Charter schools, Florida Carry, and Project Magellan are 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. We'll also preview some of WJCT's upcoming news programming.
Struggling charter schools get conditional contract renewals: The Duval County School Board approved renewed contracts for three charter schools with spotty records, the terms of which will be based in part in their 2013-14 year school grades. (WJCT)
City pension reform negotiations begin: Jacksonville officials and the director of the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund met Tuesday morning at City Hall to begin hashing out a roadmap for pension reform. (WJCT)
Two charged for murder of woman found in ditch: Kenny Conyers, 28, has been charged in the murder of 29-year-old Shaquita Smith, whose body was found in a ditch last week. Smith's sister, who is also Conyer's girlfriend, has also been charged as an accessory. (News4Jax)
Guns rights group files suit against Broward County: Florida Carry filed a lawsuit against Broward County and County Administrator Bertha Henry against the county's gun control measures. (Ammoland)
Obama approves panhandle disaster aid: President Barack Obama approved federal emergency financial aid to individuals in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties on Tuesday following last week's record rainfall and flooding. (Pensacola News Journal)
Northrop Grumman behind mystery project: Officials are expected to announce today that defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. is the company backing the mysterious "Project Magellan" in Brevard County. (Florida Today)
Federal judge upholds Florida merit based teacher pay: A federal judge is upholding a contentious Florida teacher evaluation law and dismissing a lawsuit filed by seven teachers. (AP)
Ukranian cyber-criminal sentenced for credit card theft: Egor Shevelev, AKA Eskalibur, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for trafficking more than 118,000 stolen and fraudulent credit card numbers used to buy merchandise in South Florida stores. (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Today on First Coast Connect, Fordham University School of Law professor Deborah Denno on what last week's botched execution in Oklahoma could mean for lethal injection in Florida.
You can get all the latest headlines online at WJCTNews.org, on our Facebook page, and on Twitter @WJCTJax. You can follow Patrick Donges on Twitter at @patrickhdonges.
