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Governor Ron DeSantis scored a key victory in the school mask mandate case Friday.

The First District Court of Appeal put the ban back in effect while the case moves forward.

DeSantis has been fairly consistent in his predictions on a wide array of lawsuits filed against the state, essentially calling the trial court is a crapshoot, but a guaranteed victory on appeal.

“That’s just kind of the way the cookie crumbles,” said DeSantis is a press conference earlier this week.

And that’s exactly how it has so far played out on the school mask mandate case.

The appellate court reinstating a stay on the lower court’s ruling all but guarantees the mandate ban will remain in effect for the rest of the school semester.

“Just like last year in the school re-opening litigation, the First District Court of Appeal has reinstated Florida’s ability to protect the freedom for parents to make the best decisions for their children while they make their own ruling on the appeal. We look forward to winning the appeal and will continue to fight for parents’ rights,” said the Governor’s Communications Director Taryn Fenske in an emailed statement.

This year the state also suffered defeats in trial courts on vaccine passports related to cruise ships, it’s social media censorship law and a law capping contributions to citizen initiatives.

Most recently the state’s anti-riot law was blocked by a federal judge.

“Knowing the court that was hearing it, it was no surprise at all,” said Representative Cord Byrd, who sponsored the anti-rioting legislation.

Byrd believes, like in the mask mandate suit, the state will win on appeal in most of the pending cases.

“I would expect that several of them will be reversed and we will get favorable rulings in the 11th, and if not then we’ll take them up to the Supreme Court,” said Byrd.

On the other hand, Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith is hoping to deliver another defeat with his lawsuit requesting detailed COVID data.

“The time for breaking the law and not releasing public records is over,” said Smith.

He also argued the state keeps losing in the trail courts for a reason.

“Because they keep doubling down on unconstitutional ideas,” said Smith.

The appeals process in both state and federal courts often takes many months, so at least for now, many of the trail court defeats will stick, but if history is an accurate guide they won’t stick forever.

There is no database on how many law enforcement openings there are at the state level.

Neither the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or the Florida Sheriffs Association tracks the data, but the number is likely in the thousands, which is why new recruitment efforts are underway.

From one end of the state to the other there are job openings in law enforcement.

There are at least 350 law enforcement agencies in Florida.

If each one had just five vacancies, it would mean more than 1,700 unfilled positions.

There are twelve alone in rural Levy County alone, where Bobby McCallum is Sheriff.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is to a county my size and an agency my size,” said McCallum, who is also the President of the Florida Sheriffs Association.

Three years ago, two deputies were gunned down as they ate lunch at a diner in next door Gilchrist County, evidence the job is more dangerous than ever.

“It also is about the violence, and level of violence. Families being worried about their spouses being in this profession,” said McCallum.

Now the Governor is proposing $5,000 hiring bonuses and tuition at an academy to boost recruiting.

While Florida is considered police friendly because of bonuses and the anti-riot bill pushed through earlier this year, Sheriff McCallum did tell us the anti-police attitude nationwide is having an impact here.

“Sometimes they are waiting too long and they put themselves in jeopardy, and they bypassed on that because they’ll think in the back of their mind, hey, I’m gonna get sued,” said McCallum.

Speaking in Walton County Thursday, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters the cash itself is important, but there’s more to his proposal than just the money.

“The fact that we are doing that shows that we stand by and we appreciate them,” said DeSantis.

Lawmakers must still approve any bonuses.

The bonuses can also be a double-edged sword, if they end up attracting officers who have been forced out elsewhere for questionable behavior.

Sheriff McCallum said out-of-state agencies aren’t always as forthcoming as those in Florida.

Attorneys representing parents suing the state over its school mask mandate ban have until 8PM Thursday to submit their arguments to convince an appellate court not to allow the mandate ban to remain in effect as the case moves forward.

The court’s decision will have lasting impacts, but there are plenty of other challenges to the mandate ban also in play.

In last year’s school reopening lawsuit, the First District Court of Appeal reinstating a stay was the moment things turned in the state’s favor.

“To this point the cases have kind of mirrored the same process,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, which led the school reopening lawsuit.

Spar said it’s difficult to predict if the appellate court will also stay the ruling in the mask mandate case.

“But again, you know you’re talking about an appellate court that is appointed by the Governor,” said Spar.

If the appeals court reinstates a stay on the ruling that blocked the mask mandate ban, it’s likely the ban will remain in place for the rest of the school semester.

“It’s not a matter of days or weeks, most likely it’s a matter of months,” said Charles Gallagher, an attorney representing parents who sued to overturn the mask mandate ban.

Gallagher is cautiously optimistic there won’t be a repeat of last year.

“This is going to be a length of time that is a window unguarded for kids to get COVID if there is a stay in place,” said Gallagher.

