Don’t expect a former House Speaker and current candidate for Governor to swoop in as President of the University of North Florida. UNF’s President Moez Limayem is the sole candidate in the running for the presidency of the University of South Florida, creating a likely opening at the Jacksonville school and stoking speculation about whether Renner might want the job.
Ron DeSantis
As He DOGE-Targets Blue Governments for ‘Fraud,’ Florida CFO Ingoglia Wants $600,000 for His Own Bureaucracy
In a state Legislative Budget Request filed last week, Blaise Ingoglia, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hand-picked new Chief Financial Officer, is seeking more than $600,000 and six full time employees to permanently establish a new “Florida Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Office,” with the provocative acronym “FAFO.” Its mission is to review local government data and “uncover the truth about how these government entities are using taxpayer funds, especially property taxes,” according to the budget request.
Florida CFO Ingoglia Targets Blue Alachua County with Unspecified Claim of ‘Wasteful Spending’
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia traveled to Alachua County Thursday, where he said his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team of auditors had determined that the local government had indulged in more than $84 million in “wasteful spending” over the past five years. As has been the case with the other local government budgets that Ingoglia’s team has reviewed this year, he did not mention any specific programs that constituted what he defined as wasteful spending.
County and City Leaders Push Back Against DeSantis Claims of ‘Waste, Fraud and Abuse’ in Property Tax
After months of financial abuse allegations lobbed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration against local governments, city leaders pushed back Tuesday in a Florida House meeting focused on cutting property taxes. “Waste is in the eye of the beholder,” said Casey Cook, the Florida League of Cities’ chief of legislative affairs. “Nobody likes paying taxes, but safe isn’t free. Clean isn’t free.”
Florida Is Misleadingly Invoking Slavery as It Readies to Kill All Vaccine Mandates in Schools
On Sept. 3, 2025, Florida announced its plans to be the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates for its citizens, including those for children to attend school. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general and a professor of medicine at the University of Florida, has stated that “every last one” of these decades-old vaccine requirements “is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.” He is wrong.
UF Rescinds Emeritus Status for Professor Over Kirk Facebook Post
The University of Florida rescinded a retired professor’s emeritus status Friday, the university announced, over a Facebook post the evening of Charlie Kirk’s death that garnered social media backlash. The university posted to social media Friday that “a retired faculty member who issued a post on social media that is raising concerns” had lost emeritus status. In a followup, the university did not confirm to the Phoenix who the professor was. The Gainesville Sun reported that it had confirmed the professor in question is retired UF law professor Jeffrey Harrison.
Tech Industry Groups Want Appeals Court to Uphold Ruling that Blocked Florida’s Restrictive Social Media Law
Pointing to what they called “draconian restrictions,” tech industry groups are urging a federal appeals court to uphold a decision that blocked a Florida law aimed at preventing children from having access to certain social-media platforms. Attorneys for the groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a 78-page brief Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, contending the 2024 law violates First Amendment rights.
In Florida, We Want Guns in Our Streets, Not Rainbows
No doubt Gov. Ron DeSantis expects Floridians to be grateful for saving us from yet another woke attack on decency, probity, and speeding motorists. Meaning colorful crosswalks. Just as he has fought to expel books by Black and gay authors from our schools, the governor has ordered FDOT to paint over the flowers, the sunbursts, the fish, the musical notes, and the rainbows — especially the rainbows. At least a dozen schools in Tampa will see their “Crosswalks to Classrooms” school crossings destroyed, including one painted to look like a shelf of books. Florida’s government is particularly scared of books.
Florida Appeals Judge’s Order Invalidating Part of Book-Ban Law
Florida has appealed a federal judge’s ruling that said a key part of a 2023 law that led to books being removed from school library shelves is “overbroad and unconstitutional.”
14th of the Year: DeSantis Signs Death Warrant for Samuel Smithers, 72, Who Murdered 2 Women in 1996
In what could be Florida’s 14th execution this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of murdering two women in 1996 in Hillsborough County and dumping them in a pond. Samuel Smithers, 72, is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection Oct. 14 at Florida State Prison for the murders of Denise Roach and Christy Cowan at a secluded property where he worked as a caretaker.
Poll Said to Show Democrat Jolly in Statistical Tie with Renner and Donalds
The campaign for Florida Democrat David Jolly said Wednesday that a new public opinion poll it has commissioned shows the former GOP congressman in a statistical dead heat with both Byron Donalds and Paul Renner, the two major Republicans to enter the contest for governor in 2026.
Florida Cabinet Supports Revoking Free Speech Rights and Visas of Migrants Over Charlie Kirk Expressions
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Attorney General James Uthmeier argue admission into the United States is a “privilege” that shouldn’t be extended to immigrants who praise Kirk’s murder, Ingoglia and an Uthmeier aide told The Florida Phoenix. This comes one day after the State Department warned immigrants against mocking or praising 31-year-old Kirk’s death.
