Jim Turner | News Service of Florida

When it comes to getting the word out on Florida citrus, some of the older social media outlets are still the go-to engines. The Department of Citrus continues most of its marketing engagement on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube, citing reliability and visual storytelling as core reasons, commissioners were told Wednesday.

Democrats on Thursday called for more investigations and resignations of top state officials after a leaked state grand jury report found Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration “misappropriated” Medicaid money in 2024 that ended up in political committees.

Former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, among six Democrats running for governor, picked up $63,600 on Friday from the voter-approved public campaign finance program, pushing his allotment over the past five weeks to $1.66 million.

In every case, the incumbent enters the home stretch of the primary with a sizeable financial advantage.

State university officials want Congress to pass an antitrust exemption for the NCAA to establish a salary cap, along with transfer and eligibility regulations on student athletic programs.

While still close to historic lows for an industry that once dominated the citrus juice market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased the orange production by nearly 6% from an April forecast, putting it a little more than 5%above the 2024-2025 growing season.

About 140 laws from the regular session and a trio of special sessions are set to take effect July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year.

DeSantis signed a series of law enforcement-related measures Tuesday, with many of them designed to increase penalties for criminals and give police and prosecutors more options to pursue them.

ormer U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, who fell 3.1 percentage points short of being the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2018, could be on the ballot again this year, but in a supporting role.

Florida will soon be able to legally designate groups as “domestic terrorist organizations” under a bill headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. The Republican-controlled House voted 80-25 on Thursday on the measure (HB 1471) which backs up DeSantis’ executive order in December that named two Islamic groups as terrorist organizations.

State legislators won't complete the budget by Friday, requiring talks on the spending plan to move beyond the scheduled end of the regular session, House Speaker Daniel Perez said Monday.

The House voted 105-2 on the plan (HB 7031), which drew some criticism for lifting sales taxes for the next fiscal year on firearm accessories, including holsters, magazines, muzzle devices, sights and suppressors.