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Top Florida Legislators Compete to Raise Money for DeSantis

Top Florida Republican legislators are holding a friendly telethon competition Wednesday in Tampa to see who raise the most money for Gov. Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign.

The top two fundraisers will attend the first debate with DeSantis next week in Milwaukee.

The effort, helmed by Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, was put together last week in a call with lawmakers led by Renner and DeSantis’s new campaign manager, James Uthmeier, who’s the outgoing chief of staff in the governor’s office.

“Florida’s elected leaders continue to show their strong backing for America’s greatest governor this week by dialing for dollars in support of Gov. DeSantis’ presidential campaign," Renner said in a written statement to The Messenger. "This friendly fundraising competition will culminate with the winner receiving a ticket to the first presidential debate being held in Milwaukee on Aug. 23. We are excited to have conservatives across the country hear his vision for the country as evidenced by his steadfast leadership here in Florida.”

Ron DeSantis talks ‘deaths of despair’ while addressing entitlement crisis

Ron DeSantis weighed in on declining American life expectancy during a discussion of his Social Security position, ascribing it to “deaths of despair.”

During an interview Monday, the Florida Governor told CNBC viewers that “in the last five or six years, life expectancy in the United States has gone down.”

He did not blame it solely on the COVID-19 pandemic, even after his interviewer’s prompting.

“I think it started before COVID and I think it’s continued even here afterwards. I think it’s more than, more than just COVID. I mean, I think that there’s deaths of despair. I think you have (drugs),” DeSantis said.

“So, I think it’s hard to say, you know, raise the age (for Social Security eligibility) when the average life expectancy is going down. We used to think that life expectancy was just going to keep going up and that’s just not been the case.”

Florida drivers, get ready for sharp increases in auto insurance rates

As homeowner insurance premiums skyrocket, Florida drivers are getting an extra nasty surprise this year: Sharply increased auto insurance renewal rates.

Ana Curbelo says her monthly premium increased from $170 to $280 to insure her 2004 Toyota Camry. “It’s crazy for this minimal coverage,” she said. “And I’m over 50.”

Jon Klapper says he just received a renewal notice from Progressive that increased his premium on his nine-year-old Kia Optima by 26%. “Never had a claim,” he said.

Robin Phillips says monthly insurance premiums are now higher than car payments. “The increases should be for those that are making claims and getting tickets and/or points on their license,” she said.

Heat warning stickers are going up on Florida gas pumps

As heat advisories continue, motorists fueling up across Florida will soon see stickers on gas pumps warning against leaving children and pets in vehicles.

“This time of year when all of our families are getting back to school, we know that everybody’s busy. It’s a change in schedule. We want to make sure that people are removing their pets out of these cars, that they're removing their kids out of these cars,” Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said Friday before placing a sticker on a pump at a BP station in Titusville.

Simpson’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees regulation of gas pumps. The stickers were an idea of Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.

“It goes back to just a constant reminder to make sure that you're not doing it (leaving children and pets in hot vehicles),” Ivey said.