Florida's Latest News

DeSantis pledges $112 million for water projects and fighting red tide

Speaking in Tampa, the governor announced a package of $112 million in grants to improve water quality across Central Florida. He said $50 million will go to local authorities for alternative water projects.

Eric DeHaven is executive director of the Polk Regional Water Cooperative, which serves 15 cities, and explained that this helps protect many bodies of water.

"This project is vital to the Polk County region to ensure long term sustainable water supplies to the citizens of Polk County, but even more importantly, it protects Polk County's diverse natural systems such as the Peace River and our many lakes, rivers, and streams," he said during the news conference.

The governor also announced nearly $75 million in grants to protect the state's freshwater springs and fight algae blooms in the Gulf.

"It's going to reduce nitrogen just in those grants by 100,000 pounds per year in those springs, and that's a really, really big deal," DeSantis said. "These efforts will help communities connect septic systems to sewer lines, among other water quality improvement efforts."

DeSantis also announced grants of $12 million for research to fight offshore algal blooms.

Tech industry groups seek to speed up Florida social media law case

After a ruling last week allowed Florida to begin enforcing a 2024 law designed to prevent children from having access to certain social-media sites, tech industry groups Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to quickly hear arguments about whether the law violates First Amendment rights.

The groups NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a motion requesting that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “expedite” oral arguments and a decision on the constitutional issue.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in June issued a preliminary injunction to block the law (HB 3), agreeing with the industry groups that it likely violated the First Amendment. The state appealed Walker’s decision, and a panel of the Atlanta-based appeals court last week approved a stay of the preliminary injunction.

The stay effectively allowed the state to begin enforcing the law while the underlying appeal of Walker’s decision continues to play out. Wednesday’s motion seeks to speed up consideration of that underlying appeal.

James Buchanan powers into Senate race with football-themed ad on grit and quiet work

Rep. James Buchanan is leaning hard into his fullback roots in a new Senate campaign launch video, casting himself as the kind of leader who lowers his shoulder, hits the gap and does the unglamorous work that keeps things moving.

The spot, titled “Trenchwork,” opens with Buchanan walking through fog on the Cardinal Mooney High School football field before cutting to grainy VHS footage of his playing days.

It features archival video of Cardinal Mooney’s legendary head coach Mike Dowling, who died in 2019, praising Buchanan as “a great strong full back” who is “tough,” “a great blocker inside,” and someone who has “breakaway speed when he does get through the line.” Buchanan wore No. 34 as a star fullback at Sarasota’s Cardinal Mooney from 1997 to 2000.

A four-star recruit and Florida’s top pure fullback prospect, Buchanan signed with Florida State University. His senior-year Cardinal Mooney stats — 115 carries for 695 yards and six touchdowns, plus three catches for 45 yards and another score — earned him spots on Max Emfinger’s Top 100 and the Florida Times-Union Super 75. He chose FSU over Florida, Texas and Boston College. 

UF relaunching search for permanent president this week

The search for a permanent president at the University of Florida is getting started.

Again.

Board of Trustees chairperson Mori Hosseini said during his remarks at Thursday’s board meeting that the university will resume its search for a permanent president on Friday.

He also said interim president Donald Landry will apply for the role.

Landry was named interim president in September, shortly after the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, rejected Santa Ono as interim president over the summer. Ono was the UF board’s unanimous pick and the former president of the University of Michigan, but was rejected by the state over concerns about some of his stances, particularly on diversity issues.

UF’s last permanent president was Ben Sasse, a former Republican senator from Nebraska. He resigned last year citing concerns about his wife’s health.