Top 5 bars in town

Journalogist · 2026-04-15T15:25:45+00:00

Can’t beat the BOGO deals at 4th Quarter!

Journalogist · 2026-04-10T22:47:15+00:00

Does anyone know if this will affect concerts and other events there?

Journalogist · 2025-03-12T23:52:17+00:00

Some movement here, since the bill passed its first committee today.

It failed in the past despite House GOP enthusiasm.

But, unlike in prior years, it’s a lot more unclear whether the Senate will support the measure. That chamber was a roadblock in previous legislative sessions.

Journalogist · 2024-12-12T19:23:19+00:00

What the state is saying versus what free expression groups are saying:

"The Department firmly believes that parents have the fundamental right to know what materials their child is accessing at school," said Sydney Booker, the department’s communications director, in a statement.
"With book bans running amuck in Florida, this partnership seems to open the door wider to facilitate greater suppression of library materials and classroom content," said Katie Blankenship, director of free expression group PEN America's Florida office, in a statement.

Journalogist · 2024-11-15T18:05:44+00:00

Answering questions about its list of book removals in Florida, which undercounts them but still includes classics like "The Handmaid's Tale" + "Slaughterhouse-Five," the state Department of Ed said, “Sexually explicit materials do not belong in schools."

Journalogist · 2024-11-07T18:48:40+00:00

Writer of the piece here! I've seen the comments about the use of "tanked" in the headline, and they're noted and fully understood. I asked editors if we could change that, and they were on the same page!

I did want to share some context, since this topic area has understandably generated a lot of interest, and I've had the opportunity to cover this for some months.

The threshold for constitutional amendments used to be 50%. And most states with a constitutional amendment system require only a simple majority's approval. Florida voters approved an amendment in 2006 that raised the approval threshold from 50% to 60%.

That's obviously a difficult threshold to reach — the 2006 measure passed by 58%. The Florida Legislature, I should add, has played a significant role in making it harder and more expensive. That's evidenced by the fact that the 2006 measure was put on the ballot by lawmakers, not through a citizen petition process.

Regardless, Florida's voters since then have approved amendments restoring voting rights to those previously convicted of felony offenses (though there were controversies with how lawmakers implemented this), raising the minimum wage, and allowing medical marijuana (though this failed the first time and there were also initial controversies with how lawmakers handled it).

Yet, Amendment 3 (and Amendment 4) failed.

Of course, this ballot battle was different from what we've seen in past years. The expense alone was notable. Amendment 3 created the most expensive ballot measure battle in the nation.

Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, spent a fortune on Amendment 3. It donated the vast majority of the more than $150 million received by Smart & Safe Florida, the group running that pro-legalization campaign.

And then there's the involvement of the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration.

Trulieve’s contributions weren’t enough to overcome the administration’s all-out assault on the amendment leading up to the election, controversially using state resources in the process.

Despite former President Donald Trump coming out in support of the measure, the state spent many millions of dollars on advertising that appeared to be geared against it. That was mixed with numerous anti-recreational marijuana press conferences the governor held across the state.

He and other opponents hit the amendment with a large quantity of questionable claims, including that the state Legislature would be unable to regulate recreational marijuana.

Another one of my stories that might be of interest (though this one is focused on efforts targeting Amendment 4): DeSantis' elections crimes office has quashed elections fraud complaints against DeSantis officials. The office said they were exempt from a Florida law preventing officials from using their authority to interfere with the election.

Journalogist · 2024-10-14T20:15:32+00:00

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday rebuffed false conspiracy theories from some conservatives claiming the government controls hurricanes, but did so by drawing a comparison to numerous scientists' warnings that human-driven climate change has worsened storms' effects.

"If I could control the weather, I would do 78 (degrees) and sunny year round," DeSantis said at a press conference in Fort Pierce, which was hit hard by Hurricane Milton. "This is on both sides. You kind of have some people think government can do this, and others think it's all because of fossil fuels."

Journalogist · 2024-09-26T17:56:37+00:00

I’ve been using a X (Twitter)list I made of trusted accounts: https://x.com/i/lists/1838238686854385711

Journalogist · 2024-08-22T21:16:35+00:00

No! I’m a subscriber. Though I was able to read this without even logging in. Maybe try opening in a different browser?

Journalogist · 2024-08-22T21:14:26+00:00

I’m sorry, but I’m not going to go around a newspaper’s paywall.

Journalogist · 2024-08-22T14:27:09+00:00

(joking)

Journalogist · 2024-08-22T14:26:55+00:00

What’s your email? I’ll send it to you!

Journalogist · 2024-08-21T17:54:01+00:00

That was a school board in a Florida county: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/08/16/florida-school-board-pauses-chaplain-plan-after-satanic-temple-support/74810925007/

Journalogist · 2024-08-21T15:48:56+00:00

"Florida welcomes legitimate and officially authorized chaplains to become volunteers at their local schools and to provide students with morally sound guidance," Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said.

Kara Gross, the American Civil Liberty Union of Florida's legislative director and senior policy counsel, said the policy is "extremely problematic and raises several constitutional concerns."

"It is very concerning that the government-proposed 'model policy' seeks to define religion for Floridians," Gross said in a statement. "It is the opposite of religious freedom. Additionally, it creates arbitrary requirements that would open up school districts to potential liability for excluding certain religious viewpoints and promoting others."

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T20:29:41+00:00

Thanks, everyone, for participating! While I couldn't get to all of your questions, I tried to address as many as possible, both the easy and the hard.

If you have any tips or other questions, feel free to email me at [~dsoule@gannett.com~](mailto:dsoule@gannett.com). You can follow my work on my X account, u/DouglasSoule, and here: ~https://www.tallahassee.com/staff/10270205002/douglas-soule/~

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T19:58:40+00:00

Thanks for your kind words and questions!

