Capital Report WFSU Public Media

On tonight's program: Legislative leaders say they will use reserve funds to pay workers after a surprise veto by the governor; New services for Florida’s military veterans bring near universal applause; Governor DeSantis’s “Stop Woke” act is facing a court challenge; A bill imposing tougher financial disclosure standards for city officials versus county officials in Florida is on hold following a federal judge’s ruling; Still awaiting the governor’s action – or inaction – is a bill stripping away most of the power wielded by local ethics boards when it comes to the misbehavior of elected officials; The cost of Florida’s proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access was unclear. But that’s apparently resolved and the issue should be ready for the November ballot; And we tag along with a Juneteenth observance that turned out to be a real learning experience.

On tonight’s program: Those seeking gender affirming care in Florida now have even more hurdles to contend with; Both federal and state law enforcers agree human trafficking is horrible. What they don’t agree about is how to handle the cases; Despite claims that Florida’s teachers are seeing big boosts in their pay – with more on the way – others are taking issue with that; Oh, the challenges that face our special ed teachers, which explains the current shortage; Population changes in Florida are just one factor contributing to recent jumps in the cost of living for Floridians; Florida’s new citrus production numbers continue the downslide; And while Florida’s considered the nation’s number one state for boating, it’s also the number one state for boating accidents.

On tonight’s program: It’s officially hurricane season. And lots of disaster experts are saying it’s often best to stay close to home when the storm warnings go up; Hurricane forecasters have come up with some different-looking models to predict where the storms are headed. We’ll see what’s up with that; The times are getting tough for the little, independent drug store on the corner. We’ll find out why; Florida’s program to encourage more dads to stay connected to their kids has been around for a couple of years. How’s it going?; As the possibility of some Florida high school athletes making bank from their prowess, not everyone is excited with that prospect. We have two reports on the subject; And Florida’s traditional citrus crops have been devastated by citrus greening disease, making the producers that are left ever more desperate for solutions.

On tonight's program: We have reaction to yesterday’s historic guilty verdict for former President Donald Trump; One group says Florida has lots of folks listed twice on its voter rolls. Others say it’s just a ploy to dump properly registered voters; What could be an all-time record hurricane season officially begins tomorrow. How ready are you? How can state and local officials effectively communicate emergency information to those in Florida for whom English is essentially a foreign language; The murkiness and controversy surrounding the largest donation ever to a Historically Black University continues; And with STEM teachers at a premium in Florida, a new effort is underway to funnel students who are proficient in that area directly into the teaching profession.

On tonight's program: Governor DeSantis’s desk piles up with new bills this week; Technically, Florida’s new abortion restriction has exceptions. But the legal language about them is vague; Forecasters are predicting a hurricane season without precedent in recorded history; Florida’s utility companies are preparing for permanently stronger hurricane seasons; A nationally-known climate reporter has written a book on how kids can cope in a world that’s steadily warming; Saying a national human trafficking hotline is reluctant to bring police into cases, Florida sets up its own hotline. The national hotline people are still wondering….why? And another Florida shooting involving a police officer is calling into question the kind of training law enforcers receive when dealing with potential life and death situations.

On tonight’s program: Florida’s Capital City struggles to recover from the three tornadoes that slammed into it one week ago today; Hurricane season is still weeks away. But the insurance industry is already predicting rate hikes if the worst happens; Florida has issued new rules about the now-in-effect abortion restrictions. But some say those rules just muddy the water; We attend a funeral for a North Florida airman, who died at the hands of a police officer; Have you moved back to the office full-time after COVID made working from home more of an option for many employees? It seems that trend has done a number on the state’s commercial real estate market; And we hear about a commonly available substance that is questioned by many experts, but is applauded by its users.