Miami Herald • 31st March 2023

Disney outmaneuvered DeSantis’ new governing board, but a legal fight is brewing

The entertainment company quietly put a plan in motion that, for now, has muted the governor’s attempt to exert leverage over it. Days before Florida legislators voted to advance the governor’s proposal to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the Disney-aligned board voted to undercut the authority of its successor. It also made sure the plan remains in effect until 21 years after the death of the last descendant of King Charles III - a very long time. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article273766880.html

Miami Herald • 15th December 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ about-face on COVID vaccines gets late-night treatment

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top media adviser has a mantra that the governor won’t give an interview unless it’s recorded because she doesn’t want her boss’ words twisted out of context. But when the governor announced on Tuesday that he wants a grand jury to investigate what he suspects is misleading information from the pharmaceutical companies over the safety of the mRNA vaccines, particularly cardiac-related deaths tied to the vaccines in young men, a cascade of old recorded interviews started spilling out.

Miami Herald • 15th November 2022

DeSantis aides celebrated success luring migrants onto flights. Then the law stepped in

Weeks before the state signed a contract with a Destin-based aviation company to ship migrants from San Antonio to Democratic-leaning states at Florida taxpayer expense, executives with the politically connected firm were already in Texas with Florida officials planning the secret mission, text messages released by the governor’s office late Monday show.

Miami Herald • 17th October 2022

‘You have my full support’: Top DeSantis aides played key role in migrant flights

Top aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis played key roles in planning and executing Florida’s controversial migrant flight program, according to public records released late Friday.

Miami Herald • 7th October 2022

Florida may have violated its own guidelines in flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

Documents obtained from the state agency charged with managing the controversial migrant relocation program explicitly say that its mission was “to relocate out of the State of Florida foreign nationals who are not lawfully present in the United States,’’ according to records obtained Friday by the Miami Herald.

Miami Herald • 31st August 2022

Cases against arrested voters on shaky legal ground. Florida issued them voter IDs

Two weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s top election officials stood in a Broward County courtroom and announced the arrest of 20 people for voting illegally, the state’s case is starting to fall apart.

Miami Herald • 27th June 2022

DeSantis vetoes bill that would have punished local governments for regulating business

Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered a blow to some businesses by vetoing a bill Friday that would have required taxpayers to pay damages if a local government ordinance results in a business losing 15% of its revenues.

Miami Herald • 10th May 2022

Panhandle backlash on FPL rate hike helped spark DeSantis veto of rooftop solar bill

Gov. Ron DeSantis surprised many in Florida’s environmental community when he vetoed Florida Power & Light’s priority bill that was intended to reduce rooftop solar expansion in Florida. Solar advocates said it was a signal the governor had put “energy freedom ahead of monopoly utility profit margins.” But in conservative Northwest Florida, residents say they deserve some of the credit, as their outrage at FPL and it’s handling of winter price hikes became a catalyst in the bill’s demise.

Miami Herald • 30th June 2021

Condo collapse exposes weakness in state and county building inspections, experts say

The collapse of the condo in Surfside exposed flaws in Florida's building inspection laws. Structural engineers and architects say the tragedy should serve as a catalyst to update them — especially in coastal communities where rising water tables pose increasing threats.

Miami Herald • 23rd April 2021

Sports betting appears headed to Florida in deal agreed to by governor, Seminole Tribe

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida April 23 that guarantees $6 billion in 10 years. The Legislature will meet in a special session May 17 to consider its approval.

Miami Herald • 1st April 2021

After sugar’s $11 million investment, a bipartisan push to protect industry

A bill moving quickly through the Florida Legislature could prevent people from suing the sugar industry when the black ash from sugarcane burning causes health problems.

Miami Herald • 17th March 2021

Tom Brady and a superyacht: How a mogul pitched Florida leaders on Miami Beach casino

Miami Beach real estate mogul Jeff Soffer used his superyacht, and his friendship with Tom Brady, to get renewed attention from Florida legislators to his long-sought bid for a Miami Beach casino.

Miami Herald • 9th March 2021

‘ ’22 is right around the corner.’ DeSantis’ optics were focus of Lakewood Ranch vaccine organizers

Organizers of the three-day vaccine distribution event last month in Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County were focused on more than shots, text messages between them and the governor’s office show. They were also keenly aware of the political optics of bringing Gov. Ron DeSantis into town to promote vaccines in their Republican-rich neighborhood. Rather than rely on a random selection of vaccine-eligible residents, the governor’s staff wanted them to create a list of who would get a vaccine.

Miami Herald • 4th March 2021

Wealthy Keys enclave received COVID vaccines in January before much of the state

As Florida’s eldest residents struggled to sign up to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly all those aged 65 years and older in a wealthy gated enclave in the Florida Keys had been vaccinated by mid-January, according to an emailed newsletter obtained by the Miami Herald.

Miami Herald • 1st March 2021

Timeline: Florida’s dark year for its Sunshine Law

A year ago on March 1, 2020, Florida announced its first two cases of the novel coronavirus, and declared a public health emergency recognizing the emergence of the novel coronavirus. Only later did we learn that the spread of COVID-19 in Florida likely began in January, if not earlier, but as late as March 11, as the White House downplayed the virus, Gov. Ron DeSantis denied that community spread was taking place in Florida. Here is a summary of the state of transparency in Florida over the last year:

Miami Herald • 1st March 2021

As governor cherry-picked data, the pandemic took a toll on Florida Sunshine laws

Open government advocates say the state of Florida’s Sunshine laws is darker this year because of the governor’s selective release of information and his attempt at times to actively shield critical details about the depths of the crisis from becoming public.

Miami Herald • 9th November 2020

Experts wonder and warn: Is Florida the nation’s test case for COVID-19 herd immunity?

Whether Floridians know it or not, Gov. Ron DeSantis is pursuing a policy that will allow the virus to spread freely in the state until most of the population becomes infected — or is vaccinated vaccine — while attempting to protect those thought to be most vulnerable. Critics say it is an irresponsible herd immunity policy. Advocates call it "focused protection."

Miami Herald • 17th July 2020

DeSantis’ COVID strategy: Talk about the good, avoid talking about how to prevent the bad

Since the onset of COVID, even as infections and deaths have soared, Florida Gov. DeSantis has delivered a shifting narrative focused on defending his actions.

Miami Herald • 12th June 2020

Reluctantly, under pressure, Florida disclosed COVID-19 data. What the numbers tell us

As Florida’s government built a plan to contain the effects of a global pandemic, it elevated one tool above all others: data. But unlike the way the state has handled other infectious diseases, the COVID-19 records have been incomplete, changed without explanation, dropped from the Department of Health website without warning, or don’t match the public narrative advanced by the governor. The Miami Herald investigated.

Miami Herald • 12th June 2020

The Florida COVID-19 data said one thing while Gov. DeSantis sometimes said another

When Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that most of the state would reopen for business on May 4, he cited his administration’s “data-driven strategy” and success at achieving “critical benchmarks in flattening the curve” to contain COVID-19. But a review of the data the governor was using shows his public pronouncements were often in conflict with real-time facts. He either wasn’t aware the data showed that community spread, regional outbreaks and death tolls were worse than he was telling Floridians, or he selectively focused on outdated statistics to make his case.