May 2, 2024
News Service of Florida
Vacation rental issue re-emerges in legislature
Florida lawmakers appear poised to again debate the regulation of the vacation-rental industry.
Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, on Monday filed a bill (HB 325) that is the latest version in...
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Published on 10/18/2021
Medical marijuana is exploding in Florida, and regulators are asking for financial help
As Florida’s legal pot industry is poised to mushroom, health regulators are asking lawmakers for nearly $13 million to more than double the number of workers in the office that...
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Published on 10/18/2021
State looks to education to address health care worker shortages
Lawmakers are mulling ways to help bolster education and training programs for nurses and other health care professionals to address an ongoing staffing crisis in hospitals and long-term care facilities....
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Published on 10/18/2021
Delaney to become permanent Flagler president
Former University of North Florida President and Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney is set to become the permanent president of Flagler College, after serving as interim president since July. The private...
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Published on 10/14/2021
State school boards blast request for federal security aid
TALLAHASSEE --- The organization that represents Florida school boards has “great concern” for the safety of board members and school officials after recent reports of threats, but is rejecting its...
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Published on 10/14/2021
Education eyed to address health care worker shortages
Lawmakers are mulling ways to help bolster education and training programs for nurses and other health care professionals to address an ongoing staffing crisis in hospitals and long-term care facilities....
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Published on 10/13/2021
Challenge to air ambulance billing law rejected
A federal judge has rejected a challenge to a 2020 state law that limits amounts that air-ambulance services can charge for transporting patients. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Tuesday...
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Published on 10/13/2021
Citrus forecast points to difficult season
Florida’s citrus industry is forecast to have one of the lowest production years in decades as it continues to grapple with a devastating disease and other issues.
In the first...
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Published on 10/13/2021
State Gets Another Bump in Tax Dollars in August
As Florida lawmakers prepare to draw up a new budget, they continue to get a boost from residents and tourists spending money.
A report released Monday showed that Florida collected...
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Published on 10/12/2021
Citizens Adds Nearly 22,000 Policies in September
Adding nearly 22,000 policies last month, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. totaled more than 708,000 policies as of Sept. 30, newly released numbers show.
Citizens has seen massive growth...
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Published on 10/12/2021
DeSantis Rebuffs Audit of 2020 Election
Florida does not plan to review the 2020 election, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday during an appearance in St. Pete Beach.
“What we do in Florida is, there's a pre-...
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Published on 10/12/2021
Florida may consider extending Visit Florida to 2031
Florida’s tourism-marketing agency is getting Senate support to keep its doors open into the next decade.
Senate Commerce and Tourism Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, is sponsoring legislation to extend the...
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Published on 10/12/2021
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is now accepting cryptocurrency donations
The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation in Miami has started accepting donations of cryptocurrencies as it looks for new ways to reach more donors.
The hospital said in a news release...
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Published on 10/11/2021
State Distributes $1.5 Billion Following Hurricane Michael
Backed heavily by the federal government, Florida has distributed about $1.5 billion to governments and agencies across a region of the Panhandle devastated nearly three years ago by Category 5...
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Published on 10/11/2021
FWC resurrects support for osprey as state bird
Add the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to the supporters of doing away with the mockingbird as the state bird during the 2022 legislative session.
Commissioners agreed Thursday to...
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Published on 10/7/2021
Florida jobless claims hold steady as hotels push for federal aid
As the hotel industry pushes for more federal assistance to cover the costs of workers, Florida continues to see little change in the number of new unemployment claims being filed....
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Published on 10/7/2021
State Seeks to Recoup $3 Million in Sawmill Incentives
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has filed a lawsuit seeking to recoup $3 million in incentives that the state provided to help attract a sawmill to Suwannee County.
The...
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Published on 10/7/2021
Florida to cargo ships: Come here to avoid California port logjam
Florida is encouraging shipping firms to consider the state’s 15 seaports as cargo ships remain backed up, waiting for open port space, in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.
Florida...
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Published on 10/7/2021
Fried urges 'endangered' status for manatees
State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried asked the federal government to again list threatened manatees as “endangered,” as Florida has had a record number of manatee deaths this year.
In a...
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Published on 10/6/2021
DeSantis pushes back against feds on threats to educators
Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Tuesday that Florida will fight a federal effort to address a spike in threats against educators.
DeSantis responded on Twitter to a move Monday by U.S....
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Published on 10/6/2021
Worker shortage puts group homes in ‘survival mode'
A labor shortage has unleashed a litany of problems for Florida employers scrambling to fill vacant slots and hold on to workers.
But for some of the state’s most vulnerable...
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Published on 10/6/2021
Children's hospital looks to cryptocurrencies
The Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation has started accepting donations of cryptocurrencies, as it looks for new ways to reach more donors.
The hospital said in a news release Tuesday that...
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Published on 10/6/2021
Justices Weigh Red-Light Camera Fees
Florida Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of a potential class-action lawsuit challenging credit-card fees that a company collects from motorists who get caught on camera running red lights.
The...
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Published on 10/5/2021
Hearing set on workers' comp insurance rates
Florida regulators will hold a public hearing next week on a proposal that could reduce average workers’ compensation insurance rates next year by 4.9 percent.
The state Office of Insurance...
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Published on 10/5/2021
COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to drop
The number of Florida patients hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to drop during the weekend.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted data Monday showing that Florida hospitals had...
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Published on 10/4/2021
