Florida DOGE ramps up audits
Florida’s task force aimed at eliminating wasteful spending has begun auditing city and county governments up and down the state.
Florida DOGE — or Department of Government Efficiency — is the state’s version of the task force that was headed by Elon Musk.
We checked in with our partner stations to see how those audits are going.
Guests:
- Carlton Gillespie, WLRN’s Broward County Bureau reporter.
- Joe Byrnes, reporter for Central Florida Public Media.
- Meghan Bowman, Your Florida state government team reporter.
- Mike Mendenhall, associate editor and city government reporter for Jacksonville Today.
Congressional redistricting
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants the Legislature to look into redrawing congressional maps.
DeSantis said Florida was underrepresented in the last census and should have had more than one extra seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Florida House of Representatives is putting together a select committee on redistricting.
Florida is one of many states entering the national battle over congressional redistricting.
Guests:
- Douglas Soule, Your Florida state government team reporter.
- Sharon Austin, professor of political science at the University of Florida.
Weekly news briefing
It’s the last weekend before the school year begins for K-12 students. And this year, school districts are reporting fewer teacher vacancies.
But some school districts might have another challenge at hand when it comes to funding.
Florida's private school voucher program is draining money from public schools. School leaders in Sarasota are proposing changes to the way districts are funded.
As students across the Big Bend head back to school, advocates say the occasion can bring both positives and negatives to families facing housing insecurity.
With hurricane season upon us, it's time to talk about how to safely prep your electric vehicle for potential flooding. Electric vehicle fires during floods create significant challenges for fire departments.
The Florida Department of Health reports at least 21 people have gotten sick from drinking unpasteurized, or raw, milk from an unnamed Florida farm. University of South Florida public health professor Jill Roberts says outbreaks caused by drinking raw milk are becoming more common with the rise of misinformation.
More than 200 Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador's maximum security prison in March. We hear the story of one Venezuelan asylum speaker who was living in Tampa with his wife and her 10-year old son.
A federal judge this week ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz.
The center can continue to operate and hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days.
Attorneys are arguing whether the center violates environmental laws.