July 2020 – Capital Outlook

Endorsements heat up race for City Commission Seat 1

July 28, 2020

By St. Clair MurraineOutlook staff writer With less than a month before the primary election day, the race for Seat 1 on the Tallahassee City Commission is heading into the final stretch with the two frontrunners garnering some key endorsements. While questions remain about the status of Jermaine Miller and

Safe reopening a major concern for Leon County school officials, parents

July 28, 2020

By St. Clair MurraineOutlook staff writer Rocky Hanna, superintendent of Leon County Schools, has announced Aug. 19 as the start date for the fall semester. The question, though, is how safely schools can reopen if the state continues to see a daily rise in the number of coronavirus

Advisory council sets goal to find answers to crime in neighborhoods

July 28, 2020

By St. Clair MurraineOutlook staff writer One of the challenges for Tallahassee Police Department in its effort to reduce crime is knowing the issues that plague each neighborhood. That’s one of the problems that deputy TPD chief Tonja Bryant-Smith plans to bring before a new Citizen Advisory Council. The group

City Commissioner Williams-Cox defends mural, says suspended officer doesn’t represent a majority

July 28, 2020

By St. Clair MurraineOutlook staff writer With a TPD officer who called protesters a “gang of loudmouths” now on suspension, City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said he is part of a minority that has reacted negatively to a Black Lives Matter Tallahassee mural. The officer’s objection to the mural that is

FEA sues DeSantis to stop ‘reckless’ order to open schools

July 28, 2020

Special to the Outlook The Florida Education Association has filed a suit the state to block plans for the August brick-and-mortar reopening of the state’s public schools. Both the state and national NAACPs joined the lawsuit that was filed Monday in the 11th Circuit Court in Miami. President Fedrick Ingram

Sweat it out

July 28, 2020

Dr. Asha Fields Brewer John 4: 6, NIV, shares, “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.” High noon on a hot summer day can be almost unbearable, from the elevated temperature to the beating rays

Supreme Court refuses to clear way for felons voting

July 28, 2020

By Dara KamNews Service of Florida Hundreds of thousands of Florida felons won’t be able to cast ballots in next month’s primary elections, after the U.S. Supreme Court last Thursday refused to vacate an appellate court’s order in a closely watched legal battle over voting rights. Plaintiffs in the voting-rights

Numbers have to ‘flatten’ before drinks can flow

July 28, 2020

By Jim Turner News Service of Florida Florida’s bar scene will remain on hold until there is a massive reversal in the growth of positive coronavirus cases, according to the state’s top business regulator. Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears last Friday said no timeline has been set

A giant has fallen

July 28, 2020

By Nsenga K. BurtonNNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor Congressman John Lewis was known and revered worldwide for his social justice activism as a young man during the modern Civil Rights movement which sparked large scale civic and social change in America. Many have seen the horrible 1965 footage and

No economic victory lap

July 28, 2020

Dr. Julianne Malveaux The June Employment Situation report, released on July 2, showed a continued decline in the unemployment rate. Thanks to coronavirus, the rate shot up to 14.7 percent in April and declined to 11.1 percent in June. About 4.8 million more people were on payrolls in June than