State News

With a new opioid law in effect, Florida health officials are educating the public on some of the new changes through a new campaign.

August is Child Safety Awareness Month, and Florida officials are reminding motorists to always buckle up their kids.

Ryan Torrens is a candidate for Florida Attorney General running in the primary against Democratic Representative Sean Shaw. Recently, Shaw filed a lawsuit alleging Torrens didn’t properly qualify as a candidate, and violated campaign finance law. Torrens has come to his own defense by releasing a public rebuttal, and has filed a motion to dismiss the case. It is set to be heard on August 22, just six days before the primary election.

Torrens recently sat down with WFSU’s Ryan Dailey to give his side of the story.

The research group Integrity Florida is raising concern about what it sees as a lack of diversity in President Donald Trump’s judicial nominations. 

Florida’s child welfare agency is partnering with other groups to hold its first ever “Back to School Supply Drive” for foster care kids.

Florida’s pool and spa related deaths rose from 2016 to 2017. 

Blueprints on how to make a functional 3D printed gun at home are now available online. But, Florida’s U.S. Senator Bill Nelson is among several Democrats calling on President Trump to step in.

A petition signed by 5,500 Floridians has been delivered to Gov. Rick Scott’s office, asking for tight regulation of Legislature-funded crisis pregnancy centers. Nonprofit advocacy group Progress Florida is behind the effort, and says it has identified about 190 of what they call “fake clinics.” Progress Florida says the centers steer women away from birth control and abortion.

Volunteer Florida is allocating scholarships to educational organizations to help students in Florida’s rural communities.

Some blame the state legislature for not fully funding Florida’s corrections budget. Prison officials say that led to them making some hard choices. Among those choices: cutting funding to programs helpful to inmates trying to transition back into society—as we hear in the last installment of Sascha Cordner’s two-part series.

A coalition of representatives from political, religious, academic and nonprofit groups is trying to reignite the conversation surrounding legislation protecting recipients of DACA. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum recently hosted a forum discussion in tandem with lobbying firm FWD. us. Its intention is to bring advocates together in a push for what they say is an “urgency” for Congressional action. What they want, in their words, is a “long-term legislative solution for Dreamers.”

Ted Hutchinson is organizing director for FWD.us in Florida. He joins Ryan Dailey to explain why he feels legislation is in limbo, and what’s next.

Mosquito populations on the East Coast are 2 to 3 times larger than normal, according to an estimate by The National Pest Management Association. 

When wildlife experts need help balancing an ecosystem, they sometimes call on snakes. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently released 20 eastern indigo snakes into the wild.

After numerous complaints last week, Florida’s election agency says the glitches on its online voter registration website are fixed. But, if anyone sees any other issues going forward, they’re urged to report them immediately.

Florida is leading the way in new energy alternatives, but also lagging behind on some major efficiency standards.   

The state budget officially went into effect earlier this month. That includes Florida’s prison budget, which led to prison officials cutting funding to programs helpful to inmates trying to transition back into society. While some blame the Florida legislature, others want to stop playing the blame game and move forward. In the first installment of her series, WFSU's Sascha Cordner digs into what led up to this point.

Florida’s Department of State has asked the one of the state’s universities for help in safeguarding the 2018 elections. Dr. Eman El-Sheikh directs University of West Florida’s Center for Cybersecurity. She has been essential in developing a curriculum that’s used to train Supervisors of Elections and their staffs. El Sheikh recently spoke with WFSU’s Ryan Dailey to talk about what went into developing that training, and what election cyber-threats look like in 2018.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began upgrading its Sunpass toll system on June 1st. Since then, Sunpass users have been racking up charges but not getting the bill.

The Maryland-based company Conduent State & Local Solutions was scheduled to finish work on the system by June 11th. Yet more than a month later, it still isn’t fully operational.

25 children have died after being left in a hot car so far this year. Two of those death occurred in Florida. The Florida Department of Children and Families is trying to combat this issue.