Palm Beach County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. Broward County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. Miami-Dade County: Test results for residents were reported , leading to a daily positivity rate of %. That’s from % the previous day. ... Read More
Month: May 2021
Florida’s jobless will lose weekly $300 federal unemployment benefit starting June 26
Some business owners and labor groups, though, have said the additional federal benefits aren’t the only reason for the struggle to find new hires, citing the number of women who were forced to leave the workforce completely when schooling went virtual and daycares closed. According to the DEO, more than 171,000 women have left the workforce since April 2020. ... Read More
Church Decline and Recovery During COVID-19, Part 2
A national project aims to understand the impact of the pandemic on the church attendance, giving, staffing, and church leadership. Most of us are aware of the effects of COVID on our home church. Many of us have heard accounts of various other churches through conversations with friends and colleagues. But it is hard to know what these individual stories mean for the church as a whole. The National COVID-19 Church Attendance Project (NCCAP) represents our efforts to try to see the bigger... Read More
Florida’s judges just received new ‘fairest of them all’ awards. Are these honors even for real?
Taking this data, the student researcher calculated the average sentences, separating data for Black and white people with convictions, and determined which judges were closest to the averages in the sentences. No other races were considered, and not all of the judges imposed the same number of sentences during the study period of July 2016 through June 2020. ... Read More
No White Saviors: How Suburban Minneapolis Churches Learned to Help
After George Floyd’s death, white and Black congregations partnered to serve the city. Buffalo Evangelical Free Church wanted to help. About an hour’s drive from downtown Minneapolis, the majority white church was deeply upset by the news of George Floyd’s death and shocked by the videos on social media. As protests swept the city, the Buffalo, Minnesota, congregation started to ask what it could do. Pastor Greg Braly was eager too, but cautious. “I think one of the... Read More
After Alcee: The race for Congress
State Rep. Bobby DuBose, who announced his campaign for Congress on April 20, responded immediately. He held a kickoff event for for his congressional candidacy on Saturday in Lauderhill, hoping to gain a bit of a boost that was difficult for someone who became a candidate while the Legislature was at work. The annual legislative session ended April 30. ... Read More
ACLU and other rights groups push for case on recording cops to be reheard
Ford and her attorney, Samuel Alexander of DeLand, north of Orlando, filed a motion last week to have their case against the city reheard. Alexander, in addition to his main argument that Ford did not impede the police’s work, says the court’s opinion ran counter to previous rulings where it protected people’s rights to record police. ... Read More
Pastors Take to the Streets to Combat NYC Gun Violence
Responding with their feet, ministers bring ‘the simplest form of the gospel’ to tense situations. Shootings more than doubled in New York City last year, and homicides increased 44 percent. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Each tragedy is specific, and each impacts a whole community. There was Davell Gardner Jr., age one, killed while sitting in his stroller at a summer barbecue. Edward James, a church custodian, shot in the back inside of a house of worship. Anthony... Read More
Drivers saw chaos on I-95 in one chase. In another, a fiery wreck killed a man. Are police pursuits too risky?
Florida Highway Patrol troopers work the scene of a mulit-vehicle crash on southbound I-95 in Hollywood, which was the result of a high-speed chase, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The chase began in Fort Lauderdale. (Joe Cavaretta / South Florida Sun Sentinel) ... Read More
The Neglected Tools of Evangelism, Part 1
Useful tools for the ongoing task of witness into the world; prayer, listening, and thanksgiving. It can be annoying when you don’t have the right tool for the job. I remember once deciding to use a knife as a screwdriver when I couldn’t find the real thing, only to have more success opening the flesh on my finger than any screws. The scar on said finger is an unfriendly reminder to go and get the right tool next time. When it comes to evangelism, there is no shortage of... Read More