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Pinellas preserves UF extension program educating on environment

Pinellas County will continue its decadeslong partnership with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), county commissioners decided Tuesday.

IFAS’ $297,986 annual price tag was questioned last month by Commissioner Chris Scherer, but his scrutiny was ultimately met with strong support for the program.

“I don’t want to do away with the program,” Scherer said on Tuesday. “But many of the efforts of the extension are duplicated. I just think it’s time for the University of Florida to take a look at what their programs are and downsize them accordingly.”

Scherer was the only dissenting vote, with other commissioners saying that they believe the partnership is more economical than any alternatives.

“33 cents per resident per year is something I think we can afford,” Commissioner Dave Eggers said.

Through the IFAS partnership, UF lends its environmental research to help local communities, and the institute’s extension office in Pinellas leads 4-H youth programs and other educational efforts. IFAS has six full-time employees stationed in Pinellas.

Jay Collins says Governor still doesn’t have a property tax cut proposal ready to launch

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said for months that eliminating property taxes is very important to him. But he hasn’t rolled out specific plans for a constitutional amendment, even though the 2026 Legislative Session begins in weeks.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins says that’s because what DeSantis wants isn’t yet ready to roll out.

“DeSantis will roll out his proposal when he’s ready and at the appropriate time, and those facts and details will be laid out,” Collins said in Jacksonville.

Collins, a former state Senator from Tampa who was appointed as a replacement for former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, said two weeks ago DeSantis was “being diligent and dotting the I’s, crossing the t’s, and making sure that all the second-, third-, and fourth-order effects are thought about and taken care of.”

Apparently, the diligence continues.

House Speaker Daniel Perez last month unveiled eight potential constitutional amendments that, if OK’d in the Legislature in the coming Session, would go directly to voters for possible approval in the 2026 election. A House committee will mull those provisions in a meeting Thursday.

Daniel Perez names new House committee leads as Vicki Lopez leaves for Miami-Dade Commission

With Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez vacating her House District 113 seat for a post on the Miami-Dade County Commission, the House is undergoing a minor bit of musical chairs.

In a memo to House Clerk Jeff Takacs, Speaker Daniel Perez made two changes to the chamber’s committee assignments.

In the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, a new panel Lopez has led since December, the Speaker elevated Dade City Republican Rep. Randy Maggard as Chair.

Perez kept St. Pete Beach Republican Rep. Linda Chaney as the subcommittee’s Vice Chair.

In the Select Committee on Property Taxes, which Lopez co-chaired with Palm City Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf, Perez named Overdorf the panel’s lone Chair, with Republican Rep. Dean Black of Jacksonville serving as Vice Chair.

Lopez was just appointed to the District 5 seat of the Miami-Dade Commission, where she’ll replace Democrat Eileen Higgins, who is running for Miami Mayor.

Florida Polytechnic unveils Wendt Engineering Center, third academic site on Lakeland campus

The campus of Florida Polytechnic University just grew a little larger.

Florida Poly leaders unveiled the Gary C. Wendt Engineering Center, the third academic building on campus, during a ceremony the morning of Nov. 18. The 40,000-square-foot building addresses a pressing need, Florida Poly President Devin Stephenson said.

“We needed the extra space,” he said.

Stephenson, who took over leadership of the school in 2024, has set a goal of reaching 3,000 students by 2030. The current enrollment is 1,931.

“We're on a track to reach 3,000 students by 2030 — we believe we will get there before then, we really do,” Stephenson said. “We instituted a brand-new strategic enrollment management model that's working. It's working significantly. Now we are concerned about space. We're almost at capacity with student housing. We will run out of room in classroom and laboratory space, probably by next year.”

The Wendt Engineering Center helps by adding engineering laboratories, faculty offices and a large conference room. The labs have high ceilings, roll-up bay doors and industrial-grade electrical panels to support large-scale engineering projects and heavy equipment, Florida Poly said in an information packet.