Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday indicated that he plans to sign a bill into law that would prohibit the building of golf courses and hotels in Florida’s state parks, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Newspaper owners across the country have been ditching presidential endorsements, figuring they shouldn't alienate readers with something most of them don't care about.

The fabric roof over the home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays was ripped to shreds after Hurricane Milton came ashore in Florida on Wednesday night, bringing wind gusts exceeding 100 mph and flooding parts of the state.

An internet hacker group claims it released sensitive Florida Department of Health data,

An internet hacker group claims it released sensitive Florida Department of Health data,

An analysis that was the basis of a highly criticized recommendation from Florida’s surgeon general cautioning young men against getting the COVID-19 vaccine omitted information that showed catching the virus could increase the risk of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the shot.

This is a strange time for people with the same name as Florida’s 46th governor, who is widely presumed to be eyeing a run for president of the United States.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency across his entire state as Tropical Storm Ian gains strength over the Caribbean and is forecast to become a major hurricane in coming days.

From the start, the best guess was that racism was behind the erasures. Four years later, that remains the theory, but with more context.

Some Florida teachers are raising concerns about the state’s new civics training.

A man looking for Frisbees in a Florida lake on Tuesday was killed by an alligator, according to authorities and media reports.

The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism Monday for its coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, an attack on democracy that was a shocking start to a tumultuous year that also saw the end of the United States’ longest war, in Afghanistan.

Former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo said that coach Urban Meyer referred to him by vulgar names and kicked him during a warmup, another damning report against the first-year Jaguars coach.

The first case of the coronavirus omicron variant in Florida was confirmed Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Florida Department of Health said.

“Keep Gulfport Weird” is practically a town motto, found on bumper stickers all over, so it’s fitting that a home listing there landed on the “Zillow Gone Wild” Facebook page.

The state of Florida has distributed only 2% of the $870 million in federal funds it has received so far to keep renters in their homes during the pandemic by paying their landlords.

Health officials say red tide could cause people along certain parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast to experience respiratory irritation.

The Tampa Bay Times has won its 13th Pulitzer Prize.

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Following reports that Gov. DeSantis was asked about the criticism from the community that followed the Tuesday report during a press conference on Wednesday. Ad“I mean, if Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,” DeSantis said. “There is no reason that Governor DeSantis should be rationing vaccines based on political influence,” Fried said in a press release. DeSantis pushed back on the claims that he set up the site because the community’s developer and residents of the community support him politically.

TAMPA, Fla. – A condominium association in Florida is suing a 78-year-old woman over the feeding of a stray cat. The lawsuit doesn’t specify the number of cats or other animals Hussey is alleged to be feeding. Hussey told the newspaper she only feeds a black-and-white cat she had fixed years ago and calls Cleo. Last year, the condo association took its case to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation for arbitration, which is a process required before this kind of condo dispute can go to court, the newspaper reported. An order was issued requiring her to stop feeding cats on the property.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – At least 20 Florida panthers have died in 2020, a toll that appears to be on track to finish lower than in previous years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that almost all of the panther deaths were caused by people. We don’t want to make too much of it yet, but it certainly gets our attention,” Onorato told the newspaper. Florida panthers are the only puma still roaming east of the Mississippi River. Advocates are fighting a proposed toll road expansion, which could bring a new highway near panther habitat.

Published: November 19, 2020, 6:53 am Updated: November 19, 2020, 9:15 amTAMPA, Fla. – Tampa's fire chief and two top assistants have been suspended over unspecified allegations of misconduct. Fire Chief Nick LoCicero, Division Chief of Training Susan Tamme and Training Officer John Muralt were suspended Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The city named Division Chief Barbara Tripp as interim fire chief. LoCicero is a three-decade employee of the fire department and became chief two years ago. LoCicero, Tamme and Muralt did not release any statement.

TAMPA, Fla. – Florida has seen slightly more than the average number of manatee deaths this year, but scientists don't know the cause of some because necropsies were suspended during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. “It takes several staff together to pick up a manatee carcass.”State data showed 99 manatee deaths were documented during those two months. The majority were listed as “verified, not recovered.”Through July 24, the number of manatee deaths are at least 22 above the five-year average, the newspaper reported. A theory about the higher deaths is an increase in boat traffic during the pandemic. She and other residents told the newspaper that they've noticed an uptick in boat traffic on the river during the pandemic.

