Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica.
THE TOUGHEST JOB IN FLORIDA POLITICS
The choice to succeed Scott Arceneaux as executive director of the Florida Democratic Party is between Jonathan Ducote and Josh Wolf, sources close to the decision-making process tell FloridaPolitics.
Political consultant Jackie Lee and operative Reggie Cardozo were also in the mix, but reportedly are now out of contention.
Ducote has served as political director for the Florida Justice Association since 2014. He previously served as campaign manager for Loranne Ausley’s unsuccessful 2010 bid for CFO, as financial director for Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown’s 2011 election victory, and as campaign manager for Barbara Buono’s unsuccessful challenge to Chris Christie in the 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election.
Wolf most recently served as campaign manager for Patrick Murphy’s U.S. Senate bid. Prior to that, he served as campaign manger for Steve Grossman’s unsuccessful 2014 campaign for governor in Massachusetts. In 2012, he managed U.S. Rep. Ami Bera’s successful campaign in California.
Arceneaux’s departure after more than seven years as Executive Director was announced in January, shortly after Coconut Grove developer and fundraiser Stephen Bittel was elected as chairman.
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DAYS UNTIL: Florida Capitol Press Corps Press Skits – 1; Major League Baseball Opening Day – 20; NFL Draft – 45; 2017 Legislative Session Sine Die (Maybe) – 52; Debut of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – 52; FSU vs. Alabama football game – 173; Election Day 2017 – 238; Debut of Star Wars: Episode VIII/The Last Jedi opens – 276.
DONALD TRUMP’S LABOR NOMINEE LIKELY TO BE ASKED ABOUT FLORIDA CASE via Curt Anderson and Laurie Kellman of The Associated Press – Alexander Acosta is expected to face questions at his Senate confirmation hearing about an unusual plea deal he oversaw for a billionaire sex offender while U.S. attorney in Miami. Acosta has won confirmation for federal posts three times previously, but he has never faced scrutiny on Capitol Hill for his time as U.S. attorney. Critics, including attorneys for some underage victims of financier Jeffrey Epstein, say the plea agreement was a “sweetheart deal” made possible only by Epstein’s wealth, connections and high-powered lawyers. Acosta has defended his decisions as the best outcome given evidence available at the time. “Some may feel that the prosecution should have been tougher. Evidence that has come to light since 2007 may encourage that view,” Acosta wrote in a March 2011 letter to media outlets after leaving the U.S. attorney’s office. “Had these additional statements and evidence been known, the outcome may have been different. But they were not known to us at the time.”
MUST READ – LONG BEFORE TRUMP HIRED HIM, STEVE BANNON WAS MAKING DEALS AND KINDLING POLITICAL FIRES IN FLORIDA via Alex Leary and Adam mith of the Tampa Bay Times — Chief adviser Steve Bannon — the rumpled former executive of Breitbart News, revered as a brilliant strategist and reviled as a xenophobic champion of the extreme right — was shopping for a home in Sarasota last year before Trump enlisted him to fix the campaign. Bannon, 63, surfaced in Sarasota more than a decade earlier for the most unlikeliest of reasons: nasal spray. He was part of a team formed to guide a startup named SinoFresh. But the deal got bogged down in lawsuits, the inventor ejecting Bannon from the board. Years later, Bannon formed a film company in Sarasota that made an effusive documentary about Sarah Palin. He set up a research outfit in Tallahassee that churned out investigations on Hillary Clinton and, along with Breitbart News, went after two of Florida’s top Republicans, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. …Still, the Florida footprint of one of the most powerful men in the country, is sprinkled with mystery. When Bannon’s voter registration was discovered last year, the collective reaction was: Really?
