Gina Jordan

The United States Space Force was the target of a brief and pun-filled discussion this week at the Florida Capitol. Despite the bad jokes, a legislative plan would give the Space Force a legit place in state law.

The Florida Legislature is making a return trip to vacation rental legislation. For years, lawmakers have tried to determine how much say municipalities should have in regulating such properties.

Physicians and other health professionals issued a call Monday - hours before a special session in Tallahassee - for Florida lawmakers to reject any bans on COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates.

The Florida Retirement System (FRS) until recently was led by a man who helped make the system a model for states around the country. Ash Williams managed a range of state investments, including the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and money for local governments

Florida State University will hold in-person commencement ceremonies for its spring graduates. Nearly a dozen smaller commencement ceremonies will be held at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in April.

State health officials reported 8,847 new COVID-19 cases, Wednesday for a total of 1,018,160 cases. On Tuesday, Florida became the third state in the U.S., along with Texas and California, to surpass one million total cases.The Florida Department of Health also reported 88 new coronavirus-related deaths, Dec. 2, for a total of 19,012 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic.

State health officials reported 2,678 new COVID-19 cases, Monday, bringing the statewide total to 576,094 cases. Monday’s reported cases mark the smallest daily increase so far this month, and mark the first time in August that the state has reported fewer than 3,000 new cases in a day.Aug. 17 was also the 22nd consecutive day, health officials have reported fewer than 10,000 new cases in a day.The Florida Department of Health reported 87 new coronavirus-related deaths, Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 9,539 fatalities.

State Health officials reported 5,409 new cases of COVID-19, Wednesday, bringing Florida's caseload over the 500,000-case threshold with 502,739 documented positive cases of the virus.Florida is the second state in the U.S. to report more than 500,000 cases, behind only California.Testing in Florida has been ramping back up after a temporary shutdown of some state-run testing sites because of Tropical Storm Isaias.The Florida Department of Health reported 225 new coronavirus-related deaths, Aug. 5, increasing the statewide death toll to 7,627 fatalities.

State health officials reported another 12,478 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Sunday, increasing the statewide total to 350,047 cases.The Florida Department of Health also reported 87 new coronavirus-related deaths, July 19, bringing the statewide death toll to 4,982 fatalities.Sunday marked the fifth consecutive day of daily increases of at least 10,000 cases and the 26th consecutive day of at least 5,000 cases reported in a single day.

Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters this week Florida is seeing more positive cases of COVID-19 due to more widespread testing. The same reason has been offered by President Donald Trump as cases spike in other states as well.