Critics Call for Parks Plans to be Ditched

Critics Call for Parks Plans to be Ditched

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Environmentalists are seeking assurances that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has scrapped plans for a series of golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park after a state spokeswoman said the proposal has been dropped. Audubon Florida, the Sierra Club and other groups also are rallying against additional changes […]

GOP Lawmakers Take Aim at Parks Plan

GOP Lawmakers Take Aim at Parks Plan

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Some Republican lawmakers are criticizing a controversial proposal to add lodges, pickleball courts and golf at state parks, as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office on Thursday defended the idea of making the sites “more visitor-friendly.” The Florida Department of Environmental Protection this week announced the proposal, dubbed the […]

House Primaries Include Challenges to Incumbents

House Primaries Include Challenges to Incumbents

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida More than a quarter of the 120 Florida House seats have primary elections Aug. 20, with Democrats competing in 14 districts and Republicans squaring off in 21. The Florida Democratic Party this year has a strategy of fielding candidates in all House districts. But because of how […]

Vote Tally Tops 762,000

Vote Tally Tops 762,000

By The News Service of Florida More than 762,000 people had voted as of Wednesday morning in the Aug. 20 primary elections, with most casting ballots by mail. Data posted on the state Division of Elections website showed 743,793 vote-by-mail ballots had been cast, with 315,464 by Republicans, 306,581 by Democrats, 111,169 by unaffiliated voters […]

Five Senate Primaries to Watch

Five Senate Primaries to Watch

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida When they go to the polls Aug. 20, Democratic primary voters in the Orlando area will decide the winner of one Florida Senate seat, while voters in other parts of the state will set the final slate of Senate candidates for the November elections. The primary elections […]

States Scramble After Title IX Ruling Related to Gender Identity

States Scramble After Title IX Ruling Related to Gender Identity

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida Hours after a U.S. district judge ruled against them, Florida and three other states late Tuesday asked an appeals court to temporarily halt a new federal rule about sex-based discrimination in education programs. Attorneys for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and other plaintiffs scrambled after U.S. District […]

Trulieve Adds $5M to Pot Campaign

Trulieve Adds $5M to Pot Campaign

By The News Service of Florida The medical-cannabis company Trulieve has contributed another $5 million to a campaign to allow recreational marijuana in Florida, according to a newly filed finance report. The company made the contribution July 15 to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is leading efforts to pass a recreational-marijuana initiative […]

State Moves Forward on Social Media Law

State Moves Forward on Social Media Law

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Facing potential First Amendment challenges, Florida has proposed details about how it will carry out a new law aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms and blocking minors from accessing online pornography. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office on Tuesday published three proposed rules that include […]

Court Dismisses Abortion ‘Statement’ Case

Court Dismisses Abortion ‘Statement’ Case

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court Monday declined to take up a fight stemming from a “financial impact statement” that will appear on the November ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights, saying the case is moot because the statement was revised last week. A three-judge […]

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.3 Percent

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.3 Percent

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate held steady in June for a third consecutive month, as baby-boomer retirements affect the size of the labor force and the hospitality industry has shed some jobs. The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday released a report that said the state’s June […]