Florida lawmakers to hold session-ending budget vote tonight
The budget will have about $119.8 billion or so in total funds, with nearly $50 billion or so in general funds and the rest either federal funds (with Medicaid matching funds a big chunk) or special funds such as the Florida Lottery. While appropriators held the line on the budget's top line, discretionary money for projects such as museum, cultural centers and community groups continue to be a big outlay. This year, 280 projects will receive $560 million, down from 2024 when $1.3 billion was appropriated, but far more than 2019, when only $174 million was spent. More from The Center Square.
Florida gas prices drop below $3 a gallon, 30 cents cheaper than last year
Florida’s regular gas price average has dropped below $3 a gallon, a more than 5% decrease from May. As of Monday, the state average is $2.945 per gallon, a 15 cent decrease from last month’s $3.102 mark, according to AAA. Most of the price lowered recently, as the average dropped 12 cents in the past week — the second largest change in the U.S. during that time. More from Click Orlando.
Affordable housing for Broward’s teachers? A new idea takes shape with old school site
An abandoned alternative school in Pompano Beach could get a new life as affordable housing for Broward’s teachers. The school district wants to create workforce housing for district employees at the 2.8-acre site of Dave Thomas East Education Center. The school closed in 2021 for repairs but was permanently boarded up in 2022. Now, the site could become part of the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Fort Lauderdale spends millions wooing developers to invest in Sistrunk. And it’s working.
Sistrunk has long been a boulevard of unrealized dreams. But times are changing. The historic main street that runs through the predominantly Black neighborhood in northwest Fort Lauderdale is no longer a development wasteland, Fort Lauderdale officials say. In the past eight years alone, close to $116 million in city tax dollars has helped lure new development to the Sistrunk corridor west of the railroad tracks, a minority neighborhood that’s long been overlooked. More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
St. Augustine Amphitheatre among world's busiest outdoor venues this year
After a busy start to the year, the St. Augustine Amphitheatre has been among the busiest outdoor performance venues in the world so far this year. According to Pollstar Magazine’s 2025 Mid-Year Ticket Sales Report, the Amphitheatre ranked No. 2 in the United States and No. 3 worldwide among amphitheaters. Pollstar, the concert industry’s leading trade publication, compiles its rankings based on ticket sales reported by venues around the globe. More from the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Profile
After 63 years, Tampa’s longest-serving employee calls it a career
Mary Bryan served under 11 mayors and 59 city council members as Tampa grew into a modern, thriving city. Now Bryan is set to retire in August, departing after nearly 63 years as Tampa’s longest-ever serving city employee. She keeps a number circled on her left palm, the bittersweet countdown to her final day.
» More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Trend Exclusive
Built with honor
From the outside, the University of South Florida’s Judy Genshaft Honors College is an asymmetrical chameleon. The five-story building on the school’s Tampa campus sometimes glows a deep plum. Eye it from another angle, though, and it takes on a lively USF-green hue. Squint, and you may catch a rainbow spraying from the exterior’s 127 aluminum panels, all coated with a shimmering metallic finish.
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