Jake Stofan

2 days ago | actionnewsjax.com | Jake Stofan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bonus funds offered to school districts for students who pass advanced and career technical courses may no longer be at risk. Action News Jax State and Local Government Reporter Jake Stofanwas first to highlight the revised proposal included in the Senate’s latest K-12 budget offer. For months, students have been raising concerns about the legislature’s plan to cut the awards in half and calling on lawmakers to maintain funding at current levels.

1 week ago | actionnewsjax.com | Jake Stofan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel has advised the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office not to enforce state and local laws that make it a crime to be in the state and county without legal status in the country. In the new guidance, which was obtained by Action News Jax, city attorneys wrote a federal injunction on the state law “would equally apply to the city’s ordinance” because the city ordinance “was modeled” after the state law.

1 week ago | actionnewsjax.com | Jake Stofan

A controversial 35-year-old state law will stay on the books, at least for now. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning publicly vetoed a bill that would have repealed Florida’s so-called “Free Kill” law that blocks some families from suing for pain and suffering when they lose a loved one to medical negligence. The veto comes as a devastating blow to advocates who had fought for the passage of this bill this year. They’d been fighting for a repeal of the Free Kill law for years.

1 week ago | actionnewsjax.com | Jake Stofan

A knife allegedly brought into Jacksonville City Council chambers during Tuesday night’s council meeting is raising security concerns. The man accused of bringing it in, Conor Cauley, is charged with a second-degree misdemeanor. His attorney argued during his first appearance, that the knife is a pocket knife, and thereforenot considered a weapon under state law, but Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters disagrees.

1 week ago | actionnewsjax.com | Jake Stofan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Only on Action News Jax, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters weighed in on the arrest of three people during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Video shows Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers pulling protester Conor Cauley over a seat and taking him into custody during the meeting. The agency claims he refused to leave council chambers when ordered and put his hands on an officer.