TALLAHASSEE REPORTS
Monday, February 2, 2026
Weather: Today, sunny, with a high near 54. Tonight, a low around 32. Tuesday, frost before 9am with a high near 65. Tuesday night, a low around 48. National Weather Service
US stock markets close Friday down (S&P 500 -0.4%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq -0.9%), with the S&P 500 ending January on three-day losing streak (More).
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Local & State News
Fewer Students, Higher Taxes: As budget discussions intensify, Leon County School Board member Rosanne Wood is making a public plea to preserve neighborhood schools, arguing that the typical $1 million in savings gained from a closure is a negligible fraction of the district’s $368 million operating budget. Instead, Wood is advocating for a $30 million property tax increase. Details.
As Tallahassee shivered in abnormally low temperatures over the weekend, the demand on the city’s electric grid soared to near-record territory. Officials said Sunday morning’s power demand exceeded 617 megawatts. In an earlier interview, City Manager Reese Goad told WFSU that’s nearing the system’s generation capacity.
“We set out peak demand, I think it was 621 megawatts, in that range, almost 15 years ago.”
Still, Goad says the load can go even higher if needed. The city’s all-time electric demand was 633 megawatts some years back. Customers are encouraged to watch their power usage, especially between 6 and 9 in the morning when demand is highest.
Driver’s license tests in Florida will be administered only in English starting Feb. 6, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced Friday. Read more.
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National News
House reconvenes today after recess, could vote on Senate bill to end partial government shutdown impacting Homeland Security, Transportation, Defense departments, among others (More).
Elon Musk reportedly considering merging SpaceX with either xAI or Tesla ahead of planned SpaceX initial public offering this year; Tesla and SpaceX have both invested $2B in xAI already (More).