April 25, 2024
News Service of Florida
Lawsuit seeks gopher tortoise protections
TALLAHASSEE — Two conservation groups Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging a decision by federal wildlife officials to reject listing gopher tortoises as endangered or threatened species, saying the burrowing animals...
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Published on 8/9/2023
Florida environmental agency fights plan to reduce power plant pollution
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Department of Environmental Protection lashed out at a federal proposal aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, saying it "places the reliability, affordability and capacity...
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Published on 8/9/2023
Districts Grapple with AP Course Confusion
TALLAHASSEE — School district leaders across the state are taking a patchwork of approaches to a college-credit psychology course, as many high-school students head back to class this week amid...
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Published on 8/9/2023
New Florida immigration law could have 'unintended consequences,' says Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson
TALLAHASSEE --- Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson expressed concern a new Florida immigration law could bring “unintended consequences” to the construction and tourism industries.
But in defending the law (SB 1718),...
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Published on 8/4/2023
Students with 'math deficiency' eyed
The state Department of Education is proposing a rule that would help determine when students have a “substantial math deficiency,” which could lead to needing such things as individual education...
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Published on 8/2/2023
Florida inmates, prisons grapple with ‘oppressive' heat
TALLAHASSEE — Nearly a month into a stifling heat wave, corrections officials are attempting to alleviate sweltering conditions in Florida’s unairconditioned prisons, but advocates for inmates say the efforts fall...
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Published on 8/2/2023
Florida Regulators Balk at EPA Power Plant Plan
TALLAHASSEE — Florida utility regulators and other industry officials are objecting to a federal proposal aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, arguing the changes could drive up costs...
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Published on 8/1/2023
UF Plans Facility for AI in Agriculture
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is gearing up to build a new Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence that would bolster the use of artificial intelligence...
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Published on 7/31/2023
Tax collections top estimates to end fiscal year
TALLAHASSEE --- General revenue collections continued to top expectations in June, as the state closed out a fiscal year that saw a jump in tax dollars.
A report posted Friday...
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Published on 7/31/2023
Rural Land Program Draws Applicants
TALLAHASSEE — More than 180 landowners have applied to a state-funded program — a target of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto pen — designed to keep swaths of rural property from...
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Published on 7/30/2023
Florida Supreme Court to take up UF COVID shutdown case over refund of student fees
TALLAHASSEE — The state Supreme Court on Thursday said it will take up a dispute about whether the University of Florida should return fees to students because of a campus...
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Published on 7/27/2023
Jobless Claims Dip in July
Initial jobless claims in Florida have slowed a bit in July, while the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,841 unemployment applications were filed last week in the state....
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Published on 7/27/2023
Charter School Funding Change Proposed
The Florida Department of Education has started moving forward with a proposed change that would affect charter schools’ eligibility to receive money for such things as building facilities and buying...
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Published on 7/26/2023
Florida school employee unions ‘already suffering' from new law on dues
TALLAHASSEE — Saying unions are starting to get hit financially, teachers unions are again asking a federal judge to block part of a new state law that prevents dues from...
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Published on 7/26/2023
Miami drops in home price hikes
After nine months of leading metro areas across the country in year-over-year increases in home prices, Miami fell out of the top spot in May, according to an analysis released...
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Published on 7/25/2023
Two Black Farmers Get Marijuana Licenses
TALLAHASSEE — Two Black farmers have received licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana, after a new state law helped clear the way for the long-awaited licenses.
The Florida...
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Published on 7/22/2023
Weekly Jobless Claims Inch Up in Florida
Florida saw a slight uptick in new unemployment claims last week, but the weekly figure remains on pace since the start of the year.
With the state set up to...
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Published on 7/21/2023
Retailers Look for Lift from Tax ‘Holiday'
TALLAHASSEE --- Florida retailers hope for a boost to summer sales with the start Monday of a back-to-school sales tax “holiday.”
The tax holiday, which will last through Aug. 6,...
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Published on 7/20/2023
Slowing Deer Disease ‘Best That We Can Hope For'
TALLAHASSEE --- Environmentalists and animal-rights advocates want state wildlife officials to put more restrictions on deer farming and hunting as Florida responds to the long-expected arrival of a contagious disease...
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Published on 7/20/2023
How many Floridians can one peninsula hold? See state's future population estimates
Newly updated estimates from the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research show Florida’s population increasing to more than 25 million people in 2032.
Here are population estimates for April...
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Published on 7/20/2023
Critics blast new Florida law making university president searches secret
TALLAHASSEE — Amid a pause in Florida Atlantic University’s search for a new president, leaders of a First Amendment group and a national higher-education association are pointing to a controversial...
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Published on 7/19/2023
Federal judge hears arguments over new Florida law about Chinese ownership of land
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge listened to more than two hours of arguments Tuesday about whether he should block a new Florida law that restricts people from China from owning...
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Published on 7/18/2023
Florida judge rules against state on kids living in nursing homes
TALLAHASSEE — After a decade-long legal fight, a federal judge Friday ordered Florida to make changes to keep children with “complex” medical conditions out of nursing homes and help them...
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Published on 7/17/2023
State reaches settlements with Miami-Dade clinics over 24-hour abortion waiting period
In one of a series of similar cases, a Miami-Dade abortion clinic will pay $20,000 to the state to settle allegations that the clinic did not properly comply with a...
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Published on 7/17/2023
Citrus Growers End Troubled Season
TALLAHASSEE --- Numbers released Wednesday confirmed that Florida’s 2022-2023 citrus season was the worst in nearly a century, as growers tried to recover from an early-season hurricane that exacerbated industry...
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Published on 7/13/2023
