Jul 27, 2021
Appeals court reverses course on cruise restrictions
An appeals court on Friday reversed itself and at least temporarily blocked federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restrictions on the cruise-ship industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jul 22, 2021
DeSantis vows to fight school mask mandates
Gov. Ron DeSantis doubled down Thursday on his opposition to mask mandates for public-school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he would call for a special legislative session if the federal government moves toward requiring masks in schools.
Jul 21, 2021
Canada border changes could help Florida tourism
State economists expressed optimism Tuesday that already-rebounding tourism numbers will see a quicker-than-anticipated boost from international travelers as Canada eases COVID-19 border restrictions.
Jul 21, 2021
Natural gas costs could drive up utility bills
Customers of Tampa Electric Co. and Duke Energy Florida could have to dig a little deeper to pay their electricity bills this fall because of higher-than-expected natural gas costs.
Jul 19, 2021
DeSantis says state to fight ruling in cruise ship case
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday the state likely will ask a full federal appeals court to reimpose a preliminary injunction that would block restrictions on the cruise-ship industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jul 19, 2021
Doctors face new rules for smokable medical marijuana
New rules laying out the do’s and don’ts physicians must follow when certifying patients to smoke medical marijuana took effect last week, but it’s not clear that doctors or patients are fully aware of them.
Jul 13, 2021
School standards targeted for revision
Florida’s State Board of Education on Wednesday will consider adopting a wide-ranging overhaul of curriculum standards across multiple subjects in public schools, including guidelines for teaching civics and government courses and Holocaust education.
Jul 13, 2021
Judge refuses to scuttle ‘Grim Reaper’ disciplinary probe
A Northwest Florida judge has refused to toss out a lawsuit seeking possible sanctions against a Santa Rosa County attorney who drew national attention for dressing as the Grim Reaper to criticize Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jul 9, 2021
Florida near bottom of nation’s list for number of new unemployment claims
The U.S. Department of Labor released a report Thursday that estimated Florida had 5,946 newly filed unemployment claims during the week that ended July 3. Here is a comparison to numbers of claims filed in other states:
— California: 59,229
— Pennsylvania: 31,762
Jul 7, 2021
Elsa could bring flooding after landfall
Tropical Storm Elsa remained poised to strike the largely rural Big Bend region by late Wednesday morning and bring the potential for flash flooding to rivers across North Florida.
As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, about 26,000 Floridians had lost electricity because of the storm. But Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference that the outlook was much-improved from earlier forecasts that showed the system gaining strength as it moved from the Caribbean through the Gulf of Mexico.