The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday said the unemployment rate increased from 3.5 percent in January to 3.6 percent in February. Florida had a 3.4 percent jobless rate in December. The unemployment rate in Flagler County jumped to 4.6 percent after the Department of Commerce revised figures substantially–adding several thousand people to Flagler County’s labor force.
Florida
Florida House Speaker Calls for Cutting Sales Tax from 6 to 5.25%, Gutting Revenue by $5 Billion
House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday he wants to lower the state’s sales-tax rate, trimming revenue by almost $5 billion a year. Perez, R-Miami, told House members he has directed Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, to produce a bill next week that would lower the rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.
Trump Names Derek Barrs to Transportation Department Post; He Will Leave Flagler School Board
Less than five months after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to a Flagler County School Board seat, where his presence helped restore a level of stability that had been lacking for two years, Derek Barrs will almost certainly leave the board for an appointment as administrator to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Florida Senate Committee Approves Ignoring Preferred Pronouns in State and Local Government
A measure (SB 440) prohibits requiring any employee to refer to another person using that person’s preferred pronouns if such pronouns don’t correspond to that person’s sex at birth. Job applications in public workplaces may only ask an applicant whether they are male or female and may not provide a nonbinary option.
Holocaust Memorial Is Dedicated in Tallahassee
Floridians visiting the Capitol can now see the names and faces of Holocaust survivors who moved to Florida featured on a memorial unveiled Tuesday.
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Florida Law Restricting Minors on Social Media
Senior U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee dismissed a challenge against the state’s law barring Floridians younger than 14 from using social media apps with addictive features filed by industry organizations NetChoice and Computer & Communications Industry Association representing companies including Google, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Can Democrats Get Their Act Together Before Its Too Late?
For more than a century, Democrats were the party of slavery, states’ rights, and Jim Crow, but, gradually and imperfectly, became the party of civil rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights, switching places with Republicans, who once had a strong streak of social progressivism. For 30 years, Florida elected New South governors such as Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, and Lawton Chiles, leaders who believed in education, open government, protecting the environment — crazy stuff like that. Where are they now?
Florida Senate Releases Plan to More Easily Finance Massive Exodus to School Voucher
With massive growth in school voucher programs, the Florida Senate on Friday released a plan that, in part, would seek to address funding concerns as students move between schools. The Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to take up the bill (SPB 7030), which would make changes affecting public schools and voucher programs.
Bill Making It Easier for Exonerated People to Be Compensated Moves to Senate Floor
Legislation to help Florida exonerees seeking compensation for their being wrongly imprisoned is bound for the Senate floor after receiving uniform support through three committee stops.
Edward James Is Killed by Lethal Injection for Murders of Betty Dick and her Granddaughter, Toni Neuner in 1993
More than three decades after he murdered a Seminole County woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter, Edward James was put to death by lethal injection Thursday night at Florida State Prison. James, 63, was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. and became the second person executed in Florida this year. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected attempts by James’ attorney to halt the execution.
Measure Deporting Gulf of Mexico Name from State Law Moves to Florida House Floor
While a public opinion poll conducted last month shows that a majority of Floridians do not support updating changes in the state from the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America,” that was of little concern to the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday. The committee voted along party lines to advance two proposals making that change into both state law and state agencies. Both measures will now head to the entire House for floor votes.
Florida Senate Proposal Would Raise Speed Limits to 75 on Interstates
Highway speeds could increase under a bill that has started moving forward in the state Senate. The Republican-controlled Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging measure (SB 462), filed by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, that includes boosting the maximum speed on interstates and Florida’s Turnpike from 70 mph to 75 mph.
Florida Attorney General Threatens Removal of City Council Members Who Blocked Cooperation with ICE
Attorney General James Uthmeier is threatening three Fort Myers city council members with removal from office after they refused Monday to deputize police officers to participate in immigration enforcement. Uthmeier, who became the attorney general a month ago, warned the council that Gov. Ron DeSantis could remove them from office if they didn’t allow the city police to question people about their immigration status and detain those subject to deportation.
Florida Lawmakers Are About to Roll Back Rural Protections in Favor Of Developers. Don’t Let Them.
