The state may have to pay millions of dollars more in treatment costs for inmates infected with hepatitis C, following a federal judge’s ruling Thursday that said prison officials have been “deliberately indifferent” in caring for thousands of inmates infected with the virus. The ruling could potentially cost the Florida Department of Corrections as much $20 million more than what it is already paying to treat inmates with the virus, said Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Chairman Jeff Brandes, who recently got a preliminary briefing from the department on the issue. While the state was already mandated by the court to treat inmates with Hepatitis C, the ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker expanded the number of inmates who will receive care because it includes those who are at the early stages of the disease. The order will affect roughly 20,000 to 40,000 prisoners, according to the Florida Justice Institute, which sued the state in 2017 after inmates said they had been denied proper hepatitis C treatment. “As a result of this order, thousands of people will be treated for hepatitis C and will no longer be at risk for cancer, liver disease and premature death,” said Dante P. Trevisani, executive director of the Florida Justice Institute. The state admitted in court that it failed to provide inmates with proper hepatitis C treatment, something the state knew to be a “serious medical need,” in part because of a lack of funding, according to Thursday’s ruling. “FDC (The Florida Department of Corrections) has come a long way,” Walker wrote. “But FDC’s improvement does not mean that it is no longer being deliberately indifferent to HCV-infected inmates, nor does it mean that there is no risk of such deliberate indifference reoccurring in the future.” The ruling is expected to further strain the corrections system budget, and with two weeks left in the legislative session, time is running out to negotiate more money for the department. “The question is, is it better to put a little bit more money in this year and begin to chip away at that?” Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said.…

Let’s just say Julia Shepherd is a bit of an over-achiever.Shepherd, a 16-year-old sophomore at Apopka High School is a straight-A student taking advanced placement (AP) courses at Valencia Comm

Florida Man, notorious for his nutty and illicit adventures, is now a card game. This Cards Against Humanity-style game uses headlines inspired by real Florida Man news stories and lets you fill in the blanks: "Florida Man breaks into home, steals (blank), poops on (blank), and falls asleep on (blank)." David Ritchie and Dave Piser, who co-own the comic book store Secret Headquarters in Los Angeles, created a Kickstarter page to raise money to produce the game. With a goal of $15,000, they have already raised over $11,000. On the Kickstarter website, there are different levels of pledges you can donate.…

The new coaster is schedule to debut June 13.