With NFL training facilities still closed to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brady has been leading small voluntary workouts near downtown Tampa for much of the past month. The latest session came just three days after the Bucs confirmed an unspecified number of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 at the team's training center. The same day, NFL Players Association medial director Dr. Thom Mayer, recommended all NFL players refrain from working out in group settings until training camp begins next month. It is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts," Mayer said. The Bucs did not release the number or names of people who tested positive at the teams headquarters.

Published: May 18, 2020, 10:59 am Updated: May 18, 2020, 11:31 amJACKSONVILLE, Fla. – According to the numbers released Monday morning by the Florida Department of Health, the state has reported 46,442 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 1,997 deaths. Duval County reached 1,300 cases, as of Monday morning, according to the state health department. In Northeast Florida, some of the hardest hit counties besides Duval are Clay (320 cases, 25 deaths) and Alachua (337 cases, seven deaths). The Florida Department of Health has not recorded any coronavirus deaths among children. The state has administered 677,710 tests for the coronavirus, with 6.8% of tests coming back positive.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, prominently featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness," started selling face masks with her oft-quoted catchphrase Saturday. The dual-layered tie masks feature the words “Hey all you cool cats and kittens” above a whiskered feline smile. Big Cat Rescue is closed to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak. Big Cat Rescue and its founder have been the subject of much attention since being featured in “Tiger King." “Tiger King" spent much of its time focusing on the feud between Baskin and Maldonado-Passage, which included accusations by him that Baskin was behind the disappearance of her ex-husband, Don Lewis.

The consequences of state officials failing to fix Florida’s unemployment website are being felt by possibly hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in the wake of an unprecedented wave of unemployment claims. Due to coronavirus-related job losses, more people than ever are filing for unemployment benefits. The State Department of Labor will release new numbers today and is expected to break the record. The Tampa Bay Times reported if the state can’t fix the website hundreds of thousands of Floridians thrown out of work could, at the least, be forced to wait weeks for unemployment relief. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has this warning when you go to its website:Important: The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is currently experiencing higher than average wait times when contacting the Reemployment Assistance Program.

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Clay County School Board is preparing for the worst when it comes to filling its soon-to-be-vacant superintendent position. Ron DeSantis to appoint an interim superintendent to fill in until a permanent superintendent is elected in November. School Board member Carol Studdard told News4Jax on Thursday afternoon she doesn’t see a problem with putting a policy in place to prepare for a worst-case scenario. The amendment will be voted on during a Thursday school board meeting at 6 p.m. in Green Cove Springs. So far, three candidates have filed to run for Clay County superintendent in November — Aaron Smith, Melanie Walls and former Clay County superintendent Charlie Van Zant.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A 26-year-old man is accused of killing a man during an argument over a parking spot outside a Florida duplex. Pinellas County Sheriff's investigators say Deshon Powers fatally shot 31-year-old Derek Omasta late Saturday while arguing over a parking space. Omasta's wife Samantha tells the Tampa Bay Times she still doesn't understand how the dispute escalated so quickly, adding "none of it makes any sense." She says this was supposed to be a big week for the couple as they planned to announce her pregnancy Thursday, which was her 32nd birthday. Attorney Theresa Jean-Pierre says his legal team plans to "vigorously" defend him.

TAMPA, Fla. - Old comments questioning the study of evolution in schools are coming back to haunt the chair of Floridas Board of Education. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Andy Tuck made comments to news publications in 2008 and 2014 about his doubts in the study of evolution. Tuck told the newspaper Highlands Today that he strongly opposed any study of evolution as fact in schools. Years later, he reiterated those objections to a blogger from Florida Citizens for Science. Asked about the criticism by the Times, Tuck did not say whether his views had changed over the past 11 years.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida will seek new bids in three years instead of renewing its contract with the company that oversaw last years botched SunPass conversion. Florida transportation officials on Wednesday confirmed their plans to re-bid the second half of the contract with New Jersey-based Conduent State & Local Solution. The Tampa Bay Times reported earlier Wednesday that Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault said in an interview that Conduents contract wouldnt be renewed. Conduent's $343 million contract includes running the system for the next three years. The SunPass system conversion was supposed to last about a week and be completed last June.