Fresh Take Florida

Lawmakers in Florida, where private firm SpaceX is increasingly launching missions to outer space, are considering a bill to add criminal penalties for anyone who finds a spacecraft or parts of one and tries to keep it.

In his annual State of the State address on the opening day of Florida’s Legislature, DeSantis said the economy was better than expected here despite the pandemic, with most public school classrooms open for students, most businesses up and running and efforts focused on vaccinating the elderly.

Tao Li, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was placed on leave Feb. 15, according to a letter in his personnel file obtained under Florida’s public records law.

In the face of stark local environmental opposition, a state water board on Tuesday unanimously approved “with protest” about 1 million gallons daily for Nestle's bottled water business from one of the treasured natural springs along the Santa Fe River in north central Florida.

It’s been nearly 20 years, but Reginald Jackson thinks often about the night a police officer here fired a bullet into his neck after a traffic stop.

The bill would standardize the use of a newborn safety device, or “baby box,” at drop-off locations like hospitals, fire stations or emergency medical stations.

They can walk armed under the Rotunda, roam the corridors, visit lawmakers’ offices or scan the city below from the 22nd-floor observation deck.