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The Buzz on Florida Politics

Jazmyn Williams, 22, of St. Petersburg raises a fist and marches during an abortion protest on Saturday, July 2, 2022 in Tampa. "I'm a woman," Williams said. "I was born with rights that will never be taken away."
Lawmakers threaten to defund St. Petersburg over plan to pay for abortion travel
The City Council is set to vote on $50,000 to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund on April 6.
Sweeping legal reforms passed by Florida Legislature, dividing Republicans
“People believe they’ve won the jackpot with the litigation lottery,” said Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. “We have a problem in Florida. Help me fix it.”
House Bill 837 will make it harder and more expensive to sue insurance companies.
DeSantis’, other officials’ travel records would be secret under Florida bill
State law allows governors to use state planes for political and personal travel for security reasons but, as Gov. Ron DeSantis conducts a national book tour in anticipation of a likely presidential campaign, questions are mounting about whether taxpayer funds have been used to finance his travel and other political operations.
The measure, which would impose the first-ever public records exemption for the transportation records held by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, would be retroactive.
DeSantis administration scrubs ‘equity’ from state health priorities
Joseph Ladapo speaks during a news conference at the Don Soffer Clinical Research Center at the University of Miami on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
The 2017 State Health Improvement Plan spelled out “equity” as a priority. Not under DeSantis.

