Florida's Latest News

Panama City hospital offers COVID-19 antibody treatment touted by Gov. DeSantis

A Panama City hospital has begun offering an antibody therapy COVID-19 treatment, touted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, in response to the recent surge in new virus cases in the area.

Ascension Sacred Heart Bay is providing the investigational medical treatment, in which monoclonal antibodies are given to patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Bay will be one of three hospitals in the Sacred Heart system to offer the treatment. The other hospitals include Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast in Miramar Beach and Ascension Sacred Heart Gulf in Port St. Joe.

Specifically, Bay has received doses of REGEN-COV produced by drugmaker Regeneron — a company and treatment both recently promoted by DeSantis. Regeneron is a major investment for one of DeSantis’ largest campaign contributors.  

Florida Sports Betting Deal Faces Second Court Challenge

Upping the ante in the courts, two pari-mutuel facilities have filed a second federal lawsuit challenging a 30-year gambling agreement reached by Gov. Ron DeSantis that gives the Seminole Tribe control over sports betting throughout Florida.

The latest legal challenge, filed Monday in Washington, D.C., came less than two weeks after the U.S. Department of the Interior signed off on a gambling “compact” negotiated by DeSantis and passed by the Florida Legislature in May.

Owners of Magic City Casino in Miami-Dade County and Bonita Springs Poker Room in Southwest Florida contend in the lawsuit that the sports-betting plan violates federal laws and will cause a “significant and potentially devastating” impact on their businesses.

The Havenick family, which has owned both facilities for more than five decades, last month filed a similar lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee. The Florida complaint was amended Monday.

Florida remains nation’s hotspot for COVID cases, hospitalizations

Florida had the most new cases of COVID-19 in the nation over the last seven days and has the highest rate of hospitalizations per 100,000 people, according to a New York Times analysis of state and federal health data.

Florida also led the nation in per capita weekly cases, with 733 new cases per 100,000 population -- 3.5 times the national average of 205 -- according to Johns Hopkins University. The increase in cases is even higher in Northeast Florida, led by 1,484 cases per 100,000 over seven days in Columbia County -- the fourth-largest increase of any county in the nation and double the state’s already high average.

With a weekly average of 16,086 COVID patients in Florida hospitals, the state has the highest per capita rate of hospitalizations -- 75 per 100,000 population -- according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the only state with more than 25% of inpatient beds assigned to COVID patients.

Florida Tax Revenues Get $2.6 Billion Boost

A summary from the economists Tuesday noted that the revisions put overall estimated general-revenue collections above pre-pandemic forecasts by about $1.2 billion for this fiscal year and $1.2 billion for next year. About half of the difference is attributed to revenues from the new Seminole gambling deal and online sales-tax dollars, the summary said.

Florida lawmakers will have an additional $2.6 billion to play with in general-revenue taxes, along with nearly $6 billion in unspent federal coronavirus stimulus money, as they begin to piece together an election-year budget.

While acknowledging uncertainty about the effects of the delta variant of the coronavirus on the economy, a state panel on Tuesday boosted estimates of general-revenue tax collections for the current fiscal year and the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The estimates include new sales-tax collections from out-of-state online retailers and money from a gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe --- both issues that passed the Legislature this year.