REBUILD FLORIDA Communities that were impacted by Hurricane Sally have received a total of $187 million through the Department of Commerce’s Rebuild Florida program. The hurricane made landfall near the panhandle in 2020. The funding helps impacted communities rebuild homes and harden infrastructure to prevent or mitigate losses from future disasters.
RNC DEBATE Eight Republican presidential candidates have met the polling requirements to participate in the first televised presidential primary debate. The Republican National Committee will host the debate on August 23rd at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fox News will carry the debate. Those qualified include Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, and Mike Pence.
NEW AREA CODE Effective August 4th, residents in Miami and the Florida Keys who request new phone numbers will be eligible for a new area code. The new area code, 645, will supplement 305 and 786, which are already in use.
ANDREW WARREN The American Bar Association has chosen former state attorney Andrew Warren as recipient of the Curtin-Maleng Minister of Justice Award. Warren, who was removed as prosecutor for the state’s 13th Judicial Circuit by Governor DeSantis, received the award at the ABA’s annual meeting in Denver.
LEPROSY Cases of leprosy are on the rise in Florida, with 15 reported this year, mostly in Brevard County. In 2022, Central Florida accounted for 81 percent the reported cases in the state. There were reports of 159 infections last year in the U.S. There is no need to panic: leprosy is not highly contagious and can be treated easily.