Category: News

Gearing up to try to get on the 2024 ballot, a political committee proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Florida paid $1.5 million last week to a signature-gathering firm, according to a newly filed finance report. The Smart &…

Read More Committee Spends $1.5M On Florida Pot Initiative

Gov. Ron DeSantis collected about $1.95 million for his political committee and campaign from Aug. 20 through Aug. 26, while Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist pulled in nearly $1.79 million, according to finance reports posted Friday on the state Division of Elections website. The reports…

Read More Money Flows In Florida Governor’s Race

TAMPA, Fla. – In anticipation of more motorists and boaters in Tampa for the extended Labor Day weekend, the Tampa Police Department is launching an enforcement operation dubbed “The Heat is On.” Holiday celebrations combined with larger crowds often comes with an increased risk of…

Read More Tampa Police Department Launches Labor Day Operation “The Heat Is On”

Visiting from Johnson City, Tenn., Paul and Gail Odom hadn’t noticed people smoking or cigarette butts strewn on the sand as they strolled along the lapping Gulf of Mexico waters Thursday morning. But shortly after being told about a proposed change that would ban smoking…

Read More Cities Look To Snuff Out Smoking On Florida Beaches

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ political committee raised $75,000 from Aug. 20 to Aug. 26 as he prepares for the November election, according to a newly filed finance report. The Treasure Florida committee had about $3.46 million in cash on hand as of the…

Read More Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis’ Committee Pulls In $75K

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Thursday boosted a website geared toward helping people access resources to fight opioid addiction, saying the site will allow individuals to have recovery assistance available when they need it. The Addiction Treatment Locator, Assessment, and Standards platform, or ATLAS,…

Read More Florida AG Moody Boosts Website To Help Fight Opioid Addiction

TAMPA, Fla. – Devin Kelly, 27 of Tampa has been sentenced to three years and ten months in federal prison for possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. The court also ordered Kelly to forfeit the firearm and ammunition used in the offense.…

Read More Tampa ‘Bloods’ Gang Leader Sentenced To Nearly 4 Years For Firearm Offenses

LAKELAND, Fla. – Readers of The Free Press may recall a story we published last week titled, “Lakeland Woman Says ‘One Act Of Kindness’ Could Change Her World After Ductal Carcinoma Diagnosis.” Nicole Berlin of Lakeland was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in SITU (DCIS) in…

Read More Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd Answers Call For “One Act Of Kindness”

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A Democratic congressional nominee may have violated federal law by not disclosing his board member role for a nonprofit, legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Eric Lynn is running for a House seat in Florida’s 13th Congressional District and is also…

Read More Florida Dem Candidate Running For Congress Potentially Violated Federal Law, Experts Say

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Death Row inmate convicted in the 2015 murders of two Polk County women after a police chase. Justices unanimously upheld Michael A. Gordon’s convictions and two death sentences in the…

Read More Death Row Inmate Loses Appeal In 2015 Murders Of Mother And Daughter In Polk County