ABOUT THAT MIAMI-DADE STATE ATTORNEY’S INVESTIGATION INTO STEVE BANNON via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – Prosecutors began looking into whether Bannon was a Florida resident in August, after The Guardian reported Bannon was once registered to vote in Miami, where he had leased a home in Coconut Grove … The Miami-Dade elections department confirmed the investigation to WTVJ-NBC 6 Aug. 31 after prosecutors had requested records from elections staff. The Washington Post reported investigators had questioned Bannon’s landlords, gardener and handyman. But the most explosive detail seemed to be that the state attorney’s office, run by Democrat Katherine Fernández Rundle, still considers its Bannon case an “active criminal” investigation. That’s true because the review hasn’t been closed yet. But local prosecutors are notoriously slow in closing out investigations that lead nowhere. And, six months later, it appears that little has come from the Bannon case. The Post’s confirmation of the still-open investigation, however, might actually pressure prosecutors to complete it. Bannon, it should be noted, never actually voted in Florida.
TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO IS HEAVEN — FOR SPIES via Darren Samuelsohn of POLITICO – While Trump’s private club in South Florida has been transformed into a fortress of armed guards, military-grade radar, bomb sniffing dogs and metal-detection checkpoints, there are still notable vulnerabilities, namely the stream of guests who can enter the property without a background check. And security experts warn that the commander in chief’s frequent visits — four since he took office in January — afford an unprecedented opportunity for eavesdropping and building dossiers on the president’s routines and habits, as well as those of the inner circle around him. They add that with each repeat visit, the security risk escalates. Former Secret Service agents said the setup at Mar-a-Lago and the president’s other regular clubs presents challenges that their agency wasn’t built to deal with. The Service’s main job is to protect the president from physical threats and monitoring for wiretaps and other listening devices — but not from the kinds of counterespionage challenges presented by the president’s choice to eat, sleep and work at a club accessible to anyone who can get a member to invite them in.
FAMILY OF FLORIDA MAN HELD CAPTIVE ABROAD SEEKS TRUMP’S HELP via The Associated Press – Former FBI agent Robert Levinson disappeared from the Iranian island of Kish in 2007 while trying to cultivate an informant for the CIA. Now, his family is calling on Trump to finish what two prior presidential administrations did not. “We have gone through this for 10 years and every time we have been disappointed over and over and over again,” said Levinson’s youngest son Doug, now 23. “We believe that President Trump has the ability to get this done.” The family’s remarks came on the 10th anniversary of Levinson’s disappearance. As part of the anniversary … the State Department, FBI and White House renewed a pledge to do all they can to retrieve him. If still alive, Levinson has been held captive longer than any other American, including Terry Anderson, a then-journalist for The Associated Press who was held for more than six years in Beirut in the 1980s.
FLORIDA’S NAT’L LAWMAKERS RUN THE GAMUT ON FRUGALITY via Ledyard King of News-Press.com – LegiStorm, which analyzes various government expenses, listed GOP Rep. Daniel Webster of Winter Garden as the House member who spent the smallest portion of his $1,292,579 office budget: 61.5 percent. On the other side of the ledger, former GOP Rep. David Jolly spent almost his entire allotment — 99.1 percent — of his $1,310,892 budget. House members are given a set amount of year to spend — usually between $1.2 million and $1.4 million — and can spend pretty much as they see fit to represent their district. Expenses typically include staff pay, rent for district offices, equipment and supplies, communications and travel. Members spent an average of 91.1 percent of their allotted budgets in 2016.
WHAT MATT GAETZ IS READING – BRAC COULD AID REGION IF NWWEST FLORIDA IS PREPARED via Joseph Baucum of the Pensacola News-Journal – Although uncertain when it will occur, another round of military base closings from the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission could transpire at some point in the next four years, risking the loss of jobs and tax revenues for communities reliant on the military as an economic driver — such as those across Northwest Florida. But with many convinced of its inevitability, the possibility also exists for the region to prepare so well for the next BRAC that the Panhandle’s military installations not only resist downsizing, but add new missions from other states. “BRAC should be viewed as an opportunity to attract more missions,” said U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who predicted the next BRAC would ensue during the Trump administration.
