By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
Broward’s exercise in bail reform, intended to end the unjust treatment of the poor and minorities, died quietly Jan. 1. It was 1 ½ years old.
Cause of death: the state’s Republican powers that be – the Legislature, governor and Supreme Court.
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Floridians of every political persuasion who want to vote or help get out the vote in the 2024 elections must navigate a bog of confounding and scary new rules, courtesy of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration.
By Carrie Levine, Senior Reporter The Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative news organization based in Washington, D.C. This story was published in partnership with Indian Country Today and HuffPost.
Tiffany Crutcher was worried.
Oklahoma lawmakers had passed a new measure stiffening penalties for protesters who block roadways and granting immunity to drivers who unintentionally hit them. The state NAACP, saying the law was passed in response to racial justice demonstrations and could chill the exercising of First Amendment rights, filed a federal lawsuit challenging portions of it. But the new law was only weeks from taking effect.
By Myron Levin, FairWarning
Kool, introduced in the 1930s by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., was one of the early menthol brands, and until the 1950s the most popular. This 1937 ad was one of many that promoted Kool as soothing to the throat. (Cigarette ads courtesy of the Stanford University collection)
Lorillard Tobacco donated nearly four times as much to Republican candidates as to Democrats in the 2014 congressional elections. No surprise there — most businesses count on Republicans to hold the line on regulations and taxes.
But Lorillard made a striking exception for one set of Democrats: African Americans.
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Lost in the hubbub of a heated election season headlined by a down to the wire governor’s race, voters in Tallahassee approved a first-of-its-kind municipal anti-corruption referendum intended to limit the influence of big moneyed special interests in local politics.
