Laura Cassels
The Florida Phoenix
United States
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Past articles by Laura:
FL Congresswoman on House Homeland Security panel: I 'haven't watched any' Jan. 6 hearings
Twelve Florida Republican members of Congress voted against certifying that Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, hours after supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the nation’s Capitol in a failed bid to block the transfer of power. By early Friday, only two of those had commented on Thursday night’s prime-time public hearing […] → Read More
Report: FL leads clean-energy growth in Southeast, but power industry must do more
Power companies’ pursuit of solar energy in Florida is outpacing efforts in other Southern states, and Florida Power and Light’s “Real Zero” plan to slash its climate-altering carbon emissions sets a new high bar, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). Florida far surpasses six other states in the number of solar panels […] → Read More
Dem Gov. Pritzker: FL's DeSantis is Trump in a mask and GOP likes white extremism
Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered a blistering speech in Tampa Saturday equating Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis with former president Donald Trump and condemning him for doing more to “protect” Floridians from LGBTQ children and immigrants than from white nationalism and gun violence. As keynote speaker at the Florida Democratic Party’s annual leadership conference, […] → Read More
FL Attorney General Moody mum on abortion at 'Moms' summit as pro-choice protesters shout outside
TAMPA — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody railed Saturday in Tampa about radical “programming of our children,” COVID lockdowns, censorship by Big Tech, lack of enforcement of border laws, and her work to oppose a COVID vaccine mandate in federal government. But with pro-choice demonstrators gathered on a corner near the Marriott Water Street, where […] → Read More
Betsy DeVos calls for abolition of federal Education Department she once led
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, appointed by former president Donald Trump, told conservative activists in Tampa Saturday that the federal Education Department should be abolished, leaving education decisions to state and local boards. “I personally think the Department of Education should not exist,” said DeVos, author of a recent book called “Hostages No […] → Read More
DeSantis calls on conservative 'Moms' at national summit to fight 'leftist' agenda
TAMPA — Claiming that Florida schools are undergoing “leftist indoctrination,” a “leftist agenda,” and “sexualization of children,” Gov. Ron DeSantis called on hundreds of members of “Moms For Liberty,” gathered in Tampa Friday, to fight. “You’ve got to stand up and you’ve got to fight,” DeSantis said in a keynote speech to the conservative, nearly […] → Read More
Conservative 'Moms For Liberty' activists and FL Democrats gather at summits in Tampa
Florida’s homegrown “Moms For Liberty” activist group, now a national force for conservative politics, especially education politics, convenes this weekend in a Tampa hotel for a summit featuring prominent Florida Republicans and former members of Donald Trump’s administration. In a hotel next door, Florida Democrats will gather for “Leadership Blue 2022” to strategize on mobilizing […] → Read More
Florida's Mary McLeod Bethune immortalized in U.S. Capitol as symbol of justice
In Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol, a marble sculpture of Floridian Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune now stands, replacing the likeness of a Confederate general with that of a Black educator, a daughter of enslaved people, who became a counselor to U.S. presidents. “Dr. Bethune epitomizes the values we hold dear: industriousness, thirst for […] → Read More
FL's Rep. Murphy: Trump tricked and inflamed his followers to attack the Capitol
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, co-leading the seventh hearing of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s Capitol, said Tuesday former President Donald Trump deceived, summoned, and inflamed his followers in a battle to stay in power despite losing his re-election bid. The committee went on to present evidence of […] → Read More
FL's Rep. Murphy: New Jan. 6 testimony reveals 'betrayal at the highest levels'
U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a Florida Democrat and one of nine members of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the nation’s Capitol, told reporters Tuesday that the day’s testimony shows President Donald Trump understood what was unfolding on Jan. 6 and did nothing to prevent it or stop it. “Trump and […] → Read More
FL homeowners face still-rising property insurance premiums; regulators review hefty rate hikes
More increases in property-insurance premiums are in the pipeline for Florida homeowners, whose property-insurance costs already are far above the national average. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is evaluating requests from three private property insurance companies to raise their rates: Florida Farm Bureau wants an increase of nearly 49 percent; First Floridian Auto and […] → Read More
FL governor vetoes alimony overhaul, marking its third failure in a decade of 'reform' efforts
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed an alimony overhaul bill that was sponsored by the state chairman of his political party and opposed by the National Organization for Women, the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, and other critics. It was the third strike in a decade for groups of ex-spouses seeking to […] → Read More
FL Planned Parenthood braces for surge in out-of-state patients following Roe v. Wade ruling
Abortion providers in Florida that have seen an influx of out-of-state patients for months are bracing for even more, mostly from Georgia but also from neighboring Southern states. “Planned Parenthood centers are busy already. We’ll be even busier, from neighboring states,” said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “We’ve […] → Read More
2020 election: Group of FL Democrats braced themselves for interference if Trump lost
Florida Democratic lawmakers were concerned during the 2020 presidential campaign that if GOP President Donald Trump, a Florida resident and mentor of Gov. Ron DeSantis, lost the popular vote in his home state, Republicans could cast the state’s electoral ballots for Trump anyway. “We long suspected the possibility of such a move if we […] → Read More
Alimony: Allies and foes wage fevered campaigns to have DeSantis sign or veto overhaul
The years-long battle over whether to overhaul permanent alimony and child-custody laws in Florida reached fever pitch last week when the Florida Senate transmitted Senate Bill 1796 to Gov. Ron DeSantis to approve or veto. SB 1796 would allow more ex-spouses to terminate permanent alimony payments and would create a 50/50 presumption regarding time-sharing of […] → Read More
White House says Gov. DeSantis has reversed course, now ordering COVID vaccines for kids under 5
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday was still refusing to order COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government, for the country’s youngest children. But by Friday, the governor had “reversed course and is now ordering vaccines,” according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “We are encouraged that after repeated failures by Governor DeSantis to order COVID-19 […] → Read More
DeSantis: FL will not participate in state programs that vaccinate young kids and infants for COVID
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that parents who want to vaccinate their young children and infants will be able to access the COVID-19 vaccines, once they are approved, through their pediatricians and hospitals — but the governor said emphatically that state government will not participate in vaccinating kids under 5. The youngest age for these […] → Read More
EPA: 'Forever chemicals' more toxic than first thought; at least 87+ FL sites deemed contaminated
Two kinds of toxic “forever chemicals” widely found in drinking water after decades of use in consumer products and certain industries are more dangerous than previously thought, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday. The EPA issued stricter health guidelines for those Wednesday, ahead of plans to adopt national drinking water standards next year. In […] → Read More
FL's insurer of last resort faces hurricane season with shortfall of reinsurance coverage
Like some private insurers, Florida’s state-run property insurance corporation has been unable to acquire all the reinsurance coverage it needs to cover risks posed by hurricanes and other threats in the coming year. Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s insurer of last resort, has acquired about one-third of the back-up coverage it has been seeking, […] → Read More
Protests against gun violence spread across FL and the nation Saturday: What will come from it?
A day after GOP lawmakers in the Legislature blocked a special session on expanded gun restrictions, Florida Democrats, other politicians, activists and citizens held rallies Saturday to protest continuing gun violence that has shocked the nation in recent weeks. The protests were scheduled from Alaska to Maine to Washington D.C. and down to Florida and […] → Read More