By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix Florida Lieutenant Gov. Jay Collins — now a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor — traveled to the Panhandle Monday to promote Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget request to raise starting pay for correctional officers and staff. “Like many states around the country, Florida has faced serious staffing challenges […]
TALLAHASSEE REPORTS Monday, February 9, 2026 Weather: Today, sunny, with a high near 71. Tonight, patchy fog after 1am, with a low around 46. Tuesday, a high near 74. Tuesday night, a low around 53. NWS LCSO Booking Report 02-06-26: See report here. The Dow Jones closed above 50,000 for the first time Friday. The surge—1,207 points, […]
By The News Service of Florida Nearly 1,400 acres in Hardee County, including land for citrus and crop production, was put under a shield from residential and commercial development through $6.01 million in conservation-easement deals, the state announced Friday. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced that five separate Rural and Family Lands Protection […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix Two Democratic U.S. Reps. from Central Florida — Maxwell Frost and Darren Soto — have written a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons regarding speculation they will soon open an ICE detention center in Orlando. Their message is […]
TALLAHASSEE REPORTS Friday, February 6, 2026 Weather: Today, sunny, with a high near 66. Tonight, low around 42. Saturday, high near 61. Saturday night, low around 34. Sunday, high near 63. Sunday night, low around 41. NWS LCSO Booking Report 02-06-26: See report here. US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -1.2%, Dow -1.2%, Nasdaq […]
The state House continues to move a proposal that creates an exemption for some entry level jobs from the state’s voter-approved minimum wage. The GOP-controlled House Careers & Workforce Subcommittee on Wednesday voted 11-5 along party lines to approve a measure (HB 221) that would allow people to waive their rights to the minimum wage […]
Florida lawmakers moved ahead Thursday with a proposal to get cyclists on e-bikes to slow down around pedestrians and make other safety improvements, although many suggested the effort should cover people using electric scooters as well. The Florida Senate Committee on Fiscal Policy voted 15-0 to advance the proposal, amid concerns that the increasingly popular […]
By The News Service of Florida The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,425 initial unemployment applications were filed last week, down from a revised count of 5,744 for the week ending Jan. 24. It marked the third consecutive week with a decline in Florida’s numbers, after a spike to 7,146 the week ending […]
TALLAHASSEE REPORTS Thursday, February 5, 2026 Weather: Today, high near 52. Tonight, low around 32. Friday, widespread frost before 8am, a high near 65. Friday night, a low around 43. NWS LCSO Booking Report 02-05-26: On Wednesday 28 people were arrested and 21 were held jail. See report here. US stock markets close mixed (S&P […]
TPD crime incident numbers for January 2026 are in. The numbers show that property crime and violent crime incidents are up when compared to January 2025. The broader 12-month trends show that property incidents, after months of declining, have leveled out while violent crime incidents, after declining, are trending up. Over the last three months […]