By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Backing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign against critical race theory, the State Board of Education on Thursday approved a rule that places controversial guidelines on the way U.S. history is taught in public schools. The board, meeting in Jacksonville, voted after members of the public squared […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With the theme “Never Tire,” Orlando Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings on Wednesday formally launched her campaign to try to unseat U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in 2022. The announcement was not a surprise: Demings last month said to “stay tuned” amid reports that she would […]
BY Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — As federal stimulus checks gave Floridians more money to spend, the state’s April revenue collections topped an economists’ forecast by nearly 24 percent. The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research on Friday reported April general-revenue collections came in $797.2 million above a projection for […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, touting her campaign as “something new” and saying she will fight the “rigged system” in Tallahassee, formally entered the 2022 race for governor on Tuesday. Fried, an attorney and former medical-marijuana lobbyist who scored a narrow victory in 2018 to become […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida State University Board of Trustees on Monday selected Harvard University Vice Provost for Research Richard McCullough to succeed retiring FSU President John Thrasher. McCullough topped two other finalists who hold high-ranking posts at the University of North Carolina and Tulane University. As Florida […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Nine candidates vying to become president of Florida State University, including a mix of academic leaders and politically connected players, are set to be interviewed as the school seeks a replacement for retiring President John Thrasher. The university’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee whittled a list […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Saying that he and allies have “embraced the science” of vaccine effectiveness, Gov. Ron DeSantis this week issued directives canceling local coronavirus emergency orders. “That is an anti-science posture, to say that we need all these restrictions, even with mass vaccination,” DeSantis said during a […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Joseph Hatchett, whose groundbreaking career included becoming the first Black justice on the Florida Supreme Court, died Friday at age 88, the Supreme Court announced Saturday. Hatchett was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Reubin Askew in 1975 and served until 1979, when President […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at allowing people to use recreational marijuana, saying it would be misleading to voters. Backers of the proposed amendment sought to put it on the 2022 ballot and had submitted hundreds of thousands […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis late Monday signed into law a plan to require out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Floridians, with the estimated $1 billion a year in revenue going to curb a pair of taxes on Florida businesses. While the […]