Articles by Brendan Farrington and Mike Schneider

New Florida Gov Wants State Ban on Smokable Medical Marijuana Ended

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized the Legislature’s implementation of a medical marijuana law and said last week that if they don’t fix it quickly, he’ll take matters into his own hands. DeSantis wants a new law by mid-March that …

New Florida Gov Signs Order to Fight Algae, Red Tide

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis began following up on a campaign promise to make the environment a priority by signing an order last week seeking to tackle Florida’s problems with blue-green algae in its rivers and red tide off its coast. …

Power Outages Still Plague Florida Panhandle Nearly 2 Weeks After Michael

It’s the greatest need after a hurricane and sometimes the hardest one to fulfill: Electricity. Almost two weeks after Hurricane Michael smashed into the Florida Panhandle on a path of destruction that led all the way to the Georgia border, …

Rural Communities Hit by Michael Face Tough Recovery

Haylie Byler and her husband were just beginning life in their new home when Hurricane Michael’s monstrous winds mowed down a dozen trees on their property, more than an hour’s drive inland from where the storm made landfall. They had …

Fire that Destroyed 36 Homes in Florida Sparked by Controlled Burn

John Matthew Polous watched a “controlled-burn” fire for three days as it consumed foliage outside his tiny community on the Florida Panhandle. And then he watched as it quickly raged out of control. What he doesn’t understand is why it …

Irma Dealt Devastating Blow to Florida Citrus, Other Crops

Florida’s famous oranges are still falling from trees and rotting on the ground weeks after Hurricane Irma, and the state’s agriculture commissioner said Thursday there will be fewer Florida vegetables on Thanksgiving tables and a shortage of poinsettias at Christmas. …

Florida Supreme Court Rules Medical Malpractice Award Caps Unconstitutional

Caps on how much money patients injured by a doctor’s mistakes can receive were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court June 8, a decision that strikes down one of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s major policy victories. The court ruled …

Florida Supreme Court Rules Medical Malpractice Award Caps Unconstitutional

Caps on how much money patients injured by a doctor’s mistakes can receive were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, a decision that strikes down one of former Gov. Jeb Bush’s major policy victories. The court ruled …

Appeals Court Rules Florida Dairy OK to Label Skim Milk as ‘Skim Milk’

A small, all-natural dairy isn’t being deceptive when it calls its skim milk “skim milk,” a federal appeals court has ruled – a victory for a Florida creamery that fought the state’s demand to label the product “imitation” because vitamins …

39 Possible Tornadoes Devastate Southeast, Leave 19 Dead

Chuck Stafford was watching the Atlanta Falcons rout the Green Bay Packers for the NFC title when bad weather suddenly began to pound his mobile home in southern Georgia. Stafford, 74, had just gotten to head to the bathroom during …