Peter SchorschTo outside observers, Florida always appears to march to the beat of its own drum — or, for some, the beat of no drummer at all.
In 2013 the state provided a never-ending flow of news stories that were engaging, compelling and controversial; with many, it was a combination of all three.
From the debate over Medicaid expansion and skyrocketing flood insurance rates to who gets credit for the state’s economic recovery, Florida never fails to deliver something exciting for both pundits and commentators to talk about or argue over.
And that’s even not including George Zimmerman, Diana Nyad’s swim from Cuba, or the winner of America’s largest Powerball payout.
So while we begin to pop the champagne cork for New Year’s Eve, here is SaintPetersBlog.com list of the Top 15 Florida news stories of 2013.
Florida’s once-stalled housing market rebounds with significant positive gains that, along with growth in the state’s dominant tourism industry and booming U.S. stock markets, signal a rising Florida and national economy.
While hit harder by the national recession than many other states, Florida has also rebounded more quickly over the past year — with gains in employment levels that outpace the national average. Gains to Florida’s housing market are equally heartening: during the third quarter of 2013, statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes were up 17.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2013, and sale prices were up 18.6 percent over last year.
Tourism figures increased in stride with Florida’s improving economic climate. During the first three quarters of 2013, 72.6 million visitors came to Florida, an increase of 3.4 percent over the prior year. This increase is due largely to greater overseas tourism rather than domestic tourism. The third quarter of 2013 was the largest third quarter for visitation in Florida’s history. In-state pleasure trips by Florida residents also was up 6.2 percent from the same time last year.
A jury in Sanford finds neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman not guilty in murder of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, igniting a national debate on racial profiling, civil rights and Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law.
This story was among the most talked about in the nation, with around-the-clock news coverage. Search engines Google, Bing and Ask.com each had the Zimmerman trial within the top 10 most searched terms of 2013.
Following the verdict, a group of protesters dubbed the Dream Defenders held a 31-day sit-in at the Florida Capitol urging lawmakers to call a Special Session to debate Stand Your Ground. While this did not happen, bipartisan members of the Legislature took efforts to assess the law, holding public workshops and hearings.
In November, a legislative panel rejected, 11-2, a proposal by Rep. Alan Williams to repeal the law, but did approve a measure to provide immunity to people who fire a warning shot. This provision stemmed from a related Florida case — that of Marissa Alexander — who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at a wall during a fight with her husband in which she claimed she feared for her life. Other bills are likely to be considered during the 2014 legislative session, including one by Sen. Greg Evers (SB 448) that is on the Criminal Justice agenda for Jan. 8.
The Legislature fails to agree on a strategy to expand health coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), as Republican Gov. Rick Scott voiced support for Medicaid expansion but did not take steps to make it happen.
Several proposals were forwarded during the 2013 Legislative session to address the state’s uninsured independent of, or related to, provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Some were heard in committee; two made their way through respective chambers. None passed both bodies. The one that gained the most traction in the Senate, and among various healthcare advocacy groups, was the plan by Sen. Joe Negron.
Under his plan, Florida would have bargained with federal regulators to accept money toward expanded Medicaid enrollment while providing the newly insured with coverage through the state’s popular Healthy Kids program.
Negron’s plan also created a safety net for Florida’s budget, nullifying the program at whatever point federal contributions dipped below the promised threshold. But House leadership remained skeptical and the plan did not advance.
Meanwhile, Scott lost some Tea Party points when he announced his support for accepting federal dollars toward expanded Medicaid eligibility. Nor did this move seem to win Scott new supporters among Democrats, particularly because the governor never took the initiative to expand the program.
Many called on Scott to call a special session to find a solution for Florida’s uninsured while federal dollars remained in play, but this never took place. And as the implementation of Obamacare became more and more troubled, support for such action would have been increasingly difficult to achieve.
Fed by complaints from Floridians, members of Congress from the state launched a legislative attack to delay steep rate hikes for flood insurance.
Floridians — particularly those involved in real estate transactions — are worried about rising flood-insurance rates set by federal regulators. Businesses, second homes and structures in areas with greater likelihoods of flooding will soon be paying full-risk premiums.
Florida is not the only state with residents upset over spiking rates, but Floridians are disproportionately affected. About 37 percent of the nation’s flood-insurance policies are in Florida. Rate hikes have been accompanied by another change in Florida, with new mapping of flood plains that put thousands of Central Florida property owners in areas now considered risky.
