State immigration enforcement costs top $500M
(0:00) Florida has spent at least $573 million on "Operation Vigilant Sentry." That's the name of the state's immigration enforcement efforts. This money has been taken from an emergency response fund that state lawmakers created in 2022.
State emergency officials say they expect the federal government to reimburse the state for some of its spending on immigration. However, there has been no such payment.
Guest:
- Lawrence Mower, reporter for the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau.
Hope Florida probe halted
(08:54) This week, a conservative online publication in Florida reported that the Department of Justice will not take up a criminal investigation into the Hope Florida Foundation.
Though the report did not include any named sources, the DOJ has yet to comment.
The federal investigation into the state-created charity began last year and centered around the diversion of a $10 million state Medicaid settlement towards a political campaign against legalizing recreational marijuana.
We checked in with the state lawmaker who prompted the inquiry.
Guest:
- Rep. Alex Andrade, (R-Pensacola).
Cold weather gardening tips
(20:42) Last weekend brought about freeze warnings, cold warnings and even extreme cold warnings across the state.
These low temperatures can wreak havoc on many of Florida's tropical fruits and fauna.
That's why we asked a master gardener about how best to protect and recover our gardens before, during and after a cold snap.
Guest:
- Nickie Munroe, Environmental Horticulture Agent for the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Indian River County Extension.
Failed constitutional amendments
(33:26) It's unlikely that there will be any citizen-led constitutional amendments on the ballot this November.
Earlier this week the Florida Department of State announced that all 22 proposed amendments that were initiated by petitions failed to meet the requirements.
These include proposals that would expand Medicaid coverage and put recreational marijuana legalization on the fall ballot for voters to decide.
Guest:
- Douglas Soule, 'Your Florida' state government reporter.
Weekly news briefing
(37:34) A proposal to boost affordable housing through garage apartments and other so-called accessory dwellings units or ADUs on single family home lots passed the Florida Senate on Wednesday.
This week, the state health department announced it was writing three new rules for its AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which is nicknamed ADAP.
The agency said it was updating definitions, eligibility requirements, and documentation, but did not include any other information.
The AIDS Healthcare foundation held a candlelight vigil and a town hall in Fort Lauderdale to respond to possible funding cuts.
The Artemis II mission around the moon with astronauts will stay on the ground on Cape Canaveral a little longer. The mission had been expected to lift off as soon as Sunday, but now it's pushed out until next month.
A federal judge this week blocked the cancellation of the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, that has shielded more than 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. from deportation.
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