A ruling from the Appellate Court could come as early as Thursday evening.

Last year, it took less than 24 hours for the stay to be reinstated.

Even if things don’t go in parents’ favor, school boards have filed their own challenge in administrative court, looking to strike down the Department of Health Rule requiring parental opt-outs.

“We’re really looking at it as one of the steps in our process,” said Alachua School Superintendent Dr. Carlee Simon.

Alachua is one of four school districts that have filed the administrative challenge.

Simon said the battle over mask mandates is just beginning.

“This seems to be a new area for education law and my anticipation is that there’s much more to come,” said Simon.

There’s also a federal lawsuit arguing the mask mandate ban violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A Hearing was held Wednesday and an initial ruling is expected soon.

The fight over school masking is heating up in the courts with a Judge lifting the automatic stay on his ruling that blocked the state from enforcing its mandate ban.

The order is now back in effect, but the mandate ban could soon be back in force.

Judge John Cooper said allowing his ruling to take effect wouldn’t cause any substantial harm to the state, but he said continuing to allow the state to ban mask mandates in schools could harm students and districts.

“We have a variant that’s more infectious and more dangerous to children than the one we had last year,” said Cooper.

Cooper said his ruling came down to ensuring the state followed the parents bill of rights, the same statute used to justify the mandate ban in the first place.

The law allows government bodies to override the rights of parents if a policy is narrowly tailored, serves a compelling state interest and isn’t served by less restrictive means.

“The bottom line is, this case is about enforcing the laws the Legislature passed,” said Cooper.

Cooper also pointed out his ruling allows the state to challenge local mask policies, so long as districts are provided due process.

“To permit the local school boards to meet their burden under the statute,” said Cooper.

However, Cooper’s ruling might have a short shelf life.

“It’s in the hands of the First District Court of Appeal,” said Cooper.

Last year in the school reopening case, the Appellate Court overruled a different judge’s decision to lift an automatic stay within 24 hours.

There was more than one challenge to the state’s mask mandate ban heard Wednesday though.

Just a few hours after Cooper adjourned his hearing, a Federal Judge in Miami heard arguments in a case alleging the mandate ban violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A ruling in that case is expected soon.

We reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment on the two cases, but didn’t hear back in time for this story.

Alachua, Broward and Orange County School Districts have started a new battle in administrative court, filing a challenge to the Department of Health rule requiring parental opt-outs from mask mandates.

Miami-Dade Schools also filed a similar challenge.

Neither case has been scheduled for a hearing yet.

After spending more than $2.7 million on a petition drive to create more affordable housing, Florida Realtors are dropping the effort.

The move faced significant opposition from top legislative leaders.

Florida realtors launched the amendment drive in June, seeking to restore affordable housing’s share of documentary stamp revenues.

“Every single year a portion of the housing trust funds are swept into the states general revenues,” said Christina Pappas with the Florida Realtors Association.

State and national realtors put $13 million into the kitty, but they angered legislative leadership.

In July, incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo didn’t mince words.

”I said to them, I’ll be honest with you, you’ve declared war on the Florida Legislature,” said Passidomo.

Next came high level conversations with the legislative leadership who oppose most amendments that tie legislative hands.

“We had no agreements to do anything,” said Passidomo. “You should never budget in the constitution. That’s what they do in California, and it creates issues.”

Realtors got the message.

Late Tuesday they folded on the petition drive, and said they will instead push for a legislative solution to the affordable housing crisis.

Now, the plan is to prioritize affordable housing for first responders and other front line workers.

“We did an analysis and there are very few of the first responders…the front line workers , nurses, teachers, etc. that are participants in the Ship and Sail programs, so we need to ask why,” said Passidomo.

Passidomo did tell us that the realtors didn’t waste the $2.7 million they’ve already spent because it is what brought everybody to the negotiating table.

Earlier this year, legislation changed how revenues from real estate transactions are divided up.

Now, more than $200 million will go to affordable housing every year.

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorists attacks.

It was a day that saw the State Capitol shut down and tourism crash.

Florida played a central role in the ensuing investigation.

Then-Governor Jeb Bush and the six Cabinet members were meeting off site across town for a regular monthly meeting on September 11th, 2021.

After the planes hit, notes were exchanged and the Governor was given a cell phone.

“Let me find an office where I can talk we can make a quick decision on this. What’s your feeling about it,” said Governor Bush at the time.

The decision was made to close the 22-story Capitol and the 17-story education center.

“And the fact that it is a high profile building, it is probably appropriate to evacuate the building,” said Governor Bush.

Even after commercial planes were flying again, few people did, prompting Jeb Bush and his wife to take a trip to show it was safe.

“Without commercial aviation, this state won’t survive,” said Bush.