TWEET, TWEET: @MarcoRubio: NW Florida plays critical role in natl security. Will work to mare sure any future BRAC won’t hurt region
NEW VA SECRETARY VISITS BUSY MIAMI HOSPITAL via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin visited the Miami VA Healthcare System … less than a month after he was unanimously confirmed to lead the Veterans Affairs Department in February. He is the only member of Trump’s Cabinet to have served in the Obama administration, having previously spent 18 months as undersecretary for health in charge of the sprawling VA medical system, which serves 9 million veterans a year. The 57-year-old internist and longtime healthcare executive is the first non-veteran to serve as VA secretary. Shulkin was president and CEO of New York City-based Beth Israel Medical Center from 2005 to 2009 and he supports integrating the VA system with private-sector healthcare. The Miami VA Healthcare System is among Florida’s busiest, serving about 58,000 patients a year, with an annual budget of $537 million and about 2,800 employees.
TRUMP COULD BE FORCING OUT U.S. ATTORNEY A. LEE BENTLEY via Florida Politics – Trump has asked for resignations from 46 U.S. Attorneys appointed by former President Barack Obama, possibly including Bentley of the Middle District of Florida. Bentley was sworn in to the position just a year ago, and was appointed based on the recommendation of U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, Bentley spent 15 years as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the same district. U.S. Attorneys generally step aside when the presidential administration changes parties, but the process usually takes place gradually to ensure replacements are lined up for a smooth transition.
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SPOTTED: Jon Adrabi with LSN Partners in New York Post story about rumblings Gov. Andrew Cuomo is gearing up for a 2020 run.
INVADE CUBA? ONLY IN SOUTH FLORIDA WOULD THAT COME UP IN A BUSINESS ETHICS DISCUSSION via Patricia Mazzei and Mimi Whitefield of the Miami Herald – The panel of three local mayors discussing how the United States should approach doing business with Cuba was going predictably Friday until Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, a likely Democratic candidate for Florida governor, brought up a word that, once upon a time in Miami, might have caused a political maelstrom: invasion. “Why aren’t we discussing the invasion of the island?” Levine asked facetiously during a daylong conference at Barry University that was organized by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. Levine wasn’t actually endorsing the idea of a military incursion. A few moments earlier, he had argued that the best way to help Cubans themselves was to engage in open commerce with the island.
ANDREW GILLUM APPEALS TO NEWTOWN JUST ONE WEEK INTO CAMPAIGN via Zach Murdoch of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – The young, black Democrat is counting on historically black neighborhoods across the state, just like north Sarasota and Newtown, to help carry him to the party’s nomination in 2018, he told about 250 attendees of a gospel service at Booker High School. “If the news coming out of Florida is … that the Democratic nominee for governor of the third-largest state in America happens to be a 38-year-old mayor of Florida’s capital city who just so happens to be a brother, I think this race takes on national proportion,” he said. “It could propel us to November, where the last four gubernatorial elections have been won by less than one point — desperately close,” he continued. “I think we may have a real chance of taking it all the way.”
WHAT GWEN GRAHAM IS READING – GOVERNORS RACES TEST DEMOCRATS’ RIFT via Gabriel Debenedetti of POLITICO – With 27 GOP-controlled governorships up for election in 2018, national Democrats envision the midterm elections as a chance to rebalance the scales at the state level, where there are currently twice as many Republican governors than Democrats. But already, party leaders are running into a complication – unresolved issues left over from the Hillary Clinton–Bernie Sanders presidential primary. Far from defeated, Sanders-aligned progressives are nationalizing their fight, showing less patience than ever for Democrats who don’t agree with them. And that’s generating fear and nervousness in the South … where some promising Democratic candidates who are looking at running statewide in 2018 could face resistance from the left.
IN TAMPA, POTENTIAL CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER CANDIDATE JEREMY RING TELLS HIS STORY via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – Ring isn’t officially a candidate for chief financial officer, but he talked the part during a stop in Tampa … Speaking at the Oxford Exchange as part of the Cafe Con Tampa weekly event, the former Yahoo executive introduced himself to the audience by humble-bragging about his private sector background, describing himself as the first salesman for the internet search engine company when he started there as a 24-year-old (he’s 46 now). Ring says that Florida has one of the most complete innovation “ecosystems” in the country, not that it’s something that many lawmakers know or understand. “Most elected officials in Tallahassee will inspire you instead of becoming the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, they’ll inspire you to be the next homebuilder or land use attorneys,” he said. “The biggest thing that we’re lacking in this state to build an innovation economy is not the pieces. The pieces exist. It’s the culture. We don’t have the culture.”
