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Florida News
Index of Stories
2013
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Florida
News 2013
(scroll down)
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Fight for "Compassionate" Immigration Reform in
Florida
Posted May 17, 2013 06:15 pm |
Public News Service
ORLANDO, FL -
Immigration advocates are turning up the heat on
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asking him to stand
strong in his support of what they call
"compassionate" immigration reform.
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Posted May 16, 2013 04:55 am | Part XLI
 BRADFORD COUNTY, FL – The saga of the North Florida
Broadband Authority, the Obama Stimulus funded broadband
government consortium, which has squandered millions in
cost overruns and falsely claims it is a public utility,
was once 14 member counties strong. It has now dwindled
down to seven (see
map). After losing the trust of over half the
elected public officials in its consortium, the NFBA is
fighting back. Funded by the American People, the NFBA
has taken on the financially strapped Bradford County
School District.
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Posted May 13, 2013 08:53 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL – When it comes to the potential risk of
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome from a mother sharing her
bed with her baby, there is a push to change the message
from "just don't do it" to "here is how it's done most
safely." The shift is needed because co-sleeping will
never be eliminated and not all forms are equal,
according to Dr. James McKenna. For example, McKenna
said, associated risks are nearly eliminated by
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Posted May 10, 2013 07:25 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL – When a fertility clinic and
all else fails, adoption can seem like the
answer. Except it's not in many cases. Adoption
is an expensive and lengthy process. It can take
from $30-to-50,000 and two years or more.
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Posted
May 9, 2013 10:25 am | Public News Service
MIAMI - Workers at one of Florida's largest airports are
announcing federal complaints today, alleging unsafe
conditions, including exposure to sometimes-hazardous
bodily fluids. Wheelchair attendants at Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are calling
on both the Department of Transportation and OSHA to
investigate what they call unsafe working conditions,
according to Eric Brakken, Florida District Director for
Service
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Posted April 30, 2013 07:24 am | Public News
Service
GAINESVILLE, FL - Across the state, Florida workers say
they are being denied pay or being asked to work off the
clock by their employers. Currently, state lawmakers are
considering a "wage-theft" bill, but it would require
that any cases be filed in court. ¶ Melissa Elliott is
one of an estimated 1800 victims of wage theft in
Alachua County alone. Last year she worked for tips
only, at the request of a downtown Gainesville
restaurant. She estimates losing at least $8000 in
income, in addition to the issues she had with filing
her taxes properly and being
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Posted April 29, 2013 08:40 am | Public New
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - People convicted of animal abuse in
Florida will face more charges and likely
tougher penalties if a new Animal Cruelty Bill
is signed into law. Late Friday the state Senate
voted unanimously to strengthen the current
animal cruelty law, including its animal
fighting provisions. The House had already
passed the bill unanimously.
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 FL Legislature Sends Ethics Reform to Governor: Does
this give you more confidence?
Posted April 25, 2013 07:55 am
TALLAHASSEE, FL – After a 36 year drought, Florida's
legislators were all puffed up yesterday, smiling and
patting themselves on the back for a job well done.
After
leading America in federal indictments in what seems
like forever; given a C- in a national
State Integrity Investigation and with the nudging
of public interest groups like
Integrity Florida,
The
First Amendment Foundation,
Common Cause Florida and others; and with state and
national press coverage of their shenanigans
that goes back to the time of the Marx Brothers,
the folks in Tallahassee finally heard the music
and did something.
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Posted April 23, 2013 07:35 am
TAMPA, FL – On Friday, April 19, 2013, Rapid
Systems, Inc., a leader in the field of wireless
middle and last mile broadband internet
networks, filed a $25 million lawsuit against
the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance (FRBA) LLC.
Several alleged accomplices were also named in
the lawsuit. ¶ FRBA was one of the two winners
of the Obama Stimulus funded Broadband
Opportunities Grants awarded in Florida. The
other was the now infamous North Florida
Broadband Authority (NFBA). FRBA received a
grant award of $23,693,665. The NFBA grant award
was $30,142,676. While Rapid Systems was hired
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 Proposed Deficit Cuts Target Seniors, Veterans, People
with Disabilities, Those on Social Security
Posted April 12, 2013
11:15 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Reducing the deficit is a top priority
in Washington and one option being considered
would cut benefits for veterans, people with
disabilities, and those receiving Social
Security.
