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Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody vowed, Monday, that Florida will fight local and federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates for both public and private workers. DeSantis says any Florida city or county that requires workers to get the vaccine, will be fined $5,000 per infraction.Parents suing to overturn DeSantis’ efforts to ban school districts from imposing student mask mandates are asking the Florida Supreme Court to take up the case after an appeals court, Friday, reinstated a stay on a ruling that allowed districts to keep their mask rules in place.Thousands of people attended a school mask exemption event in Venice, Sunday, where doctors were signing notes to exempt Sarasota school district students from the district’s mask mandate.Hospitals throughout Southwest Florida continue to report a decline in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, as deaths continue to rise.

Bars in Florida will be permitted to reopen at 50% capacity starting Monday, Sept. 14. The AP reports, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears issued the emergency order, Thursday, at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Hendrie Ranch in Highlands County sold a 661-acre conservation easement along the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which will benefit the Florida panther

State health officials reported 966 new cases of COVID-19, Monday, increasing the statewide total to 64,904 confirmed cases. Monday’s data marks the first time since June 3 that the single-day increase in reported cases did not exceed one thousand people.The Florida Department of Health also reported 12 new coronavirus-related deaths, Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 2,712 fatalities. The total number of virus-related hospitalizations in Florida stands at 10,942 patients.

Red tide is everywhere.From Tampa Bay south to Ten Thousand Islands, local groups and state agencies that test for and track red tide are warning that the harmful algae bloom that kills fish and sickens dogs, and whose acrid air chases people off the beach, is here.And there. And there. And there.Red tide was detected at every beach in Sarasota County soon after Hurricane Ian made landfall near Fort Myers in late September. Earlier this month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, in nearly 100 samples throughout Southwest Florida.Florida Department of Health officials in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties are issuing health alerts daily warning of the real and present danger to human and animals.The red tide is so prevalent, so pungent, and so potentially poisonous that the authors of the health advisories ignored the long-established practice of softening the language to avoid scaring away tourists.

State health officials, Thursday, reported the largest single-day increase in cases of the coronavirus in Florida since the pandemic began. The 1,698 new cases reported yesterday brings the statewide total to 69,069 confirmed cases.With the exception of this past Monday, the single-day increase in COVID-19 cases in Florida has topped 1,000 every day since June 3.

Federal officials are “overwhelmed” by the number of undocumented immigrants being locked up as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan because of a detention-bed shortage, according to a key player in Florida’s efforts to assist the White House.The capacity issue is expected to escalate in Florida in the coming weeks as sheriffs and police chiefs ramp up arrests and detention of undocumented immigrants, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Cabinet members, who met Tuesday as the State Board of Immigration Enforcement.

Some long-time Cape Coral residents fear for the future of the once laid-back community. Development, they say, is ruining the old charm of the Cape.

With a continuing influx of residents, more traffic, more business, more pollution — more everything — will we eventually run out of water? Water allocation in the state is complicated by the competing needs of residents, agriculture, government, businesses, the environment, and the community as a whole. Conservation measures are key.

Presented by the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), ¡ARTE VIVA! is a yearlong celebration of the rich cultural tapestry of the Hispanic community, which makes up nearly 30% of the region’s population.