Regional

Senators approve increasing unemployment benefits by $100

TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment payments, among the lowest in the nation, would increase by up to $100 a week under a measure approved Monday by a Senate committee.

House passes controversial protest bill on party-line vote

TALLAHASSEE — With Black lawmakers condemning the proposal as a return to the Jim Crow era, the Republican-controlled Florida House on Friday approved a measure aimed at cracking down on violent protests by creating a host of new crimes, enhancing riot-related penalties and creating roadblocks for...

Covid legal protections passed; headed to DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE — A little more than a year after covid-19 began wrecking the economy and infecting and killing Floridians, state lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a bill that will shield from coronavirus-related lawsuits businesses ranging from nursing homes to grocery stores to restaurants.

ANOTHER OPINION: We must fight to protect the right to know

For democracy to function, citizens must have the right to know what their elected officials are doing and saying. The right to full and public notice of when elected officials are discussing or making decisions must be ensured.

Shepherd: Why deprive public the right to know?

We have a wonderful, “newfangled” church in western Volusia County. It’s a modern church, created in response to changing ways of worship, and the rejection, by many, of religious traditions.

ANOTHER OPINION: Bill would limit public’s access

Call it the fox guarding the hen house, or government telling government to hold itself accountable.

Solar farm finds sunny skies from commission

LIVE OAK — One week after being clouded by a short turnaround, the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners provided clear, sunny skies for a proposed solar farm project.

Florida Senate considers slicing hospital funding

TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers are releasing initial budget proposals that grapple with shortfalls caused by the covid-19 pandemic — even though the prospect of billions of dollars coming to the state from Washington might render the plans somewhat meaningless in the weeks to come.

Lawmakers looking at vaping regulations

TALLAHASSEE — More than two years after the U.S. surgeon general declared youth vaping an epidemic, Florida lawmakers again are working on an effort to regulate the sale of electronic cigarettes and raise the age to use tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21. Gov.

Brighter outlook for U.S. as vaccinations rise

More than three months into the U.S. vaccination drive, many of the numbers paint an increasingly encouraging picture, with 70% of Americans 65 and older receiving at least one dose of the vaccine and COVID-19 deaths dipping below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November.