Gov. DeSantis signed SB 182 on April 20, 2026, restoring cursive instruction for grades 3–5 and requiring proficiency by the end of fifth grade. The law also mandates presidential portraits and a teacher-mentoring program.

Sheriff Craig Nobles says he never asked for furloughs as Long County faces a multimillion-dollar shortfall and a $50,000 inmate invoice that briefly raised layoff talk. County leaders have frozen spending while they hunt for cash.

Florida issued a 90-day emergency order allowing winter-grade gasoline starting May 1 to try to ease pump pain — but experts warn of environmental tradeoffs and uncertain savings.

Florida education officials have proposed a rule to block applicants who can’t prove citizenship or lawful presence from enrolling at the state’s 28 public colleges. A May 14 hearing at Miami Dade College will take public testimony.

Alvin Brown, an ex‑NTSB vice chair and former Jacksonville mayor, sued the Trump administration, alleging racially motivated firings days after a White House report critiqued DEI. The filing turns a personnel fight into a national legal test over policy and presidential power.

Grounds of GRACE founder Ron Armstrong sold the coffee business and stepped away from nonprofit leadership to run for Jacksonville mayor, with a local pastor named as the buyer.

A deputy chief medical examiner was returned to duty after a social post about President Trump prompted a formal city warning that said his conduct "undermined public confidence."

United Spinal and Florida residents have sued over the state's expectant-mother placards, arguing the program lets pregnant drivers use parking reserved for people with mobility disabilities. The amended federal complaint asks a judge to block the law or rescind permits already issued.

A Raleigh contractor says months inside a crowded Georgia ICE center left him terrified; his family scrambled for bond and medical money while he fights deportation.

Justice John D. Couriel was announced as the next chief justice; his two‑year term begins July 1.

Mayor Donna Deegan announced Thursday she will seek a second term, pitching town halls and neighborhood investment as central to her campaign.

Paul Renner launched his 'Affordability Now' tour in Jacksonville and pitched a $34 billion property-tax rollback he says would be paid by efficiency measures and levies on nonresident investors.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a statewide task force in Tampa to target Medicaid, SNAP and housing‑assistance fraud and named Scott Strauss special prosecutor.