Latest news with #FloridaDepartmentofManagementServices
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day is unique for where your flag should fly and when. Here's what to know
Today is Memorial Day. While the federal holiday has unofficially become the day many think of as the beginning of summer, the day was established to honor members of the U.S. military who have died in service to their country. Flags will fly at half-staff during the day but only until noon, making Memorial Day unique when it comes to flying your flag. Here's what you should know. Memorial Day falls on the last Monday in May, so the date moves around each each. In 2025, Memorial Day will be on Monday, May 26. Yes, Memorial Day is one of 11 federal holidays. Here are 2025 federal holidays: Jan. 1: New Year's Day Jan. 20: Inauguration Day; Martin Luther King Jr. Day Feb. 17: Washington's Birthday. Many state and local governments designation it as Presidents Day. May 26: Memorial Day June 19: Juneteenth July 4: Independence Day Sept. 1: Labor Day Oct. 13: Columbus Day Nov. 11: Veterans Day Nov. 27: Thanksgiving Day Dec. 25: Christmas Day Yes. Memorial Day also is a paid holiday in Florida. The Florida Department of Management Services lists the following days observed as paid holidays by state agencies: Jan. 1, Wednesday: New Year's Day Jan. 20, Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day May 26, Monday: Memorial Day July 4, Friday: Independence Day Sept. 1, Monday: Labor Day Nov. 11, Tuesday: Veterans Day Nov. 27, Thursday: Thanksgiving Nov. 28: Friday after Thanksgiving Dec. 25, Thursday: Christmas Day ➤ See list of 2025 Florida, federal holidays, including new one for Sunshine State "On Memorial Day the flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, then raised briskly to the top of the staff until sunset, in honor of the nation's battle heroes," according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The flag should first be raised briskly to the top of the staff before being slowly lowered to half-staff. Lowering the flag to half-staff is a sign of mourning and respect for those who have died, particularly in the service of their country. The American flag stays a half-staff on Memorial Day before being raised to the top of the staff at noon, where it stays until it's lowered at sunset. Congress codified the tradition of raising the flag at noon in 1924, saying: 'For the nation lives, and the flag is a symbol of illumination,' adding the noon flag-raising symbolizes the persistence of the nation in the face of loss, according to It's half-mast on ships and half-staff on shore. Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day can trace its origins back to the years after the Civil War when people began to decorate the graves and say prayers to those killed during the war. In 1868, Gen. John Logan called for a nationwide day of remembrance, according to The observance was called Decoration Day, and it was observed on May 30, 1868, as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. The date was chosen because it wasn't the anniversary of any Civil War battle, said. Originally honoring only those who died during the Civil War, Decoration Day expanded to recognize the sacrifices of others after World War I. "The holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, The Vietnam War, The Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," according to the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum. Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971 and changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. ➤ Fast facts: 10 historical facts about Memorial Day On ships and at naval stations ashore, flags are flown at half-mast. On shore, flags are flown at half-staff. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Why is flag at half-staff today? Memorial Day half-staff until noon
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill Cotterell: Florida's new ‘DOGE' will find slim pickings
Six years into his tenure as one of the nation's most conservative governors — if not the most tight-fisted penny pincher in the land— Gov. Ron DeSantis is dispatching his own crew of mission evaluators and operational auditors to squeeze every possible drop of performance efficiency and cost-cutting out of Florida government. Maybe it's just another step in the governor's continuing effort to look Trumpier-than-thou among big-name Republicans. Perhaps he's trying to build a legacy that his wife can carry into a 2026 campaign and keep the governor's mansion in the family. He likely wants to produce some tangible fiscal results, stuff U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and other potential GOP candidates can only talk about. As if to underscore the devotion he has felt to President Donald Trump, ever since Trump whupped him last year for the Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis dubbed his anti-waste task force 'DOGE' — like the Department of Government Efficiency frolicking through federal agency files and personnel rosters in Washington, D.C. Of course it's possible DeSantis, like Trump and Elon Musk, truly believes that government is inherently bloated, wasteful and full of fraud. That's a GOP article of faith, an unquestioned truism which Republicans hold as sacred as Democrats' deep commitment to nominating people who make them feel virtuous when they lose. The facts of state personnel, however, don't support the fat-government prejudice. In fact, the numbers contradict it. Every year, the Florida Department of Management Services compiles a handy little compendium of facts and figures on state government. Year after year — even before the Republicans won complete control in 1998 — the agency's workforce report has showed Florida 50th in the per-capita size and cost of state government. Under the wild-eyed, tax-and-spend liberalism of governors like Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Rick Scott and DeSantis, the state might have done some things you haven't liked. But at least it did