Jacksonville residents help brainstorm development ideas for the Jacksonville Landing, many locals are pleased by the decision to lift a kiteboarding ban in Huguenot Park and Florida lawmakers narrowly avoid a government shutdown. One health care access advocacy group says that 1.3 million Floridians could see health care costs more than quadruple if the Supreme Court rules the Affordable Care Act subsidies unconstitutional, while a new study says many young adults are having a difficult time signing up for coverage in the first place.
Welcome to WJCT First Read, your daily weekday morning round-up of stories from the First Coast, around Florida and across the country.
Here are 8 stories you might have missed.
Kiteboarding Ban Lifted At Huguenot Park
Florida law bans kiteboarding within a mile of an airport runway. But last week, Governor Rick Scott signed an exception allowing the high-flying sport in Jacksonville’s Huguenot Memorial Park across the St. Johns River from Mayport Navy base.
Florida Lawmakers Agree On Budget, Add $301M In Last-Minute Projects
House and Senate budget negotiators struck a deal on a state spending plan Monday night moments before the stroke of midnight, pouring $301 million into projects at the last minute and closing out one of the more-raucous legislative debates in recent years.
Report: 1.3M Floridians Could See Health Care Costs Quadruple If Supreme Court Ends Subsidies
“Florida is the state that has the largest number of people who are at risk of losing subsidies,” Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said. “All together in the 27 congressional districts, the number of people at risk is 1,325,000 people.”
Downtown Investment Authority: How Should The Jacksonville Landing Be Redesigned?
Jacksonville residents will have the opportunity to make their recommendations to the city Tuesday night concerning the redevelopment of a downtown icon.
'Terrible' Voter Turnout For Kingsland City Council Special Election
Early voting started last week in the city of about 15,000 people, but a local grassroots group says voter turnout is extremely poor. Camden County Get Out The Vote organizer Tom Canning says including absentee, early votes and votes since this morning, only around 100 ballots have been cast.
With Eyes Toward General Election, Jeb Bush Campaigning As Moderate
During an appearance on WJCT's “First Coast Connect,” Matt Corrigan, professor of politics at the University of North Florida, gave his thoughts on Bush’s candidacy. Instead of campaigning far right to win the Republican nomination first like other candidates, Bush is starting out in a moderate position, Corrigan says.
Data Hack Leads To Call For OPM Chief's Resignation
At a contentious hearing in Congress today, members of a House committee grilled the director of the Office of Personnel Management over the hacking of agency computers, and later called for her resignation. OPM Director Katherine Archuleta came under attack from Republicans and Democrats for her agency's handling of the breach that hit the computers where the personal information of most federal employees is kept.
Defeat By Deductible: Millennials Aren't Hip To Health Insurance Lingo
Young adults, who generally have little experience managing their own health care expenses, are finding it especially hard signing up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
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Photo credit: "First Read: Wednesday, June 17, 2015" by Ray Hollister is a derivative work of “El Pirata” by Stig Nygaard, which is used under CC BY 2.0.
