Posted inNews & Views
Florida’s minimum wage rises to $14 an hour
Florida now has the highest minimum wage in the geographic South, thanks to a historic vote by Floridians in 2020.
Florida News
Find the latest Florida news delivered by journalists that know at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
Posted inNews & Views
PEN report: Florida accounts for 30% of nation’s book bans as trend slows
PEN America reported 600 titles in Hillsborough County that are “banned pending investigation.” The Florida Department of Education reported none in Hillsborough.
Posted inNews & Views
As his bill faces home rule lawsuits, Pinellas Republican Sen. Nick DiCeglie says he may ‘have to make some adjustments’
More than two dozen local governments have filed suit seeking to block SB 180, which restricts local them from regulating development.
Posted inNews & Views
If elected as attorney general, José Rodriguez vows to actually enforce Florida minimum wage law
The AG has the power to fine employers found to have willfully violated minimum wage requirements—there is no evidence that the office has ever done this in the 20 years they’ve had the authority.
Posted inNews & Views
DeSantis-appointed former Florida Surgeon General details ‘painful consequences’ of governor’s pivot on vaccines
When COVID-19 emerged early in 2020, Dr. Scott Rivkees led the effort once the mRNA vaccine was available to administer.
Posted inNews & Views
78% of first-time applicants pass the Florida Bar exam in Tampa
Hopefully, they come up with more creative billboard ads.
Posted inNews & Views
Pinellas teachers among those targeted for Charlie Kirk social media comments
Rep. Berny Jacques (R-Seminole) requested the Pinellas County Superintendent fire teachers who have conducted ‘abhorrent’ behavior on their social media accounts since Kirk’s death.
Posted inNews & Views
Florida apologized to Victor Jones for the abuse he endured at reform school. Now the state wants him executed.
He would be the third former student at the notorious reform schools to be executed in little more than a year.
Posted inNews & Views
New survey shows majority of Florida GOP voters back clean energy initiatives
Jake Hoffman, president of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans, said the government should accelerate solar energy.
Posted inNews & Views
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo’s pharmacy board will discuss vaccines this month
For the most part Board of Pharmacy members haven’t contributed heavily to politicians or political committees.
Posted inNews & Views
Florida AG says open carry is the law, drawing warnings from Second Amendment Groups
Groups that have been advocating for the Legislature to repeal Florida’s ban on open carry are cheering last week’s ruling—and warning state legislators not to add any new regulations in legislation they offer next year.
Posted inNews & Views
Florida’s Attorney General says open carry is “the law of the state”
An appeals court reversed a long-standing open carry ban.
Posted inNews & Views
FWC is limiting social media comments, raising First Amendment concerns
‘I think it’s unenforceable because it’s unconstitutional.’
Posted inNews & Views
Mural combat: As DeSantis erases street art, Tampa Bay fights back
“If you want to take it off the street, fine. I’ll put it on a wall.”
Posted inNews & Views
Vaccines and guns: DeSantis gives a sneak peek at 2026 legislative agenda [PHOTOS]
He’s going for open carry again.
Posted inNews & Views
Miami Beach has challenged FDOT’s street art ban
The Miami Beach petition at the Division of Administrative Hearings said the state targeted what are described as “terrazzo pavers” at Ocean Drive and 12th Street in the city.
Posted inNews & Views
Homelessness among Florida families up 28-percent, says report
Rents have also increased by nearly 40% between 2019-2023.
Posted inNews & Views
DeSantis says the state is looking into opening a new immigration detention facility in west Florida
The first deportation facility, in the Everglades, opened earlier this summer, must be shut down, a federal judge ruled, although the state is fighting that ruling.
Posted inNews & Views
DeSantis comes to Hillsborough County and defends signing controversial land-use law
VALRICO — Manatee County Commissioners have voted to join a lawsuit challenging a new state law (SB 180) that restricts local governments from regulating developments.
Posted inPolitics
In Largo, town hall with Pinellas Republican Berny Jacques gets loud
It’s not just Republicans in Congress who are being aggressively challenged at town-hall meetings this summer.
