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Florida execution
Florida carried out its third execution this year on Wed. 56-year-old Darryl Barwick was put to death by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke. Barwick was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in November 1986, and sentenced to death two months later. The execution marked the state’s 102nd since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. The group Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty issued a statement reading “Tonight, by killing Darryl Barwick, we the People of the State of Florida also killed the belief that redemption matters…. This execution cements the short-sighted notion that people are irrevocably defined by the worst thing they have ever done.”
Lake Wales shooter killed in standoff
The suspect involved in a Lake Wales shooting investigation that left a woman and her three children dead was killed in a standoff with police Wed. Officials say 38 yr. old Al Joseph Stenson shot and killed a 40 yr. old woman and her 3 children early Tuesday morning and then fled to a motel in Sanford. An hours long standoff involving crisis negotiation and SWAT ended in an officer-involved shooting. Stenson was pronounced dead at the scene.
County Commission votes to limit minor access to library books
The Hillsborough County Commission voted Wednesday to explore limiting access to some books in public libraries. News Channel 8 is reporting that Republican Commissioner Michael Owen proposed asking the county library board to come up with a plan to limit access to certain books and online material to children under the age of 18, citing several titles he believes have questionable content. Several parents at the meeting disagreed, including Rachel Perez who makes her living as a professional book reviewer. She said she wants her children to have access to “good ALA-affiliated libraries that foster critical thinking”, adding, “I do not need a nanny state implemented to help me parent my children.” After reading several passages from the bible dealing with sex and rape, James Shaw with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa said if limits are approved, the Bible may be removed from public libraries.
Florida House approves college diversity spending bill
The Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that includes preventing colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. SB 266, which now heads to Governor DeSantis, touched off a fierce debate about Florida’s higher-education system and campus speech. Meanwhile, dozens of protestors blocked the entrance to DeSantis’ office at the Capitol on Wed., criticizing his policies and his approach to governing. Members of the Dream Defenders, Florida Rising and Showing Up for Racial Justice crowded the lobby of the office, many of them sitting on the carpet locking hands.
At least 14 Dream Defenders were arrested for refusing to leave the Capital after it had closed. Press Secretary Akin Olla said, “This protest was about the entirety of DeSantis’s governance and his attempts to divide the people of Florida by attacking the most vulnerable people…including trans people, his power grab at Florida school boards and his attacks on abortion rights.”
Florida House passes “Bathroom Bill”
The Florida legislature also passed a bill that puts rules in place about who can use what bathroom. The measure now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis who has publicly supported an agenda many see as an attack on the L-G-B-T-Q-plus community.
Supervisor of Elections network hacked
An investigation is underway after an unauthorized user illegally accessed files on a shared drive on the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office’s network. Elections Supervisor Craig Latimer issued a media alert Wednesday afternoon, saying his office was working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, adding that “any attack on our office – even one that does not interfere with the conduct of an election – is an attack on our community and our democracy.” Latimer reassured residents that the unauthorized user did not have access to the voter registration system or the ballet tabulation system which uses a stand-alone server that is not connected to anything else.
Delivery driver safety
Last month, a Door Dash delivery driver was raped at gunpoint in Tampa. Another driver for Uber Eats was murdered and dismembered in Pasco County in a way one sheriff called ‘demonic’.
Information from the Florida Public Radio network, News Service of Florida and Associated Press was used in this report.
