The secretary of Florida’s Dept. of Economic Opportunity is resigning at the end of the month.Dane Eagle sent a resignation letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Dec. 2.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded $5.5 million to Jacksonville for a new railway track that would serve Cecil Airport’s Commerce Center.

Dane Eagle said roughly 25,000 Florida residents have received financial assistance from the Homeowner Assistance Fund so far.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officiated while six recent hires of the city’s police department accepted $5,000 bonus checks from the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program.

Speaking from a makeshift office in Fort Myers Wednesday, Dept. of Economic Opportunity Secretary Dane Eagle seemed numb as he discussed his boyhood town being wiped out.

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in storm-ravaged Southwest Florida, just over a week after that part of the state took the brunt of Hurricane Ian.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference at a restaurant in Lee County.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said rescue teams deployed in Ian’s aftermath had already performed more than 1,900 rescues across Florida as of Monday, less than a week after the storm made landfall in Florida.

State officials have taken steps to make it easier for people in areas affected by Hurricane Ian to receive unemployment benefits, as recovery efforts from the massive storm continued Monday and the death toll mounted.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference at a restaurant in Fort Pierce.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference in the Panhandle.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news briefing Wednesday at a restaurant near Gainesville.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced funding for infrastructure improvements for Lafayette County and also said he plans to approve $30 million in the Florida budget toward the rural infrastructure fund.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Friday morning in Williston.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference Friday in the Florida Panhandle.

DeSantis awarded $5.4 million for public infrastructure improvements and to support manufacturing.

Marion County residents impacted by strong storms that ripped through the area last weekend may be eligible for financial assistance in new funding announced by the governor Friday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference in Vero Beach.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Monday morning in Madison, Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Friday in the Florida Panhandle to give out millions of dollars in relief funds to communities in northwest Florida.

The governor was at the Polk County Historic Center, where he awarded a $6.1 million grant to Fort Meade for the wastewater system.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded $16.8 million to Bonita Springs Wednesday to fund repairs to the city’s stormwater infrastructure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday awarded $3.5 million to Union County to fortify its infrastructure.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes an announcement in Niceville.

Gov. Ron DeSantis commemorated the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Michael at a news conference Friday morning in the Florida Panhandle.

The funding to Port St. Lucie will contribute to over 5,000 jobs in the area.

Filed by a group of lawyers in Broward County, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of Floridians who say they lost work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many who in some cases they say are facing eviction and having a tough time supporting their families.

A Florida graduate was convinced his missing federal benefits check worth more than $4,000 dollars would never be found after it had been processed but unaccounted for since June 9, 2020.

Effective June 1, unemployment claimants will be required to search for work to continue collecting unemployment benefits.

In Florida alone, there have been millions of dollars redirected to bank accounts set up by imposters who have cheated the system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis will make an announcement in Polk County.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Alexandra Castellanos has been unemployed since April 2020 but for some reason the state’s unemployment records had her back to work and on the payroll with a New Jersey mortgage company. “I mean, there were days when I couldn’t sleep.”News 6 ran a check of the company and confirmed Get-A-Rate LLC is a mortgage company with headquarters in Hackensack, New Jersey. It is not clear why her name was associated with the mortgage company. DEO records show Castellanos started receiving jobless benefits starting in April 2020 without issue until payments suddenly stopped on Oct. 24, 2020. “We are going to be meeting with the House and Senate and make sure we have everything they need going forward.”If you have an unemployment issue, email: makeendsmeet@wkmg.com.

The 95-page draft report by Chief Inspector General Melinda Miguel focused on the Department of Economic Opportunity’s CONNECT unemployment system, which cost $78 million and began operating in 2013. The system largely crashed last spring when it was inundated with claims as businesses shut down because of the pandemic. Ken Lawson resigned as department director in August, a little more than four months after DeSantis put Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter in charge of shoring up the CONNECT system. AdMiguel’s report awaits review and comments from vendors linked to CONNECT, including Deloitte Consulting, which was a major contractor. Deloitte sought to distance itself from the unemployment system last year, replying to a potential class-action lawsuit in June by saying it has had “no connection” to the online system in more than five years.

Department of Economic Opportunity Director Dane Eagle presented an aggressive blueprint to revamp the struggling Connect unemployment system on Monday with a proposed expense sheet of $73.3 million over the next two fiscal years. According to Eagle, the money is needed to invest in cloud migration, software architecture and business process optimization along with more than 430 new employees to meet the anticipated high level of unemployment claims. Eagle’s presentation came before the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Response followed by a rigorous round of questions by the committee. The independent consultant’s audit included a stark comparison of initial unemployment claims for eight years between Jan.1, 2012 and March 14, 2020 and the 11 months that followed. During the eight years, initial claims reached 4.2 million while the 11 ”pandemic months” from March 15, 2020 to Feb. 10, 2021 saw 5.3 million claims.

