Latest Florida state government News
Takeaways from AP's report on churches starting schools in voucher states
Some churches are launching new Christian schools on their campuses, seeking to give parents more education options that align with religious values. State school voucher programs are not the driving reason, but they are making the start-up process easier, pastors and Christian...
Vouchers ease start-up stress for churches seeing demand for more Christian schools
Florida pastor Melvin Adams knows a few hours of church programming every week is no match for the more than 30 hours children spend at secular schools, absorbing lessons that he says run counter to their family’s Christian beliefs. Like other theologically conservative pastors in...
Maine commission considers public flood insurance
State leaders tasked with reviewing Maine’s preparations and responses to climate change-fueled natural disasters are at a crossroads. While Maine has seen seven federal disaster declarations for severe storms and flooding in the past three years, statewide enrollment in...
Florida state lawmaker indicted on felony charges related to private school
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Republican state representative in central Florida has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to her administration of a private Christian school that she helped run with her family. Carolina Amesty, 29, turned herself in to authorities at the...
Defense attorney for Florida deputy charged in airman's death is a former lawmaker and prosecutor
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The defense attorney for a deputy charged with fatally shooting a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman in Florida's Panhandle is a well-known litigator with decades of experience, as well as a former prosecutor and state lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran for governor. ...
Floridians balk at DeSantis administration plan to build golf courses at state parks
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The golf course is not a threatened species in the Sunshine State — but the Florida scrub-jay is. And advocates are warning that life for the small blue and gray birds and many other imperiled species could get much harder if Gov. Ron DeSantis’...
Florida quietly removes LGBTQ+ travel info from state website
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Key West, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and St. Petersburg are among several Florida cities that have long been top U.S. destinations for LGBTQ+ tourists. So it came as a surprise this week when travelers learned that Florida's tourism marketing agency quietly removed...
Public defender’s offices are opening across Maine. The next step: staffing them.
In a Bangor courtroom last week, Judge Meghan Szylvian ruled the state had violated the constitutional rights of a criminal defendant who had been in custody for nearly a month. The defendant qualified for a court-appointed attorney but had not received one — as was the case, on...
Her name was on a filing agreeing to be a Cornel West elector. Her question: What's an elector?
PHOENIX (AP) — When Denisha Mitchell was asked why she filled out paperwork to serve as an Arizona elector for the independent presidential candidate Cornel West, her first response was “What?!” Her second: What's an elector? “I was shocked and surprised by it all. I didn't...
Pennsylvania congressman chosen to lead House task force investigating Trump assassination attempt
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pennsylvania congressman who witnessed the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump firsthand will lead the House task force charged with investigating what went wrong and recommending solutions to help ensure such an attack doesn't happen again. ...