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Florida bill would help enhance rural communities | Florida

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Steve Wilson | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-24 13:16:00

(The Center Square) – A bill active in the Florida Legislature could provide help for the state’s rural areas and create what the bill authors call a “rural renaissance.”

Senate Bill 110 passed the Senate 39-0 on Wednesday and would allocate $200 million to expand education offerings, increase health care availability for rural residents and help modernize commerce. 

SB110, sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, would also appropriate $91 million for transportation projects in fiscally constrained counties. 

Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, represents a district that includes the wealthy coast and more rural agricultural areas of Martin County and parts of Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. 

“People don’t realize that agriculture is the No. 2 industry in our state,” Harrell said during debate on the bill. “We have to make sure we’re supporting our agricultural communities. They get forgotten a lot and we want to make sure with this bill that we are going to put them on the forefront, especially with health care.”

Simon’s measure would also mandate that the state land planning agency to give special preference for technical assistance funding to local governments located in what is called a rural area of opportunity.

The bill would also allow eligible rural counties to receive at least $50 million in sales tax distribution. 

Under SB110, the state Department of Commerce would create an Office of Rural Prosperity and a Public Infrastructure Smart Technology Grant Program to help these areas upgrade their infrastructure. 

Added to the measure was a change to the state’s Florida Reimbursement Assistance for Medical Education Program that would add eligibility for medical doctors or doctors of osteopathic medicine who are board certified in emergency medicine and employed by or under contract with a rural hospital. 

Rural health care practitioners such as doctors and nurses could receive $250,000 each under a new grant program to build new facilities, buy new equipment and add telehealth services among other allowed costs. 

The bill was amended on the floor to add that areas in the Everglades Agricultural Area in the southern part of the peninsula near Lake Okeechobee would be priority areas under the measure. 

Counties eligible for designation as fiscally-constrained status must meet at least one of two criteria. Fiscally constrained counties are those where a 1 mill levy – which adds up to one dollar per $1,000 dollars of assessed value – would raise no more than $5 million in annual tax revenue or have been listed on the governor’s executive order as an area of economic concern.

Florida’s fiscally constrained counties are Baker, Bradford, Calhoun, Columbia, Desoto, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okeechobee, Putnam, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla and Washington.

House Bill 1427 is similar, but it has yet to be taken up by the House Commerce Committee. 

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News from the South - Florida News Feed

Ed White High School introduces reflective jackets after traffic tragedies

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www.news4jax.com – Amanda DeVoe – 2025-09-01 10:33:00

SUMMARY: After losing two students to traffic accidents near campus, Ed White High School has introduced reflective-striped jackets as part of the uniform to enhance student visibility. In October 2024, 17-year-old Alaysha Williams was struck crossing Blanding Boulevard, following a 2018 fatality of student Shaqia Bryant near Normandy Boulevard. Many students commute before dawn, increasing risks in low light. Principal Traci Battest emphasized the jackets’ role in safety. The initiative has strong parent and student support for added protection. Despite efforts, traffic dangers persist, with recent incidents early this school year. The school also plans a traffic garden for practical road safety education.

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Queen Camilla showed her mettle as a teenager when she beat back a groper with her shoe

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www.clickorlando.com – Danica Kirka, Associated Press – 2025-09-01 04:22:00

SUMMARY: As a teenager in the mid-1960s, Queen Camilla defended herself against an indecent assault on a train to London’s Paddington Station by hitting her attacker in the groin with her shoe, following her mother’s advice. She reported the incident to a uniformed man, leading to the assailant’s arrest. This story, revealed in Valentine Low’s upcoming book “Power and the Palace,” was shared with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and highlights Camilla’s resilience and support for domestic violence charities. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. The book also discusses Queen Elizabeth II’s opposition to Brexit.

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Rudy Giuliani injured in New Hampshire car crash, his spokesperson says

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www.news4jax.com – Associated Press – 2025-08-31 14:55:00

SUMMARY: Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and ex-attorney for Donald Trump, is recovering from a fractured vertebra and other injuries after his rental car was rear-ended on a New Hampshire highway Saturday. Giuliani, 81, was helping a domestic violence victim prior to the crash, which was unrelated to the incident, according to his security head Michael Ragusa. Giuliani sustained multiple injuries but remains in good spirits. His son thanked supporters for their prayers. Giuliani’s recent years have been tumultuous, including legal challenges over election fraud claims and a $148 million defamation judgment related to Georgia election workers.

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