Sources told News 6 DEO Director Dane Eagle had expected to make the presentation to the Senate Appropriations Committee to present the anticipated cost of revamping the system. They include retain the already existing system, custom development of a new system, a so called commercial off the shelf system, or another state agency system. One plan presented is spending about $155 million over the next two years to improve and modernize the current system. Stewart predicts the cost of revamping the current system could easily exceed $10 million that would be added to the $119 million the state already invested into the system last year. State Sen. Randolph Bracy plans to be all ears Monday when Florida’s DEO Director presents the findings of a recent audit regarding the state’s aging unemployment system.

Ron DeSantis during a press conference in Key Largo. Ron DeSantis announced $100 million in investments for infrastructure and hardening projects to protect Florida communities against future hurricanes. DeSantis already announced Friday morning that he would be bringing Florida National Guard soldiers back from the Capitol. Last night, I ordered our Adjutant General to bring Florida National Guard soldiers home from the National Capital Region. — Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 22, 2021This story will be updated with more details in the coming minutes.

Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity website Connect may be weeks away from being tossed and replaced if Florida lawmakers like State Sen. Linda Stewart, (D) of Orlando, and State Rep. David Smith, (R) of Seminole County, have their way. The two are part of a growing number of legislators who want the aging system replaced by new technology that would be capable of handling the anticipated demand for state unemployment benefits. Several lawmakers including State Rep Anthony Sabatini, (R) of Lake County, and State Rep Randy Fine, (R) of Brevard County, said they want to see what is most cost effective first. DEO director Eagle said he hired ISF INC., an IT and strategy firm, to investigate the Connect system. He also plans to ask the legislature for an additional 108 employees to train on the Connect system.

Bill Zaccagnini has been trying to get state unemployment benefits since March but the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has denied his requests based on claims he filed two years ago. [TRENDING: Hundreds line up for free turkeys | COVID-19 vaccine FAQs | 11 things to be thankful for during pandemic]Records show circumstances surrounding the dismissal made him ineligible for standard unemployment benefits that year. State Rep. David Smith (R) of Seminole County District 28 said he is convinced the DEO’s Connect system is outdated and was never designed to accommodate the numbers seeking unemployment benefits. Zaccagnini meanwhile is hopeful the DEO will get the benefits issue cleared up before Christmas. He should be eligible for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits if his regular state benefits have been exhausted.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity launched a new initiative this week to sort out unemployment claims from individuals who returned to work but became unemployed again. Hundreds of Florida residents who have tried to get back into the workforce have reported job separation that created the need for additional unemployment benefits. State DEO Director Dane Eagle said unemployment claimants received notifications this week that provided a link to a new website for return to work issues. To utilize the new website a claimant must have a “Return to Work Issue” associated with their claim and have been notified by the DEO. I don’t know where to turn.”If you have an unemployment issue email makeendsmeet@wkmg.com

ORLANDO, Fla. – The long wait for unemployment benefits in the state of Florida is the reality of a system that handles “thousands of claims every week,” according to the Department of Economic Opportunity Director Dane Eagle. In an exclusive interview with News 6, Eagle said he has already hired 200 additional people to assist residents who have filed unemployment claims but he admits he is about to ask Tallahassee for more reinforcements. “Each one of them aren’t going to be able to flip the light switch and get them their claim," Eagle said. Ron DeSantis two months ago and since then has been working to improve response and investigate the much-maligned Connect system, the link used to file claims for unemployment benefits. The former state legislator said while the unemployment claims are slowly going down, there were another 67,000 new claims last week.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jack Stroming could be the face of a state unemployment benefits tale that has been repeated dozens of times since job layoffs began back in early March. “I’ve done this for 31 years,” the frustrated live events manager said from his South Florida home. After eight weeks of checks paid through the federal paycheck protection program, Stroming was forced to tap every resource he had to make ends meet. On June 6 the PPP benefits ran out but his application for unemployment benefits was caught in a DEO delay. If an employer is participating in the Paycheck Protection Program, this may affect claimants' eligibility for state or federal Reemployment Assistance programs.”If you have an unemployment benefits issue email us at makeendsmeet@wkmg.com.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. State Rep. Dane Eagle was appointed as executive director of the state's employment agency on Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after barely losing a Republican primary for Congress in a heavily GOP district. The agency was widely criticized for long delays in paying out unemployment benefits after the economy tanked during the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of people waited weeks and sometimes months for benefits from the glitch-ridden unemployment system after suddenly losing work amid the outbreak. But Crist dropped out of the Republican primary, ran as an independent and lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Lawson remained as director of the Department of Economic Opportunity, but management of the unemployment system was given to Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter.