Sancho
Sancho's JournalHurricane thread...
We evacuated (Clearwater) and moved inland to Lakeland. Here’s a webcam from St. Pete - not much to see yet.
https://www.webcamtaxi.com/en/usa/florida/st-petersburg-waterfront.html
The traffic was crazy getting out of Tampa, and hotels in central Florida are packed.
Florida's Teacher Shortage Is Getting Worse
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-teacher-shortage-getting-worse-1819509?There were 6,920 advertised vacancies for teachers as of August 7, according to the FEA's latest count. Students in most Florida school districts went back to school on August 10. There were also another 5,072 advertised vacancies for support staff.
The FEA blames the high number of vacancies on the education policies of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
He's signed legislation on a number of education issues, including what he called the Stop WOKE Act last year that limits how race can be taught in classrooms. Earlier this year, he signed an expansion of what critics call the "Don't Say Gay" law, barring classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades.
United Faculty of Florida files another lawsuit at the University of South Florida
UFF Files Federal Suit Against University Arbitration Ban
On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), the UFF chapter at the University of South Florida and three individual faculty members who were laid off from the University of South Florida filed suit in federal court to challenge the SB 266 arbitration ban and to protect union contracts in Florida’s university system. The SB 266 arbitration ban gives final decision-making authority over personnel disputes to university presidents instead of a neutral, unbiased arbitrator. With this ban, the State of Florida has upended decades of precedent that have ensured the Sunshine State’s university faculty are treated fairly and equitably in our workplaces.
In this case, we collectively challenge the university’s refusal to arbitrate layoffs, despite local contractual requirements to do so, and we fight for the property rights of public employees in their continued employment under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The full filing can be accessed here.
UFF and its members continue to believe that it is a fundamental right of every American to receive a fair hearing before a neutral decisionmaker when their rights are under attack, in the workplace and beyond. Today, we continue our fight to protect our members and their families, all of whom work every day to make Florida a better place for all people of all beliefs and backgrounds.
https://feaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/UFF-ND-Fla-23-cv-00362-dckt-filed-2023-08-15.pdf
This is what we are dealing with in Florida...
People whose life and business are hurt by DeSatan still support and vote for the little Hitler!!! The disconnect is unreal, but that's what I see all over Florida (except with young people who are pissed about abortion and housing and guns). Amazing!
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https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/08/13/floridas-labor-shortage-hits-home-tampa-bay-come-arrest-me/
Florida’s labor shortage gets real in Tampa Bay. ‘Come and arrest me.’
“With 2,000 employees, it becomes very difficult to monitor it,’’ Gonzmart said in an interview. “We think they’re legal but, when we had to check, we found seven people who have been with me 30 years — paying taxes, had children, grandchildren — and we were required to terminate them.”
“I’m very proud of Gov. DeSantis and everything he’s done. I really am,’’ said Gonzmart, a lifelong Republican. “It gave everybody confidence and that’s why so many people are moving here… But my concern is the governor putting in a law that says those who have an expired driver’s license cannot renew it because they’re no longer legal. They cannot work. Their papers are no longer legal.”
While much of the focus on Florida’s new immigration law has been on its impact on agriculture and construction companies, the state’s pivotal restaurant and lodging industry has drawn less attention, but the repercussions have been profound.
Professor Denied Tenure Sues New College of Florida
Plaintiff Hugo Viera-Vargas was one of five faculty members denied tenure by NCF’s Board of Trustees in April, despite receiving approval at every other point in the process. Trustees cited “extraordinary circumstances” in the tenure denial as the college undergoes major changes driven by a new board majority appointed by Republican governor Ron DeSantis, who has directed members to push NCF in a conservative direction. The board has complied by ousting former president Patricia Okker and installing DeSantis ally Richard Corcoran as interim president.
Viera-Vargas, a professor of Caribbean/Latin American Studies and Music, appealed the tenure denial, but his appeal was reportedly shot down; Corcoran cited a state law passed earlier this year—SB 266—that limits arbitration of faculty grievances.
The lawsuit argues that “the arbitration ban curtails Viera-Vargas’s academic freedom and forces him to engage in self-censorship,” and that he was denied tenure, in part, because Corcoran disagrees with “certain subjects” that he teaches. A faculty webpage notes race is part of his research area.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/08/07/professor-denied-tenure-sues-new-college-florida
Are Florida laws chasing university faculty away? Some see a 'brain drain.'
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/07/06/are-florida-laws-chasing-university-faculty-away-some-see-brain-drain/They had come to weigh in on a proposed state rule that would make it harder for university faculty to keep tenure. The board, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities, was nearing a decision. But many in the audience had other concerns.
Gov. Ron DeSantis had been talking since January about his plans to rid higher education of “woke” influences. He spoke of weeding out liberal professors, killing diversity programs and restricting course content. He railed against “zombie studies,” the college majors he saw as frivolous.
“If you pass this regulation, Florida’s university system will go from the most competitive in the country to the least — and it will happen overnight,” said Andrew Gothard, head of the state’s faculty union.
Florida is losing professors faster than any times since the John's Committee of the 60s. It will take a decade to recover.
Who thinks that Jack Smith looks like Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) from Ted Lasso?
Maybe SNL can get Brendan to do a skit?
What Disney movie do you think is next? I'll start...
The Lying King
Cinderfeller
Wokeman
New College on Academic Freedom...sponsored by United Faculty of Florida (part of FEA)
...from the United Faculty of Florida, professors, and others. Excellent discussion about what is really happening in Florida. You have to go to Youtube to watch it, unless someone knows a trick for posting on DU.
This is really worth watching if you are interested in higher education and DeSatan's takeover.