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Posted April 12, 2013 08:55 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On December 1, 2011, the future
seemed bright for what was to become Florida Leaders
Organized for Water (FLOW). Reacting to the May 10, 2011
decision by the St. Johns River Water Management
District to award a 20 year, 155,000,000 gal per day
Consumptive Use Permit to the Jacksonville Electric
Authority (JEA), Columbia County organized the first
meetings of what was to become FLOW. As
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Posted April 11, 2013 10:25 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - As Washington, D.C., and state
capitols around the country were flooded with
immigration reform advocates Wednesday, some made sure
their lobbying, marching and rallying addressed the
possibility that gay and lesbian couples will be left
out of reform legislation expected to emerge in Congress
shortly.
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Posted
April 4, 2013 07:55 am |
Public News
Service
TAMPA, FL - Florida wildlife continues to feel the
impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion. More
than 1,700 sea turtles have been found injured or dead
in the past three years - more than three times the
annual rate before the BP spill. Dolphin deaths have
been at higher-than-normal levels every month since the
spill, with 650 found in
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Posted
April 3, 2013 08:25 am
COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – Columbia County's County Commission heard
from Haven Hospice's Administrator Polly Tyler
last night where she delivered a very important
message to the County and all of North Florida.
She told the Commission, "I challenge all of you
to appoint a health care surrogate." Ms. Tyler
announced that April 16 is
National Healthcare Decisions Day. Haven
Hospice has facilities in 18 Florida counties
and cares for 700 to 800 patients at a time and
is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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 Waffle House Settles EEOC Retaliation Lawsuit:
Federal Agency Charged
Restaurant Fired Employee for Complaining About
Customer Harassment
Posted March 29, 2013 03:23 pm
TAMPA, FL - It was announced yesterday that East
Coast Waffles, Inc., an Atlanta-based company
which owns and operates more than 100 Waffle
House restaurants in Florida and Virginia,
agreed to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by
the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
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Posted
March 29, 2013 08:30 am
LAKE CITY, FL - Last night to help celebrate the 500th birthday of
Florida, the North Central Florida Regional Planning
Council, with the help of the Florida Humanities
Council, welcomed Professor J. Michael Francis, one of
the nation’s leading experts on the Spanish colonial
experience in Florida to be its guest speaker at its
monthly meeting. Professor Francis captivated North
Central Florida's leaders with his discussion of the
discovery of Florida and
Florida's first fairytale, the discovery of the Fountain
of Youth.
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Posted
March 25, 2013 08:05 am |
Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - More than two million women
and teenaged girls in Florida lack access to
health care. It's a problem women's health
advocates say should be a priority for state
lawmakers. But in the House, lawmakers are
pushing ahead with a bill that would give a
non-viable embryo the same legal status as a
newborn child.
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Posted March 22, 2013 07:45 am | Part XL part 3 of
3
 GILCHRIST COUNTY, FL – The North Florida
Broadband Authority/Fed road show moved to the
Gilchrist County seat for the 4:45 pm time
certain discussion of the NFBA. The seven member
Federal contingent was led by BTOP (Broadband
Technology Opportunity Program) Director Tony
Wilhelm. The seven member NFBA contingent was
led by NFBA Chairman Tommy Langford. The purpose
was to convince the Gilchrist County Commission
not to finalize their first vote to withdraw
from the NFBA.
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Posted March 21, 2013 04:55
am | Part XL part 2 of
3
 FANNING SPRINGS, FL – Just before the gavel came down
to begin the joint North Florida Broadband
Authority/NTIA workshop the NFBA's top brass, along with
filmmaker and PR person J.W. Arnold took a final look at
the gathering and took their seats. ¶
The NTIA's Wilhelm held up a sheet of paper
showing a list of in-kind assets. He did not
announce that the grant had been extended to
September 30th, nor did he tell anyone how much
money was left in the grant.
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Posted March 20, 2013 01:20 pm | Part XL part 1 of
3
 Fanning
Springs, FL – Reeling from a continuous stream
of defections at the North Florida Broadband
Authority (NFBA), the NFBA General Manager,
Richelle Sucara, secretly called in the Feds for
reinforcements to help stem the tide of member
counties pulling the plug on the organization.
