Florida's Latest News

'Alligator Alcatraz' provides a political 'boon' for Ron DeSantis and his top allies

 At the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida is quickly constructing a $450 million-a-year immigration detention center in the heart of the Everglades as part of the state’s push to coordinate with President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda.

The facility, which has been informally dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” has received heavy pushback and a legal challenge, but it has also been a boon for the national profile of both DeSantis and his appointed attorney general, James Uthmeier. Both have received waves of national attention — and a resulting boost to their political stock.

“Other than the economy, immigration is the No. 1 issue among Republican voters,” said Nick Iarossi, a Florida lobbyist and longtime DeSantis supporter. “So, if the of the governor and attorney general are strong on immigration and supportive of President Trump’s immigration agenda, that’s going to enhance their popularity with the base and the president.”

“Alligator Alcatraz is designed to enforce immigration laws and keep people safe,” he added. “It’s a win-win for them.”

Trump has yet to chime in on the idea, but his Department of Homeland Security offered the needed federal sign-off for Florida to operate the facility, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the effort in a statement this week.

Gov. DeSantis vetoes $600M in projects as he signs 2025-26 budget

Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed $600 million from the 2025-26 budget as he signed the $115 billion spending plan recently passed by lawmakers.

DeSantis signed the budget Monday — one day before the new fiscal year starts — at a press conference in The Villages. The full list of vetoes was not immediately released.

The Governor touted the budget as being leaner than last year’s version while also paying off $830 million of the state’s debt early.

“Signing the budget underscores the fact that Florida is the best fiscally managed state in these United States,” DeSantis said. “How many places are spending less year over year? Not a lot.”

DeSantis said his vetoes were to hit targets to keep the budget in line with his budget recommendations from February.

“Sometimes there’s just a lot of stuff that you kind of have to veto,” DeSantis said.

At the press conference, DeSantis highlighted the state’s investment in education and school choice as more than 500,000 children are using taxpayer-funded vouchers. Florida teachers will get pay increases as the state budget allocates $100 million more, up to $1.4 billion, on what DeSantis said could only be spent on teacher salaries.

Investigation into Florida condo collapse is expected to finish in 2026

More than four years after a Florida condominium collapse killed 98 people, federal investigators have yet to make a final determination of the cause — but they do have some leading theories.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the agency handling the probe, said this week it hopes to conclude the investigation in 2026.

“We intend for our investigation of this failure to have a lasting impact, save future lives and ensure this never happens again,” NIST investigator Judith Mitrani-Reiser said in the agency’s latest report.

Most residents were asleep in the 12-story Champlain Towers South when the beachfront condo building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed into a huge pile of rubble at 1:22 a.m. on June 24, 2021. As the investigation continued, a Miami judge approved a more than $1 billion settlement for personal injury and wrongful death claims from the disaster.

Meanwhile, a new luxury condominium is going up at the Champlain Towers site, a few miles north of Miami.

Lieutenant Governor, CFO replacements coming soon — but not before July 4 Weekend

There’s no rush to pick the state’s new Chief Financial Officer or Lieutenant Governor, Gov. Ron DeSantis said in Wildwood.

But he added that with the budget finally signed, those appointments are “next on our agenda.” Still, DeSantis cautioned that “no decision has been made” and none will be announced before the holiday weekend.

“Those will be in relatively short order. Probably not before July 4, because people are not going to be paying attention. But when we get back on there, that’ll be something that we’re going to do,” DeSantis said.

The Governor has put off these picks for some time, saying in May that with the “dust still settling,” he wasn’t ready to finalize selections to replace former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez and former Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

Patronis resigned the position earlier this year to run for Congress. He won that election on April 1.