Dayna Harpster

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis outlined his proposed $117 billion state budget Wednesday, as the term-limited executive prepares to leave the state's top office. His spending plan includes increased spending on law enforcement and corrections officers. He also recommended new investments in campus security for the state's public universities, following a mass shooting at Florida State University in April that killed two and injured six others. DeSantis also continued his call to slash property taxes in the state, and floated $300 million to backfill local government budgets in rural and fiscally constrained counties.The FEA issued a statement harshly critical of the budget plan.

Local school superintendents have little to say about the controversial Phoenix Declaration, adopted by the Florida Board of Education Nov. 13, and criticized as injecting politics into public education.

They came by the thousands in Southwest Florida, by the tens of thousands across the state and by the millions across the U.S. — for a variety of reasons both political and philosophical but bonded by fear and hope.Saturday was both a protest and a rally called No Kings Day, a reference to claims that President Donald Trump wanted to be a monarch over what has been a republic.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly report on jobs. The Sarasota area experienced growth year over year but the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area showed a slight decline.

Status of things at Fort Myers Beach still in search and recovery phase

Several Florida counties were added Saturday to the disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian that began Sept. 23, enabling more Florida businesses and residents to be eligible to apply for the Small Business Administration’s low-interest disaster loan program.

Assessment. That was the word of the day late Saturday morning, as federal officials conducted a press call organized by FEMA, as at least 1.3 million customers remained without power and many without running water in Florida.