State and Local News That Matters
President Joe Biden (D) announced this week the United States will be loosening restrictions on Marxist countries, namely Cuba and Venezuela. Travel restrictions will be lightened to Cuba and flights will be authorized to Cuban cities outside of Havana and travel will be permitted for educational purposes.
In reaction, Florida Republicans and Democrats have condemned the actions saying that going soft on the dictatorial regimes will only embolden Castro and Maduro.
A U.S. congressman from Virginia Wednesday celebrated the pause of the creation of a federal government “Disinformation Governance Board,” which was marred by controversy from its inception.
“Victory for free speech: the Biden Administration is not proceeding with its Ministry of Truth. As a cosponsor of [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23)]’s bill to defund the so-called DHS Disinformation Governance Board, I welcome this news. I will stay vigilant against threats to the First Amendment,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09).
Federal authorities have charged a Marietta, Georgia man with obtaining a fraudulent $9.5 million Paycheck Protection Program loan.
Carl Delano Torjagbo, also known as Karl Lucius Delano, 42, faces bank fraud and money laundering charges. He was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker and remanded to custody.
Nashville Metro Council considered the first reading of the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and issues like grant acceptances at its latest meeting.
BL2022-1248, a bill on first reading, was the ordinance setting the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and is on the agenda. The full proposal can be viewed on the Metro Council website. It was referred to the Budget and Finance Committee.
Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) and Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) are concerned that the Biden administration’s FY 2023 spending plan and an associated 30-year shipbuilding plan will increase risk. In a Wednesday hearing of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, Wittman and Luria questioned officials about the impact of the administration’s budget.
Wittman, the subcommittee’s ranking member, also submitted a scathing written statement to the official record, criticizing the shipbuilding plan, saying he would reject an “anemic shipbuilding request,” that plans to retire vessels, seeks to not maintain the naval aviation plan, would “eviscerate our mine countermeasure warfighting capabilities,” “irreparably harm our nation’s ability to support future forcible entry options” by reducing amphibious forces, and would “waste significant taxpayer’s monies.”
Morgan Ortagus, a disqualified candidate in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat, announced to German-owned Politico her participation in an organization called Polaris National Security.
Politico reported, “Morgan Ortagus, the State Department’s chief spokesperson during the Trump administration, has launched a new group called Polaris National Security. The organization, chock-full of former Trump administration and campaign aides on staff and other Republicans on the advisory team, will have a 501(c)(4) and PAC arm.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced an alternative hiring process for people with disabilities; Youngkin’s Tuesday announcement said that reflects Virginia’s priorities for its workforce.
“This process is only the beginning of our strategy to demonstrate our commitment to individuals with differing abilities to improve the state workforce,” Secretary of Administration Margaret “Lyn” McDermid said. “It is one facet of a more comprehensive strategy, which includes accommodations, communication, education and awareness, compliance and retention of individuals with differing abilities.”
Five Star Food Service, Inc. officials announced Wednesday in a press release that the company will expand its headquarters operations in Hamilton County.
A U.S. Congressman from Tennessee spoke out after news that two infants in Memphis were hospitalized because special baby formula they needed for medical conditions could not be found.
“Absolutely tragic,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) told The Tennessee Star. “This nationwide crisis is landing kids in the hospital, and it’s unacceptable this is happening here in the United States. All our economic might doesn’t mean a thing if we still can’t protect our children.”
In the first quarter of 2022, 36 million people visited the Sunshine State, a 39.6% percent increase from the same eriod last year, according to VISIT FLORIDA.
It’s the third consecutive quarter that overall visitation to Florida has surpassed pre-pandemic visitation levels.
The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network launched a new addition to their services for consumers across Tennessee—a weather forecast.
The new feature will allow Star News Network Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren to provide a daily outlook of the conditions across Middle Tennessee.
Florida Judge Layne Smith lifted a stay on an injunction against his ruling related to Florida’s congressional redistricting case. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the State of Florida appealed Smith’s original ruling that said the proposed and passed congressional redistricting maps were unconstitutional.
Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich released a video on Facebook urging the voters of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District to vote for Jake Evans in the Republican primary that is scheduled for May 24.
“I’m Newt Gingrich. I was Speaker of the House and we developed the Contract with America to get America back on track with solid, conservative ideas – balancing the budget, reforming welfare, cutting taxes – and I wanted to take a minute or two just to share with you about a good friend of mine who’s running for Congress,” he said.
The governor of Florida Monday signed a bill into law that bans Floridians from protesting outside of private residences.
“Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said just before signing HB 1571 into law. “This bill will provide protection to those living in residential communities and I am glad to sign it into law.”
Federal Election Commission records show that Tennessee Fifth Congressional District Republican primary candidate Kurt Winstead donated to federal Democrat candidates in addition to Republican ones.
Williamson County Election Commission records additionally show that Kurt Winstead voted in Democrat primaries in the past.
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Former U.S. Senator David Perdue’s Trump-endorsed campaign for Georgia Governor announced several upcoming stops around the state as the May 24 Republican primary draws near.