Florida US Senator Bob Graham and Southwest Florida Congressman Porter Goss led the investigation into the intelligence failure.

Twenty-eight pages of their final report remain classified today.

The 28 pages implicate the Saudi government.

“That chapter relates to who financed 9/11. I think that’s a critical issue,” said Graham in April of 2016.

Graham, who authored the pages, has been seeking their publication ever since.

“The American people need to know, so that they can make an assessment of who are our real friends and allies, and who are people who are really willing to stab us in the back,” said Graham.

After 19 years of secrecy, those 28 pages could soon be made public, likely within the next six to eight months.

Six days after the attack, trading on Wall Street resumed.

The market dropped more than seven percent and the state pension fund dropped by $5 billion.

Today it remains one of the strongest pension funds in the country, totaling nearly $200 billion.

Top brass in the Florida Legislature are throwing their support behind taking up a Texas-style heartbeat bill that would effectively ban abortions after six weeks of gestation when lawmakers meet early next year, but the Governor has not yet thrown his full support behind the idea.

The Texas heartbeat law allows private citizens and organizations to file civil litigation against anyone who helps facilitate an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

If successful, they could win a $10,000 settlement from a violator.

“The bill is the exact same bill as the bill in Texas,” said State Representative Anthony Sabatini.

Sabatini plans to sponsor heartbeat legislation here in Florida.

“It’s about stopping the murder of children who have a heartbeat who happen to be pre-born,” said Sabatini.

In the past, heartbeat bills were filed, but they’ve never gained traction.

Now, the Senate President and House Speaker have thrown their support behind debating the idea, after the US Supreme Court declined to block the Texas law from taking effect.

“We’re looking at the most extreme abortion ban in the country,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani.

Eskamani points out that the Supreme Court didn’t rule the Texas law was constitutional, instead, it said it couldn’t block the law because there was no one to sue yet.

“Since the state is not the enforcer, the enforcer is this whistle blower system,” said Eskamani.

Eskamani believes there’s a strong possibility the Texas law could be struck down before Florida lawmakers have a chance to pass their own.

When asked if he’d support a heartbeat bill here Governor Ron DeSantis said he needed more time to see what happens in Texas.

“It’s a little bit different than how a lot of these debates have gone, so we’ll have to look. I’m going to look more significantly at it,” said DeSantis.

Democrats attribute public opinion with blocking previous attempts at passing abortion bans in Florida.

They point to the 2012 constitutional amendment shot down by 55% of voters.

The amendment would have reversed a State Supreme Court ruling which determined the right to privacy in the State Constitution prevents most abortion restrictions.

Democrats are also calling for federal legislation, to protect against the possibility that the tides have truly shifted in the courts on abortion.

The state’s school mask mandate ban was already back in effect Friday.

It was reinstated automatically when the the state appealed.

Now that the appeals process has begun the next battle for parents is to try and get the ruling back in place as the case is appealed.

When the state filed it’s notice to appeal the ruling that struck down the blanket ban on school mask mandates the ruling was automatically blocked.

The Department of Education has now informed superintendents, unless the ruling is unblocked, it will continue sanctioning districts that don’t provide parental opt-outs.

“The numbers continue to be very very problematic. Rates are very high,” said Charles Gallagher, one of the attorneys representing parents who sued the state.

Gallagher said parents have already filed a motion to vacate the stay, arguing children could suffer irreparable harm if the mandate ban remains in effect.

“We’re talking about vitally affecting kids’ lives. Kids getting sick, kids possibly dying,” said Gallagher.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, and the decision will be made by the same judge who issued the ruling striking down the ban in the first place.

If the judge rules Wednesday to allow his ruling to go into effect, the state could then ask the appellate court to block it once again.

The final decision will likely set state masking policy for the bulk of the remaining school semester.

“The appeal is not going to be a quick process,” said Gallagher.

Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran has maintained confidence the state will prevail at the appellate level, like it did in the school reopening case last year.

“Last year it took about 45, 49 days and the court ruled emphatically in our favor and they’re going to do the same thing here,” said Corcoran in an interview last Wednesday.

The Florida School Boards Association told us districts are very closely watching the case.

Their expectation is that the State Supreme Court will weigh in before all is over.

School districts themselves have so far refrained from filing a lawsuit of their own, but several have indicated one may be on the horizon.

A total of 13 districts have adopted mandatory mask policies with no parental opt-out.

Judge John Cooper has officially issued his ruling on school mask mandates, but with the state planning an immediate appeal, the mandates’ legality will remain in a state of uncertainty at least for now.

The state has taken the position it can continue imposing sanctions on school districts that don’t provide a parental opt-out as soon as it files for appeal.

Judge Cooper made it clear on Friday, his ruling would block the Department of Education from enforcing a blanket ban on mask mandates, but he also made it clear the ruling wouldn’t take effect until the ink was dry on the written order.

