Gov. Ron DeSantis, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced Thursday the early termination of Florida Crystals' lease for the stormwater treatment area (STA) component of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project.

In a morning press statement, DeSantis' office said the Florida Crystals Corporation sent a letter Monday, Sept. 30, voluntarily terminating the sugar grower's lease on lands needed to expedite completion of the EAA Reservoir Project. 

President Donald Trump on Thursday swung through The Villages --- friendly territory amid an impeachment inquiry --- to announce health-care plans and, in the process, give Gov. Ron DeSantis a political boost.

“If he was doing a lousy job, I probably wouldn’t have shown up today. But he is doing one of the best jobs in the whole country --- Ron DeSantis,” Trump told the crowd in the Central Florida retirement mecca, which is a reliable Republican stronghold.

A Republican congressman from the Sunshine State is pairing up with a Democrat from New Jersey to crack down on human trafficking. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-NJ, to showcase two bills focusing on reducing human trafficking. 

This week, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran announced the latest stops in his Florida Standards Listening Tour, which will start in the coming days, giving the public another chance to weigh in on what should replace Common Core in the Sunshine State. 

When Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order at the start of the year to eliminate Common Core in Florida, he also called on Corcoran to review and revise the standard by January 2020. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis will be on hand when President Donald Trump visits friendly turf Thursday in The Villages, but two of the president’s other closest Florida allies won’t accompany him.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters and Congressman Matt Gaetz have prior commitments and will not be able to attend the president’s event, which is happening in the midst of a U.S. House impeachment inquiry into the president.

A prominent Florida Republican will be headed to Mount Everest later this month in an attempt to set a world record. 

Patriot Defense announced on Wednesday that businessman, former CIA agent and veteran Todd Wilcox, who founded the group and is its executive chairman, will take part in a Military Free Fall (MFF) expedition to Mount Everest. Wilcox will be part of the Complete Parachute Solutions (CPS) team as they try to set a world record for highest-elevation tactical military freefall parachute landing.

A project designed to detect “homegrown violent extremists and lone actors” before they attack is estimated to cost the Florida Department of Law Enforcement millions of dollars --- and agency officials want lawmakers to start paying for parts of it next year.

The agency is asking the Legislature for $3.6 million to support multiple parts of its “behavioral threat assessment” tool, which has been extolled by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen.

A Southwest Florida congressman is behind a proposal to ensure federal dollars won’t be used to bailout insolvent states, territories and local governments.

At the end of last week, U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla, introduced the “Government Bailout Prevention Act” which he showcased on Tuesday. 

Now in his second term on Capitol Hill, a congressman from the First Coast is taking over as a co-chairman of the Congressional Deaf Caucus. 

This week, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla, stepped up to serve as co-chairman of the caucus, replacing former U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas, who was defeated last year. Rutherford joins U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., in leading the caucus which was launched back in 2013.