Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis appoints two to Judicial Nomination Commissions

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced two appointments Wednesday to Judicial Nominating Commissions in the state’s circuit courts.

The Governor appointed Ashley S. Hodson to the 12th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and reappointed Andrew B. Pickett to the 18th Circuit Judicial Nomination Commission. Hodson’s appointment is for a term ending July 2023, while Pickett’s term will expire July 2024.

JNCs, composed of lawyers and non-lawyers, are responsible for interviewing candidates and drafting a list of nominees when vacancies open on the benches of Florida’s judicial system. The Commissions submit a list of three to six nominees to the Governor, who must make a final selection from the list.

DeSantis boosts fundraising operation ahead of 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis is expanding his fundraising operation ahead of the 2022 election cycle, bringing in an additional consulting firm as he builds a huge cash advantage over his Democratic challengers.

DeSantis has not yet announced that he’s running for reelection or set up an official campaign account. But his separate political committee and de facto full-time campaign arm has been bringing in millions of dollars as his focus turns to the campaign trail, an effort helped by his rising stock with conservatives across the country.

A DeSantis supporter familiar with the campaign not authorized to speak said the hiring of the new firm was part of the campaign's expanded fundraising infrastructure headed into 2022.

‘I want to truly say thank you’: Surfside community reflects as rescue mission ends

The mood in Surfside was somber Wednesday night, shortly after officials broke the news to family members and loved ones that the 14-day rescue mission to find living victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse would transition into a recovery effort, with no expectation of finding survivors.

Rescuers, standing before a mountain of rubble from the controlled demolition of the upright portion of the 12-story building, said prayers as a ceremonial melody played softly behind them.

A few steps away, at the memorial set up to honor the victims of the collapse, Miami-Dade firefighters set up a banner that read “Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Mourns With You.”

Feds plan to open more of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge to the public

In eastern Collier County, where hardwood hammocks, cypress domes and wet prairies provide ideal habitat for an abundance of wildlife, lies the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.

The refuge has had little public access aside from two short hiking trails since it was established in 1989.

Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to open more access to the refuge with a proposed visitor plan. The decision leaves some glad the public can connect with the outdoors and others worried the access will damage wildlife habitat.

“I believe it’s more of a modest plan and more regulated than most of our public lands in the area,” Kevin Godsea, project leader for FWS’s Southwest Florida National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said. “That’s kind of what we gathered from the public as we were scoping.”