Florida's Latest News

Wilton Simpson contraception money gets vetoed

It’s not often that a Florida Governor vetoes spending projects championed by legislative leaders from the same party.

But that’s exactly what happened Wednesday when Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed from the budget $2 million that would have gone toward increasing access for low-income girls and women to long-acting reversible contraception.

Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican, had tucked the money into the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Mental health groups praise Gov. DeSantis for funding behavioral health

Behavioral health groups are thanking Gov. Ron DeSantis for prioritizing mental health in the budget he signed Wednesday.

Included in the $101.5 billion state budget is $2.5 billion for mental health and substance abuse prevention. The Governor lauded it as “one of the best budgets the state’s ever done” for behavioral health.

“Gov. DeSantis upheld the Legislature’s health care recommendations, keeping funding for crucial services a priority for all Floridians,” said Florida Behavioral Health Association President and CEO Melanie Brown-Woofter. “The important dollars that are included in the state budget allow for statewide mental health and substance use disorder treatment providers to continue to save lives and create stronger communities.”

Florida and federal authorities remain at odds over cruises

A legal clash between Florida and the federal government over cruise lines is pressing forward after attempts to negotiate an end to an ongoing lawsuit failed.

The impasse has set up a conundrum for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has advocated loudly for cruise lines to set sail again, but at the same time his administration is threatening to fine any cruise lines operating in Florida if they require passengers show proof of vaccination prior to boarding. Florida passed a law banning so-called vaccine passports at the urging of the Republican governor.

Cruise lines have been shut down in the United States since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Florida in April filed a lawsuit challenging rules imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that have prevented cruises from resuming. But instead of granting Florida’s request to block the rules, U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday in mid-May ordered the two sides into mediation.

Hillsborough health officials send Red Tide warning for Tampa Bay

Elevated levels of Red Tide were detected in water samples taken from parts of Tampa Bay. Now Hillsborough County health officials are advising people against swimming in certain areas.

Medium concentrations of Red Tide were detected in four samples from June 1 and June 2 pulled around Port Manatee in lower Tampa Bay, according to a map from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That area, near the Hillsborough-Manatee border, is where more than 200 million gallons of wastewater were discharged in early April from the old Piney Point fertilizer plant property.

“It’s sort of a worst-case scenario for us right now going into the rainy season,” said Ed Sherwood, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.