A conversation with Florida's CFO
Florida's local governments are under scrutiny from the state over how tax dollars are being spent.
The state's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is conducting on-site audits in cities and counties as part of a statewide push to identify and reduce alleged financial misconduct.
Leading these efforts is Blaise Ingoglia, Florida's newly appointed Chief Financial Officer. He joined us to discuss the audits as well as state spending on "Alligator Alcatraz," and the redistricting effort.
Guests:
- Blaise Ingoglia, Florida Chief Financial Officer.
Judge orders halt of 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Florida and the Trump Administration have been given 60 days to close down the immigrant detention center in the Everglades known as "Alligator Alcatraz."
A federal judge in Miami ruled late Thursday that the quick construction of the facility violated federal environmental review rules. The DeSantis administration filed notice that it will appeal.
Earlier in the week, another federal judge issued a ruling in a separate case regarding the rights of detainees and their access to attorneys.
Part of that lawsuit was dismissed but the judge also ruled another part of the case could go forward, but in a different court.
We break down the two decisions and explore what it means for the future of the detention center and the state's efforts to ramp up deportations.
Guest:
- Kimberly Leonard, Politics Reporter and author of POLITICO's Florida Playbook.
Food and climate change
Florida is at the center of the conflict between food production and mitigating climate change.
The Sunshine State's orange crop is a small fraction of what it was just a few decades ago. And the state was the first state to ban lab-grown meat.
Land and how it is used is one of the themes of We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate, Michael Grunwald's latest book.
Guest:
- Michael Grunwald, author and senior staff writer for POLITICO Magazine.
Weekly news briefing
The state sued two of the biggest textbook publishers in the country this week. Governor Ron DeSantis claims McGraw Hill and Savvas Learning Company overpriced the textbooks they sold to Florida.
Both companies denied the claims and said they plan to vigorously defend their cases.
A federal judge has overturned most of Florida's book ban law. While the ruling won't return banned books to shelves right away, it may give parents and students more power to challenge book bans.
The latest flash point between the state and local governments is over crosswalks … specially brightly painted colored crosswalks. The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered the removal of any painted design on intersections and pedestrian crosswalks throughout the state.
The rainbow crosswalk painted as a memorial to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando was painted over late Wednesday night.
A growing number of undocumented migrants are making the decision this year to self-deport in the face of President Donald Trump's sweeping and controversial immigration arrests campaign.
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