them fairly well. The most recent annual workforce report posted online by the Department of Management Services is for the 2021-2022 year. Another should be issued soon, but it won't show a big change in the numbers. For starters, the report said Florida had 97,218 established job positions. That was an increase of 355 jobs over the preceding five years. Wow, talk about your rampant, runaway growth. The report said the state had 96 full- or part-time employees per 10,000 population — again, dead last in the country. The national average was 198 state workers per 10,000 population. Counting only full-time employees, the figure was 82 per 10,000 Florida residents — exactly half the national average. The state payroll was, statistically, even stingier. The workforce report said payroll costs were $40 per resident, compared to a $90 national average. But there's much more to efficiency than just job positions and salaries. At a news conference in Tampa, DeSantis said he wants the state's new DOGE task force to find 70 state boards and commissions to abolish and about 900 positions to delete. State agencies will have their own efficiency teams, and universities will undergo independent examinations of their operations. The state already has a Government Efficiency Task Force, created by a 2006 constitutional amendment. It's required to meet every four years and recommend ways to run government better. The state also has the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, or OPPAGA, which runs operational studies of various programs and state offices, and the Auditor General's Office, which holds agencies accountable for spending money as legislative budget writers intend. House and Senate committees also summon agency heads to justify budget requests and to explain themselves when things go wrong. No one can be against government efficiency. The Center for American Political Studies at Harvard and The Harris Poll released a survey Feb. 24 indicating that 72% of registered voters who were polled online support the idea of a DOGE-like agency spotlighting government waste and poor operation. There's no reason to doubt that the idea — if not for the tactics of the Trump-Musk operation — would poll just as highly in Florida. In a $100 billion-plus operation like Florida government, the DeSantis-directed DOGE effort will probably find some dumb stuff — particularly some of the 'diversity, equity and inclusion' things the Republicans love to hate — but it should also find that our state agencies do well overall. Bill Cotterell is a retired state Capitol reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrat. He can be reached at wrcott43@ JOIN THE CONVERSATION Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@ Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bill Cotterell: Florida's new 'DOGE' will find slim pickings
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The 2026 governor's race — is this the best the Republican Party has to offer?
The Florida Governor's Mansion via Florida Department of Management Services The sitting governor is limping around like a disabled waterfowl with a bad beer hangover, inspiring a high level of schadenfreude in the Florida Legislature. He's on the way to obsolescence and everyone knows it. So — even though the next gubernatorial election doesn't take place until November 2026 — it's past time to look to the future: Who will rule the citrus-cankered, gun-crazy, storm-battered Sunshine State? One of the leading candidates is Byron Donalds, a congressman from southwest Florida and an epic Trump rump-kisser. Donalds calls Trump 'Daddy.' Trump calls Donalds a 'TOTAL WINNER' and says he backs the obsequious congressman for governor. Donalds' understanding of America's past is, to put it kindly, bizarre. During a 2024 event to drum up minority support for 'Daddy,' he expressed nostalgia for the good old days of Jim Crow. Back then, he says, 'the Black family was together' and Black people voted conservative. This is, of course, nonsense: Back then, Black people pretty much didn't vote at all. If they got past the poll tax and the 'literacy tests' required to register (and most didn't), and tried to cast a ballot, they could be lynched. Rep. Donalds might want to familiarize himself with the Ocoee Massacre. In 1920, a farmer named Mose Norman tried to exercise his rights as an American citizen and vote. A white mob rampaged through the town, killing at least 50 people. Instead of recognizing that the United States still struggles with racism and misogyny, Donalds prefers to indulge in fake history and retrograde gender stereotyping, informing us: 'Men have been created by God to be conquerors, to be hunters,' adding, 'A Black man in today's America is looking around and saying, 'How can I go hunt for my people and hunt for my family?'' What's he talking about? Hunting for a good education? A good job? A rabbit? With Trump's endorsement, Donalds leads the Republican pack of potential candidates for governor, at least according to one recent poll, which has him at 31% support, followed (distantly) by former Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nuñez, Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson, and the ethics-challenged mayor of Miami. But, despite pronouncements that with Trump in the mix the race is a done deal, there are other, er, interesting candidates who cannot be dismissed so easily. With the chaos President Musk is unleashing on the nation, Trump may not be quite so powerful in a year's time — especially if he messes with your granny's Medicare. Casey DeSantis tops the polls conducted by the University of North Florida and Florida Atlantic University/Mainstreet Survey. Ron DeSantis insists Florida's First Lady isn't running for anything: She's a wife and mother, a dedicated supporter of America's cosmetics industry. He rather formally refers to her as 'First Lady,' though 'co-governor' might be more accurate. When the two of them toured areas ravaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, they