Florida News Archive

One year.

That’s how long it’s been since the onset of “the new normal,” when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

A House panel Thursday backed a bill that would prevent doctors from performing abortions that women seek because of tests showing that fetuses will have disabilities.

After debating whether county school board members should be paid, and if ending salaries would threaten diversity on the boards, a House panel took a first step Friday toward letting voters decide the issue in 2022.

A Senate proposal that would create a dual-enrollment “scholarship” program for high school students taking courses at colleges and universities is ready to go to the full Senate. The bill (SB 52), sponsored by Sen. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, seeks to reimburse higher-education institutions for tuition and instructional material costs incurred by students who are dual enrolled.

Florida continues to see a slowing of first-time unemployment claims, with applications last week the lowest since the coronavirus pandemic started a year ago and as more federal stimulus money is poised to flow to the state.

A state report Wednesday showed that more than 2 million people have completed COVID-19 vaccinations. That total includes people who completed two-dose series of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which only requires one dose. Here is a breakdown by age of people who have completed vaccinations:

— Ages 16 to 24: 24,313 people

— Ages 25 to 34: 84,645 people

As the state’s standardized testing “season” looms for students, teachers and schools, proposals that would help accommodate for what is being called the “COVID slide” are receiving bipartisan support in the Florida Senate.

As Florida has spent the past year combating COVID-19, the state House is considering a proposal that would restrict local government orders involving public-health emergencies — a measure that backs the power of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A state report Tuesday showed that Miami-Dade County has become the second county to have 1,000 deaths of long-term care residents and staff members because of COVID-19. Here is a list of counties that have had more than 300 long-term care deaths because of the virus:

— Palm Beach County: 1,029

— Miami-Dade County: 1,000

A controversial Senate proposal that would cut state-backed Bright Futures scholarships for students in degree programs that don’t “lead directly to employment” has been put on hold and is expected to undergo changes.