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Florida Chamber of Commerce throws support behind Ashley Moody in U.S. Senate race

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has secured a significant endorsement from the business community as she seeks another term in Washington.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is throwing its support behind Moody as she campaigns to win her first full term in the U.S. Senate. Moody was appointed to the seat last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis, following Marco Rubio’s departure to join the Trump administration as Secretary of State.

“The Florida Chamber of Commerce fully endorses Ashley Moody to continue championing Florida by serving as Florida’s United States Senator,” said Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson.

“As Senator, Ashley has led from the front on cutting taxes, reducing burdensome regulations, and creating the kind of economic environment where Florida’s local businesses can thrive. Florida voters can count on Senator Moody to continue protecting Floridians against federal overreach in the United States Senate while advancing policies to further economic opportunity for all Floridians.”

Gov. DeSantis fills several open seats for South Florida judgeships

Gov. Ron DeSantis added a hefty roster of new judges to close out July, and he loaded up on South Florida picks.

Christopher Green is being tapped to serve as a judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit in South Florida. Green has been a Miami-Dade County Court judge since DeSantis appointed him to that post in 2023.

Green is a former Assistant City Attorney for the City of Miami. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Maryville University and his law degree from Nova Southeastern University (NSU).

Alicia Priovolos, also of Miami, will join the 11th Judicial Circuit as a judge along with Green. She’s been a Miami-Dade County Judge since 2023 and is a  former Assistant State Attorney in that Circuit. Priovolos earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from Florida International University (FIU).

Florida wants to use cash meant for electric car chargers on flying cars instead

Florida had nearly $200 million to expand electric vehicle charging across the state. Instead, Florida wants to spend it on flying cars.

While other states used their share of the federal EV charging money to install plugs along highways, at truck stops and strip malls, Florida sat on the funds for years. The reason? State officials said the private market has already done enough to serve “everyday vehicles.”

Instead, the state wants to put it toward an ascendant technology that isn’t yet available in the market, according to state documents obtained by the Miami Herald.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans to build what it calls an “Aerial Highway Network” that includes places the futuristic aircraft can charge, take-off and land.

A hotter Florida becomes home for breadfruit trees

Marc Ellenby has grown just about every tropical fruit imaginable on his family’s Redland farm since 1980. Avocados. Sapodillas. Longans. Mameys. But there was one tropical fruit he didn’t think could survive here: Breadfruit.

Century-old reports from South Florida’s founding botanists say that these large, starchy fruits would only thrive in the Caribbean and Hawaii, and possibly as far north as Key West.

Now, as climate change pushes temperatures higher, that is starting to change. Dozens of the large-lobed, leafy trees dangling with round, bumpy green fruit are growing across South Florida and reach as far north as Brevard.

The softball-sized fruit is a Caribbean classic, first brought by the British via Tahiti as a “slave food” because it was cheap and high-calorie. But it’s since become celebrated by Caribbean chefs, who make it into stews, soup and a flour. The South Florida fruits are mostly enjoyed fresh by home gardeners, but they’ve also been baked into French fries — and even turned into vodka.