Florida Senate district map questioned

A new lawsuit says the map of Florida Senate districts violates the Florida constitution and federal Voting Rights Act. WMNF’s Chris Young reports Tampa and St. Petersburg residents worry the map packs Black voters in a single Tampa Bay district.

Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce

Black leaders from across the state of Florida met at a town hall on Tuesday night to share an update from their experiences in Tallahassee during this year’s legislative session. The Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce hosted several prominent Black Democratic leaders in West Tampa including State House Representatives Dianne Hart and Michele Rayner, and State Senator Daryl Rouson, to name a few, Democratic House Minority leader Fentrice Driskell said she was proud to help get $25 million in the budget to protect HBCUs, but lamented a lack of leadership from Governor Ron DeSantis.

Civilian review boards

A controversial bill that would prevent local law enforcement from being investigated by civilian review boards has been sent to Governor Ron DeSantis. The bill, which passed through the legislature last month, will affect 21 cities. Cities such as Lakeland, St. Petersburg, and Tampa have had these types of boards to name a few. The bill would allow sheriffs to establish “civilian oversight” boards to review policies and procedures.

Pedestrian killed in St. Pete

A fatal crash happened earlier this morning in St. Petersburg. 112th Avenue NE in St. Pete is shut down from both directions. A press release from St. Petersburg Police is urging drivers to find alternate routes this morning. Officers responded to a crash involving a pedestrian around 6:52 a.m. this morning. The pedestrian was transported to Bayfront Hospital and later pronounced dead. The driver of the vehicle stayed on the scene and is fully cooperating with the investigation.

Information from Florida Public Media, News Service of Florida, and Associated Press was used in this report.

The Scoop: Tampa Bay & Florida headlines by WMNF

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WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane, Colleen Cole, Kerilyn Kwiatkowski, Jimmy Rosilio

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