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Wednesday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
› Likely targeting ships at Naval Station Mayport, Navy budget aims to decommission 9 LCS
U.S. Navy administrators want to decommission nine littoral combat ships next year, apparently targeting the Freedom-variant ships based at Naval Station Mayport. “As we look across LCS, this is a place where we have identified that there are real costs, especially for the Freedom class,” Meredith Berger, performing duties of undersecretary of the Navy, told reporters Monday as the service outlined its 2023 budget request to Congress.
› Environmentalists’ Piney Point lawsuit paused for six months
A federal judge has put on hold a lawsuit that environmental groups filed last year after massive amounts of wastewater were discharged from a former phosphate plant site to avert a potential catastrophe. U.S. District Judge William Jung put a six-month stay on the lawsuit, as a court-ordered receiver in a separate state case works to close the Piney Point site in Manatee County.
› Florida health officials issue toxic algae alert for Lake Washington
Florida health officials warn not to swim, wade, boat in or eat fish from Lake Washington, or let your dog sip the water. The Florida Department of Health in Brevard issued a health alert Monday about harmful blue-green algae toxins in Lake Washington, after samples drawn on March. 23 found the microcystin toxin present in the lake, at 0.3 micrograms per liter.
› Feds say they’ll be watching Florida schools after DeSantis signs ‘don’t say gay’ bill
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Monday that his department will monitor Florida’s implementation of a controversial new education law that restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to determine whether it violates federal civil rights law. Cardona’s statement hints at potential legal ramifications for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision Monday to sign the legislation, which critics have called the “don’t say gay” bill, into law.
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