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Florida News Archive

Aug 23, 2021

Florida unemployment rate at 5.1 percent

Florida’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.1 percent in July, as state officials pointed to people continuing to re-enter the labor force during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aug 23, 2021

NRA targets ban on gun sales to people under 21

Pointing to what it described as the “irrationality” of the ban, the National Rifle Association has urged a federal appeals court to reject a 2018 Florida law that prevents people under age 21 from buying guns.
Aug 20, 2021

Weekly roundup: Mask wars heat up

Whether Florida students will be required to “mask up” in schools this year has become an issue of national interest, and one that appears far from being resolved.

The fight over school districts’ attempts to set their own student mask mandates has headed to the courts, marking a new development in the power struggle between Gov. Ron DeSantis, local school officials and the federal government.

Aug 20, 2021

State targets school officials’ pay in mask battle

The State Board of Education on Friday followed up on its threat to financially penalize local school officials who impose student mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing how it is targeting salaries of school board members in Alachua and Broward counties.
Aug 20, 2021

Affordable housing initiative tops 41,000 petitions

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring money for affordable housing have topped 41,000 petition signatures submitted to the state as they try to get on the November 2022 ballot.
Aug 20, 2021

Judge clears way for lawsuit over mask order

A legal battle over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to prevent school mask mandates will go ahead next week after a circuit judge refused to dismiss the case Thursday.
Aug 19, 2021

New jobless claims stay at pre-pandemic level

Florida continues to see pre-pandemic levels of unemployment claims, with an estimated 4,092 first-time applications for benefits submitted last week.
Aug 19, 2021

Sports betting deal faces second court challenge

Upping the ante in the courts, two pari-mutuel facilities have filed a second federal lawsuit challenging a 30-year gambling agreement reached by Gov. Ron DeSantis that gives the Seminole Tribe control over sports betting throughout Florida.
Aug 18, 2021

Questions remain on spending federal schools money

The State Board of Education on Wednesday took up how Florida is using billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid for schools, but the state has not submitted a plan for spending the latest — and largest — pot of stimulus money.

The board, meeting in Miami, held a discussion about three waves of federal school money set aside for Florida, but it did not specify how much of the money the state has already spent.

Aug 18, 2021

State board takes aim at districts over mask mandates

The State Board of Education on Tuesday ratcheted up pressure on officials in two school districts who want student mask mandates with exceptions only for medical reasons, floating the possibility that district leaders who defy state directives could be removed from office.
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