Latest

  1. Florida now has school vouchers for all: 5 things for families to know.
    Yesterday• Education
    Crowds filter through the rotunda at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, where lawmakers have made school vouchers a priority during the 2023 legislative session. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the voucher bill into law on Monday, March 27, 2023, at a ceremony in Miami.
  2. Sponsor of Florida defamation bill says he’ll make changes amid outcry
    Yesterday• Politics
    Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, said he intends to propose modifications to his bill that would make it easier to sue over defamation claims.
  3. Florida court clerks slammed by cases just before new lawsuit rules approved
    Yesterday• News
    Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 837 on Friday, a law aimed at decreasing the number of frivolous lawsuits involving insurance and personal injury claims. In anticipation of the approval, litigants flooded local clerks of court with new civil claims in the days leading up to the approval.
  5. Florida House panel OKs bill to increase maximum interest rate on consumer loans
    Yesterday• Politics
    Under current law, consumer-finance loan companies can charge 30 percent annual interest on the first $3,000 of principal amounts, 24 percent on amounts between $3,000 and $4,000 and 18 percent on amounts between $4,000 and $25,000. Florida lawmakers' new bill would set an across-the-board maximum 36 percent rate.
  6. Hunting, fishing could be enshrined in Florida Constitution under proposal
    Yesterday• Politics
    Jonathan Vasquez, 34, on left, and his girlfriend, Valerie Romero, 28, both from Tampa, bundle up while fishing from end of the St. Petersburg Pier just after sunrise on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in St. Petersburg.
  7. Florida Dental Association hopes for state money to provide care
    Yesterday• Health
    Volunteer dentist Shazia Malik examines the mouth of new patient Roosevelt Jones at the Community Dental Clinic in Clearwater on Jan. 18, 2018. Low-income adult patients aren't charged for the services. The nonprofit organization just asks for a donation. [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]
  8. Removal of ‘Ruby Bridges’ film from Pinellas school sparks outrage
    Yesterday• Education
    U.S. deputy marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges from William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, La., in November 1960. The first-grader was the only Black child enrolled in the school, where parents of white students boycotted the court-ordered integration law and took their children out of school. Her story is told in the 1998 Disney movie "Ruby Bridges."
  9. Hundreds of thousands of Florida children could lose health coverage with Medicaid cutbacks
    Yesterday• Health
    Florida’s Medicaid program covers children ages 5 and younger in households that make $33,408 or less and older children whose parents make up to $31,795.
  10. Tampa could see first openly gay council member
    Mar. 25• Tampa
    Alan Clendenin, 2023 candidate for Tampa City Council
  11. Inside Frank Hibbard’s jaw-dropping resignation as Clearwater mayor
    Mar. 25• Clearwater
    “I’m pretty at peace with it,” former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard said of his sudden resignation. “It doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped mulling it over. I can’t not do that for a while.”
  12. Businesses could block new local regulations by suing, under Florida bill
    Mar. 24• Politics
    Pastor Victor McCleskey, with the KJV (King James Version) Baptist Church of New Port Richey, argues against an ordinance that would provide a buffer for vehicles entering and exiting the parking lot at the Bread and Roses women's health clinic in Clearwater while attending a meeting of the Clearwater City Council on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
  13. Permitless carry bill passes Florida House, firearm training requirement removed
    Mar. 24• Politics
    A variety of Smith&Wesson pistols on display at the gun range during the Smith&Wesson Demo Day at Bill Jackson’s on Saturday, April 30, 2022 in Pinellas Park. Customers attending the gun demonstration had the opportunity to shoot some of Smith&Wesson’s popular pistols and received instruction and tips on shooting. Attendees also had the opportunity to compete in a shooting contest with the ability to win an AR Pistol. A variety of gun enthusiasts attended the demo from the complete novice to military members during the day long event.
  14. If only the Michelangelo mess in a Florida school was surprising
    Mar. 24• Opinion
    Michelangelo's "David."
  15. Florida has an affordable housing crisis. Will new legislation fix it?
    Mar. 24• Politics
    Blue Sky Communities and elected officials celebrate the groundbreaking of SkyWay Lofts, which was slated to have 65 apartments for low-income families, on Sept. 16, 2020.
  16. Lawmakers threaten to defund St. Petersburg over plan to pay for abortion travel
    Mar. 24• St. Petersburg
    Jazmyn Williams, 22, of St. Petersburg raises a fist and marches during an abortion protest on Saturday, July 2, 2022 in Tampa. "I'm a woman," Williams said. "I was born with rights that will never be taken away."
  17. Who is Gio Fucarino? Or John Ring Jr.? A Tampa player with a hidden past
    Mar. 24• Tampa
    John Robert Ring Jr., left, at Mayor Jane Castor's campaign kickoff at the Hotel Haya in December. Ring had used an alias Giovanni "Gio" Fucarino to become a fixture in city politics in recent months. He was arrested recently for violating his sexual offender status.
  18. DeSantis’ State Guard vision: planes, boats, police powers
    Mar. 24• Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a nearly $100 million budget for the Florida State Guard.
  19. Sweeping legal reforms passed by Florida Legislature, dividing Republicans
    Mar. 23• Politics
    “People believe they’ve won the jackpot with the litigation lottery,” said Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. “We have a problem in Florida. Help me fix it.”
  20. Florida families sue state for banning transgender care for youth
    Mar. 23• Health
    Protesters hold cardboard signs shaped like tombstones in front of the Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport in early August 2022 as the Florida Board of Medicine meets inside. A group of parents and transgender children filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the medical board, among others, for its ban on gender-affirming care for youth.
  21. Tampa Bay educators take notice as ‘parental rights’ push moves to high schools
    Mar. 23• Education
    The directive, proposed by Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, above, and backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would strengthen the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act.
  22. 44 states got millions of federal dollars for gun violence prevention. Not Florida.
    Mar. 23• Politics
    A cache of weapons seized from one man as part of a risk protection order is stored in the evidence room at the Hillsborough County Courthouse in Tampa on Sept. 18, 2019.
  23. Florida Senate OKs private school voucher expansion. Bill heads to DeSantis.
    Mar. 23• Education
    Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, left, asks questions about a bill to expand private school vouchers, addressing bill sponsor Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, right. The lawmakers were working on the Senate floor Wednesday.
  24. USF faculty condemns bills to alter Florida higher education: ‘Just baffling’
    Mar. 23• Education
    Students walk near the Marshall Student Center on the University of South Florida's Tampa campus.
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