Statewide

On Wednesday, a day after the Walt Disney Company announced plans to lay off 28,000 employees in the U.S. due to parks closures and limited attendance in Florida, Florida Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis praised the state’s economic reopening efforts.

Alachua County and Gainesville officials have continued to promote and encourage residents to fill out the census, in spite of the obstacles of COVID-19.

Restaurants and bars in the state can now operate at full capacity. However, Gov. Ron DeSantis says local governments can keep limits in place if they're justified for health or economic reasons.

The exchange between Corcoran and Board of Education member Michael Olenick came as the state continues to battle the Florida Education Association teachers union in court about a reopening order and as school districts move forward with offering in-person and online classes to students.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed concern during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to hurt small businesses and may disrupt commercial real estate even after it's over.

Despite COVID-19 pushing half of Alachua County public school students online, fire drills are still on the agenda. Like every school district in Florida, Alachua County schools must each complete four fire drills – the first occurring in the initial 30 days of classes – according to an executive order …

Florida continues to see a steady decline in first-time unemployment claims, even as several large hospitality and entertainment companies have extended and imposed large-scale layoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic.