CALLAHAN, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $4 million to the Town of Callahan through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to construct a clean water supply plant at Crawford Diamond Industrial Park, which is a 1,800-acre industrial megasite. The site is served by two major rail lines and located in proximity to multiple interstate highways and shipping ports. This infrastructure project will enable this site to support approximately 500 jobs directly and 2,158 total jobs in high-wage, sustainable industries, including manufacturing, and the development will result in substantial economic impacts and the long-term growth of the local economy as a whole.

“I am happy to support a project that will spur economic growth and create long-term value,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “This investment will facilitate strong infrastructure improvements and create jobs that enhance the quality of life for residents in Nassau County.”

“DEO is proud to support Governor DeSantis’ mission to prioritize Floridians’ livelihoods and further business development opportunities,” said DEO Secretary Dane Eagle. “This funding will provide the Town of Callahan with the resources necessary to make infrastructure improvements, create jobs, and serve as a great example of the kinds of synergy that strategic investments can seed between shipping, transportation and industrial infrastructure.”

“Florida’s business friendly policies, championed by Governor DeSantis, have been a reason for attracting business and talent to our state,” said Aundra Wallace, President, JAXUSA Partnership. “The appeal of doing business in Florida has been especially evident over the last few years, as companies are searching for lower cost of doing business, desirable infrastructure and an available and skilled workforce.”

The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state. Proposals are reviewed by DEO and Enterprise Florida, Inc., and are chosen by Governor DeSantis to meet the demands for workforce training or infrastructure needs in communities around the state.

DEO and EFI are currently accepting proposals until all funding has been awarded. For more information, visit www.FloridaJobs.org/JobGrowth.

OCALA, Fla. (FNN) – Florida governor Ron DeSantis announced the 2022 tax relief package, which waives sales tax on certain items across the year, while emphasizing his criticism against the Walt Disney Company.

“We’re going to end the fiscal year with our largest surplus in the history of Florida, close to $20 billion,” the governor said during a press conference at a Sam’s Club in Ocala alongside his wife Casey and two of their children, as well as Florida Department of Children and Families secretary Shevaun Harris and Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson.

“We have supported Florida jobs from day one, while others are yet to recover,” he added. “We did not want to descend into some Faucian dystopia. America is going through the worst inflation the country has seen in forty years, over 8.5 percent… Most of the stuff that they [the federal government] count as not significant is significant in your daily lives, much higher than 8.5 percent increases, like fuel, groceries.”

The bill, called HB-7071, offers $1.24 billion in tax relief. “You’re going to see breaks for things like fuel, diapers, recreational activities,” the governor said.

Diapers, clothes, and baby shoes will be tax-free starting July 1st. Children’s books will be tax-free for three months starting May 14. July 25 through August 7th will be the “Back To School” tax holiday, where certain school supplies will be tax-free.

Other calendar announcements include “Freedom Week,” where recreational equipment will also be tax-free, and “Disaster Preparedness,” which will waive taxes on emergency kits and window and door barriers.

The full calendar can be seen and downloaded at the Florida Department of Revenue website.

DeSantis also reiterated that the Walt Disney Company “will not hold their own government,” in the latest round of the Florida governor’s stance against the entertainment giant, due to the latter’s criticism of recent legislation in the state.

“It’s not the responsibility of Florida residents to fund your corporate speech,” DeSantis said. “Disney is not going to have its own government in Florida. Disney is going to have to live under the same laws as everyone in Florida, Disney will have to pay their taxes.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FNN) – Whatever Florida governor Ron DeSantis wanted discuss during his Jacksonville press conference was dead on arrival before he ever entered the room, thanks to the arrest of a disabled senior with a strong voice.

Broadcaster and activist Ben Frazier, founder of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, was arrested after protesting prior to Governor Ron DeSantis’s scheduled Jacksonville press conference at the Florida Department of Health – Duval County offices to discuss monoclonal treatments.

Frazier, a disabled senior, and the fellow public members who were with him demanded to have a conversation with Governor DeSantis, and when he insisted on not leaving, Frazier was separated from his scooter and arrested by deputies on the scene.

Frazier had scorching words for the Governor as he spoke with the aide trying to de-escalate the situation. “I have nothing personal against you, ma’am. But with the governor, yes…This governor is the enemy of the people!”

“Why am I being arrested?” Frazier demanded repeatedly as he was being escorted out of the room.

Frazier was escorted to the elevator and taken downstairs to a patrol SUV. The deputies shifted the handcuffs so his hands were cuffed in front of him, and as he was being placed in the vehicle, he held his cuffed hands up for all the news media to see before sitting in the vehicle.