At 1 o'clock Monday afternoon, Tony Wilhelm,
Director of the Obama stimulus funded $250mil
Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, the
organization that awarded $30 million to the
NFBA, arrived with a Federal contingent from
Washington. The contingent could not meet at the
NFBA offices because they were abandoned. The
NFBA couldn't afford the
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Posted March 18, 2013 08:15 am |
Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - It took more than three years, but the
federal EPA and Florida Department of Environmental
Protection have agreed on limits for the pollutants that
cause toxic algae outbreaks. But some environmentalists
say the deal is inadequate, filled with loopholes, and
it will do little to stop the green slime outbreaks that
have fouled beaches and harmed wildlife.
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Tallahassee, FL (Posted March 14, 2013 08:45 am)
Treating Members of Congress like Federal
Workers
Senator Nelson and Senator McCaskill filed
legislation (S.436) last week that would dock
the pay of members of Congress by the same
percentage faced by federal employees furloughed
due to the automatic budget cuts known as the
sequester.
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Posted March 14, 2013 07:35 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – This past Monday night FLOW
(Florida Leaders Organized for Water) met for the 15th
time since its
first beginnings in December of 2011. Comprised of
various leaders from counties and cities across northern
Florida that draw their water from the Floridian
Aquifer, the seed for FLOW was planted in 2011 when the
St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD)
granted JEA a permit to draw up to 155 million gallons
of fresh clean drinking water a day from the
shrinking aquifer.
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Posted March 5, 2013 10:05 am | Part XXXIX
GILCHRIST
COUNTY, FL – At 4:30 pm yesterday afternoon,
Gilchrist County Commission Chairwoman Sharon
Langford announced that there was a “time
certain” item published on the agenda, “This is
the NFBA discussion... We’ve been talking about
this." Thirty minutes later, Gilchrist County
joined the seven North Central Florida Counties
and one City that have now taken exception to
both the Federal Government's oversight and the
home grown mismanagement of the NFBA and voted
with their feet to pull out, adding the cities
of Trenton
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Posted March
04, 2013 08:45 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL
- Florida youths in trouble are spending less
time in confinement and more time getting the
help they need to get back on their feet.
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Posted March 01, 2013 10:40 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The keynote speaker at
the North Central Florida Regional Planning
Council last night was army veteran and West
Point graduate Lt. Col. Stephen J. Grabski,
who introduced himself to North Central
Florida's leaders this way, "You are looking
at someone who ten days out of high school
signed a 12 year contract with the Army, 4
years at West Point and then eight years to
serve in the military." Twenty two years
later, Lt. Col. Grabski was still serving as
he enlightened North Central Florida's
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Posted February 26, 2013 07:20 pm | Part XXXVIII |
(2 comments)
Tomorrow morning the congressional Subcommittee
on Communications and Technology will be holding
hearings at 10 am. Last week the staff of the
committee contacted the Observer and after a few
brief conversations regarding the North Florida
Broadband Authority, the following statement was
sent to the Committee Chairman, the Hon. Fred
Upton. The subject of the hearing is, "Is
the Broadband Stimulus Working?"
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Posted February 25, 2013 07:28 am |
Public News
Service
NEW ORLEANS -
Billions of dollars and the health of Florida's
Gulf Coast are on the line as the civil trial
against BP begins today in New Orleans. Based on
provisions in the Oil Pollution Act and the
Clean Water Act, the company could be ordered to
pay $40 billion in damages.
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Posted February 19, 2013 08:45 am | Part XXXVII
BAKER COUNTY, FL – Late yesterday afternoon,
Baker County became the 7th of the fourteen
original counties to pull out of the North
Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA). The
woebegotten Obama stimulus funded broadband
project has been plagued by charges of waste,
fraud and abuse; been accused by many of inept
and incompetent oversight by the NTIA and worse
local management; an investigatory cover-up by
the OIG and the FBI of
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Posted February 15, 2013 07:15 pm | Part XXXVI
MADISON COUNTY, FL – The stimulus funded North
Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA) met in
Madison County at high noon on Wednesday, the
home of the only directly connected customer of
the Authority. In order to allow the failing
Authority to draw down the remaining
$1,673,874.81 of the American People's money, on
January 31st, NOAA approved extending the
federal grant 60 days past the deadline.
