April 26, 2024
News Service of Florida
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...
Read more »
Published on 7/13/2023
A key insurance piece improves in Florida -- but it comes at a price
TALLAHASSEE — The market for reinsurance — a critical piece of Florida’s property-insurance system — is improving. But it comes at a price.
Those are takeaways from new reports as...
Read more »
Published on 7/11/2023
Drive to put abortion amendment on 2024 ballot tops $1.94 million
Trying to quickly gather enough petition signatures to get on the 2024 ballot, a political committee leading efforts to pass a constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring abortion rights collected nearly...
Read more »
Published on 7/11/2023
State Braces for More Cases of Deer Disease
BONIFAY --- After Florida’s first recorded case of a contagious disease fatal to deer, wildlife officials said Thursday other cases are likely and that it will be a “long-term marathon”...
Read more »
Published on 7/7/2023
Jobless Rate Steady as Sentiment Improves
Unemployment claims in Florida remained relatively low last week, as consumer sentiment improved for a second consecutive month.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday released a report that estimated...
Read more »
Published on 7/6/2023
Banned Driver's Licenses Listed
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on Wednesday announced a list of types of driver’s licenses from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and...
Read more »
Published on 7/6/2023
Gainesville Utility Revamp Challenged
TALLAHASSEE — Arguing that a new Florida law violates First Amendment and other constitutional rights, a non-profit group and Alachua County residents have filed a federal-court challenge to an overhaul...
Read more »
Published on 7/5/2023
Florida says law that restricts Chinese land purchases is not discriminatory
TALLAHASSEE — The state this week pushed back against a challenge to a new law that restricts people from China and six other countries from owning property in Florida, disputing...
Read more »
Published on 7/5/2023
General Revenue Tops Projection in May
General-revenue tax collections topped expectations by about $100 million in May, while state economists pointed to “subpar” savings by Floridians.
The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research released a...
Read more »
Published on 7/2/2023
Seminole Gambling Deal Gets Big Win
TALLAHASSEE — In a move that could remake Florida’s gambling landscape, a federal appeals court on Friday overturned a ruling that blocked a deal giving the Seminole Tribe control over...
Read more »
Published on 7/2/2023
Phosphogypsum, Local Ordinance Bills Signed
TALLAHASSEE --- Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a controversial measure that directs transportation officials to determine if a waste byproduct from the fertilizer industry could be used in building...
Read more »
Published on 6/30/2023
Feds Target Chinese Land Ownership Law
TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a federal judge to block a new Florida law that restricts people from China and six other countries from owning property...
Read more »
Published on 6/29/2023
Federal judge refuses to block law restricting Florida teacher unions
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge Monday refused to block key parts of a new Florida law that places additional restrictions on public-employee unions, turning down a request from teachers unions...
Read more »
Published on 6/28/2023
Judge Refuses to Block Union Law
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge Monday refused to block key parts of a new Florida law that places additional restrictions on public-employee unions, turning down a request from teachers unions...
Read more »
Published on 6/26/2023
Florida Jobless Claims Dip
First-time unemployment claims in Florida dipped last week but were slightly above the average for the year.
The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday released a report that estimated 6,249...
Read more »
Published on 6/23/2023
State Health Insurance Contracts Spur Fights
TALLAHASSEE — Two health insurers have launched legal fights after they lost out on contracts to provide managed care to state employees, with one insurer alleging a violation of Florida’s...
Read more »
Published on 6/22/2023
Out-of-State Tuition Hike Eyed
TALLAHASSEE — Pointing to Florida’s relatively low tuition costs and saying universities face increased demand from out-of-state students, university system officials are floating the idea of raising tuition for students...
Read more »
Published on 6/20/2023
Contagious Deer Disease Found in Florida
State wildlife officials are asking people to report sick, abnormally thin deer and deer found dead of unknown causes after a case of chronic wasting disease was found in Northwest...
Read more »
Published on 6/20/2023
Florida jobless rate stays at 2.6 percent
TALLAHASSEE --- Florida’s unemployment rate remained at a near-historic low of 2.6 percent in May and has been unchanged since January, according to a report released Friday by the state...
Read more »
Published on 6/18/2023
DeSantis axes $510 million from record state budget
TALLAHASSEE --- Gov. Ron DeSantis trimmed $510.9 million from a record-high state spending plan signed Thursday, with nearly one-fifth of the cuts coming from a single program designed to keep...
Read more »
Published on 6/16/2023
Florida Jobless Claims Increase
For the first time since mid-May, Florida posted an uptick in weekly unemployment claims, according to an estimate Thursday from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The department issued a report...
Read more »
Published on 6/15/2023
Florida universities are keeping an eye on AI
TALLAHASSEE — As artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly high-profile topic in higher education, Florida universities are holding discussions about how to harness the technology’s power — and stave off the...
Read more »
Published on 6/14/2023
Florida fires back on union restrictions
TALLAHASSEE — With a federal judge poised to hear arguments next week, the state is fighting an attempt to block key parts of a new law that places additional restrictions...
Read more »
Published on 6/14/2023
Lower Fuel Costs to Trim FPL Bills
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Power & Light customers will get a break starting in July.
State regulators Tuesday approved a plan that will trim FPL customers’ bills because of lower-than-expected costs...
Read more »
Published on 6/13/2023
Rural Land Protection Program Touted
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is encouraging farmers and ranchers to apply for a state-funded program designed to keep swaths of rural property from commercial and residential...
Read more »
Published on 6/13/2023
