Florida
Florida teacher vacancies are down 13%, state says. Teachers union says there are still 5,000 unfilled jobs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) and the state’s largest teachers union are at odds over the framing of teacher vacancies in public schools.
The Florida Department of Education announced Monday that teacher vacancies for the 2024-2025 school year are 13.3% lower than first-day vacancies for the 2023-2024 school year. Schools have reported 1.11 teacher vacancies per school, lower than last year’s average of 1.28 vacancies per school, according to the FDOE. This year’s 13.3% drop in vacancies follows last year’s drop of over 8% in comparison to the previous year.
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“Florida has raised teacher pay, supported teachers in the classroom and created new pathways for qualified individuals to enter the teaching profession,” Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. said in a news release. “While the naysayers use the same tactics year after year to discredit Florida’s success in Education, once again the numbers speak for themselves. I am proud that Florida’s teacher vacancies continue to decline and I am confident that this is a direct result of the forward-thinking policies that Governor Ron DeSantis has championed.”
The Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest association of professional employees with 120,000 union members, has a different take.
Last week, the FEA released its latest data on teacher vacancies and found that at the start of a new school year, nearly every district in the state is advertising unfilled positions in elementary education, ESE and speech language pathology with no significant improvement in the vacancies for education staff professionals (ESPs).
“When Governor DeSantis and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. pat themselves on the back because they have funded corporate-run schools and micro schools in strip malls, they are doing so at the expense of students in Florida’s public schools by literally siphoning billions each year away from public schools. Make no mistake — this is on purpose,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association.
FEA said its data shows that there are currently 5,007 instructional vacancies, a jump from numbers reported in January of this year, but a decrease from the number reported in August 2023.
“Students across the state are feeling the weight of increased class sizes and not enough teachers or support professionals,” FEA said in a news release.
In an apparent shot at FEA’s teacher data, the FDOE said its vacancy data is reported to the department directly from school districts, “contrary to other sources which have attempted to use inaccurate data to report inflated teacher vacancy data.”
FEA said it counts vacancies posted on district websites twice annually, in August and January. (A county-by-county breakdown of the FEA vacancy numbers can be found here)
Diaz said the decrease in teacher vacancy numbers is a direct result of Gov. DeSantis’ commitment to supporting teachers, with more than $4.6 billion invested in teacher pay increases since 2019.
MORE | $1.25 billion in upcoming state budget will go toward teacher raises, Gov. DeSantis says
But FEA is calling for even more funding — $2.5 billion a year for the next seven years.
FEA said the increase will help address “inadequate salaries so Florida’s teachers are in the top 10 in average pay.”
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
Florida
Looking for Florida brewery, winery, distillery, cidery? Here are 17
The Treasure Coast has 13 breweries, 4 distilleries, 1 winery and 1 cider house.
Looking for somewhere to kick back and chug a frosty brew or smooth glass of wine?
The Treasure Coast has plenty of breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries.
Here is every one in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties. If we missed any, email valeria.bartra@tcpalm.com.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Four friends — David BuShea Jr., Nick Bischoff, Mike Sturgis and Danny Horton — opened the Treasure Coast’s first brewery in Fort Pierce’s historic Edgartown neighborhood north of downtown in 2013. That’s is now Pierced Ciderworks. They moved downtown to a larger, 25,000-square-foot space on Second Street in 2017. The brewery went from a three-barrel system to a 20-barrel system. It hosts bingo nights, trivia nights, holiday celebrations and live music performances. Its signature and most popular beer is the Sunrise City pale ale.
Gary Roberts opened Summer Crush, the Treasure Coast’s first and only winery, on the same property as his nursery and landscaping business in 2012. He planted 6 miles of vines on 10 acres, using two native muscadine grape varieties: Carlos for white wines and Noble for red wines. His estate wines are made with only his grapes. For others, he supplements his homegrown grapes with the same two varieties from other Florida vineyards. Summer Crush has all the components of a boutique winery: a vineyard; cellar and crush pad; tasting room and gift shop; and festival and event area with a covered pavilion for concerts. Summer Crush specializes in muscadine and tropical fruit wines. Almost all the specialty wines can be made as the “estate” version, which contains 100% of Summer Crush’s grapes. It also hosts live music and tribute band performances. Its signature wine is the Old Florida White table wine.
