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High-tech science keeps Floridians safe from mosquito-borne disease

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As the director of the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory at the University of Florida, I am fortunate to have access to world-class scientific minds and cutting-edge technology.

But in Florida, this expertise and innovation doesn’t just stay in the classroom or laboratory. They are deployed in all 67 counties to control mosquitoes, keep residents and visitors safe, and ensure our state remains the best in the nation to live and work.

Florida has long been an international leader in mosquito control. The Florida Mosquito Control Association (FMCA) was founded over 100 years ago by local business leaders who realized that the state’s economy and health required vigilant and collaborative approaches to reduce the risk.

Since then, our work and expertise have become internationally renowned. Florida hosts symposiums that bring mosquito control professionals from around the world, eager to learn and share successful approaches to keeping the public safe.

There are more than 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida. While most pose little or no threat, many can carry harmful or deadly diseases for humans and animals.

For example, some mosquitoes carry the dengue virus, which sickens hundreds of millions worldwide yearly.

While the disease is relatively rare in Florida, our state experienced more than 1,000 travel-related and 91 local cases of dengue virus in 2024.

How do we work to protect Floridians from this disease? We deploy a wide range of techniques, and each of our mosquito control districts works together.

In labs around the state, highly trained scientists analyze mosquitoes to determine if they are carrying disease.

They also monitor livestock and chickens, who act as early warning systems. Scientists routinely take and analyze blood samples to determine if mosquito-carried diseases are present.

We also take to the air with tools like the Skydio drone, a powerful tool for identifying mosquito breeding grounds from above. Drones provide the ability to visually inspect and perform control measures in otherwise difficult-to-reach areas.

With some mosquitoes resistant to traditional pesticides, innovative strategies make Florida an international leader in cutting-edge mosquito control techniques.

Among those is the “Sterile Insect Technique,” which uses X-rays to sterilize male mosquitos, which are released to mate with females with resulting eggs that are not viable.

The Florida Keys Mosquito District has also successfully used Oxitec’s targeted biological pest control technology to combat the disease-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito.

But even with the technology and science being used around the state to control mosquitoes, one of the most effective tools will always remain smart vigilance from every Floridian.

Preparing for mosquitoes is similar to what Floridians do each hurricane season. Simple steps like removing standing water and wearing insect repellant can reduce mosquitoes around your home and mitigate public health risks.

The truth is that mosquitoes will continue to carry diseases and adapt to some control measures. That means we must also continue to adapt, and creating and using innovative practices will always be needed to keep Florida safe and welcoming for everyone.

For more information, visit FMCA by clicking here.

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Dr. Jorge Rey is the FMCA president and professor at the University of Florida’s Medical Entomology Laboratory.


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Erika Donalds says she’d back a ‘parent-directed’ education system as First Lady

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Erika Donalds has long been a proponent of school choice and parental empowerment, and she hopes to see Florida move further in that direction now and under its next Governor — a job her husband, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, is well-positioned to take.

“My dream for Florida and actually for the whole nation is that every dollar that is spent on education is parent-directed, and I think we’re the closest state in the country doing that,” she told Florida Politics.

“I think we’re going to get closer every year between now and the next governorship, and hopefully the next Governor will continue that trajectory. But that’s where we need to end up to break the monopoly and give every single parent the ability to make the choice. Even if it’s a public school, even if they’re choosing a private school, they’re making that active decision. And that puts the ownership on the parents as well to decide what’s best for their children and not just the default option.”

Erika Donalds’ comments came Tuesday following an afternoon roundtable with U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon at the Kendall campus of True North Classical Academy, a charter school network in Miami-Dade County.

Other participants included, among others, Florida International University Interim President and former Lt. Gov. Jeantte Nuñez, Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega, Miami-Dade School Board member Monical Colucci, charter school magnate Fernando Zuleta and former state Rep. Michael Bileca, True North’s CEO.

Donalds, an education entrepreneur and former Collier County School Board member who in January took over as Chair of the Center for Education Opportunity, advised people to “be on the lookout” for guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) on further empowering parents in the coming days.

“I support anything that puts the power in the hands of parents and even into the community itself,” she said.

McMahon, whom President Donald Trump has tasked with shuttering USDOE, said one of her goals for the agency before closing it is to “leave best practices in place to provide states with the right tools” to take over more education administration duties in its absence.

That includes backing more student vouchers and public, charter, private and alternative school options. McMahon said she and Trump are both “strong proponents” of school choice, but the federal government’s role in expanding it will be limited.

