Florida's Latest News

DeSantis awards over $2 million in small business loans to help those impacted by Ian

Gov. DeSantis made three major announcements about restoration updates Monday morning alongside other state officials at the Charlotte County Disaster Recovery Center in Port Charlotte.

After he activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program following Hurricane Ian’s devastation, DeSantis said $2.5 million in loans were awarded as of Monday to 55 small businesses such as restaurants and autobody shops.

The program was activated to provide short-term, zero-interest loans to small businesses that experienced financial impacts or physical damage due to Ian.

Four Charlotte County businesses received $175,000 from the program.

All the state’s students will be back to the books by Oct. 17

A key milestone in Hurricane Ian recovery now has a date: All of the state’s students will be back hitting the books by Oct. 17 — although it might not be in the school they attended before the storm hit.

Charlotte, DeSoto, Lee and Sarasota schools, which had been closed until further notice, will be in session 19 days after the storm hit, according to a Florida Department of Education website. Some of Sarasota’s schools, in “Phase One,” are opening today. Another set will reopen next Monday.

Lee County schools Superintendent Christopher Bernier said, in a Friday statement, that Oct. 17 is “a goal.”

“Our goal is to return, and I say it again ‘our goal,’ is to return all students to an educational environment on Monday Oct. 17 … no matter what the status of their school building,” Bernier said.

Casey DeSantis invokes her cancer fight to explain ‘who Ron DeSantis is’

A new ad supporting the re-election campaign of Ron DeSantis features narration from the person who knows him best.

In an emotion-filled new spot released Monday by the Republican Party of Florida, Florida’s First Lady describes the man she knows and loves in ways supporters have never heard before.

The TV and digital ad, “That Is Who Ron DeSantis Is,” features First Lady Casey DeSantis “as she shares with Floridians, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes story of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support through her battle with breast cancer,” asserted the DeSantis campaign Monday.

The ad is released a year after Mrs. DeSantis’ diagnosis, which kicked off months of recovery and uncertainty for the First Family before her recovery.

“If you want to know who Ron DeSantis really is, when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was facing the battle for my life, he was the dad who took care of my children when I couldn’t,” Mrs. DeSantis asserted.

Tuesday is last day for new Florida voters to register to cast ballots

The deadline would affect people who recently moved to Florida, who will have turned 18 by Election Day, or who hadn’t previously registered to vote in the state.

They can sign up online or at their county Supervisor of Elections offices.

Unlike some other states, Florida does not allow same-day registration.

"You want to make sure that you’re registered, your address is up to date, then you’re going to make sure you know how you’re going to vote. Are you going to go to an early voting site? Or are you going to go on Election Day?" advised Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles.

Registered Florida voters can also update their information using the online voter registration system or by turning in or mailing a paper form to their local Supervisor of Election Office.