Tallahassee

Florida Lab Retakes Record Of Strongest Magnet In The World

By Tom Flanigan • Aug 23, 2017

Florida can once again brag about having the world's strongest magnet. Officials at Florida's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory said Tuesday they tested a magnet that is able to crank out more than 41 tesla of magnetic power, beating the record holder that comes from China “This is a new world-record magnet,” explained Mag Lab Associate Director Eric Palm. “It’s a resistive magnet so we have to keep putting power into it and water through it to take the heat out of the magnet. And as long as we keep paying our power bill, we can keep running it.”

The Florida Roundup: Special Session Of 'Special Deals' & The Pulse Massacre One Year Later

By Bridget O'Brien • Jun 11, 2017

This week on The Florida Roundup...

Ahead of last week's three-day special session, the state's top legislative leaders -Gov. Rick Scott, House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron- appeared to have reached an agreement about public spending in the new fiscal year.

Special Session A Burden To Tax Payers, Boon To Local Businesses

By Kate Payne • Jun 6, 2017

This week’s special legislative session is expected to cost taxpayers more than $100,000. But the three-day long process could be a boon for Tallahassee’s local economy.

Florida Forever Is Left Forever Waiting After Legislators Cut All Funding Except $10 M

By Bridget O'Brien • May 10, 2017

Florida Constitutional Revision Commission Back At Work For First Time In 20 Years

By Wilson Sayre • Mar 20, 2017

Every 20 years, a 37-person commission comes up with a list of amendments to the Florida Constitution.

The next cohort of the Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC) met on Monday for the first time, in the Florida Senate chambers in Tallahassee.

The group will have a year to travel around the state and figure out what kinds of changes need to be made to the constitution. It already scheduled visits to Orange, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Tallahassee Throwing Money In A Ditch, But In A Good Way

By Nick Evans • Jun 30, 2016

Florida’s new fiscal year begins Friday and that means billions of dollars will start making their way across the state to fund projects approved during the legislative session. Some of that money will end up in a ditch in Tallahassee.

House Approves Congressional Districts; Senate Ponders Changes

By Brandon Larrabee and Jim Turner | News Service of Florida • Aug 14, 2015

The battle over boundaries for Florida's 27 congressional districts began in earnest Thursday, with a state House committee approving a plan while senators considered overhauling the same proposal --- and as a congresswoman continued pressing her case that the map would harm black voters.

Judge Orders Redistricting Wrapped Up By Sept. 25

By Jim Saunders - News Service of Florida • Jul 16, 2015

Pointing to a time crunch, a Leon County circuit judge Wednesday gave the Florida Legislature little more than two months to draw new congressional districts and to defend them in court.

Judge George S. Reynolds III issued an order that said a special legislative session to redraw districts and a subsequent trial must be finished by Sept. 25. The order came after the Florida Supreme Court last week tossed out eight congressional districts because it found that lawmakers violated a 2010 constitutional amendment aimed at preventing gerrymandering.

June 1, 2015: Lawmakers Return To Tallahassee For Special Session

By Marva Hinton • Jun 1, 2015

Today on WLRN-Miami Herald News, you heard:

Photos: Old South In Tallahassee, Before Political Standoffs

By Alexander Gonzalez • May 29, 2015

State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/275723

A special session for the Florida State Legislature starts Monday in Tallahassee. And that's a good a time as any to revisit the history of the 200,000-city, which used to be just a town of the Old South.

Mark Silva, former Tallahassee bureau chief for the Miami Herald, wrote about the capital's past in a National Geographic story.

How Big Energy Wields Its Power Over Solar In Florida

By Gina Jordan • Apr 14, 2015

A citizen-led effort seeks to put a solar power-expanding initiative on Florida’s 2016 ballot. It would allow entities other than utility companies to sell the solar power they generate. At the same time, legislation proposed in Tallahassee would keep Florida as one of only five states that prevent anyone other than utilities from selling solar power.

House Passes Bill To Reduce Class Size Penalties

By Gina Jordan • Mar 27, 2015

School districts are likely to face fewer penalties for violating class-size requirements under a bill that passed the Florida House Friday on a vote of 107 - 3.

Local Pension Overhaul Ready For Full Senate Vote

By Gina Jordan • Mar 27, 2015

An effort to overhaul police and firefighter pensions is ready for consideration by the full Senate.

The bill, SB 172, changes the way state insurance premium tax revenues are used to fund local pension plans. It essentially enables local governments to use the money as they wish.

The bill is sponsored by lawmakers from both parties, including Sen. Rob Bradley (R-Fleming Island).

Seminoles Release More Ads Pushing Gambling Negotiations

By Gina Jordan • Mar 25, 2015

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has released another TV ad -- the third so far -- trying to convince state leaders to renew a portion of the Seminole Gaming Compact.

The portion that expires in July allows the Seminole tribe to exclusively offer games like blackjack at its casinos. In return, the tribe guarantees a billion dollars’ worth of payments to the state over five years.

Hemp Farming Gets Thumbs Up From Florida Senate Committee

By Gina Jordan • Mar 24, 2015

A product made from cannabis could become one of Florida’s top crops: A bill in Tallahassee would allow Florida farmers to grow hemp.

Robert Clayton finished construction last year on a house made of hemp in Tarpon Springs. It’s thought to be the first of its kind in Florida. He testified at a Senate hearing about his research for the Hemp Industries Association.

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