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The Buzz on Florida Politics

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Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and decorated veteran, speaks moments after being sworn in as Florida’s new lieutenant governor on Tuesday at the Tampa Green Beret Association’s Team House outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
DeSantis chooses Tampa’s Jay Collins for lieutenant governor. Who is he?
Collins, a former Green Beret, has long been an ally of the governor.
Hope Florida charity says DeSantis officials didn’t need to report gifts
Attendees of last year's Governor's Cup charity event had the chance to golf with Gov. Ron DeSantis. The event raised money for the Hope Florida Foundation.
Some lawmakers disclosed gifts from the Governor’s Cup event anyway.
Judge wants answers on who runs Alligator Alcatraz
The federal judge said he wants to see a copy of the legal agreement between Florida and the federal government.
St. Petersburg restaurant owner sues city, cites failure to enforce law banning public sleeping
A person’s belongings lay in Williams Park in Downtown St. Petersburg on June 12. Ronicca Whaley, the owner of downtown restaurant Shiso Crispy, filed a lawsuit Friday that said the city failed to enforce a new law that bans public sleeping and camping statewide.
Ronicca Whaley owns Shiso Crispy, a downtown restaurant, and pleaded with the City Council in June to act.

Latest

  1. Records show Florida’s push to negotiate Hope Florida Medicaid settlement
    • Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis and first lady Casey DeSantis have championed the Hope Florida program. The state last year directed $10 million from a settlement with Medicaid contractor to the Hope Florida Foundation.
  2. DeSantis chooses Tampa’s Jay Collins for lieutenant governor. Who is he?
    • Politics
    Jay Collins, a former Green Beret and decorated veteran, speaks moments after being sworn in as Florida’s new lieutenant governor on Tuesday at the Tampa Green Beret Association’s Team House outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
  3. Public hearings over FPL’s $10B rate case delayed as settlement proceeds
    • Business
    Line workers with FPL work on reconnecting a main power line in 2017. On Monday, utility commissioners paused public hearings in the company's rate case as lawyers work on a settlement.
  5. Florida DOGE finding ‘egregious’ government waste, fraud, abuse, CFO says
    • Pinellas
    Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia speaks to reporters outside of the Hillsborough County Commission building in Tampa. He helps lead the state Department of Government Efficiency. A team of state officials are visiting Tampa Bay local governments this week to identify "waste, fraud and abuse," and already have clear indications of wasteful spending, Ingoglia said. Aug. 11, 2025.
  6. Students return to class across Tampa Bay for the first day of school
    • Photos
    The sun rises at Lakewood High School, 1400 54th Ave. S, as students arrive and make their way to the front entrance on the first day of school, Monday in St. Petersburg.
  7. Florida condos are struggling. Could they be redeveloped?
    • Real Estate
    Amid a condominium crisis in Florida after the Surfside building collapse, a new law on safety and repairs is driving up costs and scaring buyers.
  8. To dodge federal rule, some immigrants are shuffled in and out of Florida jails
    • Florida
    Signs outside the Orange County Jail in Orlando are seen on Jan. 31.
  9. Social Security turns 90: Can Florida retirees rely on it much longer?
    • Politics
    Social Security turns 90 this year.
  10. Right-wing activists rage at Florida GOP during Sarasota County gathering
    • Politics
    Roughly 200 people from across Florida attended the Defend Florida event in Venice, including representatives of groups that promote disproven claims of election fraud, such as Pinellas Watchdogs.
  11. Who runs Alligator Alcatraz? Florida or the federal government?
    • Politics
    President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others, tour Alligator Alcatraz, a migrant detention facility at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in early July. Attorneys for the state and federal governments assert Florida has the authority to hold migrants.
  12. FPL rate hike case could be headed for settlement
    • Business
    FPL energy grid equipment in Fort Lauderdale. [Miami Herald file, 2016]
