One Spark, the Duval County jail and the Boston Marathon bomber are all in the headlines today.
Welcome to WJCT First Read, your daily weekday morning round-up of stories from the First Coast, around Florida, and across the country.
Headlines
Republicans swept the special elections Tuesday night to replace three seats in the Florida Legislature. Republican Travis Hutson, Paul Renner and Cyndi Stevenson easily won the Senate District 6, House District 24 and House District 17 seats respectively.
The Duval County jail is struggling to provide adequate mental health care for inmates. Some Florida Lawmakers are trying to come up with a solution that could potentially keep the mentally ill out of the general population.
One Spark kicked off with a Speaker Summit for entrepreneurs. Talks at the summit included topics such as how to start a business and being an innovator.
Florida lawmakers are discussing a bill that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with gay, transgendered or unmarried couples. Supporters of the bill say that it protects the religious freedom of the people working for these agencies; opponents say it is a license for state-funded agencies to commit discrimination.
A grant from the USDA will help enable more Jacksonville low-income families to buy organic produce. The grant allows SNAP recipients to receive up to $20 extra in organic Florida-grown fruits and vegetables each week.
Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty on all charges. The jury convicted Tsarnaev of 30 counts related to his actions during and after the bombing, 17 of which carry the death penalty. Sentencing will begin next week.
The Affordable Care Act has complicated tax preparation for policyholders. People who bought insurance through one of the health care exchanges may have a surprise when they file their taxes. Some may be due a large refund because they did not get the full benefit of the subsidy during the year; others may see their refund reduced or owe the IRS because they received more of the subsidy than they were entitled to.
You can get all the latest headlines online at WJCTNews.org, on our Facebook page and on Twitter @WJCTJax. You can follow Ray Hollister on Twitter @RayHollister.
