Florida News Archive

Florida’s tourism industry saw improvement during the first three months of 2021, but the number of visitors was still down 14 percent from a year earlier as the state continued to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday updated COVID-19 recommendations to allow fully vaccinated people to be maskless in any setting, unless masks are required by federal or state rules or by businesses that people are entering.

Appearing at a Volusia County eatery, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Thursday a bill that makes permanent a popular COVID-19 emergency order allowing restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals.

People in Florida’s unemployment system will have to show they looked for work on a weekly basis after Memorial Day, as the state pushes to get workers back on the job, particularly at restaurants.

Also, a process is being set up for business owners to report unemployment claimants who don’t follow the “work search” rule, which will require people to apply for five jobs a week.

State wildlife officials are trying to better understand increased encounters between sharks and people fishing in Florida waters.

The incidents haven’t made the waters deadlier. But as conservation efforts have helped some shark species repopulate, the encounters appear more prevalent amid reports of sharks consuming catch before it’s brought onto boats or shortly after it is released back into the water, said Jessica McCawley, director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Marine Fisheries Management.

DeSantis, during a ceremony at St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Hialeah, said the bill (HB 7045) will help provide educational choices to families who might otherwise struggle to pay private-school tuition. “We will be doubling down on our commitment to supporting our working families and making sure they have the ability to get […]

Amid a legal battle that could be decided by the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a measure that will ratchet up a ban on local gun regulations.

Just a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a constitutional challenge Saturday to a measure that would limit contributions to political committees backing ballot initiatives.

Florida waters last year were the deadliest for boaters in at least a decade, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Gov. Ron DeSantis distanced himself this week from a carve-out for entertainment giant Disney in his crackdown on social-media companies that block users from their platforms.

Lawmakers stuck a provision into the bill aimed at keeping the Disney Plus streaming service from getting “caught up” in the measure (SB 7072), which is aimed at tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter.