News Service of Florida

Attorneys for the state Friday opposed an effort by the Miccosukee Tribe to join a lawsuit challenging an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The tribe on July 14 filed a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, which allege that state and federal officials did not comply with a law requiring that an environmental impact study be performed before developing the detention center.

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday sent to a lower court a case filed by Democratic state lawmakers after they were denied entry to a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

State lawmakers and members of Congress will be able to visit a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades on Saturday, after some Democratic legislators last week were denied access to inspect the facility. The Florida Division of Emergency Management on Wednesday sent an email inviting “congressional and state legislators” to tour the detention center, which state officials hurriedly erected as part of an effort to help President Donald Trump’s deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill reversing a controversial 2018 law that led to limited public beach access in some areas. Lawmakers in April passed the bill (SB 1622) after widespread complaints about waterfront property owners in Walton County preventing people from using beaches.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill to revamp condominium-safety laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside that killed 98 people. The wide-ranging bill (HB 913), approved unanimously by the House and Senate in April, was crafted after residents and condominium associations argued that the laws passed after the collapse were driving up costs.

A federal judge Tuesday stood behind a ruling that blocked restrictions the city of Naples tried to place on a drag show as part of an upcoming LGBTQ “Pridefest.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that includes preventing local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies. The bill (SB 700), dubbed the “Florida Farm Bill.” makes a series of changes related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing event in Dade City. “They don’t have a choice. You’re taking that away from them.”