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Monday, 01 September 2008 |
After grueling campaigning for the August 26 elections, the results are
in and while some candidates who were expected to win copped their
victory, there were some election upsets and a few surprises along the
way.
In the Congressional races, Congressman Alcee Hastings and Ron Klein
were easily re-elected. For Florida State Representative Gwendolyn
Clarke–Reed also won convincingly in District 92.
Taking a landslide victory, Christopher Smith, in the race for State
Senate Representative District 29, walloped his competitors by 71.4
percent of the votes, leaving his closest rival, Earleen Smiley with a
mere 15.8 percent.
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Unemployment worse in 13 years |
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Saturday, 23 August 2008 |
Unemployment continues to rise in Florida, leading the nation with an
rate of 6.1 percent in July, the worst in 13 years and represents an
increase over the 5.5 percent recorded in June. Over the past year
approximately 96,000 jobs have been lost in the state. However, the
rate of job losses in South Florida has been less than the state’s
average, except for Palm Beach County where job losses averaged 6.9
percent compared to 4.9 percent in July 2007.
Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate of 5.2 percent was slightly less than
the June average of 5.3 percent, but up from the 3.8 percent recorded a
year ago. Jobs losses in Broward were reported at 5.8 percent up from
3.9 this time last year. Munroe County recorded lowest job loss rate at
4.6 percent, but still an increase from the 3 percent recorded in June
of 2007.alm Beach County t a year ago.
Across the South Florida the greatest job loss was recorded in
construction (16,400 jobs), manufacturing (4,000), retail (5,000) and
financial services (5,600). On the other hand there were job gains
recorded by hospitals, the leisure and hospitality industry and with
city, county, and state governments.
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US Rep. Hastings still pushing |
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Saturday, 23 August 2008 |
U.S. Representative Alcee L. Hastings (D-Miramar) has issued a
statement expressing his concern for the people of Haiti following
Tropical Storm Fay’s drenching of the island which has caused high wind
storms, flash floods, and mudslides.
In his statement Hastings also called on President Bush to grant
Haitian nationals currently residing in the U.S. Temporary Protected
Status (TPS).
The US Rep said, “My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti,
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the other countries impacted
by Tropical Storm Fay. I will do everything I can to ensure that the
United States provides the necessary assistance to help these countries
recover from this storm.”
Hastings who is an ardent supporter of
Haitian causes said, “In light of Fay’s impact on Haiti, I once again
call on President Bush to grant Haitians in the United State Temporary
Protected Status. To force Haitians to return to Haiti anytime in the
near future not only places their lives and well-being in jeopardy, but
places added strain on the Haitian government as it tries to recover
from Fay and meet the needs of its citizens.”
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Monday, 18 August 2008 |
According to a Sun-Sentinel report clear racial discrimination is being
practiced by the manager at a Davie apartment complex. The reports
stated that the racist manager has been denying rental contracts to
African-American applicants, and then use the absence of African
American tenants in the complex to appeal to whites. This was the
accusation made against apartment manager Dan Murroni of the College
Square Apartment complex located at 6600 SW 39th Street in Davie and
C.F. Enterprises LLC in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the U.S. Justice
Department.
The lawsuit accuses the parties of discriminating against Black people
trying to rent the apartments in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Evidence was gathered through the department's Operation Home Sweet
Home initiative, where individuals pose as renters to identify possible
discriminatory practices.
The complaint alleges the defendants discouraged African-Americans from
applying and offered to waive the application fee and other costs for
white applicants only. The lawsuit, filed in Fort Lauderdale federal
court, seeks an injunction against further discrimination, money
damages for victims and civil penalties to be paid to the United States.
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Tax shortfall could be worse than expected |
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Monday, 18 August 2008 |
According to reports, the decline in Florida’s tax revenues could be
much more significant than was originally projected. It said state
economists plan to meet on Friday, August 15 to determine how bad a
deficit there will be in the state’s budget as a result of declining
sales tax revenues. Estimates are that the state could be faced with a
deficit as high as $1.2 billion. To make up such a huge shortfall,
Governor Charlie Crist will have two options – one to propose more
budget cuts, or to take funds from the state’s capital reserve.
The state Legislature’s chief economist, Amy Baker, confirmed that the
estimated deficit could be real, but the exact figure cannot be
confirmed until the Revenue Estimating Conference meets to analyze and
determine the revenue numbers. However, there are real indications that
the unusually high fuel prices that impacted the state since April, did
affect the spending power of consumers resulting in less retail
purchase. Since April, the state has collected a monthly average of
$102 million less in sale tax revenues. Unless there is a significant
decline in the price of fuel sold in the state, sales tax revenue will
continue to fall.
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