Florida's Latest News

10 years cancer-free, Jared Rosenstein comes full circle

Jared Rosenstein was about to start working for a future Congressman when he found it, a lump a quarter the size of a pea.

His doctor ordered tests, and the results confirmed it was embryonal carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of testicular cancer.

He had just turned 24.

But this story isn’t a tragedy. Rosenstein beat the disease, making fast, tough and smart decisions with support from family, friends and top cancer experts. Today he’s cancer-free, a Partner at Capital City Consulting and one of Florida’s top lobbyists, splitting time between Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee.

But a decade ago, his diagnosis terrified him. It also made him angry.

“I decided I was going to rage against this,” he said. “Your mindset is the way you beat this. I was mad, and I used it to motivate me.”

And the experience changed him.

“It was terrifying, but it gave me perspective on what a bad day really is,” he said. “And if my story can save one life, it’s worth telling.”

Should insurers pay customers' attorneys fees? Florida bill reopens debate.

More than two years after the Legislature clamped down on lawsuits against property insurance companies, a House panel Thursday reopened a major debate about attorney fees when homeowners and insurers battle over claims.

The House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee voted 16-1 to approve a bill (HB 1551) that would revamp a 2022 law that shielded property insurers from paying customers’ attorney fees. The insurance industry argues the law has reduced costly litigation and helped revive the market after financial troubles.

But supporters of Thursday’s bill said the 2022 law was tilted too far toward insurers and led to homeowners being unable to fight companies over wrongfully denied claims.

“At some point, we as a Legislature have got to make sure that we’re standing up for the people of Florida and maybe not the insurance companies of Florida,” Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, said.

Opponents of the bill, however, said the law has worked in helping attract carriers to Florida and holding down rates. They warned that the bill would undo the progress.

Corey Simon’s ‘Rural Renaissance’ bill ready to hit the Senate floor

The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee advanced legislation (SB 110) intended to spur a rural renaissance in Florida’s small counties.

The measure now heads to the Senate floor.

Sen. Corey Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, said the bill will help provide needed economic development support to modernize Florida’s agrarian communities without sacrificing the character and commercial foundations of those areas.

“I don’t want North Florida to look like anywhere else but North Florida,” Simon said. “That’s why this bill is so special and so well-crafted to suit the needs of those communities.”

At the committee hearing, Simon presented a significant amendment updating the legislative package, including requirements for VISIT FLORIDA to provide marketing assistance to agritourism businesses and expanding eligibility for rural infrastructure grants in unincorporated areas impacted by disaster.

The bill, filed last month, looks to foster opportunities for infrastructure improvements, education and health care enhancements for rural communities across the Sunshine State.

Juan Porras’ bill to put Gulf of America in textbooks clears first House hurdle

Rep. Juan Porras’ proposal to begin mandating the phrase “Gulf of America” in K-12 instructional materials is finally moving.

The House Education and Employment Subcommittee is advancing legislation (HB 549) that would compel School Boards to “adopt and acquire” materials using the Gulf of America name and to “update geographical materials for Floridians.”

Porras’ measure will no longer include a renaming of the Tamiami Trail.

The goal is to gradually erase the Gulf of Mexico designation disfavored by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. Yet materials with the Gulf of Mexico name won’t have to be discarded under this legislation; they will be phased out over time in the effort to align with federal guidelines adopted this year.

The sponsor said this would set precedent and would update students with “current terminology” for the body of water in what he called an age of “American exceptionalism.”

“We would be the first state in the union to do this measure,” Porras noted ahead of the 16-2 vote. “With your support, we’ll make the Gulf great again.”