55% of Floridians in Survey Oppose DeSantis Push for Congressional Redistricting
Although Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s intent on pursuing a mid-decade congressional redistricting that would help Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House in 2026, the majority of Floridians do not agree — and that includes a majority of Republicans. The survey of nearly 500 Floridians of all political stripes conducted by Common Cause finds that 55% oppose the idea, with only 26% in support and another 19% undecided.
Ft. Lauderdale Joins Miami in Challenging Transportation Department’s Erasing of Street Art and Memorials
Days after the city of Miami Beach filed a similar case, Fort Lauderdale has challenged the legality of directives by the Florida Department of Transportation to remove art and markings on streets. Fort Lauderdale filed its challenge Monday at the state Division of Administrative Hearings, arguing that the department did not go through a legally required rule-making process. Such directives went to local governments across the state and have drawn heavy attention, in part, because they required removing LGBTQ-themed rainbow crosswalks.
Florida’s DOGE Should Investigate the Money Wasted on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to blow millions in taxpayer money on a tent-and-fence camp in the middle of a major nature preserve. Believe it or not, he did it without doing one single thing to check its impact on our endangered panthers, our clean water, or our recovering Everglades. Instead, he just rushed to build it as fast as possible, spending $218 million. He had to truck in everything the staff and inmates needed, from portable toilets that repeatedly overflowed to blinding lights that ruined one of the few dark-sky places left in our state.
Shuttered Baker County Prison Reopened as Migrant Lockup
Florida this week began accepting immigrant detainees at a repurposed prison in Baker County as part of the state’s support of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation efforts, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office.
Florida Medical Association Unequivocally Backs Vaccine Mandates in Schools as DeSantis Prepares to End Them
The Florida Medical Association, the state’s largest physicians’ organization, strongly backed childhood vaccinations Thursday, a day after state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo vowed to end vaccine mandates.
What the Hell? An Indecorous DeSantis Calls Renner’s Governor Run ‘Ill-Advised’
Ron DeSantis does not want former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner to succeed him as governor, he told a packed crowd Wednesday. His blunt take on the 48-year-old’s candidacy stood in contrast to Renner’s campaign launch earlier Wednesday, when the former House Speaker lauded himself as a top GOP figure who played a key role in advancing DeSantis’s agenda.
Palm Coast’s Paul Renner, Aligning Himself as DeSantis Heir, Enters Race for Governor Against Byron Donalds
Former state House Speaker Paul Renner on Wednesday launched a 2026 campaign for governor, becoming the first high-profile candidate to take on Congressman Byron Donalds — who has the backing of President Donald Trump — in the Republican primary. Renner, whose district represented Palm Coast and Flagler County, left the House in November after two years as speaker. He issued a statement that drew links with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who cannot run again because of term limits.
Every Week Is Banned Book Week in Florida
Every day seems to bring another hissy fit from a state goon or “concerned” parent hell-bent on returning us to the glory days of censorship. We live in a state where librarians are called child abusers for offering books such as “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “What Girls Are Made Of,” “The Bluest Eye,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “Slaughterhouse Five,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale”–written by a Booker Prize winner, a National Book Award winner, winner of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Nobel Prize laureate.
Complying with Judge’s Order to Dismantle It, ICE Stops Sending Human Beings to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Federal officials are complying with a judge’s order and have stopped sending immigrants to a detention center in the Everglades, less than two months after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration launched the facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” in support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
DeSantis Signs 13th Death Warrant of the Year, for Victor Jones, Murderer of 2 in 1990
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted in the 1990 murders of a couple in Miami-Dade County, as the state continues a record-setting year for executions. Victor Tony Jones, 64, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 30 and could become the 13th inmate put to death by lethal injection this year in Florida. The Jones death warrant came after Curtis Windom was executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison in the 1992 murders of three people in Orange County.
Federal Judge Refuses to Pause Order to Close ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams has refused to pause her order requiring state and federal officials to wind down operations at an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Kevin Gurthrie Says ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Will Likely Be Empty Within Days
The Associated Press is reporting that Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management, says that the controversial Everglades facility used to detain migrants may be empty within days.
3rd Lawsuit Challenges Florida’s Authority to Run ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and Hold People Without Charges
Calling it “exactly the kind of disaster that Congress took pains to avoid,” attorneys for immigrants held at a detention center in the Everglades filed a lawsuit alleging Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration lacks the authority to run the facility. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the federal Middle District of Florida, is the third major legal challenge to the detention center, erected by the DeSantis’ administration as part of the state’s support of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Columbia’s Donald Landry, Medical Researcher, Named University of Florida Interim President
The University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously approved Donald Landry, a Columbia University medical researcher and professor, as its interim president Monday. During a special meeting in Gainesville, Landry committed to uphold state laws relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion and to condemn antisemitism.
