Welcome to Sparker's Digest, a newsletter devoted to sharing news for Collier voters, with an emphasis on local and state government. Sparker's Digest is produced by Sparker's Soapbox publisher Sandy Parker, who is passionate about facilitating and encouraging informed voting in Collier County and throughout Florida.

Collier County Government News

1. BCC sends updated plans for Habitat, FL Star homes for state review

Collier County Commissioners unanimously approved transmitting a proposed residential overlay to the state for review. The overlay would allow for nearly 1,300 homes, including affordable housing, on a 229-acre property in east Collier County. (Naples Daily News)($)

2. District 1 Commissioner's Report

Your Government, Commissioner's Update, Out in the Community, and more. (Rick LoCastro Newsletter)

Florida Government News

3. Property Tax Relief Will Wait

Property tax reductions were left out of a tax package approved by lawmakers on June 16. Those might come at some point next year, as House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton have shown they want to know more about the possible effects on local governments before moving forward. (Tallahassee Democrat)

4. Changes to the Sales Tax Holidays

Florida residents are used to a sales tax holiday, saving money to stock up on hurricane supplies twice during the season, once at the beginning and the second two-week period during the busiest portion of the season, in September. That tax holiday has been eliminated in the package before DeSantis now and would be replaced with a permanent cut in sales taxes for items typically covered under the disaster preparedness holiday. (USA Today Network-Florida via Yahoo News)

5. FEA 'Disappointed' by Education Budget

“We are disappointed that the final budget again falls short of meeting the full needs of Florida’s students and educators,” said Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar, in a statement. The FEA specifically noted the budget failed to stem a teacher and staff shortage or the state’s low standing (50th in the nation) for average teacher pay, and failed to make a significant investment in mental health support and services for students. (WLRN)

6. Environmental Funding Shifted to Protect Ag Lands

The new state budget sets aside $18 million for Florida's main environmentally sensitive lands preservation program. That's down from $229 million in the 2024-25 budget. Much of the money was shifted to protect agricultural lands from development. (WUSF via WFSU)

7. Cities, Counties Could Face FLDOGE Fines

Florida cities and counties could soon face fines if they don’t grant Gov. Ron DeSantis’ DOGE team access to their data systems, personnel and buildings as it hunts for financial waste and targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. A last-minute addition to a budget bill approved Monday granted the new powers to the governor’s office, giving it the ability to issue $1,000 daily fines to local governments that don’t comply with requests. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)($)

8. Over $413M in “Budget Turkeys”

Florida TaxWatch, a business-backed organization, released its annual “Turkey Watch Report,” urging the governor to veto 238 provisions totaling over $413 million that bypassed established vetting procedures or public scrutiny—designating them as “Budget Turkeys”—and flags an additional $799.5 million in member projects that merit heightened executive review. (Florida Tax Watch)

9. Relief for Condo Owners

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation seeking to help condo owners comply with safety laws enacted after the deadly residential tower collapse in Surfside. The bill doesn’t include any new money to help finance pricey and mandatory repairs. But lawmakers believe it will help condominium owners afford the projects necessary to make their buildings safer and avoid a repeat of the tragedy in Surfside, which killed 98 people. (Miami Herald)($)

10. “Alligator Alcatraz”

With the blessing of the federal government, the DeSantis administration on Monday began building an immigration detention center on a former air strip deep in the Everglades. Planning to open the 1,000-bed facility within days, state law enforcement officials commandeered the environmentally sensitive land, owned by Miami-Dade County, and began ushering in trucks carrying portable restrooms and industrial generators. A private emergency management company was also on site, helping set up what state officials are calling “Alligator Alcatraz.” (Miami Herald)($)

11. Immigration Enforcement and Florida's Farmworkers

While federal data shows at least one out of every four crop workers nationally lacked legal status, Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson claims that's not true here. "In Florida, the vast majority of our agriculture labor is H2A legal labor," he said of the federal government work visa. He's doubling down on his support for the federal government's enforcement of immigration laws. (WUSF)

12. Rescue Mission in Israel

“This was probably the most challenging and logistically difficult mission that the Florida Department of Emergency Management has done, certainly in my time,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said as he described students, Israel Birthright participants and others stuck in “no man’s land” when the Ben Gurion International Airport shut down. State officials said they flew in more than 300 people, and rescued more than 1,110 people on a passenger ferry. (Florida Politics)

13. AG Uthmeier Held in Contempt

A federal judge last week found Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to be in civil contempt over her ruling that put on hold a new state law making it a misdemeanor for people living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state. In a social media post, Uthmeier said, “If being held in contempt is what it costs to defend the rule of law and stand firmly behind President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration, so be it.” (AP News)

2026 Election News

14. In the Governor's Race

In January, some major figures were still keeping quiet. Six months later, the race has come into sharper focus. A well-known Democrat has announced a run. Another Democrat dramatically left the party, then proclaimed he would run for governor as an independent. President Donald Trump endorsed a Republican. That Republican was not first lady Casey DeSantis, who remains a wild card. Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is an even wilder card. (Tampa Bay Times)($)

15. Weil to Challenge Moody for Senate

Democrat Josh Weil, who raised millions of dollars for an unsuccessful U.S. House campaign in Florida, said Wednesday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. If he were to become the Democratic nominee, Weil would challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody. (AP News)