The Florida Roundup | WLRN

Around this time last year, the political sphere zeroed in on Broward County, which was dealing with a crucial recount in a couple of statewide races. The office has recently dealt with another blunder , according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. More than 50,000 voters received a “final notice” mailer that threatened to designate them inactive voters. The county’s elections supervisor Peter Antonacci later apologized for the mailer and said no one’s status will change. On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson spoke with WLRN’s Broward County reporter Caitie Switalski and the Sun Sentinel’s Larry Barszewski about the state of elections in Broward. Here's an excerpt of their conversation: TOM HUDSON: This latest incident just added to the long list of challenges that Broward County Elections have had through the years — most notably a year ago with the recount. That led, of course, to Brenda Snipes' departure. She had been the elections supervisor. Peter Antonacci then came in,

Repairs to aging Broward schools have taken awhile, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. In 2014, Broward County voters approved a $800 million bond referendum for renovation work. The Sentinel found that five years later, work was completed at eight of 233 schools. On the South Florida Roundup, host Tom Hudson spoke with Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel education reporter, and Steve Hillberg, an engineer who serves on the Broward Schools bond oversight committee. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation: TOM HUDSON: How are the decisions being made about where to start these projectts, let alone try to push toward finishing them? SCOTT TRAVIS: They started out by putting all of the contracts out pretty much close together, and they would put them all out in design. And some architects would have more trouble than others getting the work done, meeting the codes, meeting the district standards. The ones that were the quickest were the ones that got to construction first. And there wasn

The Homestead detention center for migrant children is expected to close at the end of this month. The private prison company that runs the facility will not have its federal contract renewed when it expires Nov. 30.

The statewide commission investigating the Parkland shooting is working on a second school safety report , which is expected to be submitted to the governor by Nov. 1. This comes just over a week after the Florida Senate voted – largely along party lines – to permanently remove Scott Israel, Broward County’s former sheriff, from office. In a rare special session, senators also heard testimony from Parkland parents like Ryan Petty, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Alaina in the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “The senseless murder of so many tests the limits of faith and demands more endurance than I thought possible,” he said in Tallahassee last Monday. “We didn’t understand the magnitude of the failures by law enforcement.” On the South Florida Roundup, host Caitie Switalski spoke with Petty about his message to lawmakers and his role on the statewide commission looking into the shooting. They were also joined by Democratic state Sen. Perry Thurston Jr., who

The state commission investigating the Parkland shooting is wrapping up a second report that outlines more school safety recommendations. It’ll be sent to the governor’s office by Nov. 1. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission met near Orlando for two days this week. Members discussed mental health, threat assessments in schools and the “guardian” program, which allows some school staff to carry firearms. The commission has until 2023 to meet again. On the South Florida Roundup, host Danny Rivero spoke with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a MSD commission member, about what’s going in the new report and where efforts stand to protect Florida schools. Here's an excerpt of their conversation: DANNY RIVERO: What will the second report have that the first report didn't touch on? SHERIFF GRADY JUDD: We're going to talk about mental health. We don't have sufficient mental health funding any place in the state for anyone of any age. Normal people don't shoot up