School Start Time Changes Raise Questions

School Start Time Changes Raise Questions

By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — School officials will soon be gearing up to push back start times for many high schools under a new law that mandates changes to the beginning of the school day — but some lawmakers and education experts are wary of the challenges that could come […]

Florida Tourism Climbs

Florida Tourism Climbs

By The News Service of Florida First-quarter tourism into Florida was up 6.7 percent from a year ago, with overseas visitors still under pre-COVID-19 figures, according to a release from the governor’s office Friday. Florida’s tourism agency Visit Florida estimated a record 37.9 million travelers into the state during the first quarter of 2023, up […]

Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Gillum

Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Gillum

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Less than two weeks after a mistrial, federal prosecutors on Monday filed a motion to dismiss conspiracy and fraud charges against former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum. The move to drop the charges against Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, comes after jurors on May 4 […]

DeSantis Signs Immigration Measure

DeSantis Signs Immigration Measure

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With a federal change expected to lead to a surge in migrants crossing the country’s southern border, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a controversial bill that targets illegal immigration. The bill (SB 1718), which the Republican-controlled Legislature passed during the session that ended last […]

Bills on Travel Records, Monorail Signed

Bills on Travel Records, Monorail Signed

By Jim Turner and Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed 37 bills, including a measure that will prevent the release of past and future travel records of DeSantis and other state leaders. DeSantis also signed bills that will lead to the state inspecting Walt Disney World’s […]

Florida Gasoline Prices Drop

Florida Gasoline Prices Drop

By The News Service of Florida Gasoline prices in Florida and nationally continued to decline last week, with Florida motorists paying an average of $3.56 a gallon Monday for a gallon of regular unleaded, according to the AAA auto club. That was down from $3.64 a week earlier and down from a 2023 peak of […]

10 Big Issues in the 2023 Legislative Session

10 Big Issues in the 2023 Legislative Session

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers ended the 2023 legislative session Friday. During the 60-day session, the Republican-controlled House and Senate passed numerous high-profile bills that lined up with priorities of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Here are snapshots of 10 big issues: — ABORTION: After passing a 15-week abortion limit […]

Gillum Cleared on One Charge, Mistrial on Others

Gillum Cleared on One Charge, Mistrial on Others

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After five days of rocky deliberations, jurors on Thursday acquitted former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum on charges of lying to federal investigators but were unable to reach a verdict on conspiracy and fraud charges. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor declared a mistrial on charges […]

Juror’s Social-Media Posts Roil Gillum Case

Juror’s Social-Media Posts Roil Gillum Case

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Turmoil continued Wednesday in the public-corruption trial of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum amid revelations that a juror posted information about the case on social media after deliberations began. Information about the social-media posts surfaced a day after jurors told U.S. District Judge Allen […]

Gillum Jury Struggles to Reach Agreement

Gillum Jury Struggles to Reach Agreement

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Opening the possibility of a mistrial, jurors in the public-corruption trial of former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum said Tuesday they reached a verdict on one count of an indictment but were doubtful they could reach consensus on at least one other count. Gillum, who […]