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Multiple organizations collaborate to preserve a large tract of Putnam County property

About 1,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands in Putnam County are now under the protection of the state of Florida following a purchase orchestrated by the North Florida Land Trust.

The land conservation organization teamed up with the Putnam Land Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, and the state of Florida to preserve 1,086 acres of property on the First Coast. The land used to be owned by Rayonier Inc., a large forestry and lumber company.

“This acquisition is an example of how entities working together can really make a difference, and now more than 1,000 acres of land in Florida will remain natural forever,” said Allison DeFoor, President and CEO of NFLT.

“The Conservation Fund stepped in when needed and quickly secured the land for preservation because they also realized it was now or never. This land will never be rooftops and will remain natural habitats where wildlife and plant species can thrive.”

The acquisition cost about $3.25 million and is being funded in a joint purchase between the NFLT, the Putnam Land Conservancy, and the Department of Environmental Protection. DEP is drawing money from the Florida Forever program.

‘He listens, builds coalitions and gets things done’: 32 leaders back Todd Delmay for HD 101

Democrat Todd Delmay’s bid to unseat Republican Rep. Hillary Cassel in House District 101 just got a boost from 32 current and former elected South Florida leaders.

Delmay’s newest backers include two Senators, two Representatives, nine county officials, nine city officials, and 10 former lawmakers and municipal leaders.

The Presidents of four Democratic clubs are also endorsing Delmay, a longtime activist who works as Executive Director of SAVE, Florida’s longest-running LGBTQ equality organization.

Rep. Mitch Rosenwald, the immediate past Mayor of Oakland Park, said Delmay is “the kind of partner we want in Tallahassee.”

“(He’s) grounded, collaborative, and laser-focused on solving problems for Broward families,” Rosenwald said in a statement. “From addressing skyrocketing insurance costs to strengthening our public schools and infrastructure, he’ll put people ahead of politics and deliver results.”

Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that he says will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns.

Trump’s order will enable an American-led group of investors to buy the app from China’s ByteDance, though the deal is not yet finalized and also requires China’s approval.

Much is still unknown about the actual deal in the works, but Trump said at a White House signing ceremony Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to move forward with it.

Vice President JD Vance added that “there was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to an Associated Press inquiry seeking confirmation of China’s approval.

Waltz plays catch-up at UN General Assembly

Newly minted U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz is trying to make up for lost time at the world’s largest diplomatic gathering this week as he pushes to recover from the Signalgate scandal and prove himself a loyal member of the Trump administration.

Waltz was confirmed only three days before the high-level week of the General Assembly started, and was presented his credentials on Sunday. Since then, he has delivered speeches at U.N. Security Council sessions to issue a stern warning to Russia on its breaches of NATO airspace and argue against recognizing a Palestinian state. He has also attended high-level bilateral meetings alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and been spotted speaking to foreign counterparts between U.N. meetings.

But Waltz has a particularly difficult road ahead as President Donald Trump’s emissary to the world body. It’s unclear if he has enough clout with the administration to serve as a dependable go-between. And he’s taking on the post as Trump openly insults the U.N. and looks to cut funding to the organization.