Oviedo News Watch

21/08/2024

Congressional primary winners.

In the November election, in the US Senate race, Mucarsel-Powell (D) will run against Scott (R).

In the US House race, Adams (D) will run against Mills (R)

19/08/2024

Latest Poll Numbers on the Florida US Senate Race

18/08/2024

Candidates for the Democratic US Senate race are:

Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the first Ecuadorian American and South American born woman elected to Congress. She lost her seat after one term.

Mucarsel-Powell has raised $12 million for the race and the backing of the party. She faces Navy veteran and businessman Stanley Campbell, Army veteran and businessman Rod Joseph and Brian Rush, a former four-term Florida state representative.

Campbell has around $1 million dollars raised for the race. Joseph and Rush have less than $100 thousand dollars to spend according to Ballotpedia.

18/08/2024

Candidates for Republican Primary US Senate Race:

Incumbent Republican Rick Scott ‘s seeking his second Senate term. His challengers are John Columbus, an actor and former Walt Disney World performer, and Keith Gross, an attorney who twice ran for Georgia’s state House as a Democrat but now supports Donald Trump.

Scott recently reported he had nearly $4 million in the bank and raised more than $30 million over the course of the campaign. Gross said he was prepared to spend $20 million to $30 million of his own money to unseat Scott. Federal campaign finance records indicate that Gross loaned or donated his campaign $2.4 million and had about $13,000 in the bank as of July 31. Columbus is trailing far behind both candidates in campaign funding. All of this information was reported by the Associate Press.

18/08/2024

Our US House of Representatives Republican Primary election begins. For information on the candidates. see: Ballotopedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Florida%27s_7th_Congressional_District_election,_2024_(August_20_Republican_primary)

18/08/2024

Our US House of Representatives Democratic Party Primary Election Begins. For information on the candidates, see these two websites: WKMG-TV: https://www.clickorlando.com/results-2024/2024/08/14/results-2024-meet-the-3-democrats-running-for-us-house-district-7/ and Ballotopedia: https://ballotpedia.org/Florida%27s_7th_Congressional_District_election,_2024

02/08/2024

The Senate has killed a bill that would have expanded the child tax credit. Of Florida's US Senators, Scott (R) was for and Rubio (R) against the legislation that would have cut taxes for low income families.

The vote was 48 for and 44 against the bill. It did not get the required 60 votes for passage. Most Republicans voted against the bill.

18/06/2024

10/06/2024

Florida US Senators Rubio (R) and Scott (R) don't want people to be allowed to engage in contraception or be able to buy contraceptives
They voted against a bill that would prohibit local or state governments, or the federal government from restricting access to contraception.
The bill was blocked because it did not have 2/3's of the Senators voting for passage. 51 Senators voted for, 39 voted against, and 10 did not vote.

17/05/2024

A symbolic vote forcing the President to release arms shipments to Israel earned a Yes vote by Cory Mills (R), the Congressman representing Seminole County.

The vote was mostly along party lines, with 224 voting Yes and 187 voting No. 16 Democrats voted with the Republicans. 3 Republicans voted No. The bill is not expected to pass in the Senate.

13/05/2024

Rick Scott (R) running for reelection to the US Senate from Florida has a 12-point lead over his Democratic opponent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D).

This is according to the average of 2 polls taken in Mid-April by Emerson College and Florida Atlantic University.

11/05/2024

Flying may become more safe now that Florida Senators Marco Rubio (R) and Rick Scott (R) have approved a $105 billion dollar bill to make that happen.

The bill would boost the number of air traffic controllers now that there is a shortage and buy new technology designed to prevent collisions.

The bill would also make it easier for customers to get refunds if their flights are delayed or cancelled and prohibit airlines for charging extra for families to sit together.

The bill passed with bipartisan support, with 84 Senators approving the bill. It now goes to the US House of Representatives for debate, possibly adding amendments, and a vote.

09/05/2024

Seminole County Representative Cory Mills (R) has voted to keep Representative Mike Johnson (R) Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) tried to oust Johnson from his role as Speaker, mainly for working with Democrats to get legislation passed.

The vote was 359 against removing Johnson from his position, 32 for removal. 21 members did not vote and 7 voted present. Johnson won due to overwhelming bipartisan support.

26/04/2024

Florida has joined 16 other states to overturn a new Federal policy requiring employers to give time off for pregnant workers who are seeking abortions.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires most employers with 15 or more employees to also provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, stillbirth and lactation.

The regulations go into effect on June 18. Nearly all the states involved in the lawsuit have total or highly restrictive abortion bans in place.

24/04/2024

Florida US Senators Rubio (R) and Scott (R) voted not to give aid to Israel, Ukraine, & Taiwan.

The Senate passed the foreign aid bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. The vote was 79 for and 18 against. The bill also forces TikTok to be sold in 9 months or face a ban in the US.