ELECTED OFFICIALS HELPED VOTERS FILL OUT THEIR BALLOTS via Lawrence Mower, Lulu Ramadan , Alexandra Seltzer and Justin Price of the Palm Beach Post – Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard and Rep. Al Jacquet, both Democrats running in the August primary, took advantage of gaping holes in Florida’s vote-by-mail laws to pressure and cajole voters in their living rooms … In one case, a blind voter said Bernard filled out and signed his ballot. His vote counted, but … the signature on the ballot envelope after the fact … didn’t match the one on file. Florida law requires that absentee voters sign their own ballot … In other cases, residents said candidates watched over their shoulders, telling them who to vote for. Voters said they received mail-in ballots but didn’t know why. One woman said she felt pressured by a persistent candidate who talked his way into her home and dug out her ballot from a stack of discarded mail. Whether their tactics were allowed under Florida law is unclear. Elections experts had never heard of candidates filling out ballots and found the practice disturbing. For years, campaigns have targeted absentee voters and collected their ballots, but former prosecutors and judges, election lawyers and campaign strategists — even a former Florida Supreme Court chief justice — roundly condemned helping people fill out their ballots.
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ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Gov. Scott will announce jobs numbers at 10 a.m. at Herc Rentals, 27500 Riverview Center Blvd. in Bonita Springs. From there, the Governor will head to Tallahassee where he’ll hold a “Fighting for Florida Jobs Roundtable” at 3 p.m. at Danfoss Turbocor Compressors, 1769 East Paul Dirac Drive.
DEATH PENALTY FIX HEADS TO RICK SCOTT via Brendan Farrington of The Associated Press – Lawmakers rushed to get the bill passed … in hopes of fixing a death penalty law that’s been found unconstitutional twice since January 2016. The effort has been a better-than-nothing option for both proponents and opponents of the death penalty. The House approved the measure 112-3 the day after the Senate unanimously passed it, a rare case of a death penalty issue receiving bipartisan support. Not that everyone was pleased with it. Many Republicans prefer allowing the jury to have a simple majority to condemn a murder convict, while many Democrats would like to abolish the death penalty altogether. But Republican lawmakers believe the unanimous jury bill is better than risking the death penalty’s abolition, and Democrats believe it will lead to fewer executions.
LATE FRIDAY NEWS DUMP BUT WE CAUGHT IT – DEP RESPONDS TO HOUSE RECORDS REQUEST, DEFENDS PAYMENT OF LEGAL BILLS via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – The state’s Department of Environmental Protection … released its response to the House of Representatives’ request for documentation of the legal billing in a longstanding river water use fight against Georgia. Interim DEP Secretary Ryan Matthews also sent a letter, saying his agency had “denied more than $3 million in expenses and hourly charges submitted by outside counsel.” A cursory review of the records shows not only invoices for legal fees but also, for example, a $272,000 contract between DEP and the University of South Florida for oyster reef research. Another file showed a Nebraska company was paid $49,000 for “video production in support of (the) litigation.” The 16-year long court fight centers around upstream water use from the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers in Georgia. They meet at the Florida border to form the Apalachicola River, which empties into the Apalachicola Bay, on which oystermen have depended for decades for their catch.
GUN INJURIES AND DEATHS AMONG FLORIDA KIDS HAVE SPIKED. ONE CHILD IS SHOT EVERY 17 HOURS via Kathleen Mcgrory and Connie Humburg of the Tampa Bay Times – Between 2010 and 2015, nearly 3,200 kids 17 and younger were killed or injured by firearms. Put another way, a child in Florida was shot, on average, every 17 hours. From 2010 through 2015, the number of kids killed in gun-related incidents rose nearly 20 percent. Injuries from guns jumped 26 percent from 2014 to 2015 alone. “That’s a very rapid increase,” said Dr. Garen J. Wintemute, who runs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. Firearms killed 475 kids during that six-year span — slightly less than cancer, but more than cardiovascular, infectious or respiratory diseases. Meanwhile, hospitals statewide billed more than $100 million for pediatric gun injuries. More than $75 million of that was billed to a publicly subsidized insurance provider such as Medicaid or Florida KidCare.
