Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1061, expanding Florida’s new aquatic preserve about 800 square miles along the Gulf Coast, its first new aquatic preserve in over 30 years. This bill creates the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve, which will protect approximately 400,000 acres of aquatic habitat stretching from Pinellas CountyContinue Reading

Americans for Prosperity-Florida (AFP-FL) today commended Governor Ron DeSantis for signing HB 7067, a bill that gives educational freedom to almost 30,000 new students a year through enrollment in Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. This represents a full 400% increase in parents and their children given the right to decideContinue Reading

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill into law, which would allow college athletes in the state to earn money from endorsement deals. Effective in 2021, the restrictions on college athletes will be lifted to allow these student athletes to be paid for the use of their names, imagesContinue Reading

Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans for Florida’s K-12 public schools to reopen at full capacity in the fall. “Having a teacher there, there just isn’t going to be a substitute for that in-person instruction,” he said. Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said that’s the recommendation being made to local schoolContinue Reading

During the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group meeting Thursday afternoon, Hillsborough Commissioner Sandy Murman discussed the recent in coronavirus cases as testing has risen during recent weeks. Murman warned that the George Floyd rallies and protests could further the spike, stating they “are like incubators for the virus.’’ “I’m pretty concerned,’’Continue Reading

Gov. Ron DeSantisannounced Phase Two reopening in Florida amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reopening movie theaters, bars and casinos with limited capacity. There will still be 50% occupancy limits at those locales, he said. “Those have not been operating up to this point,” DeSantis said. “They now have a pathway toContinue Reading

A federal judge ruled Sunday that the Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee issued a 125-pageContinue Reading

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity released the Sunshine State’s unemployment, a tragic stat which hit a record high in April, at 12.9 percent. The state’s unemployment rate tripled from 4.3 percent in March to 12.9 percent in April. Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes the state re-opening can bring some ofContinue Reading

Governor DeSantis

In the wake of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit across central Florida to meet with tourism officials Wednesday came a rebuke of reporters, journalists’ coverage of Florida’s response to the Wuhan Coronavirus and the false predictions in the media. “You’ve got a lot of people in your profession [journalists] whoContinue Reading

Governor DeSantis

OPINION The Tampa Bay Times editorial board took aim at Gov. Ron DeSantis, circling the wagons around Rebekah Jones, calling the incident a “smear job by DeSantis’ office” to elevate Jones beyond her credentials and actual contributions. “Gov. Ron DeSantis loves to share praise from Washington about Florida’s handling ofContinue Reading

The Hillsborough County Clerks Office says more than 180 filings have been set aside as foreclosures and evictions are being extended and delayed. Hillsborough County Judge Michael Baggé Hernandez told Fox that he had up to 10 eviction filings a day before the outbreak. “There has been a lot ofContinue Reading

Governor DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed off on plans for Miami-Dade and Broward counties to reopen restaurants and other businesses that were previously deemed non-essential. During a press conference in Doral yesterday, DeSantis said that “Miami-Dade and Broward have both submitted plans that I’ve approved…Today we take another important stepContinue Reading

The city of Naples closed its public beaches at 12:01 a.m. Sunday after massive crowds turned out and Councilman Gary Price released the photo below. Price said he received a text from a friend Saturday that the number of people on the beach looked like a problem. “I went toContinue Reading

Governor DeSantis

Governor Ron DeSantis today delivered his second State of the State address, marking the opening day of the 2020 Legislative Session and reaffirming his commitment to providing Florida’s health systems with the resources needed to continue improving the health outcomes for Florida’s millions of residents and visitors. “For the betterContinue Reading

Governor DeSantis

Last week, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced $1.4 billion for the reconstruction of the I-275/SR 60 Westshore Area Interchange in Tampa. The project is set to take place in fiscal year 2023-2024. The reconstruction of this major system-to-system interchange in the Westshore Business District,Continue Reading

jobs

On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.2 percent, as labor force participation increases. Florida’s economy continues to create new private-sector jobs, adding 215,000 private-sector jobs over the year. The professional and business services and financial sectors continue to grow and supply the need for aContinue Reading