June 4, 2018

Legalizing pot could be key issue for Florida Democrats in 2018

Three of the state’s top Democratic candidates for governor support legalization of recreational marijuana, and the fourth backs decriminalizing pot for personal use, showing near-consensus on an issue political rainmaker John Morgan said could determine the outcome of the August primary.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Winter Park entrepreneur Chris King and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine back an across-the-board legalization of pot in Florida, where voters two years ago overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, meanwhile, has endorsed a plan to decriminalize marijuana for personal use, saying she doesn’t believe people should be locked up for possessing small amounts of pot.

Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled the medical marijuana amendment, called recreational weed a make-or-break issue for Democratic candidates seeking to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Read more: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/06/01/legalizing-pot-could-be-key-issue-for-florida-democrats-in-2018

June 4, 2018

Florida governor candidate Chris King wants to create a bullet tax to pay for gun violence preventio

Florida governor candidate Chris King wants to create a bullet tax to pay for gun violence prevention


Chris King, a Winter Park businessman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Florida, has an interesting idea.

King wants to implement a tax on weapons and bullets to pay for gun violence intervention and prevention programs, school safety measure and studies of gun violence.

Going further, King also wants to use the tax to pay for medical costs for victims of mass shooting.

“I’m proposing the ‘Every Kid Fund’ for gun violence prevention because every child deserves to grow up in a state free from the scourge of gun violence, whether it’s everyday gun violence of mass shootings,” King said in a news release.

Read more: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/06/01/florida-governor-candidate-chris-king-wants-to-create-a-bullet-tax-to-pay-for-gun-violence-prevention

June 4, 2018

Labor board rules Disney didn't discriminate against Orlando union workers by withholding bonuses

The National Labor Relations Board ruled Friday that Walt Disney World did not discriminate against Orlando union workers when the company chose to withhold $1,000 bonuses from those employees.

Back in January, Disney announced it would give $1,000 one-time cash bonuses to 125,000 domestic workers – an initiative that the theme park company attributed to GOP corporate tax cuts.

The six Orlando unions that make up the Service Trades Council Union filed an unfair labor complaint against Disney, alleging the company was retaliating against unionized cast members by refusing to give them the $1,000 bonus until they approved Disney's wage offer. Back in December, workers overwhelmingly voted to reject the contract offering a 6 to 10 percent increase over two years for non-tipped workers. Cast members making $10 per hour would only get a 50-cent raise in their hourly wages during the first year. Union leaders fighting for $15 per hour wage compared Disney's proposed pay raises to "poverty wages."

But NLRB Regional Director David Cohen dismissed the unions' complaint on Friday, arguing that there was "no evidence" to show Disney's decision to bargain with STCU over the bonuses was motivated by "anti-union animus."

Read more: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/06/01/labor-board-rules-disney-didnt-discriminate-against-orlando-union-workers-by-withholding-bonuses

June 4, 2018

Lupe Valdez backs 'red flag' law to take guns out of dangerous hands

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff, said Friday she supports changing state law to allow for “red flag” protective orders, in which a judge can temporarily take guns away from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others.

In unveiling his strategy for reducing gun violence in schools on Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick “to issue an interim charge to consider the merits of adopting a red flag law allowing law enforcement, a family member, school employee or a district attorney to file a petition seeking the removal of firearms from a dangerous person only after legal due process is provided.”

“We should implement, not simply study, extreme risk protection order laws, or `Red Flag’ laws,” Valdez wrote in an opinion article Friday on the Houston Chronicle’s website. “Law enforcement and families should be able to flag someone who may pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. While maintaining due process, their access to firearms should be temporarily limited.”

After Abbott, who is seeking a second term, issued his school and firearm safety plan Wednesday, Straus charged the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence to consider the merits of a red flag law. The committee is chaired by state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, who tweeted Thursday: “Lethal violence protective orders could potentially prevent suicides and mass shootings. The #txlege can save lives by enacting a ‘red flag’ law. Our committee will get to work to build consensus before next session.”

Read more: https://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/lupe-valdez-backs-red-flag-law-take-guns-out-dangerous-hands/df3ebJIOkMby48jyRA5ybL/

June 4, 2018

Nearly 100 women suffered under a Gwinnett dancing doctor's scalpel, lawyer says

An attorney representing three women in cases against a Lilburn dermatologist known for singing and dancing while performing surgery says nearly 100 other women have contacted her office to claim they, too, suffered under the doctor's scalpel.

n videos once posted to Dr. Windell Boutte's public YouTube channel, the board-certified dermatologist can be seen singing as she cuts into a patient or rapping and dancing with surgical instruments in hand during surgical procedures. At times, assistants in scrubs sashayed alongside her.

