Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis expects Legislature to wrap overtime work this month. But property tax help is still a wild card

Gov. Ron DeSantis is being more precise on his timeline for the Legislature finalizing the budget, approving a new congressional map and agreeing to ballot language to allow voters to potentially phase out homestead property taxes.

Speaking in The Villages, DeSantis said “hopefully, by the end of April, all the work that the public expects from them will have been completed.”

The budget timing jibes with what legislative leaders have eyed to resolve the $1.4 billion divide between the House’s $113.6 billion budget and the Senate’s plan totaling $115 billion.

Senate President Ben Albritton said Senators would “return to Tallahassee for a Special Session on the budget … following the Easter and Passover holidays.” House Speaker Daniel Perez said he anticipated a mid-April reconvening.

Shevrin Jones urges Governor to add soaring gas prices to Special Session call

As gas prices surge across Florida, Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones is pushing Gov. Ron DeSantis to act.

In a letter this week, the Miami Gardens lawmaker called on DeSantis to expand the scope of upcoming Special Sessions to include immediate relief for struggling families now facing an average pump price of $4.22 per gallon.

Jones framed the issue as urgent for Floridians already grappling with rising costs of living.

“This is not an abstract issue; it is a daily, lived reality for working Floridians,” Jones wrote.

“From single parents commuting to multiple jobs, to seniors on fixed incomes, to small business owners trying to stay afloat, the strain is undeniable. The cost of gas has become more than an inconvenience; it is a barrier to economic stability and mobility.”

Rays stadium talks create friction on Hillsborough County Commission

The details of a deal to build a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium in Tampa have not been released. But the idea is already creating friction on the Hillsborough County Commission.

The board on Wednesday rejected a motion by Commissioner Joshua Wostal to release all draft documents and personal notes on the deal by the end of the day.

The Rays want tax dollars to pay half the cost of the estimated $2.3 billion stadium.

Wostal said he's afraid of a last-minute deal that could keep taxpayers on the hook for decades.

"I'm going to bring a motion for this board right now for the public to have transparency and at least have some minuscule of understanding of what's going on behind the scenes on a deal," he told fellow commissioners. "That seemed to have moved way beyond the scope that we originally approved."

Tampa City Council approves land exchange with Ulele restaurant tied to Zion Cemetery restoration

The Tampa City Council has approved a land exchange that will return a portion of the long-forgotten Zion Cemetery to preservation efforts, advancing a yearslong push to restore one of the city’s most significant erased Black burial grounds.

The deal trades city-owned land in Tampa Heights for property along Florida Avenue that once formed part of Zion Cemetery — widely considered Tampa’s first African American burial ground.

Under the agreement a private entity affiliated with the owners of Ulele, a well-known Tampa Heights restaurant and brewery along the Riverwalk, will convey that cemetery land at 3721 Florida Avenue to the city or a designated nonprofit to be preserved and memorialized.

In exchange, the city will transfer its interest in the former cable office building site and adjacent land to Ulele, with additional parcels redistributed among private parties to resolve overlapping property claims.