St. Lucie County firefighters Jim Kelly and Robert Tearle, along with Tearle’s cousin, Jeffrey Blitman, opened the brewery in a St. Lucie West industrial park in 2017. They started homebrewing in 2011 and sold apparel to raise enough money to open a brewery. The 2,000-square-foot Port St. Lucie brew house, containing a 15-barrel system, is separated from the taproom by large glass windows. It often has food trucks. It hosts music bingo nights, ladies nights, beer and corn pong nights as well as live music performances. Its signature drink is its award-winning Puckr’d “Mother Pucker” beer; it also serves ciders, sangria and specialty drinks.
Fox & Crown is an authentic British pub with legit British food and beer, said owner Matthew Teun. His roots are English, and some of his family still lives there. The pub opened in 2025 and serves food imported from England that includes Scotch eggs, sausage rolls, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and steak and kidney pies. Even bags of potato chips — called “crisps” in England — are imported with flavors that include tomato ketchup, pickled onion and prawn cocktail. Teun also plans to brew beers with British and European influences, including a traditional pale ale, a traditional English IPA he named “London IPA” and a British red ale, which is sweeter than an Irish red ale. Guest taps include Wrexham Lager. It hosts weekly trivia nights, karaoke sessions and shows European football matches. Its signature drink is a pub ale called the Crown Standard Bitter.
Jon Nolli opened the Treasure Coast’s first cidery in Fort Pierce’s historic Edgartown neighborhood north of downtown in 2018. The 1901 home previously was owned by famed photographer Harry Hill and occupied by Sailfish Brewing Co. The current cidermaker is Rich Milton. Unique flavors include caramel apple, lime habanero, chocolate hazelnut and peanut butter jelly. It typically has a food truck near the outdoor back deck and an old, brown rat rod parked in front. Its signature year-round ciders are the ‘Merica Dry and the Coco Loconut. It hosts yoga events, bluegrass jam nights, bingo nights, yappy hour and other live music events.
Florida Atlantic University friends Jose Herrera, Tyrone Bradley, Chris Trentine and Nik Schroth started Islamorada Brewing Co. in the Florida Keys in 2014, then opened a second location near the St. Lucie County airport in 2016. That 25,000-square-foot production facility and taproom allowed for 10 times more brewing. They later expanded to add a distillery and changed its name to Islamorada Brewing & Distillery. Its signature beers are the Sandbar Sunday, Islamorada Ale and Channel Marker IPA. It hosts regular and music bingo nights, flip nights, fishing club meetups, line dancing and themed trivia nights.
Thomas Neidhart and his sons, T.J. and Michael, opened a second location of their brewery in Port St. Lucie in 2025. They opened their first location in Yaphank, Long Island, New York, in 2023. The food is overseen by their partner and close friend, Matt Rappa of Wading River, New York, who has owned multiple pizzerias and restaurants in his hometown. Neidhart’s daughter, Alyssa, is the face of the company. Southpaw Brewing is known for its craft beer, inventive craft cocktails and pub food, featuring crispy, flat-crust, brick-oven pizza. Southpaw also serves cider. It hosts national holiday events such as national French fry day, national mojito day and national chicken wing day. Its signature beer is the Lefty Lucie Lite Lager.
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Hogan Yards opened near the Vero Beach airport in June 2026. The unique entertainment complex has BBQ, games, pickleball, craft beer and live music in the former Hogan & Sons citrus packing house. Orchid Island Brewery provides the craft beer, and Pepper & Salt BBQ provides the Texas-style barbecue. The brewery uses ingredients grown on-site and from area groves. The owners — Tom and Tiffany Corr, Alden and Valerie Bing, and John and Heather Chianis —grow mangoes, finger limes and vanilla beans on-site to use in their beer. It hosts live music nights and its signature brew is Orchid Island Brewery’s Star Ruby Grapefruit IPA.
