¶ Central Florida Northrop Grumman workers protest upcoming federal vaccine mandate Workers at a Central Florida aerospace manufacturing facility are protesting an upcoming vaccination mandate for all federal employees and contractors. According to a report from Fox 35, a group of workers at a Melbourne Northrop Grumman plant are protesting the requirement that they get vaccinated. The workers gathered outside the facility on Monday morning to say that they believe the mandate is “unconstitutional.” For the record, mandatory vaccination has been found constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in repeated instances. In 1905, the court found that local governments were within their rights to enforce vaccine mandates after a Massachusetts pastor fought a mandatory smallpox vaccination. They extended that power to schools in 1922, finding that public schools could deny entry to children whose parents refused to have them vaccinated. These precedents will no doubt be discussed ad nauseum while school districts and state governments continue to squabble over requirements to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. President Joe Biden pointed to the precedents in defending his federal requirements. “Folks, vaccination requirements work and there’s nothing new about it. They’ve been around for decades. We’ve been living with these requirements throughout our lives,” he said. “Students, health care professionals, our troops have been required to see vaccination for everything from polio to measles to mumps to rubella.” — Alex Galbraith
¶ Harry Styles’ recent Orlando concert among events being questioned over possible ‘vaccine passport’ ban violations A Florida task force is looking into whether certain events and venues violated the state’s ban on so-called “vaccine passports.” That prohibition recently went into effect and the state has already rounded up a host of potential offenders, including Harry Styles’ recent show at the Amway Center. According to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the
Florida Department of Health has compiled a list of 120 events, venues, businesses and government entities that may have run afoul of Florida’s law barring private businesses from instituting a vaccination requirement and verifying it via a check of documentation. The paper says that several Central Florida institutions are on the list, including Orange County Government, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Amway Center. Styles’ concert was an event that was singled out individually for potential violations, in addition to the probe into other events at the Amway Center. Orange County Government likely made the list for instituting a vaccination requirement among county employees. Gov. Ron DeSantis has threatened massive fines for the county, multiplied quickly by the number of employees who work for the local government. Dr. Phillips and Harry Styles’ concert both instituted a policy requiring a recent negative COVID-19 test to attend shows. Vaccinated people could opt out of this requirement by showing proof of vaccination. This apparent workaround was still too close for the DOH, however, who flagged both the concert and the venue as possible violators anyway. In addition, the DOH is looking into several cruise lines, who by and large have ignored the passport ban. Several cruise lines began asking for proof of vaccination following a ruling in favor of Norwegian Cruise Line that exempted them from the ban. That ruling is being appealed by the state of Florida. A legal challenge to the entire law is being heard this week. A Sarasota craft store with an elderly clientele is suing the state, with the owner claiming she hasn’t been able to open safely because of the restriction. — AG
¶ Nearly 57,000 Floridians have died of COVID-19, per report Florida is nearing 57,000 resident deaths from COVID19 since the pandemic started in early 2020, according to a report released last Friday by the state Department of Health. As of late last week, the state totaled 56,667 deaths, up from 55,299 in a report issued the previous week. Lags in reporting make it difficult to track when the additional deaths occurred. The report also showed that Florida has topped 3.6 million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started. As of last Thursday, the total was 3,601,755 cases,
up from 3,576,571 in a report the prior week. The Department of Health said 72 percent of Floridians ages 12 or older had received at least one dose of COVID19 vaccine as of last Thursday. Vaccination rates ranged from 92 percent of the people in Miami-Dade County to 32 percent in Holmes County. — The News Service of Florida
¶ Orlando felons’ rights activist Desmond Meade has civil rights restored Desmond Meade, a former drug dealer who has garnered international accolades after leading the drive to pass a 2018 constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for felons, has had his civil rights restored by the Florida Board of Executive Clemency. The move stemmed from changes made by the clemency board earlier this year. The restoration of civil rights for Meade, who recently was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grant, means that the Orlando votingrights advocate can register to vote, serve on juries and run for public office. The action by the board came after Gov. Ron DeSantis twice rejected Meade’s requests for a full pardon. Meade, who received a law degree from Florida International University but was unable to practice law in Florida because of his decades-old felony convictions, called the restoration of his civil rights “another chapter in the journey, another example of perseverance” in a Twitter video posted last weekend. “It’s not a pardon, but it’s definitely a step,” said Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. “I can apply to The Florida Bar now. I can get a house. I can run for office if I want to run for office.” The Florida Board of Executive Clemency is made up of the governor, attorney general, agriculture commissioner and chief financial officer, and the governor’s approval is required for pardons and restoration of civil rights. At DeSantis’ urging, the board in March approved a series of changes to the clemency process and made it easier for felons who have paid court-ordered fines, fees and restitution to have their civil rights restored without hearings before the board. The new clemency rules eliminated five- and seven-year waiting periods imposed by former Gov. Rick Scott, former Attorney General Pam Bondi and other clemency board members in 2011. — NSF
orlandoweekly.com
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OCT. 13-19, 2021 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
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