The Florida Legislature is once again trying to push through legislation that would take away the rights of area citizens and local government to have any voice in the management of rural and agricultural lands. It is crucial that citizens contact their legislative members and demand that these egregious measures be stopped immediately.
The Sun Is Setting on Government Transparency in Florida
Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever darker, and the clouds are spreading throughout the United States. Legislators have passed more than 1,100 exemptions to the Florida Sunshine Law, and growing.
None of Florida’s Cities Are Among the Happiest
All the warm weather, vast beaches, travel opportunities and booming business doesn’t seem to provide extraordinary happiness in Florida. A new study by WalletHub, a personal finance company, shows Florida doesn’t have many cities that are among the happiest in America.
Florida Law Banning Kids off Some Social Media Prevails as Judge Refuses to Block It
A federal judge has rejected a request to block a 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off some social-media platforms, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to challenge the measure.
Florida Bill Would Ban Migrant Children Fleeing Abuse Elsewhere From Seeking Residency in Florida
A bill advancing in the Florida Senate would make it harder for children without legal status who are fleeing abuse in their home countries to become permanent residents. That’s because they could lose the assistance of immigration attorneys and advocates, who say that SB 1626 would stop them from applying for immigration relief on behalf of such children.
Lawmakers Scheme Toward Paying Less Than Minimum Wage to Workers in ‘Job Training’
The Republican-controlled Commerce and Tourism Committee voted 5-3 along party lines to approve the measure (SB 676), which would provide an exemption to the voter-approved minimum wage when employees are involved in “a structured work-study, internship, pre-apprenticeship program, apprenticeship program or other similar work-based learning opportunity.” The proposal is aimed at helping people gain skills through entry-level work experience, even though the minimum wage is intended for entry-level workers.
Lawmakers’ Circus Returns to Tallahassee
The circus is coming to town. Y’all might know it as the regular session of the Florida Legislature. Don’t even begin to think this year can’t possibly be worse than last year, when lawmakers passed a dumpster full of bills to make Florida worse.
GOP Lawmakers Seek Draconian Obstacles on Citizens’ Ballot Initiatives
After fierce — and expensive — political battles last year about abortion rights and recreational marijuana, Florida lawmakers Thursday began moving forward with a proposal that would place additional restrictions on the ballot-initiative process.
Defying Science, Florida Lawmakers Prepare to Scrap Later Start Time for High Schools
With school districts across the state expressing support, Florida senators Monday started moving forward with a bill that would repeal requirements aimed at later daily start times in many high schools. Lawmakers in 2023 approved the requirements, citing a need for older students to get more sleep. [The need is supported by extensive research that points to better academic performance and better health.] The requirements are slated to take effect in 2026, but as the deadline has neared, districts have said they are struggling to comply.
SpaceX Project Confirmed for Space Coast
Approved by Space Florida in December, what has been known as Project Hinton was announced this week as the new Starship operations headquarters for SpaceX. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said billionaire Elon Musk’s company will build launch and landing facilities for the Starship launch vehicle — designed to eventually provide millions of tons of payload to Mars — at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Republican Wants to Repeal Law Keeping Public Off Some Beaches
A Panhandle Republican has filed legislation to repeal a controversial 2018 state law that has limited public access to local beaches in the area and prohibited local governments from adopting ordinances to protect customary use. The term “customary use” refers to a general right of the public at large to possess and use certain dry sand areas for recreational purposes. Flagler County has one such ordinance in effect.
Federal Judge Clears Way for Publishers’ Lawsuit Against Florida and Volusia Boards of Education Over Banned Books
With major publishing companies and authors arguing a 2023 state law violates First Amendment rights, a federal judge Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against members of the State Board of Education over the removal of school library books. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, appointed by President Obama, rejected a state motion to dismiss the case, which also names as defendants members of the Orange County and Volusia County school boards.
From Byron Donalds to Casey DeSantis, Florida’s 2026 Race for Governor Lunges for the Bizarre
The sitting governor is limping around like a disabled waterfowl with a bad beer hangover, inspiring a high level of schadenfreude in the Florida Legislature. So — even though the next gubernatorial election doesn’t take place until November 2026 — it’s past time to look to the future: Who will rule the citrus-cankered, gun-crazy, storm-battered Sunshine State?
