Florida
North Central Florida students win big in Florida 4-H Forest Ecology Contest
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Several students across North Central Florida earned top spots in a competition at the University of Florida.
More than 70 students attended the annual Florida 4-H Ecology Contest at UF’s Austin Cary Forest on March 30.
Participants prepared for the challenge by brushing up on their wildlife and nature skills.
Alachua County’s William Pruden took home the gold for having the highest individual score in the Intermediate group.
Meanwhile, Marion County’s Lane Taylor, Kylie Goodson, Cora Taylor, and Ada Perryman earned the title of first place senior team.
Here is a full leaderboard showing how top contestants stacked up across the state:
Junior Division:
· 1st Place Individual: Jada Foucha, Sumter County
· 2nd Place Individual: Joycelynn Gardis, Leon County
· 3rd Place Individual: Addalynn Upton, Marion County
· 1st Place Team: Sumter County – Addilyn Childs, Jada Foucha and Caroline Cattrell
· 2nd Place Team: Marion County – Addalynn Upton, Callie Rae Cassidy, Jax Adamiak and Joshua Force
· 3rd Place Team: Sumter County – Eden Wilkins, Ava Baltzersen and Lily Toman
Intermediate Division:
· 1st Place Individual: William Pruden, Alachua County
· 2nd Place Individual: Isabella Wise, Okaloosa County
· 3rd Place Individual: Madison Wall, Marion County
· 1st Place Team: Marion County – Caleb Force, Forest DeRoy, Jacob Metzgar and Madison Wall
· 2nd Place Team: Okaloosa County – Isabella Wise, Kaden Wise and Kayleigh Thames
· 3rd Place Team: Pinellas County – Charles Wood, Charlotte Watkins, Christian Galiano and Ellis Godfrey
Senior Division:
· 1st Place Individual – Jocelyn Wood, Pinellas County
· 2nd Place Individual – Ada Perryman, Marion County
· 3rd Place Individual – Helena Perryman, St. Johns County
· 1st Place Team: Marion County – Ada Perryman, Cora Taylor, Kylie Goodson and Lane Taylor
· 2nd Place Team: Pinellas County – Annalise Watkins, Jocelyn Wood, Maleah Godfrey and Wesley Wood
· 3rd Place Team: Duval County – Kaela Weaver, Mina Shippey, Skye Burgos and Ziva Ponciano
TRENDING: Forestry officials offer reward for arsonist in Levy County
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Florida
‘She was smashed’: Florida woman accused of driving onto golf course while intoxicated
A Florida woman was arrested after she drove onto a golf course while intoxicated, crashed her car, and found with dozens of miniature bottles of Fireball whiskey, according to authorities.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified her as 34-year-old Erika Mayer, of Palmetto.
“She was smashed,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a video shared on X earlier this week. “She was drunk — capital DRUNK. Wrecked her car. She said, ‘But I haven’t been drinking.’
The sheriff’s office said deputies responded to a single-car crash near Streamsong Golf Resort on May 14 shortly before 7 p.m. When deputies arrived, they found a red 2018 Hyundai resting on a sidewalk and a woman sitting beside the car.
Investigators said Mayer appeared impaired, displayed slurred speech, poor balance, and incoherent behavior. Deputies also detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath, the sheriff’s office said.
A witness told deputies they saw Mayer driving across one of the golf courses in the area before the crash.
Judd said deputies searched Mayer’s car, where they found 21 open mini bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey, two empty 50 milliliter bottles of 99 Brand liqueurs, and an unopened 10-pack of Fireball.
“And she had empty Fireball bottles in her pants,” Judd said, adding that she was “drunker than Cooter Brown” and “had no idea where she was.”
Deputies said they asked Mayer to perform field sobriety exercises and provide breath samples, but she refused both requests.
According to Judd, Mayer told deputies she declined the tests because she heard it was a bad idea to participate in field sobriety exercises.
Mayer was arrested and charged with DUI, DUI with property damage, and refusing to submit to a DUI test. She was also cited for failure to drive within a single lane and possessing an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
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No one was hurt in connection with the crash, authorities said.
Florida
Florida cities rank among best and worst places to raise a family
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.
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