Eight Republicans file in the primary race to represent Florida's 19th Congressional District

With the announcement that Congressman Francis Rooney would not run for re-election to represent Florida CD-19 in Washington, DC , County Examiner begins an eight month series on the District and the eight Republicans vying for the GOP nod. 

Rooney, reported Politico back in October 2019, was the first House Republican to express openness to voting to impeach President Donald Trump. 

But first, a little bit about the District using the map ordered by the Florida Supreme Court, December 2, 2015.

Florida's 19th Congressional District is located in Southwest Florida and encompasses the majority of Lee County and a portion of Collier County. The major cities of Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Sanibel and the Village of Estero are in Lee County, as is the Town of Fort Myers Beach. The city of Marco Island and a portion of the City of Naples are also in the portion of Collier County included in the District. Additional Census Designated Places in the District (CDP) such as Captiva, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers can be found here.

According to the Florida Division of Elections, and because 2020 is a Presidential election year, the primary election date (with the exception of the President Primary Election) will be held August 18. The winner of the Republican party primary will face a Democratic opponent on November 3, 2020. 

Next up: the eight Republicans running in the GOP primary sourced from the Federal Election Commission.

Judge notes man who fled from scene of accident is subject to immigration detainer

A man who crashed the vehicle he was driving and fled the scene of the accident on September 1, 2019 is subject to an immigration detainer, public records show.

The man fled the scene of the crash but was ultimately caught by a Collier County, Florida sheriff deputy near a Naples, Florida movie theater.

Israel Lopez-Cifuentes was arrested at 2:04 am on September 1 and charged with not having a valid Florida driver license plus a hit &run, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage.

The court order reflects Lopez-Cifuentes is subject to an immigration detainer. 

Collier County, Florida - illegal alien charged with reckless driving, no valid driver license

An illegal alien from Guatemala was charged with reckless driving and no valid driver license in Collier County, Florida after a Sheriff Deputy observed the suspect driving aggressively and putting pedestrians lives at risk. 

Cristino Alberto Roblero Lopez, 21 years of age was observed by a CCS Deputy driving recklessly and with a willful disregard for the safety of pedestrians on Monday September 2 in the vicinity of Sunshine Blvd and Green Blvd 

Cristino was booked into the Naples, Florida jail for processing with an ICE hold noted on his record.

Take a peek inside public school mental health plans

Will elected officials and media report on exactly what is inside the Florida public school "mental health" plans currently under review by school boards across the state? And how thoroughly do parents of school-age children read the darn plans before they sign consent forms associated with registering or in some cases, re-registering their kids?

County Examiner took a peek inside the mental health plans for two public school districts in Florida. 

Collier County

While requiring informed parental consent, on page 10 of this plan document Collier County public schools disclose all children ages 3-5 enrolled in a District operated pre-kindergarten program are subject to "universal mental health screenings. 

Should a child be determined by an outside agency as struggling with a stressful life-event, page 11 of the plan reveals the opportunity for an outside agency to file a "Handle With Care" alert with the school, resulting in reduced homework.

Manatee County

As part of their mental health plan, the Manatee County Public School District reveals the "It's Your Choice Program" Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grant is beginning the ninth year of implementation during the 2018-19 school year, annually serving over 3,000 students in higher risk Manatee County zip codes. 

"Thus far, over 25,000 students have been served by this program. "it’s yoUR choice" provides a continuum of services designed to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce repeat teen births for students attending five traditional middle schools, four traditional high schools two alternative schools, and the TAPP (Teenage Parenting Program) program. One aspect of this program is counseling to help young girls maintain strong mental health in order to break the cycle of teen pregnancy

County Examiner previously reported the development and existence of a Mental Health Allocation Plan is a requirement of a comprehensive Florida statute addressing school safety. We reported on the expansion of the Lee County Public School District which included the addition of (4) school psychologists and six licensed mental health professionals bringing the total plan cost to over $2 million for the 2019-2020 school year.

School districts are receiving grant and other monies for serving ever increasing numbers of students with teen pregnancies and performing more & more mental health screenings. Let that sink in for a bit.

See where this is heading and why reading these plans before signing any parental consent forms is important?