Egmont Key, Ground Zero for Sea Level Rise in Florida, Is a Preview for Coastal Communities
Egmont Key is a bellwether, an observable Ground Zero for local sea level rise, our canary in the climate-change coal mine. The island you see today from the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge is smaller than the island you saw last year. The island you see today is 300 acres smaller than it was in 1898. This may be the future of barrier island communities like Flagler Beach.
Florida Lawmakers Look to End Ban on Compensating Wrongfully Imprisoned If They Have Prior Felonies
Florida is the only state with a wrongful incarceration compensation program that excludes people with prior felonies, a restriction that makes the vast majority of exonerees in the state ineligible for payments. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 91 people in Florida have been exonerated since 1989. Five of those exonerees have received compensation.
Gaza War Debate Fractures Democrats in Florida’s Third Largest County
It’s unclear how badly the fissure that emerged among Democrats amid Israel’s war with Hamas hurt Kamala Harris’ chances of beating Donald Trump, but the resulting bad blood continues to roil relationships within the Florida Democratic Party. Allegations that a volunteer engaged in antisemitic behavior have split the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, third largest in the state. The bitter feud broke out just as Democratic voter registration in the county dipped behind the Republican Party’s.
Bill Would Require Schools and State Agencies to Buy Materials Reflecting ‘Gulf of America’ Change
State agencies and Florida schools would have to update materials to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America,” under a measure filed this week in the state Senate.
DeSantis Touts Wife Casey as 2026 Choice for Governor
Days after Donald Trump endorsed Southwest Florida U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds for governor, Ron DeSantis made it clear on Monday that he’s not likely to get behind that effort. Instead, the governor gave some of his strongest words of support to date for someone who could become his choice for 2026 — his wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, who has never held elective office.
No, You May Not Discipline a Teacher for Personal Facebook Posts, Court Rules
A Florida appeals court Friday sided with a now-retired Duval County math teacher who argued his speech rights were violated when he was disciplined for personal Facebook posts. A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal overturned a decision by the Duval County School Board to suspend Thomas Caggiano without pay for three days and to issue a reprimand.
DeSantis’s Know-Nothing Assault on Florida’s Public Universities
DeSantis, the lame duck and failed presidential candidate, may have lost much of his hold on the Legislature but, given that he appoints state university trustees, our institutions must still suffer his anti-intellectualism, his spite, and his obsession with “woke.”
GOP Lawmaker Wants Working Caps and Mandatory Breaks for Minors Ended
Republican Sen. Jay Collins of Hillsborough County has filed a bill allowing employers to schedule minors to work at any time and for more than 30 hours per week.
Quincy, Florida, Hires a Felon Convicted of Embezzling Government Funds as Its City Manager. Is It Legal?
The city of Quincy’s government is in turmoil as city manager Robert Nixon faces scrutiny over his past criminal conviction for embezzlement of government funds and questions about whether it disqualifies him from serving as Quincy’s city manager. Commission meetings have veered from day-to-day affairs into a referendum on Nixon, with residents split on his future in tight-knit Quincy, which lies 25 miles northwest of Tallahassee.
DeSantis Signs 3 More Collusion Agreements with ICE
DeSantis on Wednesday signed three additional memos with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, deputizing state agents to interrogate people about their immigration status and detain them if they lack proper documentation.
Florida Turns Anti-LGBTQ Enmity on Target Corp., Blaming Stock Drop on Pride Campaign
Three days into his job, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday announced a class-action lawsuit that alleges Target Corp. did not properly disclose to investors the risks of a 2023 LGBTQ Pride campaign that drew a consumer backlash and caused a drop in the retailer’s stock price.
Who Do You Think You Are? Here’s Why You Should See ‘The Niceties’ at CRT
“The Niceties,” which opens tonight at City Repertory Theatre, is familiar to our ideologically poisoned times, raising questions about whether there is such a thing as objective truth. It subverts assumptions about American and Black history, generational divides, and power. It will make you angry only if you’re not honest with yourself as it also subverts your own assumptions about who you think you are.
What Is an ‘Erosion Control Line’ and Why Is the State About to Set a New One on Flagler County’s Beaches?