Pete and Lynn Anderson initially opened Sebastian’s first brewery in a U.S. 1 plaza in 2014 before moving two blocks north to the original Sebastian post office in 2017. The new location gave them better exposure and a bigger space to triple their beer production. The couple, who moved to Florida in 2004, previously lived on the West Coast and were exposed to the craft beer scenes of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California that had been around since the mid-1980s. They named the brewery after the human tendency to see familiar objects or patterns in otherwise random or unrelated objects or patterns, such as faces, and such photos decorate the walls. Its small kitchen offers hot dogs, flatbreads, paninis and other snacks. Its signature drinks are the 32958 Hazy IPA, also known as the Zipcode, and Mel’s Gold Ale. It hosts open mic nights, trivia nights and live music nights.
Mike Malone and Alan Dritenbas opened the brewery in a former World War II aviation supply warehouse just south of the Vero Beach airport. Malone now runs the business with his wife, Brooke. The name comes from the nickname for red mangrove trees whose roots continually “walk” outward toward the water. Its beer has won multiple awards at the Great American Beer Festival. The building uses large industrial fans instead of air conditioning. It had food trucks for years, but Linda Moore and Courtney Cotherman opened the Salvador Deli restaurant inside the brewery in 2024. Moore, who co-owns the Kilted Mermaid in Vero Beach, and Cotherman, who worked there for 10 years, started Salvador Deli together in 2022 for catering events. Its award-winning beers are the Barnacled Manatee Barleywine, Babycakes Oatmeal Stout, Walking Tree IPA, Treasure Kolsch, Straw Hat Blonde Ale and the Prop Root English Pale Ale. It hosts board game nights, yoga events, live music and trivia nights.
Developer Michael Rechter opened the brewery in 2017 in Vero Beach’s former diesel power plant, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. He paid the city $500,000 for the building in 2016 and spent over $4 million in renovations. The original giant diesel engine is the backdrop. The brewery has a full-service kitchen, garden area, outdoor patio and mezzanine that allows customers to look down on the operations. Rechter opened a second location in Fort Lauderdale in 2019, which closed in 2022. It hosts paint parties, trivia Tuesdays and holiday events. Its signature beer is the Icon Gold lager.
Derek Gerry and Patrick Kirchner opened Sebastian’s second brewery within walking distance of what later became Pareidolia Brewing Co. in 2018. They started brewing beer together as members of the Boil Over Boys homebrewing club from their homes in Sebastian. The brewery’s name references their blue-collar lives. They make traditional brews, such as a German-style Kolsch, as well as their own creations, including a bloody mary beer. The brewery offers small bites at the bar and often has food trucks. It hosts food truck events, live music performances and Monday trivia nights.
Vero Beach natives Ray and Mandy Hooker opened Indian River Distillery in 2023 in a 4,000-square-foot city-owned building near the Vero Beach airport. It doesn’t carry beer or wine. Ray, third-generation, grew up in Sebastian and graduated from Sebastian River High School. He met Mandy at the former Long Branch Saloon in Vero Beach. The couple noticed distilleries were becoming more popular nationally, but none were opening locally. They learned how to run a distillery at a weekend workshop in Kentucky and took online classes through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London. It hosts live music nights on the weekends.
21st Amendment Distillery opened in downtown Vero Beach in 2023, in the building that formerly housed the Ironside Press. The name is a nod to the 21st Amendment that repealed Prohibition. It has a cigar bar and full-service restaurant with a menu featuring shareable bites people can eat while having a conversation. Owner Jeff Palleschi, who moved to Vero Beach about 14 years ago, wanted his distillery to spark more activity downtown, the way Sailfish Brewing Co. did in downtown Fort Pierce. It hosts ladies nights, pack walks, cigar nights and live music performances. Any of its signature spirits are marked by the “21” or “21 AD” on the menu.
MARTIN COUNTY
Palm City couple Chris and Amanda Cischke are behind this brewery that opened in 2019. Ocean Republic has up to 16 beers on tap at a time, as well as cocktails and an American pub-style food menu. They have about six flagship beers based on customer response, and they rotate the rest. The brewery’s menu was inspired by food the Cischkes ate while visiting breweries in California and Colorado. Ocean Republic has a non-traditional style of food service, with customers ordering at the bar, getting numbers and having the food brought to them. It hosts yappy hour, give-back nights and live music. Its signature beers are the Flo Cal lager and Grapefruit Thrasher IPA.
