By Michael Moline | Editor in Chief
“Bryan Avila voted for Parkland, but the Governor sets policy, not the Lieutenant Governor.” —Luis Valdes, Gun Owners of America
Sen. Bryan Avila closes on the resolution he sponsored to reduce property taxes during a special session on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
The GOP’s slate is more diverse than the Democrats’ — Donalds would become the first Black person to win a statewide election, and Avila is the son of Cuban exiles, Mitch Perry reports. David Jolly and Gwen Graham have “now joined forces to create the most boring and uninspiring ticket Florida Democrats could have ever put together,” Donalds noted. “I wish him well,” Jolly said of Avila. “But let’s be honest: this race won’t come down to Bryon Donalds’ relationship with Avila, it will come down to Byron’s relationship with Donald Trump.”
The ruling came Sunday, less than two weeks before a university-imposed deadline for the students to make a “video reflection” on the policy that prohibited their protest, and less than two weeks after they filed suit, Jay Waagmeester reports. Judge Jacqueline Becerra wrote that “over sixty years of First Amendment precedent supports” the students. “In short, when all is said and done, and for at least sixty years, the standard has been the same: student speech cannot be curtailed unless it materially disrupts the educational mission or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others,” she wrote.
The difference between premium costs paid and costs of coverage is estimated at $62.2 million by June 30 of next year and $2 billion four years later, despite a $375 million infusion the Legislature approved this spring. Many career service state workers pay $50 a month for individual coverage and $180 for family coverage. Senior state employees as well high-ranking agency officials and legislative staff pay lower premiums: $8.34 a month for individual coverage and $30 for families, Christine Sexton writes.
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