As of press time, the election is less than a week away and Perdue’s best hope at continuing his campaign appears to be an attempt to force incumbent Governor Brian Kemp into a June run-off election by holding him to under 50 percent of the vote.
Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles praised Tennessee U.S. Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn for their votes against H.R. 7691, known as the $40 billion Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022.
In a statement, Ogles said, “It’s time we follow the words of President Trump and put America First. At a time when mothers cannot find baby formula, we are facing runaway inflation and a disgraceful collapse of our southern border this inept Biden administration seems hellbent in destroying our economy and the middle class with it.”
Virongy Biosciences, Inc., which develops anti-viral drugs and viral diagnostics, is expanding after recently relocating to the newly-opened Northern Virginia Bioscience Center in Prince William County. The $471,000 expansion may create up to 70 new jobs, and the company will use the site to develop diagnostics aimed at COVID-19 variants and other viruses. The announcement received praise from state and local officials.
“Prince William County has emerged as a hub for the life sciences industry, offering the infrastructure, R and D assets, and talent to attract and retain innovative biotech firms like Virongy,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a press release announcing the expansion.
Jake Evans, the 6th Congressional District candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, spoke with The Georgia Star News on Friday about his success fighting for election integrity in the 2020 elections in Banks, Stephens, and Habersham Counties.
Evans stated, “[I’m the] only lawyer in Georgia history to overturn two elections in the same race, and then I contested the other one down in Long County. So, we found people that voted twice. We found people voting in a district they didn’t live in. We found people that were wrongly assigned a district. We found people who hadn’t signed absentee ballots. There’s fraud out there. It’s a thing.”
The Virginia Department of Education is announcing six public engagement sessions in May and June as it restarts its review of the Mathematics Standards of Learning.
Virginia is required to update the standards every seven years, with the next review due to be completed in 2023. But Governor Glenn Youngkin aborted the effort begun in 2020 after the Mathematic Pathways proposal was widely criticized by Republicans, who said it would gut advanced math programs.
Georgia is doling out more than $415 million in federal relief money as grants to help nonprofits recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The money, which goes to more than 30 recipients, is from the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Public records indicate Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams sponsored legislation when she was the Georgia House minority leader that was related to her private business interests. The legislation Abrams sponsored in 2015 – with four other Republicans – addressed taxes paid on debt that was not collected.
At the time the legislation was under consideration, Abrams was senior vice president at a company called NOWaccount, according to an archive of the company’s website.
Abrams had started NOWaccount in 2010 with two business partners. The company charged fees to small business for accepting the task of collecting the businesses outstanding receivables.
The appointment of Tennessee’s attorney general is a process unique to this state.
The attorney general is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court and is the only state attorney general that is a member of the judicial branch, not the executive branch.
Property owners in Davidson County should beware of a new scam letter being distributed, warns the Assessor of Property.
Hundreds of radical pro-abortion activists protested at Legislative Plaza on Saturday on Saturday May 14, and Sunday, May 15.
These protests come in the wake of the leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Tennessee Supreme Court, which in turn is empowered to appoint the state’s attorney general, is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly.
The Tennessee Supreme Court is currently made up of justices Jeffrey S. Bivins, Sarah K. Campbell, Holly Kirby, Sharon G. Lee, and Roger A. Page.
According to AAA-The Auto Club Group, the Florida average price for gasoline reached a new record high of $4.49 per gallon on Sunday.
The latest price beats the previous record of $4.38 per gallon set back in March soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. Before this year, the record high was $4.08 per gallon, which was set back in 2008.
Florida’s average price jumped about 30 cents in the past week. The state average is now $1.60 per gallon more than a year ago. It now costs $67 for a full 15-gallon tank of gas. That’s $24 more than what drivers paid this time last year.
Based on the gasolinemiserindex.com website, Florida consumers are paying $889 more annually on gasoline when compared to spending last year. The is approximately 21% higher than the $735 the average American family is spending this year.
“Drivers are dealing with unprecedented pain at the pump and things could soon get worse before they get better,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “We saw more big gains in the gasoline futures market late last week, which could trickle down to yet another 10-20 cent jump at the pump in the near future.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares announced a violent crime task force composed of officials from the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, and the Virginia State Police. Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Bob Mosier will lead the task force alongside Chief Deputy Attorney General Chuck Slemp.
“There is a clear recognition of a violent crime crisis in Virginia and my administration is committed to joining with community leaders, law enforcement, and Virginians around solutions with the Violent Crime task force,” Youngkin said in the Monday announcement.
The senatorial race between Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) and Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL-10) is beginning to heat up with each trading jabs. While Demings has not officially received the Democrat nomination, much Democrat support, fundraising, and polling is coalescing around Demings.
Demings recently went on the attack against Rubio calling him an abortion “extremist.”
Jake Evans, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the May 24 Republican primary for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat said, “We’ve got to finish the wall.”
Evans’ comments come as part of a wide-ranging conversation that he had with The Georgia Star News.