Jose Garcia
Jose Garcia's JournalFlorida expands gambling, joins ranks of sports betting states. But hurdles remain
Source: The Miami Herald
Florida joined the dozens of states that have authorized mobile sports betting Wednesday as legislators wrapped up their special session and ratified an agreement with the Seminole Tribe in the broadest expansion of gambling in a decade in Florida.
But don’t expect to start wagering on your favorite sports teams for a while.
Federal regulators must approve the deal, which expands the gambling monopoly in Florida for the Seminole Tribe, to make sure its guarantee of $500 million in revenue sharing with the state is fair to the Seminole Tribe and legal for the state.
“Congratulations on an historic compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida,’’ said Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, at the conclusion of the vote, adding that the complex proposal “was a difficult one to navigate.”
Read more: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article251528698.html
Val Demings to run for Senate against Rubio
Source: Politico
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Rep. Val Demings is planning to run for the U.S. Senate, rather than governor, providing Democrats with a big-name candidate to take on Republican Sen. Marco Rubio next year.
For months, Demings mulled which statewide office to pursue, but decided she could do the most good by taking on the two-term senator, according to several Democrats familiar with her thinking.
“I would’ve supported her running for governor, but this is the right fit for her and for us,” said Alex Sink, a former Florida chief financial officer who narrowly lost her 2010 bid for governor against Rick Scott, who is now a senator.
“She’s going to draw a contrast between who she is and how she represents Florida vs. Marco Rubio, who a lot of people where I live never see him.”
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2021/05/18/demings-running-for-senate-rubio-489137
I would have preferred that she run for Governor, because that race is more winnable and there aren't any candidates running that I think can win.
White House to work with states on reimposing work search requirements following GOP outcry
Source: Washington Post
President Biden said on Monday that the White House will “make it clear” that Americans on unemployment must take a job if offered a “suitable” one or lose their benefits, wading into an issue that Republicans have seized on in the past week.
The White House said it is directing the Department of Labor to work with states on re-imposing work search requirements for Americans collecting unemployment benefits. The Department of Labor will also soon issue a letter to “reaffirm" the rules of unemployment to ensure workers, employers, and states understand the rules of the program, the White House said.
In remarks in the East Room, Biden reiterated that the administration disputes GOP claims that April’s disappointing jobs data, released Friday, shows that unemployment benefits are too generous and causing workers to stay home rather than rejoin the workforce. And the White House did not announce a departure from prior policy on unemployment benefits. Still, the president’s remarks suggest that the White House is sensitive to the growing political criticisms over their handling of the issue. Several GOP-run states are moving to cut the unemployment benefits on their own.
“We’re going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment," Biden said in remarks in the East Room. "There are a few covid-19 related exceptions ... But otherwise that’s the law.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/05/10/biden-unemployment-benefits/
New Georgia law legalizing college athlete endorsements also allows schools to take athletes' money
Source: Yahoo Sports
College athletes in Georgia are now allowed to collect endorsements and sponsorships. And their schools can take a significant cut of that money if they want.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the state's new bill regulating athletes' name, image and likeness rights on Thursday. Kemp held his signing ceremony at the University of Georgia with a Bulldog backdrop in the athletic department's recruiting lounge. The symbolism was meant to be obvious for a law ostensibly designed to let athletes profit off their own image rights starting on July 1.
But there's a provision in the law that allows colleges to have significant control over athletes' endorsement money.
The bill that Kemp signed into law allows schools across the state to take up to 75% of an athlete's endorsement income. That cut would be deposited into a pool for all athletes at the school and then redistributed upon athletes' graduation.
Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/new-georgia-law-legalizing-college-athlete-endorsements-also-allows-schools-to-take-athletes-money-143850090.html
Republican Susan Wright in runoff to replace her husband in Congress; Jake Ellzey nabs second spot
Source: Dallas Morning News
Republican activist Susan Wright will meet state Rep. Jake Ellzey in a Congressional District 6 runoff to replace the late Ron Wright.
Wright finished in first-place in a 23-person filed with 19% of the vote. Ellzey was second with nearly 14%, narrowly beating Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez, who finished a close third with about 13% of the vote.
