State Eyes Plans for Reopening University Campuses

State Eyes Plans for Reopening University Campuses

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — State university system Chancellor Marshall Criser next week will present guidelines for reopening university campuses in the fall, after students were sent home in March to curb the spread of COVID-19. Criser is slated to offer the guidelines during a May 28 meeting of the […]

Firing Up a Political Feud

Firing Up a Political Feud

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida Democrats hope to make wildfires that destroyed homes and other structures in the Panhandle the latest political wedge between Gov. Ron DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who some believe could clash in the 2022 gubernatorial election. The Florida Democratic Party wasted little time […]

Gyms to Reopen, Restaurant Seating to Expand

Gyms to Reopen, Restaurant Seating to Expand

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gyms and fitness centers can start to reopen Monday and restaurants can seat more customers, as Gov. Ron DeSantis continued Friday to take “small steps” with his economic recovery plans amid the coronavirus pandemic. DeSantis said restaurants on Monday can expand their indoor seating to […]

Is COVID-19 Causing “Excessive” Deaths in Florida?

Is COVID-19 Causing “Excessive” Deaths in Florida?

In an effort to measure the impact of COVID-19, a number of experts are turning to a measure called excessive deaths. Excessive deaths occur when deaths during a current time period are greater than what would be expected based on an average of deaths over a previous time period. The measure of excess deaths does […]

DeSantis Defends Efforts to Fix Unemployment Problems

DeSantis Defends Efforts to Fix Unemployment Problems

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday defended his administration’s efforts to get the state’s much-maligned unemployment system to handle the unprecedented surge in applications caused by the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Democrats blasted the management of the system, which has had nearly 40 percent of applicants rejected and […]

DeSantis Plan Allows Restaurants, Retailers to Open

DeSantis Plan Allows Restaurants, Retailers to Open

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Restaurants and many retail stores outside of Southeast Florida can start reopening Monday with limited occupancy as part of the first phase of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ economic-recovery effort after the coronavirus caused massive shutdowns. DeSantis on Wednesday outlined what he described as a step-by-step plan […]

Overwhelmed Jobless System Taken Down for Weekend

Overwhelmed Jobless System Taken Down for Weekend

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s overwhelmed online unemployment-compensation system has been taken down for the weekend as the state scrambles to process applications and reduce a massive backlog of claims caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Users of the Department of Economic Opportunity’s CONNECT system, who continue to express frustration […]

Coronavirus Could Hit Private School Enrollment

By Ana Ceballos, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Private schools and Florida universities might see drops in enrollment as the coronavirus continues to hammer the economy, members of a panel focused on reopening the state’s education system said Wednesday. School-choice advocates said in a conference call they worry families might no longer be […]

Two Companies to Bolster COVID Testing

The News Service of Florida Florida will be able to increase by 18,000 a day the number of COVID-19 tests that can be processed, after the state signed contracts with two additional testing companies, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. DeSantis told reporters in Tallahassee that he anticipates the companies will be able to provide results […]

FPL, Gulf Power Plan to Merge

FPL, Gulf Power Plan to Merge

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — In a move that would create a utility with customers from Miami to Pensacola, Florida Power & Light and Gulf Power plan to merge in 2022, their parent company, NextEra Energy, said Wednesday. NextEra, which has long included FPL, closed a deal in January 2019 […]

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