News & Views

Florida pushes back against First Amendment violation claims in legal fight over school books

The state’s motion, in part, said the “selection of public-school library books is government speech…”

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida November 18, 2024March 8, 2025

News & Views

Florida public-school unions score big win in dues deduction fight

A federal judge said the dues-deduction ban unconstitutionally violated existing collective bargaining agreements.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida November 7, 2024June 13, 2025

News & Views

5 big takeaways from Election Day in Florida

Republicans had a great night. Democrats? Not so much.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida November 6, 2024November 20, 2024

News & Views

Five big Florida issues to watch on Election Day

Pot, abortion rights, and all the other down ballot battles.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida November 4, 2024November 7, 2024

News & Views

Florida education has been roiled by political attacks, will Amendment 1 make it worse?

Voters are casting ballots on a proposal, known as Amendment 1, that would require partisan school-board elections starting in 2026.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 31, 2024November 8, 2024

News & Views

Federal appeals court backs Florida on protest law, saying peaceful protesters are not threatened

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law is not unconstitutionally vague.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 8, 2024June 6, 2025

News & Views

As Hurricane Milton approaches, Florida braces for storm surge and power outages

While the exact path is unclear, it could hit the heavily populated Tampa Bay area.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 7, 2024February 18, 2025

News & Views

Florida may have to pay $750K in legal fees over DeSantis’ ‘Stop Woke Act’

The state faces an Oct. 28 deadline to respond to the request.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 2, 2024November 26, 2024

News & Views

Judge sides with EPA in lawsuit over record Florida manatee deaths

The lawsuit came after a record 1,100 manatees died in 2021 in Florida.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 2, 2024April 27, 2025

News & Views

Judge refuses to block Florida’s ‘misinformation’ website on abortion amendment

Issues in the lawsuit included statements on the website such as, “Current Florida Law Protects Women, Amendment 4 Threatens Women’s Safety.”

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida October 1, 2024November 4, 2024

News & Views

Feds looking to expand ‘critical habitat’ areas for Florida manatees

The federal government classifies manatees as a “threatened” species, and the sea cows drew widespread attention in 2021 when a record 1,100 died.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 24, 2024April 20, 2025

News & Views

Judge wants Florida doctor to face $10K fine for performing abortions

Leon County Circuit Judge Angela Dempsey’s ruling that upheld the law came after a legal battle that started in 2015.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 23, 2024March 14, 2025

News & Views

Federal judge refuses to toss lawsuit alleging Florida failed to prevent sewage dumps that led to manatee deaths

Florida had a record 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021, with the largest number, 358, in Brevard County, the focus of the lawsuit.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 20, 2024April 25, 2025

News & Views

Florida seeks to dismiss challenge to law barring under-21 strippers

The law includes second-degree felony charges for people who employ or allow dancers under 21 to perform nude in the establishments.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 16, 2024May 31, 2025

News & Views

Another lawsuit challenges Florida Gov. DeSantis’ anti-abortion amendment website

“Under the guise of providing ‘facts’ to the public, the website contains harmful statements that are fundamentally misleading at best, if not outright false.”

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 13, 2024November 7, 2024

News & Views

Pinellas County waterfront homeowners file appeal in public beach access fight

The waterfront property owners argued that the ordinance was an unconstitutional “taking” of their private property.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 12, 2024March 24, 2025

News & Views

‘It’s not electioneering’: DeSantis defends using state-run website to push anti-abortion information

Democratic leaders argue, in part, that the agency has violated a state law that bars government employees from using their offices or authority to try to influence elections.

by Jim Saunders, Jim Turner and News Service of Florida September 10, 2024September 15, 2024

News & Views

Federal appeals court rules against Tampa’s Cambridge Christian School over pregame prayer lawsuit

It said blocking a prayer over the public-address system did not violate free-speech rights.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 4, 2024June 12, 2025

News & Views

Lawsuit filed against Florida’s ‘union busting’ membership threshold law

The lawsuit said collective bargaining is a “majoritarian process” and that a 60 percent dues-paying threshold is invalid under the state Constitution.

by Jim Saunders and News Service of Florida September 3, 2024May 30, 2025