Holmes, Washington counties potentially among school districts cut out of textbook deals

TALLAHASSEE – Holmes and Washington Counties could be among some of Florida’s most financially strapped small school districts that could have paid thousands of dollars more for textbooks than their larger counterparts, and local officials are asking state leaders to do something about it. A whistleblower identified as “John/Jane Doe” recently sent allegations to state…

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Lawmakers sign off on plan to boost corrections officer pay

TALLAHASSEE — Correctional officers will receive base-pay increases of at least $5,000 and newly hired officers will get one-time bonuses of $3,000 from money saved by shuttering a nearly century-old prison and more than 70 prison dorms throughout the state, under a proposal approved Thursday by lawmakers. The salary boosts and bonuses will come from…

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Simpson calls for prison shutdowns, blasts corrections leaders

TALLAHASSEE — Senate President Wilton Simpson has a message for state prison leaders: Shut down institutions if you want pay raises for overworked corrections officers. Simpson, in a phone interview Thursday with The News Service of Florida, blamed chronic staffing shortages and high turnover rates on corrections officials’ “lack of vision” and “myopia” in operating…

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Help sought for ‘overworked and underpaid’ prison workers

TALLAHASSEE — A top corrections official offered a stark picture of Florida’s prison system Wednesday, warning that lawmakers must boost salaries of corrections workers to avert a looming disaster as the system grapples with high turnover rates, dangerously low staffing levels and fatigued employees. Department of Corrections Deputy Secretary Ricky Dixon said the agency wants…

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Justices reject challenge to medical marijuana law

TALLAHASSEE — Siding with the state in a closely watched case that has kept the cannabis industry in limbo, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2017 law designed to carry out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. The court’s 42-page ruling came in a drawn-out legal battle launched by Tampa-based Florigrown…