Florida's Latest News

Byron Donalds posts record $22M quarter to kick off 2026 Governor’s race

Republican Byron Donalds raked in a record $22.2 million in the first quarter of 2026 for his campaign for Governor.

The sitting Congressman, endorsed by President Donald Trump, announced the massive haul. The funding brings his total fundraising over the course of the campaign to north of $67 million.

The quarter marked Donalds’ strongest since he launched his campaign in March 2025, and was the largest total in the first quarter of an election year for a non-incumbent candidate for Governor.

The funding went to both Donalds’ official candidate account and his state political committee, Friends of Byron Donalds.

Florida education commissioner outlines priorities for schools

Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas used a Tallahassee forum to sharpen his message: Florida’s education system needs tougher oversight, stricter accountability and fewer barriers to expanding school choice.

Speaking to local leaders at the Capital Tiger Bay Club on March 31, Kamoutsas outlined his legislative priorities, defended contentious policies and signaled a continued push to reshape how public dollars flow through Florida’s schools.

The luncheon, part of a series of guest speakers on education, offered a window into the state’s evolving approach under Kamoutsas, one defined by aggressive oversight of school districts, skepticism if not open disdain of teacher unions and watchdogging the rapidly growing private school scholarship program.

FSU institute revamps government data website for transparency

Florida State University’s DeVoe L. Moore Institute has created a way for the public to have clearer access to state and local government data.

The university recently announced the launch of Florida Open Gov – a redesigned digital transparency platform that allows users to explore information on Florida’s K–12 education system as well as state and local payroll and other public spending categories. Users are able to access the information through interactive visuals and searchable datasets on the website. 

“One of our goals moving forward with the revamp of the website is to build capacity for Florida teachers, parents and students to be able to tell compelling stories with the data in order to inform policy decisions within and across districts and schools,” FSU's DeVoe L. Moore Institute Research Director Crystal Taylor said in a prepared statement.

Dunedin gets FEMA money to help rebuild pier destroyed by Hurricane Helene

The city of Dunedin and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority have received $828,000 in federal disaster funds to help rebuild the Dunedin fishing pier and construct a permanent dock for the Clearwater Ferry, officials announced Monday.

The funding, tied to recovery efforts following hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, will support work underway as part of a broader marina restoration costing about $10.8 million. The pier replacement alone is estimated to cost about $2.3 million.

The FEMA money will also go toward building a permanent dock for the Clearwater Ferry, which is operated by the PSTA and transports passengers between Dunedin, downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach.

A temporary dock was installed to allow ferry service to resume last October, but officials say a permanent structure is needed to support long-term operations and improve resilience during future storms.