After a jury couldn’t agree on the death penalty in Florida’s deadliest school shooting, Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee are proposing to make it easier to send condemned convicts to death row. The changes – which would allow a jury to recommend the death penalty even when only eight of 12 …
Read More »GRU, other utility companies face possibility of more oversight
TALLAHASSEE — Florida House members Tuesday raised the possibility of giving state regulators more oversight of municipal utilities. Members of the House Energy, Communications & Cybersecurity Subcommittee repeatedly touched on the issue as they received presentations about the Florida Public Service Commission and the state Office of Public Counsel. The …
Read More »Year starts with high numbers of manatee deaths across Florida
TAMPA, Fla. – Lluvia and her calf Morado glide to the bottom of their habitat to munch on romaine lettuce; this is hour one of the eight they spend eating daily. They are the lucky ones, survivors from what wildlife experts are worried could be another year full of unusually …
Read More »Stop the scroll: Pressure builds to ban TikTok on Florida campuses
Is TikTok dead for Florida college students? The University of Florida is warning there is a “strong possibility” it will ban TikTok from its wired and wireless computer networks on campus. That would effectively block access to the popular social media platform for students and faculty in dormitories, classrooms, lecture …
Read More »DeSantis asks universities for transgender care information
TALLAHASSEE — Continuing to target treatment for transgender people, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is requiring state universities to provide information from the past five years about services they have provided to people with gender dysphoria, according to documents released Wednesday. Chris Spencer, director of the governor’s Office of Planning and …
Read More »Audio documentary: Surviving Ian
Surviving Ian is a thirty-minute documentary exploring how southwest Florida residents are slowly putting their lives back together after the disastrous storm and highlights some of the few positives emerging from all the destruction. Stories include a look back on the aftermath of the storm in Southwest Florida, the …
Read More »By the numbers: County abortion totals in Florida during 2022
A new state report shows that, as of Dec. 2, Florida totaled 68,217 abortions this year. That was up from 61,956 abortions as of Nov. 1 and 57,067 abortions as of Oct. 4. Statewide, there were 79,817 in 2021 and 74,868 in 2020. Here are the counties with the most …
Read More »Report: Florida’s new insurance changes will help, but it’s going to take time
TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers last week made changes that will provide “much needed relief” in the troubled property-insurance system, but effects of the legislation won’t be immediate, the AM Best financial-rating agency said in a new report. The report pointed to parts of the new law designed to curb litigation, …
Read More »After Hurricane Ian, sowing hope
Editor’s note: Katie Delk is a 2022-2023 Florida Climate Institute Fellow reporting a series of articles about the impact of climate change on Florida’s farmers—and how they are adapting. Robert McMahon, in his faded denim jeans and straw hat, edged to the roof in a boom lift, three cows shuffling …
Read More »Florida lawmakers hope to aid ailing home insurance market
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Florida lawmakers are scheduled to meet Monday to consider ways to shore up the state’s struggling home insurance market in the year’s second special session devoted to the topic. Lawmakers are considering legislation to help keep private insurers solvent by creating a $1 billion reinsurance fund, …
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