“And this is why. I don’t want confusion out there,” said Cooper.

The Department of Education took the position it could continue sanctioning school boards as the order was being finalized.

The order was officially posted late Thursday afternoon.

“We are fraught in the middle of confusion right now,” said Charles Gallagher, one of the attorneys representing parents suing the state.

Gallagher told us he believes DOE’s actions pending the order were out of bounds.

“I don’t know how one could say they don’t know the import or extent of the oral order rendered last Friday,” said Gallagher.

Attorney General Ashley Moody in an advisory opinion issued earlier this week to Suwannee School District sided with DOE, and told the district it must continue complying with the ban on mask mandates.

“The District must comply with applicable statutes and regulations unless and until the judiciary declares them invalid,” said Moody in the opinion.

Gallagher said parents are considering filing contempt of court sanctions, if the Department of Education continues enforcing the mask mandate ban now that Cooper’s ruling has been filed.

If things seem confusing now, the state has vowed to immediately appeal, which will automatically put Cooper’s ruling on hold.

Moody went on in the opinion to explain once the automatic stay on the ruling was handed down, districts would still be subject to the mask mandate ban.
But Gallahager said parents plan to ask for the ruling to remain in effect as the case makes its way through the appellate court.

“Because of the underlying issues of health and illness and danger to the students in the schools,” said Gallagher.

The final decision on whether Cooper’s ruling is allowed to remain in effect will determine the law of the land for what could be the bulk of the remaining school semester, because the appeals process could take months.

For many, Labor Day is summer’s last hurrah, filled with time at the beach and barbecues, but many in the state’s physically disabled community are going to be left out because the state has been slow to reopen the one park that is dedicated to those with physical disabilities.

Rish Park is located on Cape San Blas on the Panhandle coast.

The beachfront park is the state’s only fully handicap accessible facility for outdoor recreation.

The park has been closed since 2018’s Hurricane Michael.

Disability advocates assert the state has been dragging its feet.

“This Labor Day weekend, this beautiful sunshine right now. I’d like to be at the beach. Fellow Floridians with disabilities would like to be at the beach. But Rish Park is closed,” said advocate Dr. J.R. Harding.

Drone video taken in August 2019, 10 months after Michael hit, shows damage to the beach walkway, but little else.

“It’s essentially like the Department of Transportation not knowing how to build a road,” said environmental engineer Dr. Max Lee.

Dr. Lee said the park should have been open long before now.

“The park itself was able to be open about two and a half years ago. I’d say eighty, seventy-five percent of it,” said Lee.

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities points out that it couldn’t risk someone getting hurt by opening the park before it’s fully ready.

But the advocates argue the disabled often have shorter life spans and three years is a long time.

“So, think of your family and what would you do if three years of it was removed,” said Dr. Harding.

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities did point out there are other facilities, such as a new ADA compliant glass bottom boat at Silver Springs, but Harding and Lee argued no facility matches the amenities at Rish Park.

Rish Park is the only park operated by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

The advocates argue the park would be better managed by the state park system than APD.

Commissioner of Agriculture and gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Fried held a moment of silence Wednesday to pay somber respects to the nearly 45,000 Floridians that have lost their lives to COVID since the start of the pandemic.

She is calling on Floridians to do everything in their power to slow the spread.

Aside from the occasional camera shutter, the cabinet room was silent for a full minute.

It was a gesture by Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture to recognize the 44,571 Floridians lost since the start of the pandemic.

“Let’s honor their lives by living ours with care and with respect for our neighbors and for our communities,” said Fried.

Fried said she felt it was important to recognize the lives lost in what she described as ‘a war’.

“We’ve got to do this together to get through this pandemic, and make sure that we are utilizing all the tools in the shed. That’s masking up, that’s getting the vaccine,” said Fried.

The ceremony came the same day as the CDC reported four additional pediatric deaths in Florida.

It’s a 17 percent jump from the week prior, bringing the total to 27 Florida children lost since the start of the pandemic.

“That’s heartbreaking, that we’re losing our children,” said Fried.

Fried renewed her appreciation for school districts mandating face masks, in defiance of the state.

“I’m just proud of them for sticking up for our kids and for their safety,” said Fried.

But so far in the school year, our analysis of student case rates based on numbers posted to 10 districts’ COVID dashboards with varying masking policies yielded no clear patterns.

Still, Fried is encouraging parents to mask up their children.

“We’ve got to do everything we can,” said Fried.

In what may feel like a never ending wave of COVID, there is a glimmer of hope.

For the first time since August 7th, the state’s seven day rolling average of daily cases has dropped below 20,000.

Florida’s hospitalizations have also dropped from a peak of 16,579 patients down to 15,562 statewide.