The 7th Judicial Circuit, Which Includes Flagler County, Is Getting Two New Circuit Judges, Initially by Appointment
Following a determination by the Florida Supreme Court and ratification by the Legislature last June, the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns and Putnam counties, is getting two additional circuit judgeships, in addition to the 27 existing ones. The nine-member Judicial Nominating Commission for the Seventh Circuit, which currently has no representation from Flagler or Putnam counties, is accepting applications for the two judgeships until 5 p.m. on Sept. 15.
DeSantis Says He’s an Equal-Opportunity Executioner
Responding to an X follower’s highlighting of a quote from a former Democratic Governor of Alabama who “erroneously” claimed there was “racial bias” in DeSantis’ state execution decisions, he set the record straight and, true to form, blamed “leftists” for deliberate misinterpretation of the relevant facts.
Free State of Florida Proclaims Right-Wing Indoctrination in Schools
We’re proud to be bringing these precious boys and girls (note the statutorily mandated unambiguous sex designations) the finest curriculum in these United States, handcrafted with love by Gov. Ron DeSantis (J.D. Harvard), Commissioner of Education Anastasios “Stasi” Kamoutsas (J.D. Regent), and your Florida Legislature, all of whom graduated from high school, probably. Here’s a taste of what we have in store for your student! Not to worry: Kids educated in Florida have been trained to resist inappropriate thought.And they can always report professors pushing DEI or CRT or BLM.
Federal Court Orders Florida to Dismantle ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ DeSantis Is Not About to Do It.
Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t backing away from a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades after a federal judge ordered his administration to begin dismantling the facility, as environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe gear up for the next stage of the legal battle. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction preventing additional construction and bringing additional detainees to the complex, which the state has dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Williams also ordered the removal within 60 days of temporary fencing, detention-center lighting and such things as generators.
Canadians Not as Interested in Florida as They Used To Be Even as Overall Tourism Numbers Rise
U.S. travelers continue to bolster Florida’s tourism industry, while the state hopes to make up for a decline in Canadian visitors by drawing people from other countries. Visit Florida on Tuesday estimated 34.435 million people traveled to Florida from April 1 through June 30, up from 34.279 million people during the same period last year. The estimate for this year would be a second-quarter record, according to the state tourism-marketing agency.
Florida Cities and Counties Line Up to Defy New Pro-Developer State Law Known as SB 180
All over the state, local governments are pushing ahead on common-sense changes to their growth plans, wetlands protection, and impact fees. They’re doing so despite warnings from big, bad opponents that what they have in mind will violate a new pro-developer state law that limits city and county governments’ authority on new land-use or development regulations. It’s bad news for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature.
Scaffolding Record, DeSantis Signs 12th Death Warrant of Year: David Pittman, Polk Murderer of 3
In what could be the 12th execution this year in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of killing three members of his estranged wife’s family in 1990 in Polk County. David Pittman, 63, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 17 at Florida State Prison. Florida has already set a modern-era record this year with nine executions, and two more men are scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection this month.
Amid Legal Wrangles, DeSantis Is Reopening State Prison in Baker County as Second Lock-Up for Migrants
Amid legal wrangling over a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said the state plans to use a shuttered prison in North Florida to boost detention of people targeted for deportation. The conversion of Baker Correctional Institution, which state corrections officials mothballed four years ago because of staffing shortages, into a second detention center in Florida will scrap a plan to house immigrant detainees at Camp Blanding west of Jacksonville.
Judge Rules Illegal a Florida Law Banning Trans Teachers’ Choice of Pronouns
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker sided with Hillsborough County teacher Katie Wood and a Lee County teacher, identified as Jane Doe, in finding that the state law discriminates in violation of what is known as Section VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That section bars employment discrimination because of a person’s “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” But the outcome of the issue might ultimately hinge on an appeals-court ruling in a Georgia case.
Federal Judge Rules Unconstitutional Part of Florida Law That Led to Book Purges from School Libraries
Siding with publishers and authors, a federal judge Wednesday ruled that a key part of a 2023 Florida law that has led to books being removed from school library shelves is “overbroad and unconstitutional.” U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza issued a 50-page decision in a First Amendment lawsuit filed last year against members of the State Board of Education and the school boards in Orange and Volusia counties.
Florida’s Attorney General Defies Long Guns Ban for Under-21
James Uthmeier, appointed to serve as the state’s attorney general by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, announced in March that he and the governor believe the law is unconstitutional, saying that if “the NRA decides to seek further review at SCOTUS, I am directing my office not to defend this law.”
