Florida's Latest News

Hurricane insurance claims soar

Claims are pouring in from hurricanes Milton, Helene and Debby.

With three hurricanes slamming the state in three months, insurance claims estimated at $3.95 billion in losses thus far are continuing to pour in.

Data posted on the Office of Insurance Regulation’s website Friday showed that 204,971 claims totaling an estimated $2.48 billion had been filed for damages from Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Sarasota County on Oct. 9 and barreled across the state.

More than 165,000 of the Milton-related claims included damage to residential property. Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Taylor County Sept. 26 and caused widespread damage along portions of the Gulf Coast, prompted 121,689 claims, including 55,207 claims for damage to residential property.

Helene claims so far reach an estimated $1.3 billion in damages. About 30 percent of Helene-related claims have been closed.

3D printer capable of printing houses, reducing hurricane impact arrives in Florida

A 3D printer capable of printing houses and seawalls arrived in Florida late last month, bringing with it the potential to mitigate the impacts of hurricanes and develop the local workforce and construction industry.

The two-story construction printer known as BOD3 is manufactured by Denmark-based COBOD International and was shipped to the University of Florida’s East Campus last month.

It arrived unassembled on Sept. 20, becoming the first BOD3 to arrive in the U.S. and one of the first in circulation after COBOD released the new model in September.

BOD3 is what Chaofeng Wang, assistant professor in UF’s M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, called a robot system designed for infrastructure construction. That means the printer will complete projects autonomously once code is inputted and material supplied.

State of play as early voting kicks off

Today marks the first day of in-person early voting for most of Florida. Among the high-profile pols set to cast their ballots today are Sen. Rick Scott, former House Speaker Newt Gingich and Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried.

The early voting numbers that’ll soon be posted on the Division of Elections website will help give some indication about voter enthusiasm, including which party is quicker to turn out. Here’s where things stand as many in-person polling locations open:

— More than 1.6 million people have already voted. So far, Florida has sent 3.3 million mail-in ballots out for the general election, and nearly half have already been returned, the most recent data from the state’s Division of Elections show. This is lower than in recent history after vote-by-mail regulations were changed under a 2021 election law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The law purged all standing vote-by-mail requests after 2023, obligating voters to request them anew. Before this, a voter could request ballots for two consecutive election cycles at once. As POLITICO’s Gary Fineout previously reported, the law resulted in fewer mail-in ballots going out this cycle compared to 2022, when 4.3 million were provided.

Early voting on school issues begins across Florida

The big story: Election Day is two weeks away. But in-person early voting begins today in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, and across Florida.

Several education-related matters appear on the ballot, including one statewide initiative. The Republican-dominated state Legislature is asking voters to consider a return to partisan school board elections, reversing a 1998 constitutional amendment. Read more about Amendment 1 and what the proposed changes would mean.

Locally, voters will be choosing school board members and superintendents. In Pinellas County, voters in one north-county district will choose between a moderate Republican and a more extreme conservative candidate. • Pasco County voters will select between two veteran educators with different world views and experiences in the race for superintendent. • One Hillsborough County incumbent board member faces a challenge to her reelection bid from a conservative teacher backed by the 1776 Project.