Valerie Crowder
Valerie Crowder is a freelance reporter based in Panama City, Florida. Before moving to Florida, she covered politics and education for Public Radio East in New Bern, North Carolina. While at PRE, she was also a fill-in host during All Things Considered. She got her start in public radio at WAER-FM in Syracuse, New York, where she was a part-time reporter, assistant producer and host. She has a B.A. in newspaper online journalism and political science from Syracuse University. When she’s not reporting the news, she enjoys reading classic fiction and thrillers, hiking with members of the Florida Trail Association and doing yoga.
-
The latest round of funding will largely fund new storm- and waste-water infrastructure. -
Democrats have supported fully funding the affordable housing trust fund, while the GOP-controlled legislature has a nearly decade-long record of spending a portion of those monies elsewhere.
-
More dollars are gradually becoming available to aid communities recovering from Hurricane Michael.
-
Florida would join other states in providing similar protections.
-
Scores of bills related to government transparency have been filed in the state legislature. At least a few have are progressing through committees ahead of regular session.
-
Two bills recently filed in the state legislature seek to give every local elections supervisor the option to operate countywide polling sites on Election Day, instead of restricting voters to designated precinct sites.
-
They say the proposal would force them to spend a lot of money notifying voters to renew their absentee ballot requests every year.
-
Florida’s Hispanic residents are more likely than whites to contract COVID-19 and die from the disease, yet early vaccination data shows they’re getting the shot at lower rates. Coronavirus vaccine misinformation and mistrust are contributing to the disparity.
-
Florida is experiencing a resurgence of coronavirus cases following the holidays. The state is continuing to rely on its vaccination, testing and public education strategies to curb the spread of the virus, even as health experts predict another spike in deaths in the coming weeks.
-
They're staying away from online appointments, opting for scheduling by phone or filling out a paper application instead.