Opposition Grows to Florida’s SB 180, a Gift to Developers Posing as a Storm-Recovery Law
A nonprofit smart growth advocacy organization, 1000 Friends of Florida, is the latest entity calling for the Florida Legislature to repeal portions of a new law designed to expedite post-disaster rebuilding. The measure has become the most controversial new measure signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year. The problem? Language barring new local land-use or development regulations considered “restrictive or burdensome,” even if they are completely unrelated to storm recovery.
DeSantis Sued for 2nd Time in 5 Weeks Over Laziness in Judicial Appointments
For the second time in little more than a month, Gov. Ron DeSantis faces a lawsuit alleging he violated the Florida Constitution by not filling a judicial seat. Gainesville attorney Gary Edinger on Friday filed a petition at the state Supreme Court seeking to force DeSantis to appoint a judge in North Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit.
Florida House Prepares to Gerrymander a Few More Seats in Hopes of Padding GOP’s Congressional Majority
The Florida Legislature appears to be on board with Gov. Ron DeSantis stated desire to convene a mid-decade redistricting process this year. The gerrymandering effort is intended to mirror that of Texas, where redistricting is under way in an effort to add to the Republican Party’s congressional House numbers in hopes of keeping control of the chamber after the 2026 elections.
Never as Powerful, Florida Republicans Warn Against Complacency and Ridicule Protesters at Orlando Forum
Several top-leading GOP leaders at the Florida Freedom Forum in Orlando on Saturday warned that complacency and infighting could give an opening to their political rivals even though the Republican Party of Florida has never been more powerful than right now. Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthemier and others faced more than half-a-dozen outbursts that took place throughout the day at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel.
Vance 46 Points Ahead of DeSantis in Early 2026 Presidential Poll
Florida’s Governor continues to struggle in early surveys of what could be the 2028 Republican race to replace Donald Trump. Per a survey from Emerson College, Ron DeSantis has 7% support in North Carolina, well behind Vice President JD Vance’s 53%.
‘Yes, We Signed the Damn Thing Because We Really Had To,’ Orlando Mayor Says of Forced Transports for ICE
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed an updated agreement with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, although he later said he did so under “protest and extreme duress.” It came days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened the mayor and all six county commissioners that their failure to do so would result in their removal from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday encouraged sheriffs and police chiefs to fight to keep staff members as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeks to recruit Florida officers who recently completed immigration-enforcement training. DeSantis said he had not seen an ICE recruitment letter that offers a $50,000 signing bonus to recruits who work five years, but he questioned the need to “poach our people who are already in the fight.”
Zakrzewski Killed for Murdering His Family, and DeSantis Sets Modern-Day Record for Executions in a Year
Edward Zakrzewski was executed Thursday evening for the 1994 murders of his wife and two children in their Okaloosa County home, as Florida set a modern-era record for executions in a year. Zakrzewski, 60, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison, according to the state Department of Corrections. He was the ninth inmate put to death by lethal injection this year. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed death warrants for two more executions in August.
DeSantis Signs 11th Death Warrant of Year: Curtis Windom, 1992 Murderer of 3
Continuing to quickly order executions, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a death warrant for a man convicted of killing three people in 1992 in Orange County. Curtis Windom, 59, is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28 at Florida State Prison. Windom would be the 11th inmate executed this year in the state — a record-breaking pace.
Federal Judge Wants To Know ‘Who’s Running the Show’ at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
A U.S. district judge on Monday pushed state and federal officials to provide a copy of an intergovernmental agreement showing “who’s running the show” at an Everglades immigrant-detention center, calling the situation “urgent” as at least 100 detainees have been deported amid legal wrangling over the remote facility.
Sen. Rick Scott Trolls New York’s Mamdani with Florida-Baiting Campaign
With New York City on the brink of electing a democratic socialist Mayor, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott wants New Yorkers escaping to Florida. The Naples Republican launched an ad campaign in the Big Apple encouraging just that, as first reported by the New York Post. The messaging will include a banner flown over New York City that reads: “Hate Socialism? Us too! Move 2 FL.”
100 Migrants Deported from ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ So Far as Flights Ramp Up from Everglades Lock-Up
About 100 undocumented immigrants have been deported from an airstrip adjoining the detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and “the cadence” of outgoing flights is increasing, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday. Speaking to reporters outside the detention complex in the Everglades, DeSantis and other state officials staunchly defended Florida’s efforts to aid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts amid litigation over the controversial site.
ICE Arrests in Florida of Migrants Without Criminal Records Surged 450% in June
Since the start of the second Trump administration, ICE has carried out more than 10,818 arrests in Florida, up from 3,496 in the same period last year. But in June, the largest share of arrests, 36%, were of people the federal government labeled as having no criminal history in the country, a 457% increase from June 2024.