Flagler County and state environmental officials are hosting a workshop and hearing Thursday evening in Bunnell that will set a new and perpetual boundary between private properties and state property along the county’s beaches, what is officially referred to as an Erosion Control Line. The new ECL is slated for what’s called Reach Two on the county’s beaches, from North 7th Street in Flagler Beach to the northern limits of Varn Park. Here’s an explanation about what this means.
DeSantis Signs 9th Death Warrant: Edward James, for 1993 Murders in Seminole County
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for inmate Edward James, who was sentenced to death in the 1993 murders of a woman and her 8-year-old granddaughter in Seminole County. The death warrant came five days after the state put to death James Ford in the 1997 murders of a couple in Charlotte County.
Don’t Blame Trans People for Your Own Struggles
Today, both in the United States and in many parts of the world, trans and nonbinary people — a tiny, frequently poor, and marginalized percentage of the general population — are being used as scapegoats, as symbolic threats to the “right” way of being. These constant attacks are aimed at getting struggling people to blame trans folks for their problems. And they’re designed to keep us all politically reactive, overwhelmed, and unfocused on the deep systemic failures of our society, Aaron Scott, Moses Hernandez McGavin argue.
Randy Fine, in Bigoted Motive Against Muslims, Wants to Let College Students Carry Guns on Campus
Brevard County Republican state Sen. Randy Fine has filed legislation (SB 814) that would extend concealed carry rights to Florida colleges and universities. The state lawmaker — now running for a seat in Congress — has said over the past year that such legislation is necessary to protect students from “on-campus Muslim terror.”
DeSantis Wants to Move Ringling Circus Museum to New College
In his budget proposal released earlier this month, DeSantis included language that would transfer the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Ringlings’ Ca’d’Zan mansion, and the Ringling Circus Museum, located less than a mile from the New College campus in Sarasota.
Lawmakers Seek to Roll Back Water Management Districts’ Environmental Efforts
A Florida Senate committee Tuesday will consider a plan that would make wide-ranging changes in the state’s water management districts. Sen. Brodeur said in a prepared statement that water management districts were founded to manage stormwater and flood-control efforts but have taken on other issues.
Climate-Fueled Hurricanes Do to Florida What Politicians Won’t: Slow Down Rampant Growth
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that “Residents moving to Florida drop to levels of those who are leaving.” Climate-fueled hurricanes and subsequent increases in insurance rates had done what everyone believed impossible: Make Florida seem unattractive. The end of runaway growth should solve so many of Florida’s serious problems, argues Craig Pittman.
DeSantis Wants Florida Universities to Join War on Undocumented Migrants
Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday that the state’s universities and colleges shouldn’t admit students lacking permanent legal status. Come July 1, university and college students who attended Florida high schools but live in the state without legal permission will have to pay out-of-state tuition under a law, SB 2-C, DeSantis signed Thursday.
Lawmakers Considering Making Elected Officials’ Home Addresses Secret
A Senate committee next week will consider a proposal that would shield from release the home addresses of state and local elected officials. The proposal furthers an accelerating trend toward government secrecy in numerous forms, without documented evidence that th secrecy is necessary or beneficial to the public.
Flagler County Seeks to Protect Old Brick Road, a Historic Treasure, from Logging Trucks and Palm Coast Development
Flagler County is exploring ways to protect the eight miles of historic Old Brick Road in the soon-to-be-developed portion of west Palm Coast. The more than 100-year-old road, built of bricks, is used by logging trucks and will be rimmed by housing developments. The county sees the best course of action as working with Palm Coast and Rayonier, the logging company, to craft protections.
Florida Court Clears Way for Trump Lawsuit Against Pulitzer Board Over Russian Interference Articles
A Florida appeals court Wednesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize board members in a dispute rooted in the organization awarding a prize to The New York Times and The Washington Post for reporting about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Florida Lawmakers May Ban Hotels, Golf Courses and Pickle Ball Courts in State Parks
After a bipartisan uproar last year about a proposal dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the Florida Senate on Tuesday began moving forward with a bill that would prevent building such things as golf courses, pickleball courts and hotel-style lodges in state parks. The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved the bill (SB 80), sponsored by Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.