By The News Service of Florida After a two-year fight, the Florida Department of Health will release more data about COVID-19 and pay $152,500 in legal fees and costs, according to a settlement released Monday by plaintiffs in the case. The settlement will require the department to post weekly data about vaccination counts, case counts […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Tallahassee TALLAHASSEE — The son of Cuban immigrants, state Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami, was formally selected Monday to become the next speaker of the Florida House as he offered a message of limited — and more effective — government. “Members, we are in danger of becoming a conveyor […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Nearly 123,000 new students have received private-school vouchers after state lawmakers this year passed a major expansion of voucher programs, while a group that administers the programs says they will not bring an “exodus” from public schools as critics have predicted. As of Sept. 8, […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court has put on hold a battle about a 2022 Florida law that restricts instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, after attorneys said they were in settlement talks. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week issued a […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Seeking a final ruling before the legislative session starts in January, both sides in a battle over a congressional redistricting plan asked an appeals court Friday to fast-track the case to the Florida Supreme Court. The joint request by attorneys for the state and voting-rights […]
One week after the passing of legendary musician Jimmy Buffet, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered flags be flown at half-staff to “commemorate his life and legacy.” In a Thursday press release, DeSantis stated, “To commemorate his life and legacy, I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A Leon County circuit judge Saturday ruled that a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature by Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the Florida Constitution and needs to be redrawn. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh sided with voting-rights groups in a lawsuit focused on a North […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida PERRY — Several hours after Hurricane Idalia hit, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday went to rural Taylor County, where debris, downed trees and some power lines littered the roads. The Category 3 storm made landfall in Taylor County’s Keaton Beach area, and county Sheriff Wayne Padgett said […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Rapidly growing in strength, a potentially devastating hurricane remains on a path to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast. At tropical-storm strength Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, Idalia was forecast to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the northeast gulf’s Big […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an immigrant born in Ecuador who served one term in Congress, entered the race Tuesday to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in 2024. The announcement made Mucarsel-Powell the top name in a Democratic field that includes former U.S. Rep. […]