Florida health officials added another 12 reported cases of the Zika virus during the past week, including the first sexually transmitted case in 2017, according to information posted on the state Department of Health website.
As state investigators seek more evidence from the public about a growing number of videos that showcase abuse of sharks, legislation may be filed that seeks to better define state wildlife laws.
Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala, the chairman of the influential Senate Appropriations Committee, may soon be in a gubernatorial fight with House Speaker Richard Corcoran. Neither has formally jumped into the 2018 Republican primary for governor with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. But Latvala, who has set an Aug. 16 date to announce if he will run for the governor’s mansion, doesn’t appear to be waiting.
Pointing to higher-than-expected fuel costs, Duke Energy Florida has filed a proposal that could lead to recouping about $200 million from customers.
Landlines are quickly going the way of rotary-dial phones in Florida. A state report released this week showed that large numbers of Floridians continue unplugging the types of phone lines that were a fixture of life for decades. Instead, they are reaching into their pockets for mobile phones or using internet technology to chat with friends and family.
It’s not unusual for lawyers representing Death Row prisoners whose execution dates have been set to file last-minute appeals to try to get more time to argue about why their clients should be spared. But an attempt by death-penalty lawyer Marty McClain on behalf of Mark James Asay, scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection late this month, is even more complicated.
The state’s former chief inspector general will not have an ethical conflict if she works for a company with ties to a group that was once the subject of an investigation she was involved in, the Florida Ethics Commission unanimously ruled Friday.
