Florida News That Impacts You – August 18th, 2025
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you throughout the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.
- Florida will continue to be a top destination for those relocating within the United States over the next 14 years according to the latest study by the Demographic Estimating Conference. During this time Florida’s population is expected to grow by approximately 4 million people, to a total of 27 million residents – around 650 new residents per day.
- Florida’s DOGE audit team will begin a scheduled two-day audit of Palm Beach County today. In a letter to the County, auditors outlined nine specific areas of interest they’ll focus on as Palm Beach County’s spending has grown 15% faster than adjusted population and inflation growth over the past five years.
- The Florida Department of Transportation has ordered Delray Beach to remove its unlawful “Pride” mural at the intersection of NE 1st Street and NE 2nd Ave. The mural, which fails to comply with Florida traffic laws, is the last remaining of its kind through the county following the actions of other cities to remove them. The city has until September 3rd to remove the mural or the FDOT will remove the mural “by any appropriate method necessary”.
- It'll be sunny and hot again today with highs in the low 90’s, which is slightly warmer than usual for this date. A thin layer of Saharan dust is to the west of Hurricane Erin over Cuba currently and will impact South Florida later today, with a thicker plume east of Erin making its way across the central Atlantic.
- The National Hurricane Center is tracking two systems. Hurricane Erin is a category 4 hurricane with top sustained winds of 130 mph moving NW at 13 MPH east of the Bahamas. Current forecasting doesn’t include a landfall for Erin and minimal impacts are expected for Florida’s coastline. A disturbance off the coast of Africa currently has a 50% chance of development and is another system to watch throughout the week as it approaches the Leeward Islands.
- Gas prices fell through the weekend though they’re a bit higher than a week ago. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.07 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.22 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.06, it’s $3.10 in St. Lucie, and in Indian River County the average is $3.08 per gallon.