President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law

22/04/2024

US House of Representatives Congressman Cory Mills (R) voted against giving $60 million dollars to aid Ukraine. Mills represents Seminole County in the House.

The bill passed with 311 Democrats and Republicans voting for and 112 voting against the bill. The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote.

22/04/2024

Cory Mills (R), representing Seminole County in the US House, voted against a bill to give $17 billion in offensive and defensive weapons aid for Israel, paired with just over $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere.

The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 366 for and 58 against the aid package. The bill advances to the Senate for approval.

18/04/2024

Florida Senators Rubio (R) and Scott (R) voted for two impeachment charges to be brought against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for failing to enforce immigration laws.

51 Democrats voted for and 48 Republicans voted against dismissing the charges. One Republican voted "present." The votes mean Mayorkas will continue to serve in President Biden's cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Services.

08/04/2024

The number of cases of Covid are declining in Florida according to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) However, Seminole County still ranks in the top 10 of all 67 Florida counties with Covid cases.

64% of Seminole County residents have taken 2 shots as of last week. The CDC is recommending that most everyone to have taken at least two vaccines..

24/03/2024

Anyone who calls themselves a chaplain may soon be coming to your child's school to counsel students. Oviedo's State Senator Jason Brodeur (R) and House Representative Susan Plasencia (R) approved the bill. Governor DeSantis is expected to sign the bill.

Parents must approve of their child participating. A number of people oppose the law as being a violation of the Constitution's 1st Amendment of separation of church and state.

23/03/2024

Florida US Senator Rick Scott (R) did not vote on the $1.2 trillion dollar government funding bill. Senator Rubio (R) voted no. The bill passed with bipartisan support, 74-24, with 2 (including Scott) not voting. President Biden will sign the bill into law, averting a government shutdown.

22/03/2024

No! was how Seminole County US House Representative Cory Mills (R) voted on a $1.2 trillion dollar bill to fund the Federal government.

134 House members voted no, 236 members, including Democrats and Republicans, voted yes and the bill passed.

The Senate has until midnight to pass the bill or else 3/4 of the Federal government will shut down.

14/03/2024

Banning TikTok is something Seminole County Congressman Cory Mills (R) feels is necessary. Mills voted with 352 other members of the US House for the ban. Only 65 Congressmen voted against it.

TikTok is a China-based company which many believe poses a national security risk to the US. If passed, the bill would require TikTok to either be banned or sold to a US company.

A number of small business owners feel a ban would shut down their businesses. Other users are opposed to the legislation for various reasons, including it would violate free speech laws.

The bill now goes to the US Senate for consideration. President Biden said he would sign the bill if the Senate approved it. A week ago, former President Trump changed his mind on the bill and now opposes a ban or sale.

09/03/2024

Florida US Senator Rick Scott (R) may be the next Senate Minority Leader. Current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky says he is stepping down in November.

Scott hasn't publicly announced he is running for the position, but speculation is that he will run. Scott ran unsuccessfully against McConnell to be the leader in 2022.

09/03/2024

Early voting for Seminole County Commissioners, Seminole County School Board members, and the Supervisor of Elections is from March 9-16, 10am-6pm.

The only contested races are for Commission and School Board districts 3 and 5, and the Supervisor of Elections.

The list of candidates is located at: https://www.voteseminole.gov/current-candidates

Voting locations are located at: https://www.voteseminole.gov/early-voting

07/03/2024

Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) has lost $1.3 million dollars to an email scammer. The SCPS Accounts Payable Department fell for the scheme by paying an invoice to a fake account via an SCPS computer. The US Secret Service, Seminole County Sheriff's Department and SCPS are investigating the scam.

05/03/2024

Florida US Senator Rick Scott says he endorses in-vitro fertilization (IVF), while Senator Marco Rubio's statements have been somewhat vague. Rubio says he supports IVF, but believes frozen embryos are human lives. A Federal bill to establish the right to use IVF may soon come before the US Senate for a vote.

20/02/2024

Members of the Oviedo City Council are planning on making field trips to see the newly built Casselberry Police Department. Council members want to see what a nearby city can do if it has the money to construct such a building.

Oviedo residents voted down a bond amendment to add money to build a new police department on Election Day in November. Mayor Sladek has already visited the complex. The Council will meet in March to consider what to do next about Oviedo's Police Department building.

14/02/2024

For its second try, the U.S. House voted to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. Oviedo area Representative Cory Mills (R) voted for impeachment. The vote was 214 for and 213 against. The impeachment bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

14/02/2024

Florida Senators Scott (R) and Rubio (R) voted against giving a $95-billion dollar aid package to Ukraine and Israel. The vote was 70 for and 29 against passage of the bill. The bill will be sent to the House of Representatives for a vote.