News Service of Florida

A $150 million-plus effort to allow recreational use of marijuana in Florida fizzled out Tuesday, falling short of the needed 60 percent voter approval and delivering a major victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he intends to respond “relatively soon” to a request by elections officials to make some changes in 10 counties that sustained heavy damage in Hurricane Helene. “I think we will be doing something.

Some of the nation’s largest book publishers joined authors and parents of high school students in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday challenging a 2023 law that increased scrutiny of school library books, arguing that the law unconstitutionally violates speech rights. Penguin Random House LLC; Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins Publishers LLC; Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC; Simon & Schuster, LLC; and Sourcebooks LLC alleged in the lawsuit that their books “have been targeted for removal or removed from school libraries” throughout the state following last year’s passage of the law (HB 1069).

Saying it opposes “any form of academic censorship,” the United Faculty of Florida on Monday objected to a directive issued this month by university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues about reviewing textbooks and other materials for “antisemitic material” or “anti-Israeli” bias.

The Florida Department of Transportation has been able to get permits from the federal government, including for projects in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Moving Florida Forward” initiative, as a major legal battle continues over permitting for projects that affect wetlands, a department official said Thursday. Siding with environmental groups, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in February vacated a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that shifted permitting authority from federal officials to the state.

Hurricane Debby had caused $116.15 million in estimated insured losses in Florida as of Friday, with claims continuing to come in, according to data on the state Office of Insurance Regulation website.

Estimated insured losses from Hurricane Debby reached $113.8 million Wednesday, as claims continue to be filed after the storm, which made landfall Aug. 5 in Taylor County, according to data on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. Insurers reported they had received 15,326 claims as of Wednesday, including 9,416 involving residential property. Other types of claims included damage to vehicles and commercial property.

With Hurricane Debby having little effect on oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, average gasoline prices dropped 14 cents a gallon in Florida during the past week. The AAA auto club AAA said Florida motorists Monday paid an average of $3.32 for a gallon of regular unleaded, down from $3.46 a week earlier.

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin has given $12 million to an effort to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational use of marijuana in Florida. Griffin, CEO of the firm Citadel, announced the contribution Friday in an opinion piece in the Miami Herald, calling the proposed amendment “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”