Free Community Bulletin Board for Watergrass, FL

Researchers are proposing a new hurricane rating system to better communicate the storm's potential impact.

“We know that wind only accounts for less than 10% of fatalities in general, but yet our current category system is based on wind alone. Storm surge accounts for closer to 50% and rainfall accounts for closer to 30%,” said Jennifer Collins, a hurricane researcher at the University of South Florida.

The new scale is called the Tropical Cyclone Severity Scale and it provides a different category for each hazard such as wind, storm surge, and rainfall, along with a combined final category.

"Frequently, people use the storm’s category to decide whether to evacuate, that’s incredibly dangerous, because if they hear it’s only a tropical storm or Category 1, too often no alarm bells go off, and they see no cause for concern," 

On Wednesday, Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the 1987 statewide open-carry ban on firearms is no longer constitutionally enforceable, requiring gun laws to be rooted in historical tradition.

The case stemmed from the July 4, 2022, arrest of a man in downtown Pensacola carrying a visible, holstered pistol and a copy of the U.S. Constitution. The three-judge panel in Escambia County vacated the man's sentence.

Attorney General James Uthmeier announced he will not appeal to the state Supreme Court, making Florida an open-carry state. Gov. Ron DeSantis praised the decision and said the Second Amendment "says what it means and means what it says."

Several elected officials from Parkland—the site of the state's deadliest school shooting—criticized the decision as dangerous. Restrictions on carrying firearms in sensitive locations, such as schools and courthouses, will remain in effect.

Lawmakers will be back in Tallahassee next month to convene committee hearings, including the new House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting announced by House Speaker Daniel Perez last month.

Rep. Mike Redondo, a Republican first elected in 2023 to represent part of Miami-Dade County, will chair the 11-person committee. The committee will explore questions related to redistricting before the next decennial census. The Senate doesn't have a similar panel.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he's intent on a mid-decade congressional redistricting that would help Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House in 2026. A new survey shows Floridians may disagree.

Watchdog group Common Cause surveyed almost 500 Floridians from all political affiliations, finding that 55% oppose the idea of redistricting, 26% support it, and 19% are undecided.