MARCO RUBIO ENTERS RACE FOR PRESIDENT
Sen. Marco Rubio entered the presidential race Monday by offering the nation a younger generation of leadership that breaks free of ideas “stuck in the 20th century,” a jab at both Democratic favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton and his one-time Republican mentor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. The 43-year-old Cuban-American used his first turn as a Republican presidential candidate to take on two of America’s political dynasties. He said also emphasized his humble upbringing by two working class parents and the country’s choice between the haves and have-nots.
I’m running for President of the United States. Become a Day One Supporter at http://t.co/O1l2pSk0WN pic.twitter.com/57HRRFUVnS
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 13, 2015
The Alachua County Sheriff is investigating why an armored vehicle pulled over a driver who allegedly flipped them the bird. Deputy Charles Drake wrote in a report that he and his colleagues spotted the driver extending a hand gesture toward them this weekend. The deputy also alleges he saw a woman performing a sex act on the driver. The 23-year-old driver Lucas Jewell recorded the stop on his cellphone.
BEAR HUNTING COULD BE LEGAL AGAIN IN FLORIDA
For 21 years, it’s been illegal to hunt a bear in Florida. That may change this fall. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meets this week to decide whether to give tentative approval to rules for a revival of bear hunting, banned since 1994. If commissioners give the proposed rules a green light on Wednesday, then a final vote would come at their June meeting.
SANDHILL CRANE NEST DELAYS JACKSONVILLE ROAD PROJECT
Work is being delayed on a stretch of a toll road that will connect Interstate 95 to Interstate 10 near Jacksonville because of a nest of endangered Florida sandhill cranes. The contractor spotted the nest in early March and notified officials at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The work is on hold until the baby birds fly away, which could take months. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Gina Busscher told The Florida Times-Union the two birds have two young chicks.
LAKELAND EYE CLINIC SETTLES AFTER TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT
A central Florida eye clinic has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve a discrimination lawsuit brought on behalf of a transgender employee who says she was wrongfully terminated after she told bosses she was transitioning from a man to a woman. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit which alleges the Lakeland Eye Clinic fired the employee after she started dressing as a woman and told her bosses she was transitioning from male to female. The commission says this is one of the first two lawsuits it’s ever filed alleging sex discrimination against a transgender individual.
