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State’s blocking of Mayfield from Senate race ‘meritless,’ state Supreme Court rules

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floridaphoenix.com – Jay Waagmeester – 2025-02-13 17:55:00

State’s blocking of Mayfield from Senate race ‘meritless,’ state Supreme Court rules

by Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
February 13, 2025

The Florida Supreme Court expects Secretary of State Cord Byrd to include Rep. Debbie Mayfield’s name on the ballot in the planned Brevard County state Senate special election, the justices said Thursday in a 25-page opinion.

The court did not formally order Byrd to include her, instead saying it was “confident that the Secretary will promptly comply with this opinion no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday,” the day military and overseas ballots must be sent. 

Mayfield filed to run for the Senate seat, which she term limited out of in November, after Sen. Randy Fine announced he would run for former Rep. Mike Waltz’s seat in the U.S. House.  She’d served in the state House for a matter of months.

Byrd blocked Mayfield from appearing on the Senate ballot, saying she would be violating constitutionally mandated term limits. 

Republican State Sen. Debbie Mayfield via Florida Senate.

Byrd did not cite, nor did the court find, “any source of law” that authorizes the secretary to determine whether a candidate is legally and constitutionally eligible for office, Justice Jamie Grosshans wrote.

Byrd’s role is solely ministerial, the court said — limited to verifying that the necessary forms have been submitted timely and properly. 

Justice Charles Canady concurred but in a sharply worded opinion said the court should have ordered Byrd to comply in light of the “strikingly disingenuous” arguments his legal team offered in the case. 

Canady pointed out that the statute Byrd cited to justify his action “expressly prohibits the Secretary from determining ‘whether the contents of the qualifying papers are accurate.’”

“It is indeed remarkable that the Secretary must be instructed on this elementary legal principle,” Canady wrote. 

“This case has come to us because the Secretary has — without any plausible legal basis — taken action that threatens to disrupt the orderly and fair administration of the special election for Senate District 19,” Canady wrote. 

‘Policy concerns over gamesmanship’

Mayfield signaled she believed Byrd disqualified her as political payback for her endorsement of Donald Trump over Gov. Ron DeSantis during his run to be the GOP presidential nominee. 

The term limit argument Byrd attempted to implement is not in the law, the opinion stated. 

“If the people of Florida want other limitations on the time their elected officials may serve, they can incorporate such language explicitly through the constitutional amendment process,” Grosshans wrote. “However, until they choose to do so, we cannot read a prohibition into the constitution that does not exist because of policy concerns over gamesmanship.”

The Constitution does not impose a specific period of ineligibility to serve in a legislative chamber, nor does it impose a lifetime limit on service, she noted. 

Mayfield’s earlier service in the Senate is “irrelevant” considering she is not in a “current term in office,” the scope required by the Constitution, Canady wrote. He called Byrd’s argument “meritless.” 

When Mayfield left the Senate in November, that ended her consecutive terms. If she wins the Senate race, her consecutive years of service will restart, Grosshans wrote. 

The primary for the Senate seat is April 1 and the general election is June 10. Mayfield’s resignation from the House is effective June 9. 

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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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Microsoft’s AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users

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www.clickorlando.com – Matt O’Brien, Associated Press – 2025-04-04 11:31:00

SUMMARY: On Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, Mustafa Suleyman, head of the company’s AI division, envisions a future with personalized AI companions that adapt to users over time, embodying unique names, styles, and memories. This initiative focuses on creating meaningful relationships rather than solely enhancing tools, with the AI, called Copilot, already integrated into various Microsoft applications. Suleyman, a former co-founder of DeepMind, is cautious about the race for advanced AI, prioritizing practical personal assistants over abstract goals like artificial general intelligence. He believes these AI companions will revolutionize both professional and personal lives by handling tedious tasks and fostering creativity.

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Florida Dreamers aren’t giving up just yet

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floridaphoenix.com – Mitch Perry – 2025-04-04 06:00:00

by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
April 4, 2025

In a sweeping immigration bill designed to help President Donald Trump enact his mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants, the Florida Legislature earlier this year repealed a 2014 law allowing individuals brought to the U.S. as children without documentation, known as “Dreamers,” to pay in-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities.