dressed exactly alike: jeans, white shirts, Florida Department of Emergency Management vests, white rubber boots. When it comes to his career, she's the decider, the strategizer, the enforcer. Casey is seen as more likeable than Ron but, like him, she's paranoid. In 2024, when Ron DeSantis was running for president, she tried to 'humanize' him, reminding him to smile and be 'likeable.' Alas, it didn't work, as evidenced by his dismal showing in the primaries. Susie Wiles, Florida's most feared campaign pro, worked for DeSantis until Casey decided she was somehow trading on her association with the governor and ran her off. Wiles, who makes no secret of her profound dislike of the DeSantii, steered Trump's campaign and is now White House chief of staff. Oops. But ruthlessness, control freakery, and a streak of authoritarianism a mile wide are hardly disqualifying in Florida. Ron DeSantis and his equally socially awkward predecessor proved that. While Byron Donalds and Casey are clearly the frontrunners, there are plenty of other undelicious characters eyeing the Mansion. Matt Gaetz, for starters — the rich, eminently punchable, Botox boy who has all the charm of a drunken iguana. That would be the same Matt Gaetz who was forced to withdraw his name from consideration as Trump's pick to be attorney general, the very Matt Gaetz who, in the words of the congressional investigation into his conduct, has been credibly accused of 'prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.' The guy's been investigated for sex trafficking by the Department of Justice (back when we still had one), paid a 17-year-old to have sex with him, and 'entertained' fellow House members with nude photos of women he claimed to have slept with. He has no ideas, but he's rich in insults. He insults Republicans, Democrats, senators, congressmen and -women, reproductive rights supporters, environmentalists, feminists, gay people, and Black people. As a member of the Florida House, he ridiculed two Black senators, implying they were stupid. Gaetz may have to overcome a few obstacles. For starters, his statewide approval rating is 18%. He's less popular than palmetto bugs, blue green algae, and Kanye West. Still, money works wonders in politics and a Gaetz campaign would have plenty of cash — even if he had to get it from his daddy. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, another possible candidate, has less name recognition than Matt Gaetz, but then, he hasn't been credibly accused of statutory rape. Simpson's recently distinguished himself by sniping at Ron DeSantis over who's the Trumpiest on immigration: 'I'm not the one who opposed and ran against President Trump.' Back when Simpson was president of the Senate, DeSantis vetoed a $600 million cancer facility planned for Pasco County (part of Simpson's district) as well as $300 million for conservation lands. Out of spite. Jeannette Nuñez, you say? She's making bank at her new sinecure: president of FAU, so why would she leave? Plus, her polling is negligible, and she's dull to boot. But this is Florida: You never know. For about five minutes in 2023, Francis Suarez, mayor of Miami, was a candidate for president of the United States. It did not go well. Lately, he's been calling a run for governor 'interesting.' What's also interesting is that he's been the subject of several state and federal probes (the state ones have now been dismissed by Florida's joke of an Ethics Commission) involving his lucrative side hustles, including his getting paid $10,000 a month by a developer who was asking the city to grant him a special building permit. But why limit ourselves to those so-called credible — if possibly indictable — folks whose allegedly relevant experience or, at least, ability to get in front of TV cameras, makes them fit to run for Florida's highest office? Blue Sky thinking, people! Don Trump Jr.? He's young, he's well-connected, he's armed, he lives in a $10 million house in Jupiter (the town in Palm Beach County, not the planet) and he has Thoughts About Government. Like, that J.D. Vance is AWESOME. Don Jr. gives himself credit for getting our Nazi-curious V.P. his current gig, expending what he described as '10,000 percent' of his political capital on begging his daddy. He championed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., too. So, when your kid gets the measles, you know who to thank. Then there's Jeff Bezos. He's a Floridian! And owns no fewer than three immodest dwellings on Indian Creek Island, one of them 23,000 square feet. His neighbors include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Tom Brady, and rising seas caused by the anthropogenic climate change none of them believe in. Jeff B would be a great choice: He could just buy the state (except for the parts his fellow billionaires own), and we could all work at Amazon warehouses and branches of Whole Foods. Economic problems solved. And now that he's out of prison, what about former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio? Actually, he can't call himself a 'Proud Boy' any more: Earlier this month, a federal judge awarded the violent nationalists' name and trademarks to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. — the church Tarrio's outfit vandalized in 2020. Or Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, one of Florida's most impressive intellects. Luna, author of a proposal to put Trump's face on Mt. Rushmore, is investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. She's ordered members of the Warren Commission to appear before her, which, no doubt they'd be delighted to do, except they're all dead. Imagine: If APL were governor, she could launch investigations into Mickey's mousehood — is he an actual rodent or an undocumented Mexican? — as well as demand Miami P.D.'s Sonny Crockett testify under oath on whether Detective Rico Tubbs was a DEI hire. Seriously, y'all: With this rich cornucopia of political geniuses, how can Florida go wrong? SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