SHOULD POLICE GET A SNEAK PEAK AT BODY-CAMERA FOOTAGE? via William Patrick of FloridaWatchdog.org – A bill that would allow police officers to review body camera footage before making an official statement in an officer-involved shooting is making its way through the Florida Legislature. But not without reservations. Lawmakers on the Senate Criminal Justice Committee heard the proposal for the first time last week. It was initially characterized as a “common sense” measure to help law enforcement ensure minor details would be accurately documented in police reports, such as the color of a suspect’s shirt. When several lawmakers pressed further, they revealed some possible objections. “This isn’t only for minor issues, this is for essentially everything,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes … “This isn’t just to make sure that I’m correct in my statements, it’s to be able to watch everything, and essentially watch the whole episode play out again before a formal written report.”
FLORIDA AMONG SEVERAL STATES CONFRONTING DRUG FORMULARY QUESTIONS via Erin Clark of FloridaWatchdog.org – In Florida, HB 95 was introduced by state Rep. Ralph Massullo to prevent a drug being dropped from a formulary, or moved to a higher-priced tier, in the middle of the insurance plan year. Similar bans are under consideration in Illinois and New York, among other states. A formulary is a set of drugs that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) arrange in different cost and coverage tiers. Patients can expect their direct costs to reflect a drug’s formulary designation. However, insurers and PBMs have the ability to adjust a drug formulary midyear. “This bill is not a mandate. It doesn’t require any particular drug to be covered. All it requires is for the health providers to meet the obligation that we believe they have to the consumer when they listed the original formulary to begin with,” said Massullo.
LAWMAKERS SEEK TO REPEAL, BUT NOT REPLACE, PARTS OF SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY LAW via Lane Wright of The Capitolist – “This is not a retreat on accountability.” Sen. Bill Montford repeated three different times during a news conference … The stated goals are to remove the high-stakes nature of testing in Florida and respond to over-testing concerns. People upset with too much testing come from all over the political spectrum, but the push to detach student tests from teacher evaluations, school grades, and staffing decisions has primarily been an issue of Florida’s teachers’ union, and aligned groups like the Florida Association of School Superintendents, where Montfordserves as CEO. To reach those goals, the bill (SB 964) would change a number of things in Florida’s education law, but most notably, it would reduce “duplicative” state-required exams and repeal the research-based testing system that shows how much teachers help their students grow without offering any type of replacement. If it passes, it could become radically more difficult for Floridians to know how well schools are meeting their students’ needs.
LEGISLATURE POSTPONES VOTE ON RACIAL BIAS IN SENTENCING via Josh Salman and Emily Le Coz of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Sen. Audrey Gibson … opened the bill for debate in the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee. The legislation calls for the state’s a good doing good how it yourself hold on one second, one second now sorry about that well I just know I did put my and put my headphones on so I can hear you better while in doing this and I pressed the wrong button so is that it was user error is a say they’ll to review sentencing data already collected by the government to check for racial discrepancies in each Florida circuit. The judicial accountability bill garnered support from civic and legal organizations, which maintained that the measure would help bring fairness through bolstered transparency. But it also drew scrutiny from judges, who argued they should not be blamed for potential bias. “This is not an attack on judges,” Gibson told other members of the committee. “It’s not an attack on anybody. It’s an attack on what could be perceived an injustice … This bill is data. And it is data that none of us should fear.”
LGBT RIGHTS GROUPS GROW OPTIMISTIC AS MORE REPUBLICANS JOIN THEIR CAUSE via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times – Fifteen GOP lawmakers have publicly signed onto legislation this session that would ban discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing, restaurants and other businesses, bucking a party whose national platform in 2016 opposed gay marriage. Among the 15 who have signed on this year is Dana Young. As House majority leader last year, the Tampa Republican became one of the most prominent Republicans to back protections for the LGBT community. Now a state senator, she’s signed on as a co-sponsor to similar legislation (SB 666/HB 623) this year. Though her support for greater protections came five years into her legislative service, at a time she was considering a run for a swing Senate district, Young said her support is personal, not political. “I’m a mother of two teenage daughters with a lot of friends in the LGBT community, and I want to support not only my children but their friends and the community as a whole,” Young said. “Tampa is a vibrant, urban community with a large, involved and vibrant LGBT community. I’m doing my job by representing their interests along with everyone else.”
