Author

Diane Rado

Diane Rado

Diane Rado has covered state and local government and public schools in six states over some 30 years, focusing on policy and investigative stories as well as legislative and political reporting. She is married to a journalist and has three adult children.

CDC report: Across states, 626,000 abortions reported in 2021; FL shows highest number

By: - November 22, 2023

In states across the country, 625,978 abortions were reported in 2021, with Florida showing the highest number in the analysis, according to data published Wednesday from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Florida figure was listed as 79,817 abortions in 2021 — higher than some big-population states such as New York […]

FL Dems push for their own agenda in this week’s special session, but it may or may not go anywhere

By: - November 6, 2023

With supermajorities in the GOP-controlled Legislature in Florida, Democrats during the special session this week will try to push for legislation on a number of fronts, from hate crimes and increased security for historically Black colleges and universities to Medicaid expansion for certain families, among other measures. In some cases, Republicans in the state House […]

Lucy Morgan

Florida icon and Pulitzer Prize winner Lucy Morgan has died

By: - September 20, 2023

Lucy Morgan, an icon in Florida politics and American journalism, has died. She was a Pulitzer Prize winner and chief of the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times capital bureau in Tallahassee for 20 years, retiring in 2006 and serving as senior correspondent until 2013. She was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame […]

DeSantis faces Idalia as storm heads to Big Bend region in FL: ‘Be ready for impact’

By: - August 29, 2023

At a 6 p.m. news conference Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear that Hurricane Idalia “is going to have major impacts,” as the hurricane churns toward the Big Bend coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. That’s the region in North Florida — the arch that connects the Panhandle to the peninsula. It’s also the area […]

DeSantis was off the campaign trail Sunday; he spoke again about the hate-crime killings in Jacksonville

By: - August 27, 2023

At a Tallahassee news conference Sunday focused on upcoming storms, Gov. Ron DeSantis was off the presidential campaign trail — which is unusual — and spoke again about the hate-crime killings of three Black people in Jacksonville on Saturday. President Joe Biden, Congress members, state lawmakers, the NAACP and other advocates responded to the murders […]

‘Disgusting idealogy of hate’: Shooter kills 3 Black people at Dollar General store in Jacksonville

By: - August 26, 2023

A white man in his early 20s shot and killed three Black people Saturday at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, with Sheriff T.K. Waters saying the shooter “hated Black people.” “This shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people. he wanted to kill n——. That’s the one and only time I’ll use that […]

Biden-Harris ad campaign targets Hispanic voters in FL, as well as key battleground states

By: - August 21, 2023

The Democratic Biden-Harris reelection campaign is running ads to reach Hispanic voters in Florida, part of a 16-week, $25 million effort to target markets in key battleground states. The ads are in Arizona: Phoenix; Georgia: Atlanta; Michigan: Detroit, Grand Rapids; Nevada: Las Vegas; North Carolina; Raleigh, Charlotte; Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre-Scranton; Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Green Bay, […]

On campaign trail, Ron DeSantis was in a car accident in TN; ‘he and his team are uninjured’

By: - July 25, 2023

Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was in a car accident Tuesday while heading to a Tennessee event, according to media outlets, Twitter feeds and a press statement. The statement from campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said: “This morning, the governor was in a car accident while traveling to an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee. […]

Debt relief: About 57,000 Floridians qualify for student loan forgiveness under Biden plan

By: - July 19, 2023

Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upsetting thousands of student loan borrowers, the U.S. Department of Education has released state data on the number of borrowers eligible for automatic loan forgiveness, with Florida showing 56,930 borrowers and more than $3 billion in discharges. Only Texas, with 63,730 borrowers, and California, at 61,890, had more borrowers […]

DeSantis looks to his hardline efforts in Florida in promising to overhaul the nation’s military

By: - July 18, 2023

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who upended the tenets of K-12 schools and state universities, banned “environmental, social, and governance” strategies from state investments and blocked critical race theory and “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” is now looking to overhaul the nation’s military. “We’re going to come in and we’re going to take very swift action. To […]

No prescription required: FDA approves over-the-counter oral contraceptive medicine for the first time

By: - July 13, 2023

For the first time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a daily oral contraceptive without a prescription, meaning consumers across the country can buy the medicine in drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and even online, according to a FDA press release. “Today’s approval marks the first time a nonprescription daily oral contraceptive […]

In FL and elsewhere, motorists will hit the road in droves for the July 4th holiday

By: - June 26, 2023

Floridians planning road trips for the July 4th holiday are expected to set records this year, according to AAA forecasts. While some people will take planes, the vast majority of Florida travelers will drive — through Friday, June 30 to Tuesday, July 4. The analysis uses at least one trip of 50 miles or more […]