Florida businesses and residents affected by severe storms and flooding from June 11-14 can now apply for low-interest disaster loans, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman made the loans available following a request from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on June 28 for a disaster declaration.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the preservation of a family farm through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. South Prong, a nearly 2,400-acre timber and hunting property in Baker County, is being preserved through a rural land protection easement for $4,999,000.
The Broward County Commission recently confirmed the County Administrator’s appointment of Joseph Morris as the new Port Director at Port Everglades. Morris is the former Port Director for the Massachusetts Port Authority, where he worked for four years, originally as the Deputy Port Director of Operations.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Ahead of Independence Day, Attorney General Ashley Moody is providing consumer protection resources to Florida’s service members and veterans. July is Military Consumer Protection Month, and the Florida Attorney General’s Office offers several resources for service members, veterans, and their families. These include information about military-targeted scams, a consumer protection guide, and the Military and Veterans Assistance Program (MVAP).
Last night, Governor DeSantis signed HB 91/SB 84, designating A1A as Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway. Senator Lauren Book, sponsor of this legislation, provided the following statement:
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA), a prominent hospitality trade association in the state, issued a statement following Governor Ron DeSantis' veto of SB 280. The bill was designed to establish fairness between hotels and unregulated short-term rentals across Florida.
Operation Dry Water is a year-round national effort to educate recreational boaters about the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A heightened enforcement weekend from July 4-6 will see the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and other law enforcement partners focusing efforts on Boating Under the Influence (BUI) detection and enforcement. The mission of Operation Dry Water is to reduce the number of alcohol- and drug-related incidents and fatalities on the water.
As the deadline for award nominations rapidly approaches, Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging Floridians to submit applications and sign up to attend the 2024 Human Trafficking Summit. Friday, June 28, is the final day to submit nominations. Awards will be presented at the summit to individuals who made a difference in the past year in fighting human trafficking in Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) invites the public to attend the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area 10-year Land Management Plan public hearing on Tuesday, July 23. The hearing will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Glades County Commission Chambers, Room 201, 500 Ave J SW, Moore Haven, Florida.
On Wednesday, June 19, CDK Global reported experiencing a "cyber incident" that necessitated the shutdown of all its systems. Despite restoring DMS, Digital Retail, and CDK Phones, including Unify and DMS direct login access by Wednesday afternoon, another incident occurred later that evening, leading to another complete system shutdown. The duration of the outage remains uncertain, and customer service is currently unavailable.
FloridaCommerce has released the employment data for the Tampa area for May 2024. The data can be accessed on their official website at www.floridajobs.org/labor-market-information/labor-market-information-press-releases/monthly-press-releases.
PortMiami recently celebrated the launch of shore power, enabling cruise ships to turn off their engines and connect to landside electrical power while docked. This initiative aims to reduce emissions and noise by providing electricity for lights, refrigeration, operating equipment, and other vessel functions when ships are berthed.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Fresh From Florida program has reached a milestone, celebrating over 1 million followers on social media, newsletter subscribers, and members of the Fresh From Florida Club. Since January 2023, the program's online following has grown from just over 500,000 to more than 1 million—a 90% increase in just 18 months.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue in Broward County to provide updates on the ongoing response efforts to dangerous flooding as a result of Invest 90L in South Florida.