The Point

The Point, Jan. 14, 2020: Increased Teacher Pay? State Senator Says 'It's All Going To Depend On How Much Money We Have'

WUFT | By Gabriella Paul

Published January 14, 2020 at 1:00 PM EST

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Today's top Florida stories

• From our Fresh Take Florida team: Holding signs reading phrases like “My second job pays me to teach,” “Don’t make me use my teacher voice!” and “Teacher burnout is why we have this turnout,” thousands of teachers rallied in Tallahassee the day before the 2020 session got started. Their energy and protest is could help to keep increased teacher pay a focus as the state budget comes together this year. (WUFT News)

• Tampa Bay Times ($): University of Florida also a target in foreign research scandal. "Three of the researchers resigned and one was terminated after the university received a letter from the National Institutes of Health regarding questionable foreign meddling in grant research and funding."

• Gainesville Sun ($): Civil rights trailblazer Ed Jennings Sr. dies."Ed Jennings Sr., a former longtime Gainesville city official and an African American leader in Gainesville, died Friday night. He was 82."

• WCJB: Newberry commission unanimously vote in favor of Second Amendment sanctuary city resolution. Newberry Commissioner Tim Marden told WCJB: “I think the Newberry community values their personal freedoms and liberties more so I guess than any of the surrounding areas, so I think it's important that the commission lend our voice for the broader community at large."

• USA Today Network ($): Not all issues are new at the Capitol, as lawmakers revisit roads, voting, guns and more this session. "Opening a new decade, a fresh Florida legislative session begins Tuesday but it will still find lawmakers with a lot of leftover business on their minds."

• WJCT: $1.3 Billion In Savings Going Back To Florida Prepaid Families. "According to DeSantis, people who paid off plans they purchased in 2008 or later will be getting an average refund of around $4,700."

• Sun Sentinel ($): You won’t get to vote on recreational marijuana this year. "A group (Make it Legal Florida) pushing a constitutional amendment said Monday it will drop its bid to get on this year’s ballot and instead focus on 2022."

• Florida Storms: Near-Record Warmth Expected to Continue All Week in Florida. "Record highs were common from Jacksonville to Fort Myers Saturday and Sunday, and several more may fall this week."

• Pensacola News Journal ($): NAS Pensacola attack officially an ‘act of terrorism’ by lone gunman. "(U.S. Attorney General William) Barr said the trainees will return to Saudi Arabia today where the kingdom 'will review each of these cases under their code of military justice and their criminal code.'"

• Bay News 9: Hillsborough Sheriff Gives Investigation Update After 3rd ATM Explosion. "There are now three unsolved cases of bank machine explosions. The latest explosion happened Sunday at a Regions Bank, located at 3522 Bell Shoals Road in Valrico."

• TC Palm ($): Environmental groups join Mast, want sugar lobbyists off Lake Okeechobee planning panel. "The groups are calling for Nicole "Nikki" Fried, commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, to remove Thomas K. MacVicar and William Baker from the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual Project Delivery Team…"

• New York Times ($): Wealth and Fraud in 1920s Florida. "At one point, as national magazines began to expose the worst of the fraudulent real estate rackets, the industry fought back with an event called “The Truth About Florida,” which was exactly the opposite."

• Florida Politics: Democrats put up Puerto Rico paper towel billboard for Mike Pence visit. "'Never Forget' is the message the Florida Democratic Party wants to impart to Central Florida Puerto Ricans in advance of Vice President Mike Pence‘s rally Thursday evening in Kissimmee... the Democrats are referring to the federal response and President Donald Trump‘s statements and actions following the devastation of the island by Hurricane Maria in 2017."

• Palm Beach Post ($): Former Mrs. Florida headed to prison for stealing elderly mom’s SSI checks. "The conservative media darling is also ordered to spend 100 hours of community service at a nursing home to remind her of the time she never spent with her mother."

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