Many members of Congress say they didn’t understand the full impact of premium increases when the rates were approved in 2012, yet undoing or delaying the measure has been difficult. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Nugent, Vern Buchanan, Kathy Castor, and many others continue pressing for repeals or delays.
Former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, now a Democrat, enters the race to unseat incumbent GOP Gov. Rick Scott in 2014.
How often does one candidate run statewide on the tickets of three different parties? Leave that to Charlie Crist, who will have appeared on ballots as a Republican, Independent, and now Democrat.
The most talked about story that wasn’t: Florida’s 9+ month lieutenant governor vacancy.
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, the first African-American Republican woman elected to the post, abruptly resigns after a veterans charity that she had worked with was busted for a $300-million multi-state racketeering investigation.
She was never charged with wrongdoing. Scott struggles to fill the office, which remains vacant. A number of prospective appointees have turned Scott down for the post, leading many to question whether the position is necessary at all.
Former lieutenant governors, including Jeff Kottkamp and Frank Brogan, authored editorials about the debate. They explained why the lieutenant governorship was created in the first place (to avoid an unelected official from assuming the office through chain of command), and detailed the many things that lieutenant governors have accomplished.
Scott’s shortlist has included the likes of Sen. Tom Lee, Sen. John Thrasher, St. Johns County School District Superintendent Joseph Joyner, Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman; and Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger.
High profile attorney John Morgan launches a first-ever major campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Florida with a petition drive to change the state Constitution in the wake of inaction on the issue by politicians in Tallahassee.
United for Care, an organization dedicated to the legalization of medical marijuana, teamed with Morgan to launch a statewide petition campaign to put a proposal on the 2014 ballot. Despite Morgan’s bankrolling, advocates have hit snags in the process.
For one, the group has yet to collect the required number of signatures to be eligible for the ballot, and further, the proposed language has come under scrutiny by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the state Supreme Court. The legal question is whether the proposed ballot summary clearly and accurately explains what the measure would do in practice.
In this case, Bondi and others argue that the measure would permit doctors to prescribe marijuana for an infinite number of conditions, whereas the summary suggests marijuana would be prescribed only for people with debilitating diseases. The Supreme Court has until April to decide whether the proposal is eligible. Signatures are still being collected.
Outspent Democrat Amanda Murphy takes a Republican-held state House seat in conservative Pasco County in a watershed special election victory that raises prospects for Democratic gains in 2014.
Pasco County icon Mike Fasano left his House seat after being appointed by Scott as the Pasco County Tax Collector. Republican nominee Bill Gunter faced Democrat Amanda Murphy in a special election.
Gunter had lined up major support and endorsements from Republican elected officials across the state — but with one notable exception: Mike Fasano himself. Fasano publicly voiced support for Murphy, as did Crist. Democrats hail Murphy’s victory as a signal of turning tides for Florida Democrats.
But it’s tough to say if the victory was a Democratic watershed. Voter turnout for the mid-October election was just short of 20 percent, and the results were paper thin: about 51 percent for Murphy and 49 percent for Gunter.
Congressman Trey Radel, a freshman Republican from Southwest Florida, pleads guilty to cocaine possession after a federal drug sting, then fights pressure by high-profile Republicans to resign.
Radel, the 37-year-old Congressman who has been a hopeful, hip-hop appreciating face for a facelift-needing GOP, was arrested in October when he bought an “eight ball” of cocaine from an undercover federal agent in D.C.
Radel waited about a month before revealing news of his arrest to the public. He pled guilty, went through rehab, and has been on leave from the House. Despite significant pressure from Republican allies to resign, Radel has no plans to leave voluntarily. Instead, he claims that he’s “excited to begin this process of rebuilding your trust and doing what you elected me to do.”
Surprising forecasters, the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season ends with only 13 named storms, becoming the least active hurricane season since 1950.
Only two minor storms affected Florida in 2013. It was the first hurricane season since 1994 to end with no major hurricanes and the first since 1968 to have no storms of at least category 2 strength. All forecasting agencies had predicted above-average hurricane activity. For example, NOAA predicted a range of 13 to 20 named storms, 7 to 11 hurricanes, and 3 to 6 major storms. Tropical Storms Andrea and Karen each touched Florida, but did little damage.
Several massive sinkholes, though relatively common in Florida, draw national attention, especially after one kills a man when the it swallows his house and another one eats a condominium complex near Disney World.
