Florida's Latest News

DeSantis in Fort Pierce to celebrate bill helping young students catch up to reading levels

Gov. Ron DeSantis was here Thursday, celebrating passage of a bill that will help children in kindergarten through fifth grade improve their reading skills. 

House Bill 3, dubbed the New Worlds Reading Initiative, was introduced by state Rep.  Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, and passed in this year's session of the Legislature.

DeSantis signed the bill June 29 and gathered with local lawmakers Thursday for a ceremony at Indian River State College.

The state has earmarked $200 million for the program, which will be funded by offering tax credits to businesses that contribute to the initiative. For students who are reading below grade level, it will send them books of various genres once a month for nine months at no cost, Trabulsy said.

State Rep. Fentrice Driskell to speak at Bartow town hall

A town hall community chat will be held July 29 at 6 p.m. at Bartow City Hall, 450 N. Wilson Ave.

Bartow City Commissioner Leo Longworth will host the event, and Florida Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, is the guest speaker. The discussion will cover police reform, Florida’s “anti-riot” law, elections and the search for abandoned cemeteries.

Driskell, a Polk County native, sponsored a bill in this legislative session that created the Abandoned African-American Cemeteries Task Force.

Seating will be limited for the event, and the wearing of masks is encouraged. For more information, call 863-534-0100.

Florida reports highest daily COVID-19 cases since January

Florida on Wednesday reported 12,647 new cases of COVID-19, the highest daily number of cases since late January, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The last time that Florida topped this number was Jan. 30, when it logged 14,654 cases. The U.S. registered 55,132 cases on Wednesday, meaning that Florida’s daily count made up about 23 percent of new cases reported by the CDC for that day.

It’s a troubling trend for the Sunshine State as it has started to see a recent surge in COVID-19 cases within the last few weeks. According to data from Florida's Department of Health, the state reported 45,603 new cases between July 9 and July 15. The state registered 23,562 new cases the week prior.

Noisy neighbors? A new Florida law will no longer let you complain anonymously

For years, Floridians have been filing anonymous complaints against their neighbors, whether it be a noisy party, grass that is too tall, tree limbs that are too low, or a leaf blower that is too loud.

From now on, though, all complainers will need to tie their name and address to their grievance if they want a code enforcement officer to investigate it as a code violation of a local ordinance.

Officers, however, will still have discretion over investigating anonymous complaints they deem to be an “imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare, or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources.”