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Posted February 14, 2013 07:10 pm
DENVER, CO / COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Air
Methods Corporation (NASDAQ: AIRM), the global
leader in air medical transportation, announced
today it has entered into agreements with HCA
MidAmerica and North Florida Divisions. Air
Methods will provide medical communication
services through its DirectCall Transfer Center
for the MidAmerica Division, and has established
a preferred provider agreement with the North
Florida Division for air medical transport
services.
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Posted February 12, 2013 07:35 pm
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night Florida Leaders
Organized for Water (FLOW) met in the Columbia
County School Board Administrative Complex
Auditorium. FLOW is represented by many
communities of North Central Florida and while
the rush of the public has dwindled to a
trickle, the group has come up with a draft
strategic plan and a draft position paper
called, "Florida's Water Future." Unfortunately,
none of this was available to the public before
the meeting, nor was it posted on the Columbia
County or the FLOW website. FLOW has a staff
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 Tax Refunds For Some Delayed: IRS Says It Was
the Fiscal Cliff
Posted February 11, 2013 04:55 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - Don't plan on spending your income tax
refund too quickly this year: refunds are
expected to be delayed for some taxpayers. The
IRS says that's a result of the last-minute
fiscal cliff debate in Washington, which delayed
the date returns could be accepted by about two
weeks.
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Posted February 8, 2013 09:15 am |
Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A lawsuit filed Thursday against
Governor Rick Scott and his Cabinet charges them with
granting illegal farming leases to sugar and vegetable
plantations north of the Everglades.
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Tallahassee, FL (Posted Feb 7, 2013 04:30 am)
Cosponsoring Violence Against Women Act:
VAWA is a comprehensive
national effort to combat domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The bill provides resources to state and local
law enforcement to investigate and prosecute
these crimes and to nonprofit organizations that
supply important services for victims including
crisis intervention, transitional housing,
supervised visitation, and legal assistance.
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 Rubio
Joins Seven Senators To Block Violence Against
Women Act
Washington, DC (Posted Feb 5, 2013 11:05 am)
Eight Senators on Monday voted not to consider
the reauthorization of the Violence Against
Women Act, a bill that protects victims of
domestic violence. The Senators who voted
against moving to debate on the bill were: Sens.
Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott
(R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Johanns (R-NE),
Rand Paul (R-KY), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and James
Risch (R-ID).
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Posted
February 04, 2013 08:30 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - You may see more women in red this
month, for a good reason. February is Heart Month, and
women are encouraged to wear red for healthy hearts.
According to the American Heart Association, 90 percent
of women have one or more risk factors for developing
heart disease.
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Posted February 1, 2013 07:40 am | Public News
Service
TAMPA, FL - Florida is one of three states in the
country that takes away the right to vote of a
person convicted of a felony. Civil rights
groups have been fighting the policy for more
than 10 years... The Voting Ban has been in
place for more than 130 years. It dates back to
the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War.
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Tallahassee, FL (Posted Jan 30, 2013 02:20 pm)
In this report from U.S.
Senator Bill Nelson, the Senator covers the
recent Senate rule changes, Hurricane Sandy
relief, and the Russian adoption ban. No
matter your party affiliation, these reports are
always packed with valuable information about
what is going on in Washington and its
relationship to Florida.
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Posted January 30, 2013 02:27 am | Part XXXV
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The Obama stimulus funded
North Florida Broadband Authority received
another black eye on Friday, January 25th, when
former Board Clerk and Executive Assistant Faith
Doyle sued the NFBA for violating the Fair Labor
Standards Act; violating her constitutional
right to due process; and a breach of her
employment agreement.
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Posted January 29, 2013
09:45 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A bill filed
Monday in the Florida
Legislature would give local law
enforcement the tools to hold
accountable people who break
existing animal-fighting laws.
Florida has one of the strongest
animal-fighting laws in the
country, but a 2010 court ruling
requires law enforcement to
catch people in the act of
breaking the law rather than
accepting evidence as proof.
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Posted January
25, 2013 10:55 am | Public News
Service
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Development and human influence in
areas around Florida's Everglades continue to put
certain bird and fish populations at risk, according to
a report from Audubon Florida.
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Posted January 25, 2013 09:55 am
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night's dinner meeting of
the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
(NCFRPC) came up short without any definitive explanations
and statistics regarding job creation in the region or
the progress and future on what has repeatedly been
described as a primary engine of economic growth in the
North Central Florida region, the North Florida
Broadband Authority.