  13. A man shot and killed a bear in his yard. He won’t face charges.
    • Environment
    A Fort Walton Beach man shot and killed this Florida black bear after it entered his backyard June 24. It's one of the first known cases statewide where a bear shooting won't be prosecuted under a new Florida self-defense law.
  14. Trump admin cancels $156M grant to help Floridians afford solar panels
    • Business
    Aerial drone view of crews from Tampa Bay Solar as they work to install over 3,000 solar panels on the rooftops of the Manatee School for the Arts on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Palmetto. The federal government has revoked a $156 million grant received by three Florida nonprofits to help lower-income residents afford solar panels.
  15. An exclusive interview with Louis Pasteur | Column
    • Viewpoints
    main.jpg?tag=iid~e668a525bf55438fa9e408058091e2ba!rsn~0!orgId~46802!qt~gtkZekMzfMeS!orgNm~Tampa%20Bay%20Times!cid~1684eb044e014ed398ca379e7e93808e!role~Main!sz~2226272!mt~photo!fmt~JPEG%20Baseline!ebiz~0&app=MPK&Policy=eyJTdGF0ZW1lbnQiOiBbeyJSZXNvdXJjZSI6ICJodHRwczovL21hcGkuYXNzb2NpYXRlZHByZXNzLmNvbS9lNjY4YTUyNWJmNTU0MzhmYTllNDA4MDU4MDkxZTJiYS9jb21wb25lbnRzL3NlY3VyZWQvbWFpbi5qcGc~dGFnPWlpZH5lNjY4YTUyNWJmNTU0MzhmYTllNDA4MDU4MDkxZTJiYSFyc25-MCFvcmdJZH40NjgwMiFxdH5ndGtaZWtNemZNZVMhb3JnTm1-VGFtcGElMjBCYXklMjBUaW1lcyFjaWR-MTY4NGViMDQ0ZTAxNGVkMzk4Y2EzNzllN2U5MzgwOGUhcm9sZX5NYWluIXN6fjIyMjYyNzIhbXR-cGhvdG8hZm10fkpQRUclMjBCYXNlbGluZSFlYml6fjAmYXBwPU1QSyIsICJDb25kaXRpb24iOiB7IkRhdGVMZXNzVGhhbiI6IHsiQVdTOkVwb2NoVGltZSI6IDE3NTQ0MTk1MzB9fX1dfQ__&Signature=ElZkVvW4rtgWL1ufleno5IDJjvZlZ7sUtiYNfMXDmGXFrFeJYOqANnrFjiJUrrdPFnKP2VQmxWfGRHHYACYlCgQEeyxRLQT726l3vFzBA3uWzrClCUXyrzxBZOIA9DDExivaKm~8ph~WUokRSExMURdC3Bt7oGgHmpG6AqQkAOVrjpPAsQatDL0l6~-0dpKu4aN137GpopDNQihAdeARfDi7ZsQVltf3WQ1dlChpdfld06smPHd9IUHy8XqXVQvP8ot~5Ga4wjx9raj0nTl6BAW~u24uCOnNSHLje1OLv6F2KxT8x~cp6CDwv~DRmSMQnlbnj9BMaDAouot2AGMkew__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJR53DZCPTOMINFRQ
  16. Clearwater group wants sales of public land downtown put to voters
    • Clearwater
    The Save the Garden coalition is petitioning for a ballot initiative that would prevent the Clearwater City Council from vacating a public street downtown without a referendum.
  17. What are the top issues in the 2026 Florida elections?
    • Politics
    202507291753MCT_____PHOTO____US-NEWS-FLA-IMMIGRATION-DETAINEES-OS
  18. Grand jury probed public records destruction in Monique Worrell’s office, suit says
    • Politics
    Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell speaks during a news conference at her office in Orlando on Thursday. The grand jury that seemed poised earlier this year to disrupt Worrell's return to office examined whether she and her associates failed to preserve government documents and destroyed public records, according to a court filing.
  19. Federal judge halts construction at Alligator Alcatraz for two weeks
    • Florida
    202508021725MCT_____PHOTO____US-NEWS-FLA-EVERGLADES-DETENTION-CENTER-HURRICANES-1-MI
  20. To vote in Tampa’s District 5 special election, register by August 11
    • Tampa
    To vote in the District 5 special Tampa City Council election, register by Monday, August 11.
  21. Florida House speaker puts together Congressional redistricting committee
    • Politics
    Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, speaks with the media during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on March 4. Perez on Thursday announced the creation of a Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting following President Donald Trump's push to get more Republicans elected to the U.S. House.
  22. No indictment for former Florida GOP lawmaker accused of COVID theft
    • Politics
    Former state Rep. Carolina Amesty and her attorney, Brad Bondi, arrive at the federal court in downtown Orlando, in February. Federal prosecutors are no longer seeking an indictment of the Windermere Republican.
  23. Who’s buying new condos in Miami? How Latin American politics drives demand.
    • Florida
    South view of the Miami skyline from the roof top pool area at the Paraiso Bayviews building located in the Edgewater neighborhood on April 5, 2023.
  24. We know about Texas. What’s going on with redistricting in Florida?
    • Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to guests and reporters during a roundtable conference at the Hillsborough Academy of Math and Science on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Tampa.
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