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DeSantis details I-275 expansion in Pinellas County

The Florida Department of Transportation is breaking ground on an expansion to I-275 in Pinellas County.

Governor DeSantis detailed the plans on Tuesday.

“I want our transportation to be about getting people from point A to point B as efficiently as possible,” DeSantis said.

According to the governor, cutting down congestion is essential as the state grows.

“The traffic is important for business to be able to move freight across this state, to be able to go from Tampa to Orlando and be able to do it in a somewhat timely fashion compared to what it’s been in the past,” DeSantis said.

The state is investing $354 million in widening I-275 from 38th Avenue North to 4th Street North in Pinellas County. The work includes express lanes in each direction.

DeSantis detailed, “We’re building a continuous corridor of improved mobility and improving I-275 as a major hurricane evacuation route.”

Deborah Wesley scores 10 incumbent endorsements for Jax City Council bid

If a simple majority of the Jacksonville City Council could vote Republican Deborah Wesley onto the panel, she would already have the votes.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Commander is rolling out 10 endorsements out of the 19 currently serving Council members for her thus-far unopposed 2027 campaign for the at-large Group 1 seat. It’s the latest sign of a strength that borders on inevitability for her bid to join the GOP-controlled legislative body.

Among those endorsements: the outgoing incumbent, Terrance Freeman.

“With decades of leadership and service to our city, Deborah Wesley has a clear understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities facing Jacksonville,” said the former Council President who is widely expected to run to succeed Rep. Wyman Duggan in the House next year.

“Guided by her strong conservative values, she is the only person I trust to continue serving constituents with the same commitment and integrity I have strived to provide.”

Others, including current President Kevin Carrico, are on board.

Stronger hurricanes mean more ‘ghost boats’ haunting Florida waterways

For nearly three years, drivers on San Carlos Island in Florida passed by an unusual sight tangled in the mangroves on the shoulder of a major road: a large white boat. The abandoned vessel was a relic of 2022’s Hurricane Ian, which displaced more than 7,000 vessels amid severe winds, torrential downpour and catastrophic storm surge.

Last month, the boat was finally removed.

It’s “a little emotional, but it’s a sign of progress,” John Cassidy, a boat captain in the area, told Gulf Coast News. “We gotta get everything out of here.”

Around the U.S., thousands of abandoned, derelict vessels—many ruined by climate-fueled tropical storms—pollute oceans and waterways, disrupting local ecosystems. Addressing the problem can be time consuming and costly, often averaging more than $24,000 to remove a single boat.

It’s a major problem in the Florida Keys, creating threats to navigation and environmental damage.

Earlier this month, removed an abandoned massive 96-foot yellow submarine off Marathon. In the first six months of 2025, Monroe County, in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, removed 134 derelict vessels from Keys waters.

Ashley Moody supports Donald Trump in sending war ships to Venezuela to stop drug flow to U.S.

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is throwing her support behind President Donald Trump and his move to stem the flow of drugs coming to America from Venezuela.

Moody said she is backing Trump’s decision to send U.S. warships to the waters around Venezuela to block the drug trade, particularly fentanyl, from reaching the shores of the United States. The Republican said Trump and the passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act are already starting to reverse the surge in drug overdose deaths in America.

“This week, we’ve seen President Trump once again take bold action by deploying U.S. warships near Venezuela to cut off the trafficking of deadly drugs at the source. At the same time, we are celebrating the passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act — a critical new law I proudly cosponsored,” Moody said at a press event in Miami this week.

“Together, these actions send a clear message: America’s days of turning a blind eye to drug trafficking are over. This law ensures federal agents and prosecutors have the tools to hold these traffickers accountable, just like we’ve done here in Florida. Combined with President Trump’s leadership, we are saving lives, shutting down the cartels, and making communities safer ahead of National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day.”