Local:
$22.7 Million State Grant Accepted by Lee County Commission for Water Management Project
The Lee County Commission has accepted a $22.7 million grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Agency. The grant will go towards the newly established Larry Kiker Preserve and will go towards work to restore better water runoff and aquifer recharge.
The Larry Kiker Preserve is named in honor of late Lee County Commissioner Larry Kiker who died in 2019 and was an advocate of preserving the land according to WGCU.
The county is required to maintain a 50/50 cost share with the state for the grant, meaning the project will receive $45.4 million in funding total.
The project aims to improve water quality between the Estero River, Halfway Creek and Imperial River.
State:
Florida Prosecutor Aims to Clear Records of those who bought Police-Made Crack Cocaine
Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor is attempting to expunge the records of people who bought crack cocaine manufactured by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office during the 1980’s.
During the 1980s the Broward County Sheriff’s Office sold crack cocaine to Florida citizens in sting operations. The program utilized seized crack from drug busts initially but soon ran out. The Sheriff’s Office then pivoted to manufacturing their own crack cocaine to sell. Most of the stings occurred within 1,000 feet of schools, leading to the charge being elevated according to the AP.
In 1993, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that those who bought drugs from undercover police officers could no longer be charged. However, this ruling did not clear the records of those who had previously bought cocaine from the Sheriff’s Office. Pryor is determined to clear the records of those who still have these charges on their records.
While Pryor admits it will take time, his office is already working to contact those who have these charges on their record.
National:
Decision to ban TikTok in America upheld by Appeals Court
The decision to ban TikTok if it is not sold by parent company ByteDance has been upheld by an appeals court. ByteDance currently only has a few months to sell the company before the ban goes into effect.
Previously exposed documents have also pointed towards negligence on the part of ByteDance with the development of the app as highlighted by NPR and a previous issue of Outside the Nest.
With this ruling, ByteDance intends to bring the case to the U.S. Supreme Court according to the AP. The Supreme Court only hears about 100 cases per year and it is likely that if the case is heard, it will be after the ban goes into effect.
International:
French Prime Minister Ejected from Role after Vote of No-Confidence
France has had its first successful vote of no confidence since 1962, which has resulted in the forced resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. With this vote, Barnier has become the shortest-lived Prime Minister, serving only 90 days in office.
President Emmanuel Macron will now have to pick his third Prime Minister while a caretaker government structure works to finalize budgets for next year. This budget dispute is what initially led to the approval of Barnier to plummet.
Centrist President Macron is now in the crossfire of a deeply divided right wing and left wing
Parliament according to NPR.
Syrian Rebels topple Assad Regime
After a 50-year rule, the Assad family has been forced out of power in Syria.
Over the past weeks, Syrian rebels have mounted a surprisingly unopposed advance towards Damascus, the capital city of Syria.
Early yesterday, it was announced over Syrian state television that President Bashar Assad had been overthrown according to the AP. The official whereabouts of Bashar Al-Assad are unknown at the moment although there are allegations he has fled, Russia has also offered asylum to the Assad family.
The toppling of the regime of a 13 year long civil war that started with the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
A plan to move forward politically has not yet been announced at the time of writing.
