The Florida Trib

Medicaid work requirements didn’t work in other states. Florida considers trying it anyway Work requirements in other states have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, with little to show for it, and those who keep an eye on Florida’s lead family welfare agency question how the troubl...

Florida lawmakers are considering a proposal to add work requirements to what is already one of the most restrictive Medicaid programs in the country.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/11/m...

Medicaid work requirements didn’t work in other states. Florida considers trying it anyway Work requirements in other states have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, with little to show for it, and those who keep an eye on Florida’s lead family welfare agency question how the troubl...

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social | Florida already has one of the most miserly Medicaid programs in the country - and one that is highly dysfunctional, recently excoriated by a federal judge.

But lawmakers could add a new regulatory hurdle anyway.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/11/m...

Investment banks flag tension between Jacksonville aviation officials, City Council The push and pull between the city and one of its independent authorities has raised eyebrows on Wall Street before, where political interference in nuts-and-bolts spending decisions is often frowned ...

The budget clash last summer between the City Council and the Aviation Authority might sway the willingness of investors to bankroll financing a new concourse at Jacksonville International Airport, several investment banks have told the authority.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/06/i...

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

HB 945 has sparked concerns from First Amendment advocates and lawmakers in both parties–criticisms that bill sponsor Republican state Rep. Danny Alvarez has acknowledged.

“This is going after terrorists, nation-state bad actors, not political speech."

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

The bills would allow a new govt surveillance force to investigate Floridians who express opinions the state determines are “a threat” to the interests of “this state" the US.

A progressive democracy watchdog group said it's a move that "that should terrify every American."

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

NEW: A package of bills advancing through the Florida Legislature would empower the governor and Cabinet to designate groups as “domestic terrorist organizations” based on secret evidence.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

'Constitutional trainwreck': Florida lawmakers seek surveillance crackdown The legislation, which has come under fierce criticism from civil-rights and free speech advocates, represents another expansion of Florida’s security apparatus under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social | Under Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida has spent three-quarters of a billion dollars creating a kind of parallel national security apparatus. A controversial series of surveillance and domestic terrorist bills will add to that accounting.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/03/c...

New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz' Last August, the Florida Division of Emergency Management requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immi...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Florida the $608 million grant.

What followed was many more weeks of back-and-forth negotiations between attorneys for FEMA and their state counterparts.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/01/n...

New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz' Last August, the Florida Division of Emergency Management requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immi...

NEW: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration planned to spend more than a billion dollars on the immigration detention facility in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz”, according to records released under a judge’s order and obtained by The Florida Trib.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/01/n...

New records show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on 'Alligator Alcatraz' Last August, the Florida Division of Emergency Management requested a $1.49 billion grant from the federal government, underscoring the staggering scale of spending of taxpayer dollars on federal immi...

New records obtained by @thefloridatrib.bsky.social show Florida officials burned more than $1.2 million per day on ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ - sometimes substantially more - and originally sought $1.4 billion from the feds.

floridatrib.org/2026/03/01/n...

Florida continues its execution spree despite problematic track record Florida's execution spree came even as its lethal injection protocol has come under scrutiny, prompting fears that those executed are at risk of complications and needless suffering.

New @thefloridatrib.bsky.social, published in partnership with @motherjones.com | Signs of suffering in Florida’s executions have not deterred Gov. Ron DeSantis from writing a record number of death warrants

floridatrib.org/2026/02/27/f...

Florida continues its execution spree despite problematic track record Florida's execution spree came even as its lethal injection protocol has come under scrutiny, prompting fears that those executed are at risk of complications and needless suffering.

In at least nine executions from February to September 2025, there were signs of underdosings, the use of expired drugs, drug substitutions, or flaws in drug logs maintained by the Florida Department of Corrections.

New w/ @motherjones.com

floridatrib.org/2026/02/27/f...

As judge weighs challenge to voter-fraud law, Floridians lose power at ballot box For years, voters have used the amendment process to enact popular and major changes in Florida law from environmental regulations to public education, often over the objections of the state’s Republi...

The fate of Floridians’ right to directly amend the state constitution is now in the hands of a federal judge.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/25/a...

As judge weighs challenge to voter-fraud law, Floridians lose power at ballot box For years, voters have used the amendment process to enact popular and major changes in Florida law from environmental regulations to public education, often over the objections of the state’s Republi...

The fate of Floridians’ right to directly amend the state constitution is now in the hands of a federal judge.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/25/a...

DeSantis spent $573 million on immigration. The feds may never pay Florida back Months after federal officials publicly committed to awarding Florida more than half a billion dollars to cover immigration enforcement costs, attorneys for the federal government appear to be backtra...

ICYMI: DeSantis spent $573 million on immigration. The feds may never pay Florida back

Florida Trib Reporter Kate Payne found court records earlier this month where DOJ attorneys argued that no “final federal funding decision” had been made by FEMA.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/06/d...

At trial, a federal judge lambasted Florida's claimed evidence of high rates of invalid petitions as "beyond junk science."

A long look at the rise and fall of Floridians' right to change their constitution from our statehouse reporter, Kate Payne.

As judge weighs challenge to voter-fraud law, Floridians lose power at ballot box For years, voters have used the amendment process to enact popular and major changes in Florida law from environmental regulations to public education, often over the objections of the state’s Republi...

