Jesus’ Re-Shaping of a Post-Pandemic Church

So, now what? For many, the fruit of this pandemic has been troubling, confusing, and spiritually disorienting. But not for all. For some, this season of cultural turbulence has brought greater clarity to their spiritual intuition. They’ve witnessed many moorings of tradition exposed as skimpy vestiges that could not possibly survive this test. They’ve watched our sacred ecclesiastical proxies evaporate – vaporized by an imperceptible virus. Elaborate systems that have long... Read More

Congressional leaders push to remove gravestones with swastikas, praise for Hitler from veterans’ cemeteries

Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Broward County listens to U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, at a Jan. 7, 2020, discussion on the rise of anti-Semitism. Wasserman Schultz is using her role as chairwoman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the Veterans Administration to push for removal of headstones at VA cemeteries that have swastikas and words honoring Adolf Hitler.(Taimy Alvarez / South Florida Sun Sentinel) ... Read More

Federal judge rules all Florida ex-felons can vote despite fines or fees

FILE- In this Jan. 8, 2019 file photo, former felon Desmond Meade and president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, left, fills out a voter registration form as his wife Sheena looks on at the Supervisor of Elections office in Orlando, Fla. On Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Tallahassee federal judge’s decision that the law implementing Amendment 4 amounted to an unfair poll tax. Amendment 4 was passed... Read More

As Florida hits the beach on Memorial Day weekend, state’s coronavirus cases push past 50,000

The percentage of people diagnosed with the disease has been steadily declining in South Florida. As of Sunday, Miami-Dade County had tested 159,519 people, and 10.6% of those tests were positive for COVID-19. That’s above the World Health Organization’s recommended 10% positivity rate, which indicates adequate surveillance. Four weeks ago, 15% of those swabbed were confirmed positive in that county. ... Read More

Florida Keys cops say man kidnapped a teenage girl to get through COVID-19 checkpoint

The ordeal started in the morning when the man, Alexander Michael Sardinas, 37, and a MIchelle Lynne Peterson, 43, were turned away from the checkpoint at mile marker 112.5 as passengers in a taxi. Even though Sardinas lives in Tavernier and Peterson is from Islamorada, they did not have the proper identification or paperwork showing they either live or work in the Keys, said Adam Linhardt, sheriff’s office spokesman. ... Read More