Records obtained by USA Today show Florida takes a lenient approach to foster parents accused of abuse or neglect.

• The paper's Suzanne Hirt, Michael Braga and Peat Beall reviewed a cache of 5,000 documents that reveal allegations of foster care abuse are more widespread than previously reported.  

Why it matters: The Department of Children and Families investigates complaints of abuse and neglect — so when DCF investigates foster families, it is effectively investigating itself, creating possible conflicts.

The backdrop: In 2014, state lawmakers rewrote rules to make it easier to take children from their parents, but they had no plan for where to house the growing numbers.

• An October USA Today investigation showed that caseworkers placed kids in overcrowded homes and with foster parents who later faced civil or criminal charges of sexual assault and torture.

How it happened: After that investigation, an anonymous source gave the paper a spreadsheet of calls to the DCF abuse hotline from teachers, health care professionals, day care workers, neighbors and others about the treatment of kids in state care. 

• The number of foster care referrals rose by roughly 54% over the past five years.
• DCF revoked or refused to renew only 29 caregivers’ licenses over the same period.

Between the lines: In an overburdened child welfare system, the kinds of abuse and neglect that would get children removed from their biological parents may not get kids removed from foster parents.

• That's a dangerous double standard.

Worthy of your time.

If you're 50 or older, put some Pearl Jam on your Walkman and get in line for a vaccine.

• Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that tepid demand so far prompted him to lower the eligibility age to 50.
• Other eligible Floridians include frontline health care workers, residents and workers at long-term care facilities, K-12 educators, police and firefighters, and those who fall under the "high risk" category.

More resources:

• Creative Loafing has a solid rundown of where to get vaccinated in Hillsborough and Pinellas.
• The Tampa Bay Times has useful info for Hernando and Pasco.
• The Sarasota Herald-Tribune lays out distribution plans in Sarasota and Manatee.

💰 A 57-year-old Citrus County man became the new scratch-off game Billion Dollar Gold Rush Supreme's first-ever $15 million winner. (WFLA)

🕵️ A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into whether four Manatee County commissioners violated Florida’s Sunshine Law while trying to fire the county administrator uncovered no evidence of crime. (Bradenton Herald)

📱 Florida's new law against texting while driving is rarely enforced, and the state has failed to track how many drivers are ticketed statewide and whether police are targeting minorities. (Bradenton Herald)

💉 U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist unveiled a five-point plan seeking to improve Florida’s vaccine rollout while creating a Fast Pass line so seniors and vulnerable groups get priority access. (Florida Politics)

😢 The 813 area code will be overlaid by 656 in less than a year. (WFLA)

Quote du jour:

"He’s remorseful for his actions. We hope to resolve them without extensive litigation. I don’t think it necessarily reflects who he is, despite the fact that he did some things that weren’t very smart and that he regrets."

Interior designer Jill Lifsey and her husband bought and designed their home in 2013 — and it's now on the market for $2.35 million, writes Axios' Brianna Crane.

• With its smooth lines, earthy materials, low-profile furniture, and poppy accents, the Bayshore Boulevard-area home feels both sophisticated and comfortable.

Highlights: Expertly and thoughtfully designed, 10-foot ceilings, polished concrete floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, custom finishes.

• Kitchen: It's show-stopping, with minimalist sleek custom cabinetry and glass counter tops. There's a large walk-in pantry and butler's kitchen behind for extra storage and hidden prep work space.
• Owner's oasis: The spacious primary bedroom has its own private balcony, a walk-in closet/dressing room, and dreamy bathroom with tons of storage, an oversized steam shower and natural light.

See many more photos.

The Tampa Bay Times had a stunning front-page story yesterday about the recent capture of a man convicted of rape in the 1970s. Get your hands on a paper copy if you can.

After his conviction in Connecticut, Douglas Bennett, now 76, sailed around the world and had several run-ins with police undetected.

• He was finally caught in Clearwater in November after four-and-a-half decades.

Points of intrigue from the Times' Dan Sullivan:

• An investigator told the Times he got more records on the case from the local newspaper in Connecticut than from the local police department.
• Bennett sailed yachts around the world as a hired hand and started a yacht software company, all under the assumed identity of a dead child.

Read on.

It sounds like something out of a Zac Efron movie.

• You're a teenage boy, arrested after getting in a fight on a crowded beach.
• Suddenly, as officers have their backs turned, someone opens the back door of the cop car.
• You sprint out, shirtless with your hands cuffed behind your back, and the massive crowd of spring breakers follow in a cloud of cheers and sand.

It happened for 18-year-old Dominic Glass last week at Clearwater Beach. The fleeting moment lives on in TikTok infamy.

• But so does the moment Glass is caught and dragged through the sand.

The person who opened the door, Adam Asad, 18, of Oldsmar, was arrested and charged with aiding prisoner escape and resisting arrest without violence, Fox 13 reports.

• In addition to his original charges, Glass was also charged with escape, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence.
• Four arrests were made Wednesday after 26 officers responded to the scene. One of those included a suspect who police say assaulted an officer.