By JIM SAUNDERS
News Servie of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Alligator Alcatraz. Guns. Social media.
Legal battles about those and myriad other Florida issues remain unresolved heading into 2026. Here are 10 big legal issues to watch in the coming year:
Author: News Service of Florida
Five questions for state Rep. Jason Shoaf
By NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
State Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, joined the Florida House in 2019 after winning a special election and has been reelected three times. Shoaf’s sprawling district covers a largely rural region made up of Dixie, Franklin, Gulf, Hamilton, Lafayette, Liberty, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla and parts of Jefferson and Leon counties. Shoaf is chairman of the House Transportation & Economic Development Budget Subcommittee.
The News Service of Florida has five questions for Jason Shoaf, with questions and answers edited for clarity and brevity.
Read More …Weekly Roundup: A jab at vaccines
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Florida grabbed national headlines this week as an appellate court injected new life into a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades and the state’s top doctor vowed to end vaccine mandates for schoolkids.
Read More …Weekly Roundup: Turn out the lights?
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Florida heads into the Labor Day weekend amid swirling questions about the state’s immigrant-detention efforts.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that federal immigration officials are deporting detainees “very quickly” from a controversial Everglades facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” DeSantis made the comment when asked about reports that the Everglades facility would soon be empty.
Weekly Roundup: Ruling swamps ‘Alcatraz’
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Florida leaders made a show this week of bringing back from California an immigrant involved in a deadly traffic crash and removing locally approved artwork — including gay pride rainbow colors — from crosswalks.
But Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration found itself late Thursday rushing to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that targeted the controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Weekly Roundup: Blanding out, Baker in
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis finally filled the vacant lieutenant governor’s position this week, and days later brought along his newly appointed second-in command to announce the expansion of the state’s deportation efforts.
DeSantis for weeks has floated the prospect of opening a second immigrant-detention center at Camp Blanding, a North Florida training facility for the Florida National Guard.
‘Limited’ oyster harvesting eyed in Apalachicola
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will review on Aug. 14
BY JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – State wildlife officials could allow oyster harvesting in part of Northwest Florida’s Apalachicola Bay, where the fishery collapsed more than a decade ago and continues to struggle to recover.
Read More …Weekly Roundup: Pause in paving… for now
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — As the state House moved forward this week with a rare mid-decade look at drawing new congressional maps, a federal judge put a temporary hold on construction at Alligator Alcatraz.
Read More …Weekly Roundup: Coloring in the lines
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE — As Texas Republicans advanced a mid-decade redistricting map this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to toy with having Florida engage in a similar effort to fulfill President Donald Trump’s call to strengthen the GOP’s hold in Congress.
Read More …Storm forecast is trimmed
News Service of Florida
While still anticipating above-normal hurricane activity through the end of November, Colorado State University researchers Wednesday trimmed their forecast for the Atlantic storm season.
Read More …