On a Thursday night in February, Seffner resident Jeff Bush fell into the earth from his bedroom while five others were able to escape the sinkhole that opened beneath their home. It was between 20 and 30 feet across and was about 30 feet deep. Nearby homes were evacuated. Another two sinkholes opened in Seffner within the following few weeks.
Then, in August, a massive sinkhole forced guests out of their rooms at Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, about 10 miles from Disney. Fortunately, this sinkhole gave warning. Resort inhabitants heard loud noises and windows cracking. About 40 minutes after they were safely evacuated, the “big fall” came, resulting in a 100-foot wide, 30 to 40-foot deep sinkhole. Another 90-foot-wide sinkhole opened in Dunedin in November, forcing the demolition of two homes.
On the cusp of a controversial transition into new public schools curriculum and accountability system, Florida loses its third permanent (and fourth overall) Education Commissioner since Scott was elected.
Eric J. Smith was Florida’s education chief when Scott assumed office. He remained there until Scott appointed Gerard Robinson in June 2011. Robinson was in the post for only a year before resigning abruptly. He had been under fire for lower than expected FCAT scores, some miscalculated school grades, and frustration by board members over a lack of communication about FCAT changes.
Scott then appointed Tony Bennett, recruiting him from this same post in Indiana. Bennett was unanimously selected by the Board of Education and things were going well until allegations broke in Indiana that a charter school had received special treatment in the state’s new grading system.
Bennett was vindicated by independent investigators who determined that changes to the grading system were enacted uniformly with no specific schools receiving special treatment, and validating that the original grading system was needing of reforms. Nevertheless, Bennett resigned as Florida’s schools chief, not wanting to be a distraction.
Florida State University’s football team attains No. 1 ranking and is poised to play in college football’s national championship with Heisman trophy-winning quarterback, Jameis Winston.
The Seminoles ended the regular season 12-0, the first undefeated season since 1999 and the first under the leadership of Jimbo Fisher. The Seminoles head to the Rose Bowl facing Auburn on Jan 6.
But not all of the news about the football program has been glowing. Winston faced accusations of rape by a woman with whom he had an ongoing affair, but neither the Tallahassee police nor the state attorney found evidence enough to accuse him.
Further, the Seminoles were ranked as among the worst in the nation for the graduation rates of black football players. Of all the Bowl Championship teams of 2013, Florida State’s program ranks last with a six-year college completion rate of just 37 percent among black athletes.
Back to athletics, 2013 was strong for the Noles. During the Nov. 2 game against Miami, Doak Campbell Stadium had a record-setting crowd of 84,409.
Gloria MacKenzie, an 84-year-old recluse from Zephyrhills, is named as America’s biggest-ever lottery winner with a $590 million Powerball ticket.
MacKenzie purchased the lone winning ticket in the May 18 drawing. She spent nearly a month preparing with attorneys before coming forward to claim the prize, which she took in a lump sum of $370 million — or $278 million after federal taxes.
The ticket was purchased at a Publix supermarket. MacKenzie moved to Florida more than a decade ago from the small town of East Millinocket in northern Maine. Following her prize, MacKenzie announced a $2 million gift to repair the roof of Schneck High School in her hometown, where her daughter teaches and where her son served as a member of the school board.
But MacKenzie is adamantly private and stays out of the public eye, and has made only one statement read by Lottery officials on her behalf. In July, it was reported that MacKenzie and her children purchased a $1.175 million, 6,300-quare-foot home in a gated golf course community in southeast Jacksonville.
Super-athlete Diana Nyad, 64, becomes the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida.
Already an author, motivational speaker, and world record long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad became the first person confirmed to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage.
This was her fifth attempt. Nyad’s first try at the Havana to Key West swim was in 1978 at the age of 28. She was thwarted by strong westerly winds and 8-foot swells that were pushing her off-course.
Her second try was not until August 2011. She made it 29 hours in the water but again encountered strong currents and a flare-up of asthma. Her third attempt was in September 2011, this time making it 41 hours before being undone by box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings.
Just under one year later, Nyad made her fourth attempt, in which she covered more miles than the previous three tries, but again was stopped by nine jellyfish stings. Nyad’s successful fifth swim began on August 31 for a total distance of 110 miles. She was supported by a 35-person team, wearing a silicone mask and full bodysuit to protect from jellyfish.