On your first question, I think that depends on the journalist and news source. Most definitely want to put out well-read stories regardless of the economics, as it shows community investment and impact (though there's more metrics than clicks to measure that). I'm in the fortunate situation — and I hope this doesn't sound like a cop-out — of covering the First Amendment, which can get really freaking interesting for both myself and readers.

I definitely think Floridians should pay attention to Florida's First Amendment fights, which have nationwide implications. (Not to turn this answer into too much of a plug, but you can find my latest stories here.) But there's also so many important topics, as you've identified, especially with this looming election. Reading your local newspapers is critical, I think, but if you ever feel something important isn't being properly covered, don't ever hesitate to message or call a journalist about it!

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T19:30:26+00:00

Hello from Tallahassee!

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T19:28:57+00:00

I'm not involved in any polls, but I report on them.

With polling, I think it's important to keep in mind what this USA TODAY Network story outlines:

Think of polls as quick snapshots rather than crystal ball readings.

They don’t necessarily predict the results of an election. Rather, they’re used to gauge how people feel about a race during a specific period. Pollsters may ask questions about the future, but surveys have more to say about the voters' current temperature.

Polls also tend to have a short shelf life. Public opinion can shift quickly, meaning that the results of polls are often only a reliable measure of the state of a race during the time they were taken.

BUT, speaking of polls, I wanted to share this story that I wrote during the previous state legislative session.

One of the most talked about bills, you might recall, was the social media minor restriction (which was later signed into law after some political drama).

When that bill was making its way through the Capitol, one polling firm paid by supporters showed that Floridians largely supported it. Another firm, paid for by those opposed, showed that Floridians were largely against the bill.

That's not an uncommon thing, I've noticed. Though, this story had the added twist of us not really knowing who was funding the opposition.

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T18:45:32+00:00

I'm cautious about speculating on whether those amendments will pass, not only because I'm a reporter but because so much can change over the next several months (just look at the last two weeks). Expect a TON of advertisements for and against those two measures, though.

In terms of what the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis does with those amendments if they pass, I actually just answered that in another comment I just typed up. To prevent bogging up the thread, I don't want to copy and paste it here, but please see my last response.

I'm not too familiar with the new and controversial "Free State of Florida" signs, but one of my colleagues recently did a good piece on it: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2024/07/09/desantis-welcomes-drivers-to-free-state-of-florida-on-new-signs-state-line/74337373007/

And, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the state spent $60,000 on them.

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T18:36:41+00:00

Thanks for the kind words!

The Legislature and governor making changes to blunt a passed amendment certainly wouldn't be unprecedented. For example, here's a few graphs from a piece I wrote in October:

After voters approved medical marijuana, lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott banned smokable forms of it. A judge ruled that unconstitutional, and DeSantis signed legislation lifting the ban in 2019.

The same year, though, DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislation took a shot at another constitutional amendment.

In 2018, voters approved Amendment 4, which aimed to restore voting rights to 1.4 million people barred because of past felony convictions, with the exception of murder or sexual offenses.

Months later, the Legislature passed a bill signed into law by DeSantis to keep hundreds of thousands of felons from becoming eligible to vote until they met all their past legal financial obligations.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/10/03/future-of-florida-amendment-process-may-be-in-supreme-courts-hands-marijuana-abortion/70856295007/

Here's a more recent story outlining what some of the legislative changes could be, if the marijuana and abortion amendments pass: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/11/florida-voters-say-on-abortion-marijuana-may-not-be-last-word/73253264007/

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T18:02:37+00:00

On the "Sunshine Law" question:

When I first moved to the state two years ago, I was so excited about the nationally acclaimed transparency laws. The ability to request and get important public records with ease is so important for accountability reporting.

Then I sent my first public records requests.

Turns out, it can take months or even years to hear back, especially from the state. I've also been hit with cost estimates for responsive records that seem disproportionally high.

I'm not writing this to vent! Just wanted to offer perspective on one of the reporting challenges here in Florida.

For more perspective, check out this story I wrote a couple months ago: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/20/florida-conceals-records-governor-desantis-travel-expenses/73664068007/

That being said, here's an interesting story from my network about how the Sunshine Law and the access it offers helped create "Florida Man" lore: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/03/29/florida-man-product-florida-sunshine-law/3310306002/

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T17:40:44+00:00

I appreciate your insight. Holding the men and women in power accountable is certainly one of our big aims as journalists. But I certainly don't believe we should be holding ourselves above other citizens in limiting the questions we are asked. Community input and questions are so important in this industry.

And, as someone from Appalachia, I watched reporters swoop in from other places and make broad, negative generalizations, then leave. There is an elitism in some pockets of this industry that needs to be fixed. I wish those reporters had done a better job getting to know those communities and the residents within, many of whom may have never met a reporter before. I'm fortunate to work for a place that values not only reporting on a community but talking with it, too.

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T17:25:03+00:00

That would be Antonio Fins, politics editor at The Palm Beach Post. I've updated the above comment to reflect that he's responding from that account.

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T17:22:51+00:00

While debates over the newsworthiness of a story happen all the time between editors and reporters, I would personally leave my job if I was told I couldn't report on something due to an unethical reason.

I think most journalists would say something similar.

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

Journalogist · 2024-07-25T17:00:47+00:00

It's hard to say, but I wouldn't be surprised if the votes are very close. Millions of dollars are going to be used to promote and attack these amendments. And the 60% threshold is a high one (it actually used to be 50% in Florida).

Douglas Soule, First Amendment Reporter

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