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Schools won’t return to pre-pandemic enrollment in next 10 years, economists forecast
A state forecast indicates Florida schools will experience declining enrollment in five of the next six years, with the one positive year representing less than a 0.1% increase. The student enrollment forecast from the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research predicts that 12,379 fewer students will attend traditional public schools during the 2024-2025 school […]
Ossoff-backed bill banning stock trading for presidents, vice presidents, Congress members advances
A bipartisan proposal that would ban elected members of Congress and the executive branch from trading stocks while in office advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee this week but faces concerns from some GOP senators over its reach. The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs with an 8-to-4 vote […]
Can excitement about Harris in Florida spur young Democratic turn-out in the fall?
It’s been less than a week since Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee, and a Florida Democratic party activist representing young voters says the change at the head of the ticket has absolutely energized that part of the base. “It’s a completely different ballgame,” said Jayden D’Onofrio, who chairs the Florida Future […]
Rhetoric versus reality: Addressing common misconceptions about abortion
Reproductive rights have taken center stage in the first post-Roe presidential election that presently features a longtime advocate for reproductive rights in possible Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, opposite former Republican President Donald Trump, whose three appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices helped overturn federal abortion rights. Although Trump’s former health staffers have co-authored the Heritage […]
Grassley releases bodycam videos of Trump assassination attempt
Editor’s note: This story links to video containing images that may be upsetting to some viewers. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley released additional videos and documents Thursday related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Grassley said in a news release that the bodycam videos were obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU) […]
VP Harris tells teachers union she’s ‘fighting for the future,’ blasts Project 2025
Vice President Kamala Harris — the likely 2024 Democratic presidential nominee — outlined on Thursday some of her “vision of the future” while touting the administration’s education record in her keynote address to the American Federation of Teachers national convention in Houston. Harris has quickly drawn the support of major unions like the AFT in […]
Amendment 4 sponsor is taking dispute over the state’s financial analysis to FL Supreme Court
The sponsor of the proposed abortion-rights amendment to the Florida Constitution asked the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday to toss out a state panel’s financial analysis of the measure. Floridians Protecting Freedom took its complaint to Florida’s highest court after a lower state appeal court dismissed it on Monday. In a 31-page brief, the Amendment […]
Dem women in State Legislature say outpouring of support for Harris is also coming from Florida
Florida is not one of the states Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has highlighted as focus areas, but Democratic leaders in the Florida Legislature insist that the campaign’s efforts combined with enthusiasm from voters could put the Sunshine State is in play. Harris has raised $100 million since announcing her bid for the presidency and […]
FAU president search: Firm gets warned about advertising job on women, diversity-focused boards
During the first meeting in Florida Atlantic University’s second attempt to find a president, a lawyer and former New College of Florida trustee told the firm handling the search that posting the job on publications focused on women or diversity would be inconsistent with state policy. The public university in Boca Raton is restarting its […]
Project 2025 is a bad bet for Florida’s future
The other day I was watching a campaign rally by the one reeeeally ooooold presidential candidate, and he was warning everyone about Project 2025. “Some on the right, the severe right, came up with this Project 25,” he said, mangling the name a bit, perhaps because he’s showing signs of mental decline. He mentioned people […]
Democrats approve virtual vote by delegates to pick a presidential nominee
WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee will move forward with a virtual nomination vote for its presidential candidate as soon as Aug. 1, after its Rules Committee approved the process on Wednesday. The DNC has been moving forward with plans to hold a virtual nomination roll call since well before President Joe Biden announced his […]
Report card: The highest and lowest performing school districts in Florida
Grades rating Florida public school districts and individual schools were released Wednesday, showing which have performed best according to metrics laid out by the state. Schools were graded using measurements including achievement in English language arts, math, science, and social studies, graduations, acceleration success for middle and high school students, and maintaining a focus on […]
FL GOP congressional candidate Aaron Dimmock is a full-time employee in Missouri
Aaron Dimmock, the underdog Republican challenging Matt Gaetz in Florida’s First Congressional District GOP primary in the Panhandle next month, is running what can only be described as an unusual race. Dimmock is a retired Navy officer who heads the Missouri Leadership Academy in St. Louis, some 700 miles away from Pensacola, the heart of […]
Ron DeSantis says GOP must be prepared for the media to ‘elevate’ Kamala Harris
Ron DeSantis says there’s no doubt Republicans would have preferred to have faced Joe Biden this November in the presidential election, but he believes Kamala Harris is the best Democratic candidate from a GOP perspective to run against Donald Trump, saying that her “tenure as vice president has been disastrous.” Speaking at St. Petersburg College’s […]
High school student athletes can now profit; rules could change if bad actors emerge
Florida student athletes can now profit from their names, images, and likenesses — NIL for short — under a policy the Board of Education unanimously approved on Wednesday. The measure had been passed by the Florida High School Athletic Association in early June. Craig Damon, executive director of the association, said consultations with other state […]
Gov. DeSantis sees UF president search as an opportunity to continue ‘strong path’
Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a press conference Wednesday morning that he won’t get involved with the University of Florida’s quest for a new president, but he said he wants the next leader to continue on a ‘strong path.’ The university is in search of a new president following the announcement last week that Ben […]
Florida House Democrats host their first ‘field hearing’ in Tampa
A group of state House Democrats held the first of three scheduled “field hearings” on Monday night in Tampa to give constituents a chance to explain what they’d like to see when the Legislature reconvenes following the November elections. In a pointed rebuke to the Republicans who run the Legislature, the Democrats put no time […]
DeSantis says state & local law enforcement need to step up counter-terrorism efforts in FL
Ron DeSantis says he’s concerned the United States could be hit with a terrorist attack similar in proportion to what took place in Israel last fall, and that Washington is no longer as focused on counterterrorism efforts, meaning that state and local agencies in Florida will need to pick up the slack. Speaking during the […]
Presidential searches taking off at three Florida universities
University of Florida and Florida A&M University announced candidates Tuesday to tap as interim presidents following resignations by both institutions’ leaders, while Florida Atlantic University will kick off its second presidential search since its most recent president left in 2022. UF President Ben Sasse is set to step down on July 31, and an email […]
Florida has the highest number of heat-related illnesses, a new report finds
More than 5.7 million Floridians are vulnerable to extreme heat, according to a report from the Florida Policy Institute, which called upon state lawmakers to repeal a new law that prohibits local governments from enacting heat protections for outdoor workers. Over the past four years, Florida has also had the highest number of emergency room […] The post Florida has the highest number of heat-related illnesses, a new report finds appeared first on Florida Phoenix.
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The Phoenix is a nonprofit news site that covers state government and politics with a staff of five journalists located at the Florida Press Center in downtown Tallahassee. We have a mix of in-depth stories, briefs, and social media updates on the latest events, editorial cartoons, and progressive commentary. Reporters in many now-shrunken capital bureaus have to spend most of their time these days chasing around after more and more outrageous political behavior, and too many don’t have time to lift up emerging innovative ideas or report on the people who are trying to help solve problems and shift policy for a more compassionate world. The Florida Phoenix does those stories. The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.
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