Florida's Latest News

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast chosen to lead powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee in next Congress

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, who represents part of Palm Beach County and all of St. Lucie and Martin counties, was elected by his fellow House Republicans this week to lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee, one of the most powerful and influential committees in Congress.

Mast, who lives in Fort Pierce, will take over the committee's gavel from Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Jan. 3, when the 119th Congress is sworn in.

“I’m grateful and humbled by the trust my peers within the Republican Conference have placed in me by electing me the next chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee," Mast, who represents Florida's 21st Congressional District, said in a statement Tuesday. "Under my leadership, our committee will have a clear mission statement: Every dollar and every diplomat will put America First."

With Republicans slated to soon control of both houses of Congress and the White House, Mast, a longtime ardent supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, indicated that U.S. foreign policy may soon move in a very different direction.

4 Panhandle counties get $89M approved for public projects

About $89 million dedicated to public projects will be distributed to four Florida Panhandle counties after the Triumph Gulf Coast Board approved the spending this week.

The panel met in Panama City and agreed to distribute the funds in Bay, Escambia, Wakulla and Walton counties. The latest distribution by the Triumph Gulf Coast Board brings the total of funds and grants issued by the group to $643 million since 2018, with money going to eight counties.

In Bay County, the Board earmarked a term sheet negotiation of $8.075 million for the Bay School District for workforce training grant and other in-demand programs in the disciplines of health care, aerospace manufacturing, artificial intelligence and computer science. The Board also approved another $25 million grant negotiation for the Northwest Beaches International Airport’s request for construction of new projects.

The Board awarded another $3.32 million in funding to the University of West Florida (UWF). The school is planning to start up a Center for Watercraft and Vessel Engineering in Escambia County. The program will be established at the Port of Pensacola campus and will provide a platform for research and vessel engineering.

How $9 billion will change Miami’s airport, and what travelers are getting for the money

A moving walkway isn’t much use when it’s not moving. That’s certainly the case at Miami International Airport, where a stretch of walkway on the third level is stopped in its tracks while undergoing repairs that will stretch into next year.

An adjacent span got going again just before the Thanksgiving travel rush. An airport’s biggest mission after safety is to keep travelers moving through the terminal as they head to and from their flights. And this walkway is crucial because it’s in a long hallway connecting passengers in Concourse D, home to American Airlines, to parking garages, a rental car center and to Concourses E and F.

“There’s a whole lot of walking,” Michael Brice, 46, of Miami, said in an interview at the airport on Dec. 11. “Their inability to keep the moving walkways running is a hassle.” At least one year will have elapsed by the time that segment of the walkway is completely fixed.

As airline passengers crowd into MIA in December and January for holiday travel, they’ll see not everything is working. But they’ll also see repairs underway, with more to come.

Florida’s high court recommends Legislature create 50 more judgeships across state

Pointing to a study of judicial workloads, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday recommended adding 50 judges across the state.

The Supreme Court each year goes through a process known as certifying a need for judicial positions to the Legislature, which has ultimate authority to decide whether to create — and fund — judgeships. But the number certified Thursday was far higher than in recent years.

Under the recommendation, the state would add 23 circuit judges, 25 county judges and two judges on the 6th District Court of Appeal, which is based in Lakeland and hears cases in parts of Central Florida and Southwest Florida.

The recommendation came after the release in June of a study, the Florida Judicial Workload Assessment, that cited a need for 55 additional circuit-court judgeships and 29 county-court judgeships. In its unanimous opinion Thursday, the Supreme Court said it chose to “adopt an approach that is more incremental but still reasonable and fair.”