ICYMI: SUPREME COURT CASE REPORTING BILL PASSED BY HOUSE via Florida Politics – The bill, by Republican state Rep. Frank White … would require the court to tally in detail “each case on the court’s docket … for which a decision or disposition has not been rendered within 180 days.” The Republican-controlled House has long been antagonized by Supreme Court rulings its leaders have characterized as “judicial overreach.” White’s bill also requires a “detailed explanation of the court’s failure to render a decision or disposition” in pending cases older than six months. It instructs the court to tally cases it decided in the previous year but took longer than six months. The report “shall be submitted in an electronic spreadsheet format capable of being sorted” and sent to “the Governor, the Attorney General, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
STATE DENIES BESTBET REQUEST TO INSTALL 2,000 SLOTS AT JACKSONVILLE POKER ROOM via Tia Mitchell of the Florida Times-Union – … a change In law is required. The state sent a denial letter to Bestbet President Jamie Shelton … citing three reasons why the Jacksonville facility is not eligible for slots. First, it said state law does not authorize slots in counties that approved a voter referendum unless the referendum itself was authorized by law or in the state constitution. Second, it said the Florida Constitution only allows for slots referenda to occur in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Third, state law only allows slots in buildings that are “contiguous and connected to the live gaming facility.” Bestbet spokesman Brian Hughes said for now no action will be taken.
Speaking of gambling…
***There are two gambling bills in the Florida Legislature. One holds the line; One is a massive expansion. Watch the video below to learn more.***
HAPPENING TODAY – COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO WATCH — The House Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would make the the Secretary of State an elected member of the Florida Cabinet when it meets at 1 p.m. in Morris Hall. The House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee is set to discuss a bill to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” when it meets at 1:30 p.m. in 404 House Office Building. At 2 p.m., the House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee will consider a proposal requiring drug tests for public assistance applicants with drug-related criminal records when it meets in 12 House Office Building. Over in the Senate, the Commerce and Tourism Committee will discuss a bill to repeal the program offering incentives for stadium projects when it meets at 4 p.m. in 110 Senate Office Building. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee is expected to discuss a bill to create a criminal justice reform task for when it meets at 4 p.m. in 37 Senate Office Building. The Senate Children, Families & Elder Affairs Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Jeffrey Bragg, the Elder Affairs Secretary.
MAGIC JOHNSON VISITING WITH FLORIDA SENATE MEMBERS via Kristen Clark of the Miami Herald – L.A. Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson will be at the Florida Capitol to promote HIV/AIDS awareness. The Senate Democratic caucus announced Johnson will meet with Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon and other members of the caucus at a 9 a.m. meeting … Johnson — who represents a Medicaid managed-care company known as Anthem in Florida — would also be at a “meet and greet” with Senate Republicans.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: House Democrats will meet at 6:30 p.m. in the House Democratic Office, room 316, to hold Democratic Leadership elections for the 2018-20 term.
SUNSHINE WEEK: THE MEDIA ARE YOUR ALLIES, NOT YOUR ENEMIES via the Miami Herald – These are challenging times for the media, which are considered “the enemy of the people” by President Trump and his administration enablers. The president has made clear his hatred for the media by barring certain journalists from White House press briefings. However, this is the start of Sunshine Week, a nationwide initiative to educate the public about the importance of transparent government. And it is the perfect time to declare that the president’s tactics won’t work. The tagline explaining Sunshine Week’s mission is, “It’s Your Right to Know.” Banning reporters from the White House, “the people’s house,” is only firing up the people to unequivocally claim that right. It’s a principle in which the Miami Herald and so many of its media peers across the country resolutely believe — and deliver on.
