Jim Turner - News Service of Florida

State lawmakers are advising about limited tax dollars amid the COVID-19 pandemic but they have already proposed at least 43 hometown projects worth more than $45 million. 

With the coronavirus pandemic significantly reducing state tax revenues, the House appropriations chairman told his committee Wednesday to expect budget cuts.

Questions remain about when extended unemployment benefits from a newly signed federal stimulus package will be available for Floridians out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida’s unemployment rate held steady in November, as businesses did not boost seasonal hiring as much as usual amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effects of the coronavirus pandemic on state tourism decreased in October, but recovery for Florida’s vital revenue-generating industry is still at best a year away, according to an association study released Monday.

As the most-active hurricane season on record officially ends on Monday, Nov. 30, Florida overall has been relatively lucky.

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped in October, reflecting the state’s continued push to reopen businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

While continuing to question Republican campaign tactics, state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, a Miami Democrat, conceded his re-election bid to Ileana Garcia on Thursday after a hand recount didn’t alter the outcome of the District 37 contest.

A single-seat expansion of the Republican majority in the Florida Senate hinges on several hundred uncounted vote-by-mail ballots in Miami-Dade County. 

Floridians might approach the highest voter-turnout rate for a general election in at least half a century, as more than 41 percent of eligible voters have already cast ballots in the Nov. 3 election.

Voting yes on Amendment 2 to boost Florida’s minimum wage will either give 2.5 million workers a pay raise - or - result in 158,000 jobs disappearing over the next few years, according to counter arguments by advocates and critics.

First-time unemployment claims jumped last week in Florida, as a growing number of major entertainment and travel-related businesses cut hours and lay off employees.

Drinks can flow at establishments where alcohol licenses were pulled this summer when the state cracked down on violations of coronavirus rules.

First-time unemployment claims in Florida dropped nearly 25 percent last week, as bars and craft breweries served drinks again and Gov. Ron DeSantis moved forward with the third phase of his coronavirus economic-recovery efforts.

With Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calling for a coordinated response by statewide elected officials to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday defended the actions of agencies under his control.

Florida will hold off for now on deciding the future home of a statue of a Confederate general that has represented the state at the U.S. Capitol for nearly a century.

Florida continues to see a steady decline in first-time unemployment claims, even as several large hospitality and entertainment companies have extended and imposed large-scale layoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After many establishments were closed for months amid the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s top business regulator believes bar and craft-brewery owners will do a better job this time of self-enforcing state safety restrictions.

Leaders of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus and a non-profit group sounded off Tuesday against a proposal going before voters in November that they say will decimate minority representation in the House and Senate.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he hopes to give Floridians the “ability to have some enjoyment in their life” by soon lifting on-site drinking restrictions imposed on bars and craft breweries since late June.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi implored Republican Party volunteers in Tallahassee to stress the positives of mail-in-ballots as a campaign bus tour for President Donald Trump swung through Northwest Florida on Wednesday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday backed the efforts of the state’s elections chief and county elections supervisors after President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of postponing the November general election because of his aversion to “mail-in” ballots.

Apalachicola Bay oysters, sweet and salty mollusks best served raw on the half-shell with a little lemon juice, will be off the menu for up to five years in the latest effort to revive the oyster population in the Franklin County bay.

Planning continues for the Republican National Convention next month in Jacksonville, the host committee announced late Monday after Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams, a Republican, warned the city isn’t ready for even a scaled-down event.

With no end in sight for bars across Florida that are prohibited from allowing drinking on premises, the state is making an example of at least one Jacksonville brewery, according to its owner.

President Donald Trump pointed Tuesday to being “very flexible” when asked if increasing coronavirus cases could affect his desire for a big nominating convention next month in Jacksonville.