Both Byron and Erika Donalds are outspoken supporters of killing USDOE. The Congressman has cosponsored legislation to abolish the Department and provide funding directly to states for primary and secondary education. Erika Donalds’ X page features multiple posts calling for its dismantling.

In one such post, Donalds displayed an image stating that “7 in 10 American fourth graders are NOT proficient readers.” That assertion tracks with findings from the National Assessment Governing Board and the National Center for Education Statistics, the primary statistical agency of USDOE.

U.S. Rep. Donalds is the presumptive front-runner in the 2026 Republican Primary for Governor. Internal polling released this month shows that after learning Trump has endorsed him, Donalds held a nearly 2 to 1 lead over First Lady Casey DeSantis in a head-to-head race.

Other GOP notables rumored or confirmed to be mulling a gubernatorial bid include Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and former Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward.


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Gov. DeSantis urges local governments to play ball with Florida DOGE audits

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Gov. Ron DeSantis is urging counties in Florida to follow Bay County’s lead and “step up and ask” for audits from the state-level DOGE his administration established.

Noting that his administration is “working with the Florida Legislature to get more prescriptive authority to be able to go in and conduct audits of these local governments so that taxpayers get the full picture of what’s going on,” he credits “counties that are willing to step up and ask for these audits” with “really leading by example.”

DeSantis has often said Florida “was DOGE before DOGE was cool.” Yet in the wake of the Elon Musk led Department of Governmental Efficiency taking root, the Governor rolled out a state-level task force via Executive Order 25-44 to “DOGE at the local level,” taking a look at “publicly available” budget records and auditing.

As he has previously, DeSantis painted a picture of local budgets larded by hikes in property taxes.

“We’ve seen property tax assessments go up across Florida at the local level,” he said. “Taxpayers are pinched, they’re paying more than they ever have. Even though we have homestead exemption, it hasn’t been enough to fully protect taxpayers. Shouldn’t you know how this money is being spent, especially in those counties that have seen dramatic increases in their state budgets?”

Higher taxes have “pinched” senior citizens whose home value may have appreciated over the years, he said.

“Now they’re being told it’s worth so much more and they have to pony up more and more money. It’s almost like they have to pay rent to the government just to be able to enjoy their property. and that’s wrong. and we need to do something about it.”

For now, the Governor wants cities and counties to work with his group on a “voluntary” basis.

“We really hope to be able to deliver some serious, serious audits working with the Florida legislature of what’s going on in these local governments. I thank Bay County for what they did and I know there’s going to be other counties that are going to step up to the plate,” DeSantis said.


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Obscene heckler doesn’t stop bill targeting ‘academic boycott’ of Israel from advancing in Senate

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The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee was the first Senate panel to approve Sen. Tom Leek’s measure (SB 1678) which would defend Israel against its opponents in schools and non-governmental agencies.

That bill suggests anti-Israeli actions undertaken by “an educational institution, a nonprofit organization, an agency, a local governmental entity or unit thereof, or a foreign government” amount to an “academic boycott.”

It urges cessation of state contracts and grants with those entities on the wrong side of the ideological conflict if they don’t change their ways.

These entities would have 90 days to correct their noncompliance and be removed from what would be called the Scrutinized Companies or Other Entities that Boycott Israel List under this proposal. Otherwise, the state would divest itself of contracts with them.

Even before Leek could speak, a member of the crowd called the bill “f****** b*******.” She was immediately excused from the room.

A delete all amendment clarified that public funds, such as the State Board of Administration or State University System, cannot invest in these companies. Additionally, it requires that Arts and Culture grants not go to support antisemitic work.

The bill would also target agreements, like foreign exchange programs, with foreign universities deemed to be supporting antisemitism.

Members of the public complained about the legislation, saying it restricted “academic freedom” and offered support to an Israeli regime they find objectionable.

However, others said the bill was necessary.

Miami Beach City Commissioner David Suarez noted the Boycott Divestment and Sanction movement was targeting cities like his, and the legislation was a way to counter “hateful campaigns from a noisy minority.”

Chair Randy Fine hailed Leek for carrying the bill, saying he’d worried about leaving Tallahassee and having no one carry this kind of legislation,

Leek’s bill has two more committee references.

Rep. Hillary Cassel’s bill (HB 1519) the companion legislation, also has two stops in the House. But it has yet to have a committee hearing.


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