THE WORST STORY YOU’LL READ TODAY – FLORIDA COUPLE FACE ‘SHOCKING’ 700+ COUNTS OF ABUSE AGAINST FOSTERED, ADOPTED CHILDREN via Les Neuhaus of Florida Politics – A couple living in southwest Florida have been charged in Alabama with 727 counts of sexual crimes and physical abuses against their 11 adopted and foster children … Police in both states are calling it the most shocking case they’ve ever seen … Daniel and Jenise Spurgeon, 47 and 53, respectively, are being held without bond in the Lee County Jail in Fort Myers … None of the children in the Spurgeon’s care came from Florida’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) … Police originally learned of the case when they responded to a tip of two minors at a Cape Coral bar who were inebriated July, claiming their parents had forced them to drink alcohol … Cape Coral Police investigators learned that four girls under the Spurgeon’s care were claiming they’d been sexually abused and were from Alabama.
***The 2017 Florida Blue Foundation Community Health Symposium and Sapphire Awards are coming to Kissimmee April 19-20 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. The two-day event – with the theme “Creating a Culture of Health” – will feature several Florida-based, regional and national health professionals. The symposium will give attendees an opportunity to learn more about health care culture, purpose built communities and communities of health. Discussions will center on health issues, policy, reform and engagement. Network with 400+ executives from a range of private sector, government, universities, nonprofit organizations and more. To view agenda and register, click here***
HOUSE PASSES SIX YEAR BAN ON LOBBYING FOR FORMER LAWMAKERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS via Allison Nielsen of the Sunshine State News – Nearly all House members voted in favor of HB 7003, approving the measure by a vote of 110-3. Under the proposal, former legislators and elected officials would not be allowed to lobby in Florida for any person, entity or state government agency for six years. The ban would only apply to lawmakers and elected officials who were members of the legislature or who were statewide elected officials after Nov. 8, 2016. HB 7003 is just one part of a set of more restrictive measures the House has taken up to promote “transparency” in state government this year. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Larry Metz … says the bill wasn’t created to imply any wrongdoing by elected officials, but to slam the “revolving door” in the legislative process.
NEW AND RENEWED LOBBY REGISTRATIONS
Albert Balido, Anfield Consulting: Krkuc Work Inc.
Brian Ballard, Brady Benford, Chris Dorworth, Ballard Partners: Seminole County Tax Collector
Amy Bisceglia, The Rubin Group: City of Deerfield Beach
Kevin Marino Cabrera, Southern Strategy Group: Mark Anthony Brands Inc.
Dave Ramba, Allison Carvajal, Evan Power, Ramba Consulting: Bancomer Transfer Services, Inc.
Jennifer Green, Liberty Partners of Tallahassee: 8Minute Energy Renewables, LLC
Angelina Gonzalez, Panza Maurer & Maynard PA: Automated Healthcare Solutions; Nova Southeastern University; Public Health Trust
James Harris, Jr.: Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters
J.D. Hicks, J.D. Hicks & Associates: Hunt Development Group
Lisa Hurley, Smith Bryan & Myers: Glades County Board of Commissioners
Rob Johnson, The Mayernick Group: Excellence in Education in Action
Greg Black, Jim Daughton, Andy Palmer, Allison Liby-Schoonover, Metz Husband & Daughton: ACT Aspire, LLC
Paul Lowell, Foley & Lardner: Weston Insurance Holdings Corporation
Bob Martinez, Holland & Knight: Florida Chamber of Commerce
Corinne Mixon, Mixon & Associates: Citizens for Judicial Process, Inc.
Steve Schale, Schale Communications: Florida Distillers Guild, Inc.
Ron Watson, Watson Strategies: Spectra Laboratories, Inc
Derek Whitis, Whitis Consulting LLC: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
APPOINTED: Sam Himmel to Florida’s Children and Youth Cabinet.
