1,100 homes evacuated as firefighters battle Florida fires
Officials say vetFirefighters continued to battle the 12,000-acre (about 4,860-hectare) Bertha Swamp Road fire and the 841-acre (340-hectare) Adkins Avenue fire, which have threatened homes and forced residents of at least 1,100 houses in Bay County, Florida. erans forced to evacuate a nursing home by a Florida Panhandle wildfire have been allowed to return home.
DeSantis issues state of emergency in Bay County; wildfires burn more than 1,400 acres, FEMA says
The governor issued Executive Order 22-54 to declare a state of emergency in Bay County after the wildfires engulfed eight homes and led to the evacuation of thousands more, with weather conditions expected to maintain a moderate drought in the area for at least the next three days, according to the order.
‘Incarceration status’ leaves single mom without unemployment benefits for 7 weeks
Victoria Thomas is the first to admit she was driving on a suspended driver license in 2018 but she cannot explain why that event prompted the Department of Economic Opportunity to suspend her state unemployment benefits.
Republican Party in this Florida county will not acknowledge Biden win
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The Bay County Republican Party said it won’t recognize President-elect Joe Biden as legitimate unless President Donald Trump concedes and acknowledges that the 2020 election was fair. The Florida Panhandle organization's executive committee voted last month, deciding that its officials should not cooperate with Biden's administration. The organization said in a statement that the future of the Republican Party lies in Florida and that its members have an obligation to protect its conservative values, according to the Pensacola News Journal. Tonight’s (Dec. 7) vote makes clear that the Bay County Republican Party is prepared to continue to stand with President Trump and leaders that hold the conviction to fight for the American people and our Constitution," Bay County Republican Party Chairman Debbie Wood said in a written statement. The resolution, which was widely circulated on social media, notes the party would only refer to Biden’s administration as “President-imposed” without Trump’s concession and will encourage Bay County Republican officials to not cooperate with “an illegitimate Biden Administration on any matters that infringe upon the Constitutionally protected rights of our citizens.”
Florida reports 12,000 new cases of COVID-19 as state continues to vaccinate seniors
Ron DeSantis visited a senior center in Bay County Sunday morning to provide an update on the state’s vaccine rollout plan. [Register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida here]But Seminole County Emergency manager told News 6′s Justin Warmoth during The Weekly there is still a long way to go. “So clearly not even a dent, not even 10% of what we really need.”Across the state DeSantis said the demand for vaccines is outweighing the supply. HospitalizationsAs of Sunday, there were currently 7,497 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration. VaccinationsThe Florida Department of Health recently began releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered throughout the state.