Florida News – Highlights from around the state – February 12th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- FAU researchers found smartwatches to be the direst item we wear daily. According to their study of twenty leading smartwatches, worn daily by users, all contained significant levels of bacteria. It’s a good reminder to clean your watch in addition to your phone.
- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is offering up to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for the shooting and stabbing of two dolphins which washed up in Sarasota and Naples beaches. The first similar incident was reported in May of last year.
- Big changes could be coming for alimony cases in Florida. A proposal to end permanent alimony and set custody rights at 50-50 without extenuating circumstances passed the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. A companion bill sits in the Senate but hasn’t been taken up as of yet. A similar bill was vetoed by then Governor Rick Scott in 2016.
- The Florida Surgeon General confirmed Florida’s currently coronavirus free. This on back of the latest advisory showing more than 43,000 confirmed cases worldwide killing more than 1,000 people to date.
- The Senate bill which would regulate vacation rentals at the state level passed in the Commerce and Tourism committee. If the proposal would become law, local governments wouldn’t be able to impose their own restrictions on the industry aside from HOA’s would which be able to opt in or out.
- The bill banning the use of DNA information being shared or used by insurance companies passed its final Senate committee and is on the verge of passing the full legislature. It’s already passed in the House.