Florida Jobless Claims Dip

Florida Jobless Claims Dip

By The News Service of Florida The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,941 initial unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, down from a revised count of 6,448 during the week that ended Aug. 9. Since the start of April, the state has averaged 6,621 first-time claims a week. Nationally, an estimated […]

Federal Judge Halts Operations at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Federal Judge Halts Operations at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix A federal judge has ordered that no more immigrant detainees be sent to the state’s immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades and known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The judge also called upon the government to begin dismantling much of the facility. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District […]

Gun Shop Zoning Fight Gets Go-Ahead

Gun Shop Zoning Fight Gets Go-Ahead

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A divided appeals court Wednesday revived a lawsuit that alleges a South Florida city’s zoning restrictions on where a gun shop could operate violated a state law that prevents local regulation of firearms. A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal, in a […]

Thrasher Remembered as ‘Servant Leader’

Thrasher Remembered as ‘Servant Leader’

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Legislative leaders, a state Supreme Court justice and a former governor were among a host of heavyweights who paid homage Tuesday to “the epitome of a servant leader,” former Florida State University President and former House Speaker John Thrasher. Several hundred people gathered at Ruby […]

Gas Prices Remain Stable

Gas Prices Remain Stable

By The News Service of Florida Average gasoline prices in Florida continue to linger around $3 a gallon, increasing 3 cents over the past week. The AAA auto club said Florida motorists Monday paid an average of $3.07 for a gallon of regular unleaded, up from $3.04 a week earlier. Average prices have remained around […]

Undocumented Truck Driver Arrested for Vehicular Homicide in St. Lucie County

Undocumented Truck Driver Arrested for Vehicular Homicide in St. Lucie County

By Jay Waagmeester, The Florida Phoenix Florida state troopers have charged a truck driver with three counts of vehicular manslaughter following a crash in St. Lucie County last week. The truck driver, Harjinder Singh, entered the United States illegally in 2018, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Singh holds a […]

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.7 Percent

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.7 Percent

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent in July, with a state economist saying demand remains high for workers. “The number of job openings is up from the same point in the year before,” Jimmy Heckman, chief of workforce statistics and economic research at the […]

Florida Jobless Claims Down Slightly

Florida Jobless Claims Down Slightly

Florida had 6,230 initial unemployment claims during the week that ended Aug. 9, down slightly from the previous week, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. The state had a revised count of 6,252 claims during the week that ended Aug. 2. The state has averaged 6,866 claims a week […]

State to Use Prison as Detention Center

State to Use Prison as Detention Center

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Amid legal wrangling over a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said the state plans to use a shuttered prison in North Florida to boost detention of people targeted for deportation. The conversion of Baker Correctional Institution, which state corrections […]

Controversial Bear Hunt Gets Go-Ahead

Controversial Bear Hunt Gets Go-Ahead

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida HAVANA — Despite pleas from animal-rights advocates, Florida wildlife officials on Wednesday approved holding a 23-day bear hunt in December that could lead to 187 bears being killed. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved rules for the state’s first bear hunt in more than a […]