Judge blocks Florida's medical marijuana license process: In what could be another delay for Florida's burgeoning medical marijuana industry, a Tallahassee judge agreed last week to block state health officials from moving forward with the application process for highly sought-after medical cannabis licenses. Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson's verbal order during a hearing came nearly two months after he found that a state law passed during a special legislative session last year runs afoul of a constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana.
Three Orlando police officers involved in fatal shooting at ORMC failed to use their body cameras: Last week, the Orlando Police Department admitted that there was no body-camera footage from the three officers who shot a man making threats in the emergency room at Orlando Regional Medical Center. The suspect, 33-year-old Brian Baker, was unarmed and died on the scene. One of the officers who shot Baker was a K-9 unit officer, meaning he wasn't issued a body camera. Another officer is a member of the SWAT team whose riot gear covered up his body camera. The third officer was wearing a body camera, but it ran out of battery and died following a 12-hour shift.
Candidates reel in record amount of taxpayer-funded matching money: Statewide candidates have topped a matching-funds record from the 2010 election. Bolstered by small-dollar fundraising in the gubernatorial race, $6.08 million has been sent by the state to candidates this year, according to the Florida Division of Elections. A little more than $400,000 was sent out on Friday to five candidates in the Nov. 6 general election. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum's latest check from the state was for $246,965, and former Congressman Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for governor, received a check for $140,037.
Rick Scott distances himself from pre-existing conditions lawsuit, says health care is a 'right': In trying to distance himself from a multistate lawsuit that could eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions, Gov. Rick Scott said he believes health care should be a "right." Scott's statement, which came during a debate against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, is at odds with other Republican politicians and follows years of his fighting against government-provided health care. Even before he launched his first gubernatorial campaign, Scott ran ads decrying the idea of having a "public option" as part of the federal health care overhaul pushed by then-President Barack Obama.
Amazon opens new Orlando warehouse, raises minimum wage to $15: Online retail juggernaut Amazon will raise the company's minimum wage to $15 for all U.S. employees – and not just for full-time workers, but part-time, temporary and seasonal as well. The wage increase will take effect Nov. 1 and will benefit more than 250,000 Amazon employees and 100,000 seasonal employees, including Whole Foods Market employees. The pay increase comes just weeks after Amazon opened its new 2.4-million-square-foot warehouse in Orlando.