Susan Witt, an attorney representing three women who claim they suffered from Boutte's work, said close to 100 women reached out to her office in the past week to complain about their results.

"I've had more phone calls and emails than I could respond to," she said.

Read more: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/nearly-women-suffered-under-a-gwinnett-dancing-doctor-s-scalpel/article_4d385537-5861-562b-b7cd-ee1420995710.html

June 4, 2018

Democrats send the Legislature a first: A Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh

The conversations that Republicans and Democrats are engaged in this summer have never been so disconnected in Georgia, on topics ranging from guns to health care. But differences are most glaring when it comes to immigration.

On the Republican side, candidates for governor have become echoes of Donald Trump. Casey Cagle has declared war on the city of Decatur, for failing to cooperate as thoroughly as the lieutenant governor would like with federal immigration authorities.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp has bragged on his massive pick-up – “Just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take ‘em home myself.” And never mind that former GOP candidate and his “deportation bus,” who was dispatched in the May 22 primary.

So far, the most pronounced Democratic reaction has come from state Senate District 5 in Gwinnett County, a thin strip of territory with a spine formed by I-85 and a piece of Ga. 316.

Democratic voters there have decided to send the state Legislature its first Muslim member, a 57-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant and businessman named Sheikh Rahman.

Read more: https://politics.myajc.com/blog/politics/democrats-send-the-legislature-first-muslim-immigrant-from-bangladesh/ol8OJzw6rCiVDhOTnqFVhJ/

June 4, 2018

Georgia candidate named Sandra Bullock drops out after surprise win

Sandra Bullock, who won last week’s primary election for the Georgia House in part because she shares the same name as the famous movie star, withdrew from the race Wednesday, making way for the Democratic Party candidate she had defeated.

Bullock, who had never previously run for office, won the primary for an open seat representing the Smyrna area even though she didn’t meet with many voters, raise money or campaign.

Bullock’s name made her instantly recognizable to voters, who were more familiar with the Hollywood actress who starred in “The Blind Side,” “Speed” and the upcoming “Ocean’s 8.”

Her withdrawal from the race allows her more established primary opponent, Erick Allen, to replace her on the ballot in a district targeted by Democrats to flip from Republican control. Hillary Clinton won the district with about 54 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential election, according to the Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office.

Read more: https://politics.myajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/georgia-candidate-named-sandra-bullock-drops-out-after-surprise-win/i3xpKeNVPUCYq52oteSRuJ/

June 4, 2018

Bill Clinton returning to Atlanta to promote his first novel

Former President Bill Clinton will be in Atlanta in just over a week for a book event.

He will appear at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on June 13 at 7:30 p.m. to promote his first novel, "The President Is Missing." The book, which goes on sale June 4, is a collaboration between Clinton and best-selling author James Patterson.

As of June 3, tickets for the event are still available at PresidentClintonLive.com or by calling 800-745-3000. There are seats in the grand theater, mezzanine and orchestra area for grabs. Prices range from $55-$75 per regular ticket or $135 for the book bundle, which includes a free copy of “President” at the merchandise stand. There are also wheelchair-accessible seats for $85 (including fees).

James Patterson will not be at the Atlanta event, though he will be at an event with Clinton the day before in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Read more: https://www.ajc.com/events/bill-clinton-returning-atlanta-promote-his-first-novel/79l2fAx1KG3RFdG99Hbj4O/

June 4, 2018

Georgia high school's 2016-17 teacher of year arrested on sex charge

A Georgia high school’s former teacher of the year is accused of sexually assaulting three female students on campus.

The Cobb County sheriff’s department says Spencer Herron was arrested Friday on three felony charges of sexual assault by a teacher.

News reports say Herron taught video production at Kell High School, where he was named “Teacher of the Year” in 2016.

The Marietta Daily Journal says charges were brought against Herron by three students or former students. In one case, Herron was accused of raping the victim multiple times between January and May 2017.

Read more: https://www.allongeorgia.com/georgia-education-k12/georgia-high-schools-2016-17-teacher-of-year-arrested-on-sex-charge/

June 4, 2018

Abrams Leads Both Republicans in First General Election Poll

May 31, 2018


The Stacey Abrams campaign’s first internal poll has Abrams winning over both Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp. (The full memo is below)

Her numbers are: 48-43 over Cagle and 49-40 over Kemp.

Fred Yang with Hart Research, the Abrams’ campaign pollster, said the poll was conducted statewide with 601 likely voters last week. He said their sample was 45% Trump voters in 2016 compared to 43% Clinton supporters.

“Given all the evidence we’re seeing in 2018,” Yang said “I think the more likely scenario is the sample on election day will be more Democrat than the sample I polled last week.”

Read more: https://www.georgiapol.com/2018/05/31/abrams-leads-both-republicans-in-first-general-election-poll/