May 4, 2024
News Service of Florida
Active Hurricane Season Expected
Another above-normal Atlantic hurricane season could be coming at us. AccuWeather forecasters on Wednesday predicted 16 to 20 named storms this year, with six to eight becoming hurricanes.
Three to...
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Published on 3/31/2022
State Reaches Opioid Settlements Topping $870 Million
With jury selection scheduled to begin next week in the state’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers, Attorney General Ashley Moody reached settlements totaling more than $870 million with...
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Published on 3/30/2022
Gambling Grudge Match Continues in Court
It’s been almost two months since backers of an effort to bring Las Vegas-style casino gambling to North Florida failed to submit enough signatures in time to make it onto...
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Published on 3/29/2022
Three finalists vie for top transportation job
The Florida Transportation Commission has sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis the names of three finalists to become secretary of the state Department of Transportation.
The commission last week recommended Department...
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Published on 3/28/2022
Bill Signed to Aid Students with Epilepsy
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill that will require schools to create “individualized” action plans to care for students who have epilepsy or seizure disorders.
The bill (HB...
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Published on 3/28/2022
Florida jobless rate drops to 3.3 percent
Florida’s employment picture continues to brighten, while the state jobs agency envisions conditions slowing to a more “stable” pace over the next two years.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity...
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Published on 3/27/2022
Experts Say Boaters Need to Watch for Manatees
Manatee experts are pointing to concerns about boating collisions as the struggling sea cows migrate from an unorthodox feeding area in the Indian River Lagoon.
As temperatures go up, boaters...
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Published on 3/24/2022
Florida jobless claims up slightly
Florida’s first-time unemployment claims last week were slightly higher than during the previous three weeks, but the pace of claims continues to be similar to levels before the COVID-19 pandemic...
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Published on 3/24/2022
Florida's budget bill could help with Medicaid changes
Part of a budget-related bill that Florida lawmakers passed last week could help clear the way for federal approval of changes in the state’s Medicaid program.
Tom Wallace, a deputy...
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Published on 3/23/2022
DeSantis, Cabinet eye conservation deals
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet next week are expected to consider nearly $40 million in land deals that would help keep more than 17,000 acres from future development....
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Published on 3/23/2022
Florida judge tosses college fees lawsuit
An Alachua County circuit judge this month dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Santa Fe College student seeking to recover fees paid to the school while the campus was shut...
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Published on 3/23/2022
DeSantis leaves any special session on property insurance, condos up to lawmakers
If Florida lawmakers hold a special session to deal with the troubled property-insurance market or to put additional requirements on condominium buildings, it won’t come from a directive by Gov....
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Published on 3/21/2022
Administrative law judge sides with marijuana doctor accused in an undercover sting
A Tallahassee doctor who ordered medical marijuana for two undercover investigators posing as patients didn’t do anything wrong, an administrative law judge decided Wednesday.
The Florida Department of Health sought...
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Published on 3/21/2022
Planned spending approved by Florida lawmakers ranges from airplanes to zoos
A $112.1 billion budget that lawmakers passed last week covers more than the state’s basics for education, health care and law enforcement.
The budget and a series of accompanying bills...
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Published on 3/21/2022
Florida tops 1 million recreational boats
More than 1 million recreational boats are registered in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The agency announced Friday that the number had been surpassed, with...
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Published on 3/20/2022
Florida jobless claims again below 4,000
Florida had its third consecutive week with fewer than 4,000 first-time unemployment claims, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The agency estimated that Florida...
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Published on 3/18/2022
Tobacco Industry Gets Win at Supreme Court
In what a dissenting justice called a “fundamental shift,” the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling that likely will make it harder for many plaintiffs suing tobacco companies...
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Published on 3/17/2022
Florida's General Revenue Tops Projection in January
Florida collected nearly $200 million more in general-revenue taxes in January than had been projected, with most of the jump coming from sales taxes, according to a report posted Wednesday...
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Published on 3/17/2022
Lawsuit asks federal court to set congressional map
TALLAHASSEE — With Gov. Ron DeSantis vowing to veto a congressional redistricting plan, a lawsuit filed late Friday asks a federal court to set new U.S. House districts that would...
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Published on 3/12/2022
Deal hammered out on $112.1 billion budget
Florida lawmakers will vote Monday on a record $112.1 billion state budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, up 10.4 percent from a spending plan approved for the current year.
House...
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Published on 3/11/2022
Florida's citrus crop forecast takes another hit
The seasonal forecast for Florida’s struggling citrus industry got squeezed further Wednesday to a level not seen since before the country entered World War II.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture...
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Published on 3/10/2022
Martin McClain, ‘titan' Florida death row lawyer, dies at 67
Martin McClain, a trailblazing attorney whose representation of Death Row inmates earned accolades from judges, Supreme Court justices and his peers, died suddenly at his Wilton Manors home this week,...
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Published on 3/9/2022
Panhandle blazes continue expanding
Wildfires in Northwest Florida’s Gulf, Calhoun and Bay counties have expanded to more than 34,000 acres as crews continue trying to control the blazes, according to information released Wednesday morning...
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Published on 3/9/2022
Lawmakers vote to extend Visit Florida until 2028
Florida’s taxpayer-supported tourism marketing agency can plan campaigns for the next six years under a bill heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 36-3 to go along...
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Published on 3/9/2022
Florida lawmakers will go into overtime to finish session
With a budget remaining unfinished Tuesday night, the annual legislative session is headed to overtime.
Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, issued a memo...
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Published on 3/9/2022
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
