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The Buzz on Florida Politics

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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. DeSantis faces setbacks as potential Trump indictment looms over 2024 race
    3 minutes ago• Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis smiles while shaking hands and posing for pictures with supporters after leaving the stage at the end an event at the OCC Road House & Museum 10575 49th Street North on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Pinellas Park.
  2. Florida focuses on expanding kids’ health insurance, not Medicaid
    3 hours ago• Florida
    Florida lawmakers are expanding eligibility for KidCare, a health insurance program, but there is no move to follow North Carolina, were lawmakers recently voted to expand Medicaid to an estimated 600,000 residents. The Florida Capitol in Tallahassee is pictured above.
  3. Ron DeSantis to go to Israel in April, will deliver speech at Jerusalem conference
    4 hours ago• Politics
    Gov. Ron DeSantis and CFO Jimmy Patronis examine a display at the Israel Space Agency in Tel Aviv in 2019.
  5. 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 made school vouchers a priority during the 2023 legislative session. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the voucher bill into law Monday at a ceremony in Miami.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Hunting, fishing could be enshrined in Florida Constitution under proposal
    Yesterday• Politics
    Jonathan Vasquez and his girlfriend, Valerie Romero, both of Tampa, bundle up while fishing from end of the St. Petersburg Pier just after sunrise on Wednesday.
  10. 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 ]
  11. 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."
  12. Hundreds of thousands of Florida children could lose health coverage with Medicaid cutbacks
    Mar. 26• 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.
  13. Tampa could see first openly gay council member
    Mar. 25• Tampa
    Alan Clendenin, 2023 candidate for Tampa City Council
  14. 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.”
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. If only the Michelangelo mess in a Florida school was surprising
    Mar. 24• Opinion
    Michelangelo's "David."
  18. 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.
  19. 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."
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.”
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
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