"It was just an oversight"

Winter Garden city officials forgot to get buy-in from residents of three communities about the helicopter landing pad that Riegl USA proposed to build near their homes before they put it on the city commission agenda for votes in October and November. The helipad is now on hold.

Local Government matters

How many FL students will opt-out of mask requirements under new law? Who knows?

Following months of debate, legal challenges, and a special legislative session on the matter, Florida school districts are forbidden from requiring masks in classrooms unless parents can opt their students out. It’s now law. And districts are complying.

Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Worth Your Time

A voucher program to curb bullying in FL schools could expand — but it may not be about bullying — Florida Phoenix

‘Hunker down’ is not enough: 2021 hurricane season showed US isn’t prepared as climate-related disasters push people deeper into poverty — The Conversation

Live Performers Find Red State Rules a Tough Act to Follow — KHN

“It’s so hard and so challenging”: An oral history of year three of pandemic schooling — The Hechinger Report​

Santa's Lane, Oakland Dec. 4, 2021

Norine Dworkin/VoxPopuli

The Mathis sisters of Ocoee — Fiona, 7, Rose, 9 and Mariah, 4 — write letters to Santa during Oakland's Santa's Lane event in the Town Center Dec. 4. "We're going to mail them!" the girls announced excitedly.