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SEPTEMBER 2021, VOL. 14, ISSUE 09
SCHOOL IS COOL
Murray Hill residents pursue next steps to ending ‘noxious odors’ BY KAREN RIELEY
Tianna Fordham and Ben Meadows attend Riverside High School and Finnley Meadows attends LaVilla School of the Arts
Local Parents And Schools Clash Over Mask Mandates BY KEVIN J. MEERSCHAERT Resident Community News
Avery Bilanchone attends Stockton Elementary
Azi and Zuri Benn attend Riverside Presbyterian Day School
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As the mask mandate debate continues, a recent ruling was passed down Aug. 27 by 2nd Judicial Court Judge John C. Cooper which ruled the state ban on mask mandates invalid and the Governor overreached in his authority. Cooper said the argument against masks “reflects a minority, perhaps even a small minority of medical and scientific opinion.” He even went so far as to say that the CDC is the “gold standard” for public health, critics would argue the CDC has issued contradictory guidelines since the start of the pandemic, first stating that masks were only necessary for health care workers and people who were sick. “I conclude that this evidence demonstrates that face mask policies that follow CDC guidance are at this point in time, reasonable and consistent with the best scientific and medical opinion guidance in the country at this time,” Cooper said. As the number of Delta variant cases of COVID-19 continues to rise, a battle over mask mandates
in schools is raging in Jacksonville and across Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis previously issued an executive order banning mask mandates by school districts. He also signed into law the “Parents Bill of Rights” passed by the legislature this summer in HB 421. The rulings in question surround much of the language in sections 1014.01-.06. 1014.03 states: Infringement of Parental Rights — The state, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or any other institution may not infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of his or her minor child without demonstrating that such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means. Another key section that is being argued is 1041.04, which states: (1) All parental rights are reserved to the parent of a minor child in this state without obstruction or interference from the state, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental
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entity, or any other institution, including, but not limited to, all of the following rights of a parent of a minor child in this state: Of the nine subsections, lettered a.-i.), e. is an argument that will also be critical in any appeal, it states: e.) The right to make health care decisions for his or her minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law. Despite Governor’s order, mask policies implemented Since the beginning of the school year, at least ten Florida school districts, including Duval, have defied the governor and implemented mask mandates. Many private schools have followed suit. Over half of Florida students are now under mask requirements. That has led some parents to cry foul, saying the mandates violate the “Parents Bill of Rights” since they should be the ones to make healthcare decisions for their child or children. The debate over masks has been fierce, particularly in recent weeks as kids head back to school across Florida and the rest of the country. READ MORE ON PAGE 22
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Resident Community News
The federal judge’s dismissal in July of a lawsuit by Murray Hill homeowners Jenny Wright, Natalie Soud, and James Cobb accusing a Westside Jacksonville chemical plant of creating ‘noxious odors’ that endanger their health, keep them from enjoying their neighborhood and negatively affecting their property values might have seemed like a death-knell for the case. Instead, homeowners are considering refiling the lawsuit. “The court dismissed the IFF case on a procedural issue. Since that time, we have been considering all of our options and will proceed accordingly once the plaintiffs have determined which approach is in the best interests of their case and their proposed class,” said Laura Sheets, attorney with LIDDLE & DUBIN, P.C., Detroit, Mich., which is representing the homeowners. U.S. District Judge Brian Davis ruled that the lawsuit filed in January didn’t belong in federal court because the people suing and the company that they sued were all Florida citizens. Lawyers for Jacksonville homeowners noted that IFF Chemical Holdings was incorporated in Delaware. But Davis pointed to a 2017 decision by an appeals court that said a company incorporated in one state and doing business mostly in another, as IFF Chemical Holdings does, is really a citizen of both states, and because of that, the case had to be dismissed. READ MORE ON PAGE 16
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