Government and politics

The proposed Florida House Bill 991, officially titled Defamation, False Light and Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likenesses, would make it easier to sue news outlets for defamation by lowering the requirement to prove actual malice.

Even as national attention focuses on Florida and other states controlling what books students can read, some Alachua County teachers haven’t faced any issues with certain books being removed from public schools. Jay Winter Collins, a part-time teacher at W.A. Metcalfe Elementary School and children’s book illustrator, said if her …

A group of High Springs residents will have to wait for the High Springs City Commission to resume its discussion of whether to ban the use of plastic straws and carry-out containers in all establishments in the city. The commission said it will revisit the issue at an as-yet unscheduled strategic planning session.

The Florida Legislature’s second recent endeavor in regulating kratom, an herbal extract that creates effects similar to stimulants and sedatives, won unanimous approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday and is on its way to the Senate. HB 179, named the “Florida Kratom Consumer Protection Act,” will establish the …

Members of the Gainesville Jewish community say a Florida House bill that proposes to make antisemitic acts felonies is long overdue.

Republican Florida House of Representatives Bobby Payne, Palatka, and Tyler Sirois, Merritt Island, are cosponsoring HB 1543, which proposes to reduce the minimum age at which a person may purchase, sell or transfer a firearm from 21 to 18. The measure is headed to the Criminal Justice Subcommittee for discussion March 13.

The Williston City Council is discussing the possibility of a four-day workweek for employees of the city's public works employees and utilities field staff.