Wright, who is Ron Wright’s widow, took the lead in Election Day voting and built on it throughout the night.
Only one other Republican, former Department Health and Human Services chief of staff Brian Harrison, appeared to be close to contention.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/05/01/republicans-jake-ellzey-susan-wright-leading-in-the-race-to-replace-the-late-ron-wright-in-congress/
Texas Gains House Seats While New York Loses in Census Count
Source: Bloomberg
Texas will gain the most new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives under new Census numbers released Monday, while states in the Northeast and Midwest will lose seven seats, shifting some political clout to Republican strongholds before the 2022 midterms.
The U.S. Census Bureau released its every 10 year count of state populations Monday, reshuffling the 435 House seats among the 50 states to account for population changes over the last decade.
Those changes alone could be enough to decide the balance of power: Democrats hold a narrow advantage in the House now, with a margin of less than half a dozen seats.
The states gaining seats are largely ones that former President Donald Trump won in 2020, while states President Joe Biden won -- including the so-called “Blue Wall” states of the industrial North -- are losers.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-26/texas-gains-house-seats-while-new-york-loses-in-census-count
Troy Carter wins 2nd Congressional District seat over Karen Carter Peterson
Source: nola.com
Troy Carter fulfilled a long-held ambition Saturday when voters elected him to represent the 2nd Congressional District, triumphing over Karen Carter Peterson after a bruising campaign between two Democratic state senators from New Orleans who agreed on issues more often than not.
WWL-TV projected Carter as the winner just before 9:30 p.m. With 76% of precincts reporting, Carter led by more than 8,500 votes, 56% to 44%.
By all accounts, Carter will be a reliable supporter of President Joe Biden and the Democratic agenda in Washington, and he will likely work well with the other seven members of the state’s congressional delegation -- all Republicans -- for Louisiana spending projects.
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nola.com/news/politics/elections/article_adfe1c50-a527-11eb-8407-bb5d7601ace2.amp.html
Broward schools superintendent Robert Runcie arrested on perjury charge; School Board attorney also
BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie was arrested Wednesday morning on a charge of perjury in an official proceeding. School Board attorney Barbara Myrick was also arrested.
Runcie, 59, was taken into custody by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and has since been released from the Broward County Main Jail.
According to his indictment, Runcie lied under oath between the dates of March 31 and April 1 while testifying under oath to a state grand jury.
MORE: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/04/21/broward-county-public-schools-superintendent-arrested-on-perjury-charge/
Ducey to send Arizona National Guard to border, declares an emergency in multiple counties
Source: KOLD-TV
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday, April 20, the state will set aside up to $25 million to deploy National Guard troops to the southern border to help support local law enforcement.
He also declared a state of emergency in Cochise, Pima, Maricopa, Yuma, Pinal and Santa Cruz counties in response to an influx of migrants seeking asylum in Arizona.
The state is set to send up to 250 guardsmen to border communities to help with medical operations at detention centers, install and maintain border cameras, collect data from public safety cameras and analyze trends in known smuggling corridors, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“The situation in our border communities is just as bad — if not worse — than the coverage we’ve been seeing,” the governor wrote in a statement. “It’s become evidently clear that Arizona needs the National Guard, and the White House is aware of that. Yet, to this day, there has been no action from this administration, and it doesn’t look like they are going to act any time soon. If this administration isn’t going to do anything, then we will.”
Read more: Link to source
Derek Chauvin Judge Cahill Says Maxine Waters 'Confrontational' Comments Could Cause Mistrial
Source: Newsweek
Derek Chauvin Judge Peter A. Cahill on Monday said that U.S. Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters could have given the defense grounds to overturn the trial on appeal.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson asked for a mistrial after more than five hours of closing arguments on Monday. He pointed to the heightened media attention and remarks made by Waters on Saturday night during a protest outside the police department in the city of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Cahill denied the motion, but sympathized with the defense's concerns, according to the StarTribune.
"I'll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result on this whole trial being overturned," Cahill said.
Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newsweek.com/derek-chauvin-judge-cahill-says-maxine-waters-confrontational-comments-could-cause-mistrial-1584833%3famp=1
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