The fate of Floridians’ right to directly amend the state constitution is now in the hands of a federal judge, following a nine-day trial weighing the legality of a new state law known as HB 1205 that significantly restricts the citizens’ ballot initiative process.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/25/a...

As UF considers buzz sawing 1,000 trees, critics feel stumped, muted ldfjdlfjdlkf

NEW: The University of Florida is planning to demolish an on-campus conservation area known as Graham Woods — a project that would chop down roughly 1,000 trees in a mini-forest favored by nature lovers and bicyclists.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/23/t...

DeSantis spent $573 million on immigration. The feds may never pay Florida back Months after federal officials publicly committed to awarding Florida more than half a billion dollars to cover immigration enforcement costs, attorneys for the federal government appear to be backtra...

Months after federal officials publicly committed to awarding Florida more than half a billion dollars to cover immigration enforcement costs, attorneys for the federal government appear to be backtracking on the grant award.

floridatrib.org/2026/02/06/d...

The Trump administration’s policies are disrupting and dividing communities. We visit three of them. From farm country to cities and even Native American reservations, communities are being shaped (and divided) by Trump administration policies.

I’m proud of this collaboration between @thefloridatrib.bsky.social and @revealnews.org, and especially our reporter, Trinity Webster-Bass.

revealnews.org/podcast/loca...

Florida DOGE wants to slash millions of dollars in alleged waste across local governments. A new report detailed far less Named after one of President Donald Trump’s signature initiatives, the state DOGE effort and Jacksonville’s own city council-driven initiative illustrate the impact of national politics on the local l...

NEW: After months of surveying city budgets, Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency presented a 98-page report to the legislature on Wednesday that provided examples — but not a full accounting — of alleged wasteful spending within select local municipalities.

floridatrib.org/2026/01/31/f...

The ‘virtually impossible’ path for citizens’ ballot initiatives in Florida New ballot initiative restrictions, approved by the Florida Legislature and enforced by state officials, are so strict that advocates say they make the process effectively impossible for grassroots ca...

A campaign that could extend health care coverage to an estimated half a million Floridians has been suspended, and a push to legalize adult use of marijuana may unravel before it ever reaches the ballot.

NEW from Florida Trib reporter Kate Payne:

floridatrib.org/2026/01/30/t...

Before ascending to Florida Supreme Court, judge backed DeSantis’ redistricting push First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum would be a critical ally to DeSantis on a high court that the governor has already shaped significantly.

First District Court of Appeal Judge Adam Tanenbaum's appointment comes as the governor and Legislature are again considering congressional redistricting, which typically only happens every 10 years, following the completion of the U.S. Census.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/15/b...

One million Floridians won’t have full representation for high-stakes legislative session The diminished representation comes at a time when lawmakers are expected to weigh sweeping measures to redraw the state’s congressional voting maps and drastically reduce local property tax revenues.

More than 1 million Floridians will not have representation in one of the two chambers in the statehouse this legislative session as Gov. Ron DeSantis has slow-walked setting special elections to fill four vacant seats between the House and Senate.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/12/o...

With army of loyalists, DeSantis built a conservative higher-ed empire With an ally expected to take over at UWF early this year, and a presidential vacancy at UNF, DeSantis is poised to build on his remarkable transformation of Florida higher education.

On college campuses across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to expand his army of political loyalists — both college presidents and university trustees, who are poised to dominate for many years to come, no matter who is elected governor in 2026.

jaxtrib.org/2026/01/07/w...

State began, then halted, probe into murder conviction that relied on a known liar's testimony The aborted review demonstrates the limitations of a unit set up to fanfare, the first of its kind in Florida, to seek justice for the wrongly accused

NEW: Ronnie Ferrell, 1 of 3 men convicted in the 1991 murder of Gino Mayhew, wrote a letter to the State Attorney saying he was wrongfully convicted.

Melissa Nelson's office began a review into Ferrell's case, which was then abruptly stopped.

We asked why:

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/31/s...

The 'hanging judge': Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case An examination by The Tributary shows that Judge Hudson Olliff possessed retrograde views on race that were an open secret in Jacksonville's legal community but less understood by the general public.

New from @jaxtrib.org’s ‘Cold-Blooded’ series | The ‘hanging judge’: Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/22/t...

The 'hanging judge': Legacy of Jim Crow looms over Jacksonville Death Row case An examination by The Tributary shows that Judge Hudson Olliff possessed retrograde views on race that were an open secret in Jacksonville's legal community but less understood by the general public.

Those who found themselves in Judge R. Hudson Olliff’s chambers say he would sometimes say things about Black people that raised questions about whether such defendants would find equal justice in his courtroom.

The latest in our ‘Cold-Blooded’ series:

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/22/t...

Police shooting of 14-year-old boy exposes JSO dispatch failure The shooting, which the state attorney said was a "perfect storm" of unusual circumstances, revealed a critical flaw in JSO's dispatch system.

It’s unclear how many people work in JSO’s dispatch command center and whether it’s adequately staffed to handle the some 1 million incoming calls each year.

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/05/p...

Police shooting of 14-year-old boy exposes JSO dispatch failure The shooting, which the state attorney said was a "perfect storm" of unusual circumstances, revealed a critical flaw in JSO's dispatch system.

New from @jaxtrib.org | A communication breakdown within the JSO dispatch system led multiple officers on a frenzied search for the wrong car in the wake of a fatal drive-by shooting. An officer shot a 14-year-old boy who had nothing to do with the crime.

jaxtrib.org/2025/12/05/p...