Jim Turner/News Service of Florida
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A day after deadly Hurricane Beryl pounded Texas, experts at Colorado State University on Tuesday increased their storm forecast for what was already expected to be an above-average hurricane season.The university’s Department of Atmospheric Science added two named storms and a major hurricane to its outlook for the 2024 season, which started June 1 and will run through November.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed bills that will honor the late singer Jimmy Buffett, designating Florida A1A as “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway” and creating a “Margaritaville” specialty license plate.The highway bill (HB 91), which lawmakers passed unanimously during the legislative session that ended in March, will attach Buffett’s name to A1A from Key West to the Georgia border.
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Retailers hope outdoor enthusiasts planning to buy canoes, fishing gear or tickets to ball games have become more aware of an upcoming tax-free shopping period that lawmakers have dubbed “Freedom Month.”The tax “holiday” will allow shoppers to avoid paying sales taxes on a wide range of recreational items and activities throughout July. It was part of a tax package (HB 7073) that the Legislature passed in March and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a controversial measure that will bolster self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property, while vetoing a bill that would have prevented motorists from cruising in the left lanes of highways.
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Retailers hope Floridians will heed multiple forecasts that the upcoming hurricane season will be more active than normal.With the start of a 14-day sales tax “holiday” on storm-related items a little more than a week away, Florida Retail Federation President Scott Shalley said Wednesday it is important that residents are ready as “we’ve already seen some pretty severe weather in the state.”
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Florida announced record tourism numbers for the first quarter of 2024, as totals for international visitors continue to move closer to pre-pandemic levels.Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said Thursday an estimated 40.6 million people traveled to Florida during the first three months of the year, a 1.2 percent increase from the same period in 2023. The state also issued revisions that increased totals for all of 2023.
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Bruises continue to be inflicted on Florida’s citrus industry, as the forecast for the nearly concluded growing season dropped further Friday.The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an updated production forecast that was 5.6 percent below projections released in April. Meanwhile, a decades-old citrus association shut its doors this week, and a major grower told investors its groves might need at least one more season to recover from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.
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Free orange juice will continue to flow at Florida interstate welcome centers while state citrus officials adjust to a pending 10 percent legislative budget cut for their promotional efforts.The Florida Citrus Commission on Thursday will be asked to approve a $225,000 contract with Visit Florida about the welcome-center refreshment, a reduction of $25,000 from the past.
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Emphasizing a sales-tax “holiday” for hurricane preparedness supplies, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed an annual package of tax breaks.The package (HB 7073), passed by lawmakers during the legislative session that ended in March, is expected overall to trim state and local revenue by $439.6 million during the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year.
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As Florida’s population expands, state wildlife officials have seen a more than 33 percent increase in calls for assistance related to wild animals during the past five years, according to a presentation that could go before the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this week.