that took root during the regime of Haitian dictator Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier [doo-VAH-lee-EH].