How Governor Ron DeSantis' administration has been spending money from the state's emergency fund on immigration enforcement has been a topic of debate in Tallahassee at this year's legislative session's halfway point. WFSU's Tristan Wood spoke with the Florida Phoenix's Liv Caputo about that and other immigration bills advancing in the legislature.
Several former detainees at "Alligator Alcatraz" facility in the Everglades recently testified about their inability to obtain legal counsel -- and the punishment they received when they asked for representation. To learn more about the issues migrants are dealing with in the legal system, WGCU’s Jennifer Crawford spoke with Fort Myers Immigration Attorney Indera DeMine (inn-DEER-uh---dee-MINE).
A couple of happenings this week in the Florida House with spending – the full House quickly passed its 113.6 billion dollar budget proposal. But House Speaker Daniel Perez warned negotiations with the Senate could be rocky, possibly leading to an extension of the legislative session. The regular session is scheduled to end March 13. Chamber disagreements last year led to an extra 45 days of session. The House also voted to renew the governor's emergency fund. It includes some spending guardrails, unlike the Senate version. In addition to natural disasters, it does allow spending on manmade or technological disasters. For a deeper discussion about spending bills in the legislature, Gina Jordan sat down with Tristan Wood and WUSF reporter Douglas Soule (for WFSU’s podcast Speaking Of).
Florida doesn't have a massive data center operating yet. But proposals to build them are popping up across the state, including one that would cover 1,300 acres in Polk County. These centers use immense amounts of energy for things like artificial intelligence or cryptocurrency. They require millions of gallons of water every day to cool the systems. There's also a concern about pollution from forever chemicals. WUSF's Jessica Meszaros talked about this new trend in tech with Earthjustice senior attorney Christina Reichert [rye-kurt].