Florida's Latest News

Republican lawmakers file bill to protect religious freedoms during emergency lockdowns

Two lawmakers are proposing legislation in the upcoming Session to ensure a department store is never more “essential” than a church.

The legislation is a product of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the measures (HB 215 & SB 254), an emergency lockdown or shutdown order must apply equally across businesses and religious institutions in Florida. Republican Sen. Jason Broduer and Rep. Nick DiCeglie are the bill sponsors.

“If we’re going to close down and restrict religious institutions from being open, then we have to apply that same restriction to everybody,” DiCeglie explained to Florida Politics.

DiCeglie pointed to New York and California amid the pandemic, two places where government closed — or narrowed — church doors while allowing some businesses to remain operational.

DeSantis pours $2M into Florida GOP's voter registration effort

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been financially fueling Republicans huge voter registration gains in Florida, an effort that is remaking the state’s electoral composition ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Republicans have amped up their voter registration push and have closed Democrats' once daunting registration advantage to just 23,500, with a goal of overtaking them for the first time in modern Florida political history. Party officials have highlighted that effort increasingly in recent weeks on social media, posting pictures of voter registration events across the state using the hashtag #ClosetheGap.

The overall registration push has been fueled, in large part, by DeSantis, who has contributed nearly $2 million, a previously unreported number, into the Republican Party of Florida specifically for registration efforts.

Florida’s school mask, quarantine rules draw more criticism

It’s been a week since Florida’s new surgeon general issued updated guidelines giving parents more authority over deciding to mask or quarantine their children in school. Districts that have opposed the state’s effort to ban strict mask mandates largely have stood firm against the revised rule (with a few exceptions). And the Biden administration continues to back them. Read on for the latest on that story and more Florida education news.

Federal officials took a dim view of Florida’s latest school quarantining guidance. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called the parental choice principle “dangerous.”

The state Department of Education is prepared to act against districts that don’t follow its rule. So far, no districts have filed new challenges with the Division of Administrative Hearings, the News Service of Florida reports.

Drama, secrets and magic — celebrating 50 years of Disney World

How the Magic Kingdom came to be is a dramatic story.

“It was a miracle on so many levels that it did come to fruition,” said Aaron Goldberg, a Disney historian and author of “Buying Disney’s World.”

Looking to expand his Disneyland empire eastward to Florida, Walt Disney stealthily acquired thousands of acres through fake companies to keep his identity secret. Much of what he bought was underwhelming: Swampland in need of taming.

“Almost three-quarters of the land was underwater most of the time,” Goldberg said. “They went to build the Magic Kingdom and they needed to reinforce it by like 14 feet.”