The “brewstillery” concept is rare in Florida, said co-founder Etienne Bourgeois. Frazier Creek serves beer, wine, spirits, seltzer, soda and cocktails. It has 35 taps, mostly for its own beer, non-alcoholic craft sodas and ready-to-drink cocktails — basically vodka-based seltzers. It also has guest taps for cider. There’s a variety of brewed beers: IPAs, sours, lagers, shandys, pale ales and imperial stouts. The 9,000-square-foot brewstillery includes a 3,500-square-foot taproom and 800-square-foot cocktail lounge. It opened in The Creek District of Arts & Entertainment in downtown Stuart in 2023. It hosts throwback parties, disco nights, pint wars, Latin nights, line dancing nights and more. Its signature and award winning drink is the Sippin’ Sunset.
Founder Reinhard “Reiny” Knieriemen was the head brewer at Twisted Trunk Brewing Co. in Palm Beach Gardens for nine years before he decided to open his own place in 2025. Sound Brewing is a microbrewery in a 3,000-square-foot building that’s split 50-50 between the brewhouse and taproom. It offers a small bar menu available to be delivered from next door at Taylor Beach House Cafe. Its signature beer is the Dawn Patrol Amber Ale and it hosts music bingo, trivia nights, moonlight markets and occasionally a special event such as vinyl nights.
TCPalm breaking news reporter Laurie K. Blandford contributed to this report.
Valeria Bartra is TCPalm’s food reporter. Contact her at valeria.bartra@tcpalm.com, 772-978-2246 or follow her on Instagram @vbartrajourno.
Florida
Florida leaders react to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death, remembering his legacy of public service
Florida elected officials from both chambers of Congress, along with the state’s two U.S. senators, are mourning the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, praising his decades of military service, national security work and bipartisan efforts on immigration.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott called Graham “a good friend and a dedicated public servant,” saying he and his wife, Anne, were “shocked and heartbroken” by the news.
“Lindsey was a good friend and a dedicated public servant for the people of South Carolina and the United States,” Scott said. “Through his time in the Air Force and in Congress, Lindsey dedicated his career to America’s national defense and freedom around the world. I was grateful to work with him. He will be greatly missed as a legislator and a friend.”
Florida’s other Republican senator, Ashley Moody, also honored Graham, describing him as a uniquely gifted communicator and lawmaker.
“My family and I mourn the sudden passing of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham,” Moody said. “There are people in this world who have the ability to change the air in a room through wit, humor, well-placed arguments, reason, or impassioned appeals. Lindsey Graham had the uncanny ability to pull them all off at once.”
South Florida lawmakers also reflected on Graham’s influence.
U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez said Graham leaves behind “a legacy of dedicated public service, a commitment to national security, and an unwavering fight for freedom.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar highlighted Graham’s years-long work on immigration reform, noting he played a key role in discussions surrounding bipartisan immigration proposals, including the DIGNITY Act of 2025.
“Few people in Washington fought longer or harder to fix our broken immigration system than Lindsey Graham,” Salazar said, adding that she was grateful for his counsel and commitment to finding a legislative solution.
Republican Congressman Byron Donalds, who is running for Florida governor, said Graham dedicated his life to serving the country both in the U.S. Air Force and in Congress.
“He was an incredibly effective lawmaker who always led with courage and deep conviction,” Donalds said. “He always did what he thought was right even if it wasn’t popular, leaving behind a massive legacy of leadership that won’t be forgotten.”
Miami-Dade’s tax collector honored Sen. Lindsey Graham, praising his steadfast support for freedom, democracy, and human rights, especially for his outspoken stance against Cuba’s communist dictatorship. The tribute, shared in both English and Spanish, thanked Graham for his leadership, his hope-inspiring words, and his unwavering commitment to liberty, saying his voice gave hope to millions dreaming of a free Cuba.
Graham served in the U.S. Senate for more than two decades after representing South Carolina in the U.S. House. Throughout his career, he became one of the Senate’s most influential voices on national security, foreign policy and immigration.
