Dec 16, 2021
Jobless claims below 5,700 last week
With Florida officials preparing to release a November unemployment report Friday, first-time jobless claims last week remained at pre-pandemic levels in the state.
Dec 16, 2021
State ratchets up appeal over health worker shots
Pointing to the “remarkable significance” of the case, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday asked a full federal appeals court to at least temporarily block a Biden administration rule that would require health-care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Dec 16, 2021
Feud ends over school mask mandates
A standoff between Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and federal education officials about student mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic has ended after school districts nixed mask mandates.
Dec 15, 2021
Legal twists continue in health worker vaccine fight
As Florida battles the Biden administration about a rule that would require health-care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, a Louisiana-based appeals court Wednesday scaled back an injunction that had blocked the rule nationwide.
Dec 15, 2021
Long-term solutions sought for manatees
Wildlife officials said Wednesday an infusion of projects to improve water quality is a good start, as they seek to avoid a recurrence of large numbers of manatee deaths due to a lack of seagrass and degraded water in the Indian River Lagoon.
Dec 15, 2021
DeSantis adds fuel to critical race theory fight
Continuing his administration’s campaign against critical race theory, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday teased legislation that he said would, in part, allow parents to sue schools that teach the theory.
Dec 15, 2021
Citizens seeks double-digit rate increases
With thousands of new policies a week pouring into Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer’s board on Wednesday approved seeking 11 percent across-the-board rate increases next year.
Dec 14, 2021
Citizens eyes rate hikes, grapples with growth
Preparing to approve proposed rate increases, leaders of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. expressed continued frustration Tuesday at rapid growth in the state-backed insurer — and that rates aren’t higher.
“At the end of the day, from our perspective, we continue to grow in a company that is supposed to be shrinking,” Citizens Board of Governors Chairman Carlos Beruff said as committees met in advance of a full board meeting Wednesday. “And that is because we have huge advantages in the marketplace that other companies don’t have.”
Dec 14, 2021
State college enrollment continues to shrink
Florida college officials are trying to figure out what’s behind a continuing drop in state college enrollment, which analysts project could decline by more than 9 percent over the next five years if the trend persists.
Dec 14, 2021
COVID-19 hospitalizations up slightly
The numbers of Florida hospital inpatients and intensive-care unit patients with COVID-19 increased slightly in data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.