🏠 News From Your Neighborhood
Florida
Florida’s tourism is the highest it’s ever been, and it’s all thanks to a rise in domestic travel, Gov. DeSantis said
Florida attracted a record 143.3 million visitors last year, up 0.2 percent from 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced Friday.
The preliminary estimate is bolstered by domestic tourism, which accounted for 91.5 percent of the travelers. The 131 million domestic visitors were up 0.3 percent from 2024.
Overseas travel was up 4 percent on the 2024 figures, with nearly 9.3 million visitors.
But the 2.9 million Canadian visitors for all of 2025 marked a 14.7 percent drop from 2024.
Last month, tourism leaders in Florida said they were expanding efforts to draw Canadians, where the U.S. has seen a travel backlash over the words and actions of President Donald Trump, from tariffs to calling the U.S.’s northern neighbor the 51st state.
“We’re doing what we can, just as we are with any country outside the United States, to make sure that visitation remains strong,” Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin said during an executive committee meeting on Jan. 26.
Friday’s release from DeSantis’ office stated that the Canadian visitation remained “consistent with historical trends where Canadian travel represents approximately two percent of total visitation.”
In 2019, the last year before the COVID pandemic, Canadians were at 3.11 percent of the state’s tourism figures, with 4.088 million Canadians among an overall tourist count of 131.07 million.
The release also put fourth quarter numbers at a record 33.5 million travelers, of which 30.31 million were domestic, 2.55 million were overseas and 642,000 were Canadian.
The fourth quarter count is up 0.6 percent from the same quarter of 2024, with domestic visitors up 0.8 percent, overseas travel up 2.7 percent and Canadian visits down 13.1 percent.
At the January executive committee meeting, Griffin anticipated growth with the overseas figures as the top three sources were showing growth: Brazil was up 10.4 percent, the United Kingdom saw a 6 percent increase, and visits from Colombia were 6 percent higher than in 2024.
Port St. Lucie ranked No. 147 among 182 cities in the United States for places to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
Port St. Lucie ranked among the best places in the United States to raise a family in 2026, according to a WalletHub study.
The free personal finance website compared 182 cities in the United States to find the best and worst places to raise a family in 2026.
The website scored cities based on these criteria:
- Family fun
- Health and safety
- Education and child care
- Affordability
- Socio-economics
Port St. Lucie ranks for best places to raise a family
The rankings range from 1 to 182, with 1 being the best.
- Family fun rank: 179
- Health and safety rank: 40
- Education and child care rank: 160
- Affordability rank: 135
- Socioeconomics rank: 70
- Playgrounds per capita: 101
- Violent-crime per capita: 4
- Overall rank: 147
Top-ranked Florida cities to raise a family
- 49. Orlando
- 59. Tampa
- 60. Pembroke Pines
- 63. St. Petersburg
- 117. Jacksonville
- 123. Tallahassee
- 133. Cape Coral
- 147. Port St. Lucie
- 163. Miami
- 166. Fort Lauderdale
- 173. Hialeah
Best places to raise a family in 2026
- 1. Fremont, California
- 2. Overland Park, Kansas
- 3. Irvine, California
- 4. Plano, Texas
- 5. Columbia, Maryland
- 6. Bismarck, North Dakota
- 7. South Burlington, Vermont
- 8. Charleston, South Carolina
- 9. Seattle, Washington
- 10. Boise, Idaho
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
As Florida debates property tax relief, a local official analyzed the potential impact on South Florida
Florida homeowners who have been lobbying for property tax relief may be closer to receiving it with a newly filed bill in Tallahassee.
Joseph Zamb, who works in real estate, said the ultimate goal should be to eliminate property taxes entirely for homesteaded properties. He believes this step would benefit both investors and homeowners.
“I think that the next step for South Florida, all of Florida, is to completely eliminate property taxes,” Zamb said. “You need to get the American dream back, buy a house, and not have to constantly be paying, paying, paying”.
The official bill calls for a $150,000 homestead exemption in 2027, followed by a $250,000 exemption in 2028. The legislature would then be tasked with creating a long-term plan for the following years.
Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar analyzed the potential impact based on 2025 property values. Kiar found that with the $150,000 exemption, the 425,000 homesteaded property owners in Broward would save about $2,100. However, this exemption would mean the county loses $195 million, and schools are down by $294 million. Kiar noted that the current version of the bill does not include a carve-out for schools.
“Whatever city you live in will depend on the loss of revenue to your city, based on how many homesteaded properties there are, how many commercial properties there are,” Kiar said.
The legislature is scheduled to hash out the details next week during a special session. If the bill passes, it would be presented to voters as a constitutional amendment for approval or rejection.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be the most consequential vote that anybody is going to make if anything’s on the ballot in November, because it could potentially change the way things are done,” Kiar said.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
Leer en español
“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
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