May 17, 2024
News Service of Florida
Florida minimum wage workers get a boost to $10 an hour this week
Minimum wage workers in Florida will get a voter-approved pay boost this week, while about two-dozen new laws kick in, including a regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes.
After just over...
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Published on 9/27/2021
Doctor fights state after marijuana sting operation
A physician who orders medical marijuana for patients is accusing state health officials of breaking the law to create fake records in a sting operation involving an investigator falsely posing...
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Published on 9/27/2021
Florida health leaders cite confidential data in COVID-19 public records lawsuit
The Florida Department of Health is trying to scuttle a public-records lawsuit seeking information about COVID-19, arguing that requested reports don’t exist and that the underlying data is confidential.
Attorneys...
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Published on 9/27/2021
Florida jobless claims remain steady
Florida continues to see relatively little change in new unemployment claims, with the U.S. Department of Labor estimating Thursday that the state had 6,845 initial claims during the week that...
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Published on 9/23/2021
State revamps COVID-19 rule for schools
Pointing to a need to “minimize the amount of time students are removed from in-person learning,” the Florida Department of Health on Wednesday issued a revised rule that gives parents...
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Published on 9/22/2021
State Goes to Appeals Court in School Board Mask Fight
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has asked an appeals court to block challenges filed by five school boards against a Department of Health rule aimed at preventing students from being forced...
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Published on 9/21/2021
Senate kicks off redistricting process
Senate Reapportionment Chairman Ray Rodrigues said Monday he wants the Florida Legislature to avoid the “shadow process” that occurred in 2012 when lawmakers drew new political district lines that were...
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Published on 9/21/2021
Report finds Florida tied for highest COVID nursing home death rate in nation this summer
As the delta variant of the coronavirus caused Florida to become a hotspot for COVID-19 in late July and August, the state’s nursing homes also felt the brunt.
Using federal...
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Published on 9/20/2021
Fried asks Biden to delay reductions to COVID-19 treatments
A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to “fight like hell” to maintain Florida’s supply of monoclonal antibody treatments for people with COVID-19, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried asked President Joe...
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Published on 9/20/2021
Florida gas prices soar 10 cents per gallon
Gas prices across Florida jumped an average of 10 cents a gallon in the past week following reports that energy infrastructure across the Gulf of Mexico is recovering slower than...
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Published on 9/20/2021
$200 Million in Refunds Unclaimed in Florida Prepaid College Program
More than 30,000 families have yet to claim over $200 million worth of refunds from Florida's Prepaid College Tuition Program, according to program officials.
Prices for the prepaid plans were...
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Published on 9/20/2021
Florida's longtime pension fund manager to step down
Ash Williams, the longtime head of Florida’s pension fund, is retiring at the end of September, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Cabinet members expected to name an interim replacement next...
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Published on 9/17/2021
Citizens Insurance nears 700,000 policies
With Citizens Property Insurance Corp. nearing 700,000 policies, lawmakers could again look for ways to curb growth in the state-backed insurer.
Citizens at the end of August had 687,079 policies...
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Published on 9/16/2021
Florida unemployment claims see little change
With the state set to update its unemployment rate on Friday, jobless claims continue to roll in at a pace that has varied little since mid-May.
The U.S. Department of...
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Published on 9/16/2021
Federal judge refuses to block DeSantis mask order
A federal judge Wednesday rejected a request by parents of disabled children to block Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to prevent school districts from requiring students to wear masks during the...
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Published on 9/15/2021
DeSantis Calls for Ditching Standardized Tests
Saying the state’s system of standardized testing in public schools is “quite frankly, outdated,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that lawmakers will consider a proposal during the 2022 legislative...
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Published on 9/15/2021
Florida universities rise in annual rankings
Florida universities on Monday heralded their advancement in a national ranking of public universities, but none celebrated harder than the University of Florida after cracking the top five on U.S....
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Published on 9/15/2021
Florida tax revenues soar by 24% past expectations in July
Bolstered in part by people continuing to spend down savings amassed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida general-revenue collections exceeded expectations by 24 percent in July.
Collections of revenue such as...
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Published on 9/14/2021
State seeks to nix challenge to 'intellectual freedom' law
Saying plaintiffs have offered a “parade of horribles,” attorneys for the state want a federal judge to toss out a challenge to a new law that requires conducting surveys on...
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Published on 9/14/2021
Plan calls for annual harvest of 200 goliath grouper
Three decades after being placed on a list prohibiting the harvest and possession of goliath grouper, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation commission is considering a plan to allow a...
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Published on 9/13/2021
Vaccination requirement spurs hospital staffing worries throughout Florida
Two major Florida hospital systems say they will carry out a plan announced Thursday by the Biden administration to require hospital workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 --- but concerns...
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Published on 9/12/2021
Prison mail change moves ahead with tweaks
State corrections officials are tweaking a plan to replace hard copies of prisoners’ mail with digitized versions, after a legislative committee raised concerns about the proposal that sparked an outcry...
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Published on 9/9/2021
Florida jobless claims below 6,000 last week
First-time unemployment claims in Florida continue to roll in at a pre-pandemic pace.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,814 initial claims were filed in Florida during the...
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Published on 9/9/2021
Florida orange groves continue to shrink
Florida’s citrus industry continues to be squeezed, as it now uses less than half of the amount of land that it used in 2000, according to reports released Wednesday by...
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Published on 9/9/2021
Visit Florida views delta variant as ‘bump' in recovery
Florida travel-industry leaders expect the surge in COVID-19 cases linked to the delta variant to cause only a brief slowdown in the state’s tourism rebound, as they seek more federal...
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Published on 9/9/2021
