On Wednesday, April 24th, the Tallahassee City Commission voted to move forward with placing proposed amendments on the ballot for consideration at the next general election. Pursuant to state law, the Commission must adopt proposed charter amendments by ordinance and instruct the Supervisor of Elections of Leon County by resolution to include the related questions on the ballot for the general election on November 5, 2024. Provided below are the votes related to the introduction of the ordinances. The city commission voted 3-2, (Matlow, Porter against) to introduce Ordinance No. 24-O-20, adop ..read more

On April 22nd, 2024, the Leon County School Board held their agenda review/workshop meeting and discussed graduation rates and budget priorities. Staff provided the Board with a presentation on LCS graduation rates and the class of 2024.  The presentation listed an overview of the challenges that the class of 2024 has faced since the start of Covid in 2020, including changes in the concordant scores to meet the English Language Assessment and the End of Course Exam. For example, an SAT score of 430 is a 10th grade benchmark, now a score of 480 is a 12th grade benchmark. Other listed chall ..read more

Mark S. Earley, Supervisor of Elections for Leon County, recently announced free postage on Vote-by-Mail ballots. “In furtherance of our mission to provide outstanding voter services, I want to remove barriers to voting and ensure all eligible voters can cast their ballot,” said Supervisor Earley. “In that spirit, I am happy to announce that starting with the 2024 Primary Election, voters will no longer need to pay the postage on Vote-by-Mail ballot return envelopes. I would like to thank the Leon County Commission for funding this important program in service to our voters.” This new service ..read more

Narrative per State Attorney’s Office: The victim in this case was shot and killed at the intersection of W. Tennessee Street and Barineau Road on March 21, 2020 in the middle of the afternoon. The medical examiner estimated the victim to have been shot between 8-10 times all over his body including multiple times in the back and in his face. On that day, witness at trial Kelly Ash, was driving the defendant and the victim around in her car and in order for the victim to collect money owed to the defendant – when the victim kept coming up short at each stop, the defendant got angry and engaged ..read more

UPDATE Two days after this story was originally published on April 20, Commissioner Matlow has once again alleged that a TPD officer “planted evidence” in a social media post. Planting evidence is crime. Original Story After a Leon County jury delivered a guilty verdict related to a DUI case on Monday April 8, City Commissioner Matlow continued to push the narrative that a Tallahassee Police Department officer “planted” and “fabricated” evidence. Matlow’s allegations were based on a leaked, edited police officer body-cam video published by a left-leaning blog with political ties to Commissione ..read more

On Wednesday the Tallahassee City Commission will receive an update related to the construction of the new Tallahassee Police Department headquarters at the Northwood site located near the North Monroe and Tharpe Street intersection. Based on the 60% completed design documents for the construction project, staff reports that the anticipated cost for the 137,000 square-foot facility is $135 million, which is approximately 985 per square-foot. The estimated cost of the TPD headquarters has increased from a $60 million estimate in 2020 to the current $135 million cost. City Manager Reese Goad has ..read more

On April 10th, 2024, Tallahassee City Commissioner Jack Porter made comments critical of TPD Chief Revell related to a recent DUI case which resulted in guilty verdict. Porter addressed Chief Revell, noting she wanted to put on record that, “I don’t feel safe personally when I think about the chief of police making disparaging comments about me..” Additionally, Porter addressed the footage stating “As to the video, I was disturbed by what I saw. I was disturbed by the response from our Chief. I’m disturbed by the singling out of my colleague and a member of the public.” Porter continued, addre ..read more

Below are the news briefs that took place on April 9, 2024 during the Leon County School Board Meeting. Superintendent Hanna made a special presentation related to the new marketing campaign adopted by LCS. Hanna noted the campaign was needed because the current logo is “tired” and LCS is facing competition from alternative schools which are impacting LCS enrollment. The presentation included a video aimed at “telling our story.” Staff member Chelsea Williams provided the Board a presentation on the Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant (CAP Grant) she wrote for two high schools ..read more

On Thursday, April 11th, Michelle Gayle, Ph.D., Deputy Superintendent, Leon County Schools (LCS) sent an email to elected officials to provide details related to the new LCS logo and marketing campaign. LCS has received some criticism related to the costs of the logo development. FloridaPolitics.com, a statewide news outlet, recently noted the controversy over the cost and the design, you ” can’t pay your teachers, but you can spend $100K for a logo designed in Microsoft Paint.” In the email, Gayle writes, “In our efforts to assist and equip you in effectively communicating the mission, vision ..read more

On April 10, 2024, the Tallahassee City Commission voted unanimously to introduce a new ordinance regarding school speed zone enforcement and scheduled its first public hearing for April 24, 2024. According to the agenda item, the ordinance was drafted in accordance with new statutory requirements to initiate the implementation of a school speed zone enforcement program at identified Leon County public school locations within the City limits to enhance public safety. Additionally, the new law allows municipalities to utilize automated speed detection systems, and the cost of the program will b ..read more