Stet News🔌 The proposed FPL base rate hike could charge customers double to pay its federal taxes, the state consumer advocate wrote in filings to utility regulators.
- Florida Power & Light has said that the hike to base rates is necessary for it to cover the costs of a booming population that is demanding more energy. (Tampa Bay Times)
- The company’s requested range for its rate of return has a midpoint of 11.9%, which would be the highest for any electric utility in the nation, lawyers opposing the hike said.
🎯 Broward County and Gainesville are the first targets of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ DOGE-like budget reviews, with Palm Beach County in the crosshairs. Officials are demanding extensive finance and spending data from Florida cities and counties, many of which the Republican leaders accuse of misusing taxpayer dollars. (Tallahassee Democrat)
❓ Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? The son of a mobster who owned a New Jersey landfill says he knows but his deal to sell his story to a Boca company ended in a lawsuit — and a fascinating yarn. Meanwhile, the former Teamsters president’s resting place remains a mystery 50 years after his disappearance. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
Eighteen-year-old U.S. citizen Kenny Laynez was detained for six hours in May by Florida Highway Patrol and Border Patrol agents. The story of his arrest, captured on video, drew outrage. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
💰 Miami-based Related Group paid $50 million for 10 acres at the former Office Depot headquarters site in Boca Raton. Plans call for 500 apartments. Sellers BH Group and PEBB Enterprises retained 19 acres. (South Florida Business Journal $$$)
🟢 Traffic signals along a 32-mile stretch of U.S. 1 will stay green longer for Palm Tran buses equipped with $11 million worth of technology installed by Port St. Lucie-based Gerelco Traffic Controls. (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🎙️ “Top of Mind Florida,” the podcast with Michael Williams and Brian Crowley, welcomes Charles Zelden, professor of history and political science at Nova Southeastern University. (Listen here. Watch here)