His death prompted an outpouring of condolences from lawmakers across the country, including many in Florida who worked alongside him on defense, immigration and other legislative priorities.
Florida
Forget Florida, Retire To This East Coast City With River Views, Festivals, And Endless Outdoor Fun – Islands
Most retirees clock out of their last day at work, grab their suitcases, and book a one-way flight to a place like Florida that has warm weather year-round. Yet, just along the U.S.-Canada border, a different lifestyle awaits — one that includes all four seasons, river views, and community-involved events. Welcome to Caribou, Maine: the “Most Northeastern City in the U.S.”
The Aroostook River (as seen above) cuts through the middle of town, highlighting gorgeous waterfront views, dense foliage, and natural beauty that offers an ever-evolving backdrop with every season. From snowy Januarys to blooming Junes, retirees and visitors can stay active rather than just lie at the beach as many do in the Sunshine State.
Beyond the scenery, Caribou keeps a packed calendar of fun festivals running nearly year-round, from a winter wonderland carnival to weekly summer concerts downtown. In between events, it’s easy to fit in a daily walk on multi-use trails, kayak or canoe the river, or pick strawberries at a local farm. Caribou is a great alternative to consider for a family-friendly environment and small-town charm, especially for travelers (and retirees) who are looking to trade crowded beaches for quieter, closer-knit surroundings.
Fun festivals in Caribou, Maine
While Florida has beach towns that can pass for the Caribbean, one thing many retirees eventually miss is a sense of community. Caribou offers plenty of opportunities to connect with locals with a packed year-round calendar of events and festivals. The fun kicks off in February with the Winter Carnival and Snowmobile Festival, bringing everyone together in the heart of winter with races, bonfires, and fireworks. In summer, the Mi’kmaq Nation’s Mawiomi of Tribes brings traditional dancing and drumming to town, educating visitors on the Native American lifestyle through traditional meals, sunrise blessing ceremonies, and dancing.
Fall rounds things out with the Caribou Craft Fair, where roughly 140 artisans set up shop. The season wraps up with Oktoberfest, celebrating Bavarian heritage through craft beer brewing, live music, and delicious food. Finally, the city’s annual grand finale is Christmas in Caribou, showcasing detailed light displays, a Christmas tree lighting, and the charming Christmas Market. While these are all one-off events, the town ensures that locals and visitors are mingling often. Once the snow melts,”Thursdays on Sweden Street” shuts down the center of town for weekly live music, food vendors, and a beer garden.
A short drive out of town extends the calendar even further. New Sweden, about 15 minutes northwest, hosts the Swedish-heritage Midsommar Festival in June, while Fort Fairfield, a 14-minute drive southeast, throws the Potato Blossom Festival every July. Presque Isle, roughly 20 minutes out, adds the Crown of Maine Balloon Fest, giving travelers a seasonal event that’s worth planning a trip around.
Things to do in Caribou, Maine
Caribou offers plenty of ground — and water — to cover for anyone craving variety in the great outdoors. The Aroostook River is a summer highway for paddlers, with canoes and kayaks a common sight. Anglers can fish from the shoreline with a single baited hook during the season, which runs from April 1 to September 30. A few miles away, Collins Pond Park’s 1.5-mile walking and biking path loops right along the water, with a playground on-site for visiting families with grandchildren.
For those wanting to cover more ground, the Aroostook Valley Trail is a 28-mile multi-use path connecting Caribou to nearby towns, popular for biking, walking, and snowmobiling depending on the season. Just outside town, at around 20 minutes by car, the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, dubbed Maine’s “green heart”, offers miles of trails for hiking, birdwatching, and cross-country skiing. Spectators can catch live music and races at the Spud Speedway Race Track and Event Center, and families can pick their own berries at McElwain’s Strawberry Farm.
To reach Caribou, visitors can fly into Presque Isle’s Northern Maine Regional Airport (PQI), a 20-minute drive south, or Bangor International Airport (BGR), about three hours away. A once-daily CYR Bus Line route connects Bangor, one of Maine’s lesser-known little cities, to Caribou directly for those skipping the rental car.
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