Florida's Latest News

Florida Legislature approves property tax cut proposal for November ballot

The Florida Legislature on Tuesday approved Gov. Ron DeSantis' property tax cut plan during a special session in Tallahassee.

The proposal passed 30-9 in the Senate and 75 -26 in the House.

The property tax proposal will appear on the November ballot for voters to consider, and it will require 60 percent support from the electorate to take effect.

Before the plan was approved, lawmakers discussed the feasibility of the plan and also worked to approve changes made on Monday in committee.

One major change was protections for public school funding.

The plan would raise the current the current $50,000 homestead exemption limit to $150,000 in January 2027 and $250,000 in January 2028. But it would not apply to school district levies.

Florida springs are being sucked dry. Just look at White Sulfur 

For the past 74 years, Stephen Foster State Park has hosted the Florida Folk Festival on the banks of the Suwannee River near the town of White Springs. Advertised as Florida’s “Best Cultural Event,” the Florida Folk Festival attracts hundreds of musicians and thousands of tourists each year.

Financial sponsors, park service volunteers and nonprofit organizations help raise “environmental and cultural heritage awareness” and “celebrate and help conserve Florida’s natural resources, including endangered species and vital rivers, artists, educators, and historical sites.”

The irony that the Suwannee River was listed as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers this year is probably lost on most attendees. But if you look past the musical stages, food trucks and cultural/historical displays, the depleted Suwannee River was just behind the trees and barely hanging on right now.

At this year’s festival, this vital river lived up to its endangered status. Flow was barely a trickle with a wadable depth of only six inches and a low mark 30 times less than average

Florida citrus leaders praise $196M budget allocation for industry research

Florida Citrus Mutual is hailing nearly $196 million approved by state lawmakers earmarked for innovative investments and recovery for the citrus industry

A substantial chunk of the money will go to Citrus Research and Field Trials (CRAFT) Foundation. Some $160 million of the state funding will be directed to that effort.

The CRAFT Foundation was established in 2019 and focuses on countering Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease. Florida’s commercial citrus acreage has dropped from 750,000 acres to about 430,000 acres in Florida today partly due to HLB, according to CRAFT estimates.

The money will help citrus growers fund new plantings, treatments and growing methods while gathering data to continue driving the industry’s progress, officials said.

Florida Citrus Mutual Executive Vice President and CEO Matt Joyner said the CRAFT funding is a huge relief for citrus growers in the Sunshine State.

Florida high schoolers taking advanced classes are go-getters, but what's the cost to being ahead?

The number of Florida students taking courses for college credit while still in high school has shot up in recent years. But while the practice makes higher education more affordable and speeds up the timeline to graduation, a new study found there are some tradeoffs to being ahead as an in-coming college freshman.

Nearly 75% of the state's high school graduates participated in at least one accelerated class in the 2024–25 school year, an increase of nearly 30,000 students statewide compared to four years ago, according to data from the Florida Department of Education.

However, the survey found there are unintended consequences: students often have less time for extracurricular activities that are key to integrating with college culture, confusion about selecting courses and majors, and going through college too quickly.