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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-1 at a meeting in favor of a bear hunt in December and annually into the future, allowing the use of up to six dogs to corner the bears.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a dispute about a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations. The so-called ‘preemption law’ is being challenged by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials, as well as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. We talk with Fried about the lawsuit and issues around gun violence. Fried is also a Democratic candidate for Governor.

CDC data shows Florida had more daily COVID deaths in August 2021 then during the previous pandemic peak of August 2020.COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers in Florida.A Venice chiropractor has signed more than 500 medical mask exemption forms for students in Sarasota, prompting the district to tighten its mandatory mask policy.Gov. DeSantis is appealing last week’s circuit court ruling striking down his executive order barring school districts from imposing student mask mandates.Lee Health, Physicians Regional Healthcare System and Sarasota Memorial Hospital reported declines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Thursday, while NCH, Manatee Memorial and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center all reported COVID patient increases.A Lehigh Acres couple faces up to 30 years in prison on charges stemming from COVID relief funding fraud.

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County canceled five health warnings due to harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River

The Miami Dade and Leon County school districts are preparing to file a new lawsuit against Florida over the state’s efforts to ban student mask mandates. Eleven school districts across the state could face financial penalties for continuing to require student mask wearing.The Florida Department of Health has threatened Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings with fines over a vaccine mandate for county employees, but Demings said the mandate doesn’t violate state law as no worker can be fired for not getting the vaccine.Lee Health continues to report declines in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in its hospitals.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this week, announced nearly $1 billion dollars in American Rescue Plan funding for community health centers that treat underserved communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The funding includes nearly $40 million for 45 health centers across Florida.The traditional flu season begins Friday as Florida continues its recovery from the worst surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Health experts urge people to get the flu vaccine now.

The Women’s Fund of Southwest Florida commissioned a study that revealed how women are doing in terms of population and diversity, employment and income,…

When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 it guaranteed coverage for people going through addiction treatment for the first time. This was a huge benefit for many people, but it also created conditions that led to some treatment providers taking advantage of people in recovery — and part of that corrupt system is what’s referred to as The Florida Shuffle. Put simply, the Florida Shuffle is when proprietors of what are called ‘sober homes’ effectively "broker patients" in order to keep them in a cycle of addiction and recovery. Well-run sober homes are meant to be a place where people who have been through supervised detox and inpatient treatment and then outpatient care can use as a bridge between treatment and returning to their lives.

Fewer than half of Southwest Florida third graders are currently reading at grade level as reading skills have declined across the state in recent years. Now the Collaboratory and other groups are making new efforts to improve reading proficiency.

Cyberattacks using what’s called ransomware block access to computer systems unless a ransom is paid. They often target large computer networks within…

August 13th marks the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Charley hitting Southwest Florida. The storms trajectory had initially led forecasters to predict…