Senior News for Ocala, Lady Lake & The Villages
Gov. Scott: Florida Businesses Created Nearly 14,000 Private-Sector Jobs in November
NAPLES, Fla. — Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida businesses created nearly 14,000 private-sector jobs across the state in November. The state’s unemployment rate also remained at a 10-year low of 3.6 percent. Since December 2010, Florida businesses have created 1,465,800 jobs. Florida’s annual job growth rate of 2.5 percent continues to exceed the nation’s rate of 1.6 percent. [Read more…]
By Florida Senator Baxley
“Wreaths Across America” provided a highlight of inspiration this week as hundreds of volunteers and veterans spread out over Highland Memorial Park to place a wreath with a salute and gratitude for each fallen soldier. This is spreading all across the country at the Christmas season as we honor all those who have selflessly served, and remember them with honor and dignity.
We believe in remembering. America is strong and the world is safer when America is strong. All of these dedicated men and women, who took the oath of sacrifice for others, must be remembered. They were not policy makers. They were simply ordinary people ready to protect and serve in defense of others. [Read more…]
(NAPSI)—Many older Americans have discovered that sharing their accumulated wisdom with others who need help can be a big win all around.
Here’s a look at two ways you can stretch your mind and show your heart:
Experience Corps
AARP Foundation Experience Corps unites teachers, schools and older adults to improve children’s academic and social outcomes. This benefits the children, the schools and the volunteers.
The program has been proven to help children who aren’t reading at grade level become better readers by the end of third grade. Last school year, 76 percent of students who were below grade level at the beginning of the year raised their reading and literacy performance by one or more proficiency levels with the help of Experience Corps volunteers. [Read more…]
Without a doubt, the massacre in Sutherland Springs has captured our awareness that good people trying to worship are now among those vulnerable to violence.
Churches are a safe place for the lonely and vulnerable and welcome all those who enter their doors. Yet, they have a new awareness to the responsibility they have to protect those among their congregations. We owe parishioners security and safety while they worship.
In that spirit, we intend to file the Church Protection bill which is now in drafting. This bill will allow concealed weapons permit holders to be utilized by their church officials to provide security in the event anything should happen. Many churches can’t afford elaborate professional security staff, but this bill will allow trained citizens, law enforcement officers, veterans, and sportsman to accept responsibility for the safety of themselves and others should such instances occur. [Read more…]
This week, as a member of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, I voted for a comprehensive plan to better combat drug abuse in our country and save lives. Our commission unanimously approved its final report that includes 65 strategic recommendations.
I have been honored to serve on the commission and I want to thank President Donald J. Trump for his leadership on this critical public safety issue—quickly creating this commission and declaring a national public health emergency to help address the opioid crisis. [Read more…]
By Senator Baxley
Floridians are finally starting to return to life as normal after Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc in our state for almost two weeks. Irma delivered a blow to millions of people throughout the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, leaving many left to piece their lives back together in its wake. Hurricane Irma’s furious march through Florida not only darkened millions of homes, it also flooded roads and piled them with debris, blocking off access to neighborhoods. This has presented more problems for local governments to figure out the best way to clean up and begin recovery efforts. Yet Florida, undoubtedly, has proven its resilience after Irma. Tap water is drinkable. Trash has been picked up. Public transit has slowly come back online. At airports, flights are regularly taking off. We must be grateful for the careful leadership and preparation that Governor Rick Scott and all our elected officials provided before and after the storm. Florida has never seen such widespread effects from a hurricane like this before, and were it not for the tireless efforts of so many, it could have been much worse. [Read more…]
I was in Washington D.C. this week as President Donald J. Trump declared a national public health emergency to bolster efforts to combat the opioid epidemic killing Americans. An estimated 142 Americans die every day from opioid use.
I have dedicated my entire career to prosecuting drug traffickers and removing dangerous drugs from our communities—first as a state prosecutor and for the past seven years as your attorney general.
During that time, I have seen the types of drugs sold on our streets become more potent and deadly. Today heroin is often mixed with fentanyl and taking this deadly drug cocktail just one time can prove fatal. [Read more…]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott directed the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to work with other state agencies, Florida ports, law enforcement and fuel retailers to begin examining ways to increase fuel capacity during emergencies such as hurricanes. FDOT’s report will be submitted in January 2018 and will include recommendations for fuel distribution and availability to consumers.
Governor Scott said, “Today, I am directing FDOT to begin examining ways to increase fuel capacity so we can be sure families and visitors have the resources they need to safely prepare and evacuate during times of emergencies. [Read more…]
$1.7 Billion for Florida’s World-Class Beaches, Springs, State Parks, Everglades and Natural Treasures
NAPLES, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that he will propose more than $1.7 billion to protect Florida’s environment as part of his 2018-2019 recommended budget. This $1.7 billion funding for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is a more than $220 million increase over the current year.
The proposed funding will include:
Stopping human trafficking in our state is a top priority of mine, and has been since I became Attorney General. Florida is a zero-tolerance state for this terrible crime that robs victims of their freedoms, and my office and our partners are working diligently to rescue victims and lock up the monsters who traffic them. Just this week, working with local, state and federal partners, we arrested a man charged with recruiting women online and then forcing them into the sex trade.
The facts of this case are appalling. The defendant is charged with preying on women and, in some cases, using violence to force them into sex trafficking—all while depositing large amounts of cash into his bank account. According to the investigation, the defendant recruited victims using online advertisements seeking to hire young women to work as dancers or companions. Victims who answered the ads, in some cases, were forced through violence to perform sex acts to profit the defendant. [Read more…]