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Posted January
22, 2013 09:40 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Supreme Court case that legalized
abortion in the United States, Roe versus Wade, turns 40
this week and a new
poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
finds most Americans - 63 percent - want to keep
abortions legal.
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Posted January 18, 2013 11:45 am | Public News
Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Educators and physicians alike have
talked for years about how children learn better when
properly nourished. A new report takes a look inside
schools to see how school breakfast programs are serving
low-income students. The Food Research and Action Center
(FRAC) releases the School Breakfast Scorecard each
year.
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Posted January 17, 2013 08:45 am | Public News
Service
TAMPA, FL - Protests are planned today in Tampa
in response to Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) enforcement of the Clean Water Act in
Florida. The federal government announced in
November it would uphold strict numeric limits
for 85 percent of Florida waters, after the
state state failed to do so.
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Tallahassee, FL (Posted Jan 12, 2013 12:30 pm)
In this first of the year report from U.S.
Senator Bill Nelson, the Senator covers issues
from the Fiscal Cliff, to Hurricane Sandy
relief, to the Dignified Burial of Veterans. No
matter your party affiliation, these reports are
always packed with valuable information about
what is going on in Washington and its
relationship to Florida.
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Posted January 8, 2013 11:59 pm | Part XXXIII
(b)
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Late yesterday afternoon,
January 7, 2013, North Florida Broadband Authority
General Counsel, Jennifer Springfield, who has run
roughshod over Florida's public record laws since her
secret procurement by NFBA Board Chairman Tommy Langford
in early 2012, emailed the Observer and took exception
to the Observer's recent article, North Florida
Broadband Authority: FL's Public Record Laws the latest
casualty. Attorney Springfield claimed that she had
never received the four public record requests which
were sent to her on December 17, 2012, and referenced
in the article.
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Posted January 6, 2013 06:45 pm | Part XXXIII
COLUMBIA
COUNTY, FL – The North Florida Broadband
Authority, the $30,000,000 Obama funded stimulus
broadband project, for all it woes during the
Chairmanship of Jefferson County's Stephen
Fulford and its management by Government
Services Group and the law firm of Nabors,
Giblin & Nickerson, always maintained the
highest standards when it came to complying with
Florida's open meetings and public records laws.
The departure of that "management team" and the
subsequent election of Gilchrist County's Tommy
Langford as Chairman, along with the hiring of
General Manager Richelle Sucara and three new
law firms (two remain) has drawn a dark cloud
over Florida's nationally recognized Sunshine
laws.
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Posted January 3, 2013 04:45 pm | Part XXXII
LIVE OAK, FL – Early
this afternoon, the Suwannee County Commission voted
unanimously to withdraw from the beleaguered North
Florida Broadband Authority, after the NFBA squandered
the final chance given to it during the December 18th
County Commission meeting. The NFBA was taken off the
day's agenda when it did not meet the deadline for
providing the information that Suwannee County had been
requesting for over a month.
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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Bed Sharing Safely.
Breastfeeding Significantly Reduces Risk
Making Mother’s Day, By Making Adoption Affordable
Wheelchair Attendants Exposed to Blood,
Body Fluids: Complaint Filed - Unsafe Conditions
Yesterday was the deadline for the Plan B
morning after pill: What's a Pharmacist to Do?
Florida
Workers Fight Back Against Wage Theft
Haven Hospice Challenges North FL: "I challenge all of
you to appoint a health care surrogate."
Planned Parenthood to FL Lawmakers:
Sen Bill Nelson Update:
March 14, 2013
FL Leaders Organized for
Water (FLOW): 
New Study Shows Fewer FL Youth Locked-up
North Central FL Regional Planning Council:
BP
Oil Disaster Trial Set for Today
Air
Methods Makes Agreement With HCA: 
FL Gov & Cabinet Sued: The charge, "Sweetheart Deal" in
the Everglades
February is Heart Month: Heart Disease #1 Killer of Women
Florida's
Voting Ban: 130 yrs old. Dates back to after Civil War
Florida
Audubon: Development Puts Everglade Birds at Risk
Abortion Rights Law Turns 40: Most Americans Want to
Keep it Legal
Florida
Report Card on School Breakfast: Progress with Room for
Improvement
Environmentalists:
Florida Isn't Ready to Manage Its Waterways