DeSantis says Canadians still love Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to dismiss reports that Canadians will stay away from Florida as a backlash to President Trump’s tariffs and threats to annex Canada.DeSantis says he expects Florida to “continue to be a tourist hotspot.” The estimated 3 million Canadians who made their way to Florida in 2024 was 1.2% more than in 2023 and about 20% below the number in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. But the Miami Herald reports that demand for flights from Canada to South Florida are down about 20% from a year ago.
DeSantis is continuing his criticism of nearly-elected Congressman Randy Fine. The Governor said Fine’s caustic personality led to an underwhelming victory. DeSantis claimed Fine’s stance on gun control and immigration alienated Republican voters. Fine refuted the allegations. Both DeSantis and Fine have degrees from Harvard University.
Next rocket launch scheduled for Saturday.
SpaceX will launch the next batch of Starlink satellites tomorrow from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 10:40PM Saturday. The liftoff trajectory will be toward the southeast.
Proposed legislation would encourage more charter schools.
Under a proposed bill, charter schools could more easily take over district schools in Florida. Parents at a public school could vote to convert it to a charter school. Then the school district must provide the school facilities rent-free. The result is that Florida may see a surge in charter schools. The Florida House and Senate bills are progressing through committees in Tallahassee.
Repeal of no-fault insurance speeding through Tallahassee.
The Florida House continues to advance legislation to repeal the state’s no-fault automobile insurance laws. Legislators want to replace them with a fault-based system instead. The House bill is opposed by the insurance, health care, and business lobbies and supported by trial attorneys. The companion Senate bill has been referred to committees, but hasn’t been heard by any of them. The repeal no-fault legislation is one of several tort-related issues moving through the House, but potentially stalling in the Florida Senate.
In other legislative news, the Florida Senate has approved a ban on weather modification. Weather-modification projects have been denounced by some conspiracy theorists as “chemtrails.” But they are more likely just jet contrails. The Senate bill would prohibit the injection of a chemical into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting the climate. The House version of the bill has one more committee to pass before a vote is taken.
And if a bill proposed in Tallahassee becomes law, military veterans will receive free medical marijuana cards. The bill waives the state fee of $75 for honorably discharged veterans.
First trans bathroom arrest.
A trans woman was arrested in Tallahassee for using a woman’s restroom. The Illinois woman could be one of the first arrests under a bathroom bill Florida lawmakers passed in 2023. The 20-year-old Illinois resident, was arrested by Capitol police on a trespassing charge after she alerted state officials that she planned to use the bathroom in protest of the law. It’s unclear if anyone else in the state has been arrested under the 2023 law. That bill came amid other anti-LGBTQ legislation, including a bill prohibiting children from receiving medical therapies for gender dysphoria and a bill that critics said could shut down drag performances.