That abrupt change will affect approximately 6,500 undergraduates, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

When the measure went before the Florida Senate in February, South Florida Democrat Jason Pizzo offered an amendment to grandfather in any dreamer enrolled in a state college or university so they could continue pay that in-state tuition for an additional four years.

It didn’t pass.

Advocates aren’t giving up, though. This week, the group TheDream.US trekked to the Capitol to resume the fight. Specifically, they hope to revive the idea of allowing students now enrolled to continue paying in-state rates until they graduate.

“Right now, they’re working on the budget, and we know that the budget needs to pass, right?” said TheDream.US president and CEO Gaby Pacheco.

“And so it could be a potential vehicle for us to get a grandfathered-in clause. The hope is that the House as they’re working through this perhaps put in an amendment. We’re not legislators, so we don’t necessarily know the ins and outs. We’re just hoping that they know that this is important for the state of Florida, for their constituents, for these students and our college systems.”

Pacheco made regular visits to the Capitol in 2023 to defend against the threatened cutoff of in-state tuition for dreamers. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced before that legislative session a slate of proposals cracking down on illegal immigration.

Yet, somehow, the law survived that year. It wasn’t the first time that some Republicans in the Legislature had attempted to repeal the measure. But after last year’s election, in which illegal immigration was a central issue, DeSantis made it clear to state lawmakers at the beginning of this year that he wanted the law struck down.

‘Everything that I’ve fought for’

Among those joining Pacheco in the Capitol this week was a 20-year-old student from the University of Central Florida who wanted to be identified only by her first name of Callie, out of fear she could be targeted because of her immigration status.

She’s a junior majoring in advertising and public relations who has accumulated 80 credits toward her degree and says that will be up to 100 by the end of the spring semester — not enough yet to graduate.

But as of July 1, when the law takes effect, she’ll be forced to pay full tuition. “That means I can no longer afford my public education and will have to give up everything that I’ve fought for,” she said.

In addition to her studies, Cailie works between 20 and 36 hours a week at Publix and spends her free time volunteering to help students prepare college scholarship applications. Her tuition is roughly $2,800 a semester, covered through a scholarship from TheDream.US. It will more than double after the law takes effect — an amount she says she can’t bear.

Cailie, 20, migrated to the United States from Haiti almost seven years ago. Her parents aren’t supporting her, she said, as she was forced to leave home at 16. Her rough upbringing compelled her to try to make a better life for herself but, without the benefit of in-state tuition, “it’s impossible.”

She spent part of Tuesday meeting with lawmakers to explain her plight, although she knows it’s an uphill battle.

“It’s hard to get people to change their mind, so all we’re asking for are the current students to be grandfathered in and protected for now,” she said. “Because most of us only have a few more credits to go, and it’s so unfair that we had to fight so hard to get here and just knowing that all of a sudden it meant nothing? That’s hard.”

Cailie’s ambition is to start her own business helping other students from low-income families get educations like she’s been able to achieve — for now, anyway.

“I want to be a role model to show them that I come from an undeveloped country, that I didn’t have the same opportunities as everybody else, and I made it, so it’s possible. The U.S. is a country of opportunists, but now I’m wondering if that’s even true anymore.”

Pacheco acknowledges her group has limited leverage with the Legislature, but believes it’s worth the effort.

“At the end of the day, we’re practically begging,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘Please do not do this to these students. Please do not do this to 6,000 young people who have worked so hard to get so far, and that are so close to be able to get those college degrees.’”

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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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Consumers fear Trump's tariffs will hike prices

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www.youtube.com – CBS Miami – 2025-04-03 21:40:23

SUMMARY: Consumers are feeling the financial impact of President Trump’s recent tariff policies, particularly at grocery stores. Shoppers report significant price increases on essential items, with one mother noting the price of eggs and milk has risen from around a dollar to over three dollars. Families, like Ruby King’s of seven, are struggling with rising costs, including an additional $250 in rent. The president has imposed tariffs of 20% on EU goods and 34% on Chinese imports, which will raise prices for consumers. While the stock market faced a sharp decline, financial experts advise against making impulsive changes to retirement plans based on short-term fluctuations.

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