Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis delays property tax payments for Ian victims; wants Special Session

Gov. Ron DeSantis is signing an executive order postponing property tax payments for residents severely affected by Hurricane Ian, which slammed Southwest Florida Sept. 28, bringing deadly storm surge, powerful winds and significant flooding to that area and Central Florida as it trudged through the peninsula.

“The last thing we want is someone loses their home and then they get hit up for property taxes for a home that doesn’t exist anymore,” DeSantis said during an event Thursday in Fort Myers Beach, one of the hardest-hit areas.

The executive order will delay payments on property taxes for both residential homes and commercial properties in the 26 counties approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual assistance: Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia.

Gov. DeSantis hands out more bonus checks, this time to Sanibel first responders

Neither wind, nor rain nor a Category 5 hurricane can stop $1,000 bonus checks getting to first responders on Southwest Florida’s barrier islands, some of whom had flooding above their mailboxes when Hurricane Ian struck three weeks ago.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration started sending out the bonus checks about 100,000 police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel across the state last month. But about 400 checks headed for first responders in Southwest Florida were still in transit when Ian came ashore.

He visited Sanibel Island by boat — the island is still closed to civilian traffic — to hand out the checks in person.

“We didn’t want these checks to get lost in the shuffle,” DeSantis said Tuesday.

Department of Health wants to expand maternal telehealth, school health programs

A telehealth program to improve maternal outcomes among ethnic and minority populations in Orange and Duval counties could be expanded if state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has his way.

So could school-based health programs.

The Florida Department of Health released the Fiscal Year 2023-24 legislative budget request (LBR) this week which increases public health spending by tens of millions of dollars.

The budget includes a $12.6 million infusion to expand to another 18 counties a program aiming to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity and other maternal outcomes. Those counties are Brevard, Broward, Collier, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Marion, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia.

Florida Blue contributes nearly $4 million to local investments fighting food insecurity

Florida Blue, a leading health insurance provider within the state, invested $3.73 million in grants on Wednesday to community-based programs through its Florida Blue Foundation.

The 10 nonprofit organizations receiving the latest round of funding from the Florida Blue Foundation will use the grants to strengthen localized food security initiatives and address obstacles to food security in their communities.

The latest funding brings the total investment in food security programs from Florida Blue and its Foundation to more than $16 million over the last four years.

“Healthy communities need healthy food. When people don’t have enough food or must choose inexpensive foods with little nutritional value, it can seriously impact their health and well-being. Each year, more than $4.2 billion in health care costs are associated with food insecurity in our state,” said Pat Geraghty, Florida Blue president and CEO. “The rising cost of food has only made this issue worse for our state. Florida Blue is focused on ensuring every person in Florida has reliable and affordable access to nutritious food and the knowledge of how to make it an enjoyable part of their daily lives.”