APPOINTED: Latanya Peterson, Dianne Goldenberg, Gilbert Singer, Rebecca Steele, and Tony Jenkins to the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
THE GROVE, A WITNESS TO SLAVERY, WAR AND CIVIL RIGHTS OPENS via Gary Fineout of The Associated Press – State officials swung open the doors to The Grove, a state-owned mansion that was once the residence to Gov. LeRoy Collins. Secretary of State Ken Detzner was joined at a ribbon-cutting by members of the extended Collins family. The grand opening, which came after extensive renovations that cost taxpayers nearly $6 million, came one day and 108 years after Collins was born. State officials said more than 2,500 people visited the museum and the grounds on opening day. Built by one of Florida’s early territorial governors using slave labor, the Grove would later serve as home to Collins as he tried to shepherd the state through the civil rights era. The museum includes exhibits and artifacts that stretch over its lengthy history, including rarely heard passages from a diary kept by Ellen Call Long during the Civil War. Long was the daughter of Richard Keith Call, an officer on Gen. Andrew Jackson’s personal staff, who modeled the home after Jackson’s Hermitage in Tennessee and is believed to have finished building it by 1831.
VOLUNTEER FLORIDA PARTNERING WITH NIC’S TOGGERY, NARCISSUS, AND SILVERFOX FOR #SUITSFORSESSION – Volunteer Florida is announcing that those who visit the Capitol March 15 and drop off an item for #SuitsForSession will be entered into a contest to win a suit from Nic’s Toggery, a women’s business outfit from Narcissus, and a custom sports coat from Florida-based SilverFox Label. Volunteer Florida and Uber are hosting the second annual #SuitsForSession event on the third-floor Rotunda March 15 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. to collect attire for job seekers statewide. Nic’s Toggery (downtown location) will also have a #SuitsForSession collection box for donations from Monday, March 13-Wednesday, March 15, and will provide a $100 credit toward a new suit for each individual who brings in a donation of men’s clothing. For those who can’t make it to the Capitol to drop off their donations, Uber will pick up clothing from homes across Leon County for free all day March 15. Volunteer Florida will donate the professional attire to the Chapman Partnership (Miami); Dress for Success Tampa Bay; ECHO Outreach Ministries (Leon County); Bridges of America (statewide); and the Florida State University Unconquered Scholars program (Tallahassee). More here.
***Sen. Jack Latvala and Rep. Jason Brodeur are fighting to protect Florida’s small business owners by leveling the playing field for owners of franchise establishments. This will lead to more economic growth and jobs for our communities. Tell Sen. Latvala and Rep. Brodeur that you support them and learn how to help protect small businesses in Florida at ProtectFLBusiness.com.***
SPOTTED at the 2017 Gasparilla Music Festival at Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park – Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Tampa City Attorney Julia Mandell, City of Tampa Director of Public Affairs Ashley Bauman, and Kyle Simon, Government Affairs Director for the Home Care Association of Florida.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our friend, Rep. Scott Plakon. Belated wishes to Steve Bousquet, Brian Franklin, Sen. Alan Hays, Allison Nielsen and Frank Mayernick.
WHAT MICHELLE TODD IS READING – ON ‘BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER,’ WE FELL FOR THE SLAYER ALONG WITH ANGEL, RILEY AND SPIKE via Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post – The love longtime fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” feel for Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends isn’t the same as the romantic ardor that men such as Angel (David Boreanaz), Riley (Marc Blucas) and Spike (James Marsters) felt for Buffy herself. Buffy isn’t necessarily everyone’s favorite character. And we all respond to different things in each character’s arc, from Willow’s (Alyson Hannigan) nervous humor and slow unfolding as her magic develops; to Xander’s (Nicholas Brendan) slow maturation into a reliable, dependable and capable adult; to vengeance demon Anya’s (Emma Caulfield) blunt, funny perspective on the human world; to Giles’s (Anthony Head) tender, largely unflappable stewardship of Buffy’s abilities. But Buffy’s most significant relationships do offer fascinating insights into what we responded to about her character and the complicated ways even men who love strong women can react to that strength.
WONDER WOMAN TRAILER SHOWS HOW THE GIRL BECAME A LEGEND via io9.com – This latest trailer introduces us to the younger version of Diana, watching her grow in her strength and abilities over the years. The trailer’s definitely more focused on her personal journey, showing how she overcame the doubt imposed by others and learned to embrace her true destiny. Looks like one exciting ride. Wonder Woman opens June 2.
