Capital Report
Saturday 8:30 p.m.
Reporters from public radio stations across the state bring you timely news and information from around Florida. Whether it's legislative maneuvers, the economy, environmental issues, tourism, business, or the arts, Capital Report provides information on issues that affect the lives of everyday Floridians.
You can also subscribe to Capital Report as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and Google.
Latest Episodes
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On tonight’s program: Some Florida lawmakers and the governor really want to cut or even do away with the state’s property taxes.But are they shooting in the dark?; With so many critical issues facing state lawmakers, you might think culture war stuff might be taking a back seat this session.And you’d be wrong; The old saying was, “Everybody wants to move to Florida.”But maybe the new saying is, “Fewer people now want to move to Florida.”And experts say that’s not a good thing; A growing number of immigrants who came to Florida are choosing to leave voluntarily; In an emergency, you may call the police, the fire department, an ambulance….you can even call an emergency chaplain; And an effort to make the flamingo the state bird is back, and the discussion this week in the Florida House was rife with puns….
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On tonight’s program: Florida has been helping the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown.But it seems compensation for that support has been slow in coming; Environmental lawsuits are stacking up against Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades; A Senate committee has approved the extension of a fund Governor DeSantis has used for hurricane recovery, as well as immigration enforcement; At least for now, a court order has stopped President Trump’s order to protect Haitian immigrants from immediate deportation.Florida driver license exams are no longer multi-lingual.That reverses the former policy of accommodating applicants whose English skills are lacking; After a freezing cold weekend for much of Florida, can we expect more of this kind of weather? ; And here’s one affordable housing option:build a so-called “Granny Flat” on your existing property and rent it out.
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In Florida, those who sympathize with certain causes or ideologies may soon be guiltyof the crime of “domestic terrorism.”Political disagreements are becoming really problematic when it comes to relationships.Amidst multi-million dollar outlays, Florida’s school voucher system seems to have a raft of accounting problems; Something that lawmakers are now trying to fix; After all the horror stories about AI, many educators now think it might help more students gain literacy. If they have access to it; And Florida’s Brightline trains are running in the red; maybe because those train trips have been too much of a bargain?
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On tonight’s program: Republicans are pushing an annual day to honor the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk; While President Trump is urging states to not regulate AI, Florida is moving forward with some attempt at putting guardrails on the technology; What happens when tax credits run out for folks on the Affordable Care Act marketplace?; Some mainstream religious groups have been trying to persuade Florida lawmakers to back off the state’s support for what they consider federal overreach on immigration; It’s hard to make good decisions if good information isn’t available to guide them. That pretty much sums up the current situation with how many people really need the food provided by SNAP benefits; And despite the best efforts of conservationists and others, the Florida Panther is in worse shape than ever.
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On tonight's program: As this year’s Florida lawmaking session begins, Governor DeSantis has just one ask of lawmakers; Despite some tiffs and occasional hard feelings, most Florida lawmakers seem determined to smooth out the lingering rough spots with their colleagues this year; Florida may not be Cuba, but the two lands are now and forever linked as Cubans in Florida struggle to reclaim their homeland; Changes in Florida law as well as federal immigration policy has placed a growing number of immigrant laborers in mortal danger; And your airport chauffeur could soon be a pilot instead of a driver.
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On tonight's program: Governor DeSantis faces his final legislative session as governor starting next week. And there could be some serious headwinds for the governor and his agenda; A once greatly-respected advocate against domestic violence pleads no contest to multiple felony charges; Governor DeSantis has some thoughts about state regulation of AI; While AI platforms like ChapGPT can have many positive aspects, there are also dangers; And environmental advocates say there are solid reasons why there are regulations regarding fragile places like Florida’s Everglades.
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On tonight’s program: Florida lawmakers hadn’t originally planned for 2026 to be a congressional redistricting year. But then President Donald Trump called; A priority of Florida’s senate president to funnel more state resources into rural counties didn’t make it in 2025.But it’s make a return appearance in 2026; A move to allow younger Floridians to own long guns is attracting some pushback ahead of the lawmaking session; Florida law requires rental property owners to take reasonable steps to protect their tenants from things like gun violence. Although that law was watered down a few years back; If you’re whipsawed by inflation at the grocery store, you might want to consider growing more of that food yourself; And we go back in time a quarter-of-a-century to a political meltdown that was very unlike today when all politics is taken very personally by everybody.
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On tonight’s program: We remember the tragic shooting on FSU’s campus and the resilience of the university’s students; As Florida starts dumping public health mandates in favor of personal choice, it seems viruses don’t really respond all that well to political arguments; Florida brings back its controversial black bear hunt, although state officials insist everything will be done “humanely” and “by the book.”; During the year nearly passed, it seemed a growing number of people joined the campaign to persuade more bio-dads to become actual loving, supportive and present fathers; And this year has been one of citizens making their voices heard. We visit one of the No Kings Protests that took place on the Florida Capitol lawn.
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On tonight's program: In Florida, the battle lines are being drawn In the upcoming fight over who will pay for all the infrastructure the AI industry needs; We get a look ahead to how Florida property taxes may change, now that Governor DeSantis has weighed in on the matter; The present wave of anti-Semitic violence has Jewish congregations on high alert; An investigative report by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times suggests theDeSantis administration diverted more than $35 million in taxpayer money to fight two ballot initiatives. Money that should have gone somewhere else; It’s the old city vs country debate, but with untold millions of dollars-worth of development hanging in the balance, politics is playing an even bigger role; Florida’s official public health policy is moving away from required vaccinations. But that hasn’t stopped many in the medical community from citing worrisome data; Florida signs on to a multi-state lawsuit against the popular weed killer Roundup; and the old saying about “music having charms to soothe the savage beast” is being amended to say: “music has charms to soothe the saddened soul.”
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On tonight’s program: What’s the connection between free speech and violence? There’s some new research on that subject and the results are a bit disturbing; Is Florida’s electorate swinging back in a Democratic direction? The state’s Republican Party leader thinks not; Certified Public Accountants may seem an unassuming lot. But it seems they have some critical superpowers; And it’s been said you can recycle just about anything nowadays. And it seems that includes already used water in Central Florida.