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.
When the history of the 2025-26 legislative sessions is written — undoubtedly Bill Cottrell will be on his sixth retirement by then — what transpired Tuesday may play a large role. Consider:
The dream of the first Cuban-American Senate President is one step closer to fruition with Jose Felix Diaz’ win in the SD 40 GOP primary. If Diaz can get past Taddeo in the special general election and subsequently win re-election, he will have a leg up in the leadership race to succeed Bill Galvano, Wilton Simpson, and, let’s say, Dana Young.
— By winning the GOP primary in HD 116, Daniel Perez could also be in the mix for Speaker in the next decade — assuming he wins the special general election. If he does win, Perez will be a redshirt freshman, meaning he will get to serve all of this and next year without it counting against the eight-year term limit cap. Redshirt freshmen have won more than their fair share of Speaker’s races, including the most recent scrum between Paul Renner and James W. Grant.
— Another development which could shape future legislative sessions is Rep. Dan Raulerson announcing he is resigning his House seat come August. This will create a domino effect that will lead to the election of a redshirt freshman legislator from a Tampa Bay House seat. Whoever this is (one name we’re already hearing about as a possible Raulerson’s successor is Lawrence McClure) will likely be part of a future Speaker’s race.
There are countless reasons why what is discussed here won’t happen. For example, Florida Democrats could actually get their act together and reclaim control of the House, Senate or both. But if you are part of the legislative process 10 years from now, you’ll remember what happened in the summer of 2017.
– “With SD 40 loss, the Diaz de la Portilla political dynasty fades to black” via Allison Nielsen of the Sunshine State News
– “Jeb Bush’s brand isn’t dead, but …” via Brian Burgess of The Capitolist
Email I didn’t open: “Trump’s apprentice just got the GOP nomination” via Jeff Clemens‘ Flip Florida committee
“Dem poll says Annette Taddeo has slight lead over Jose Felix Diaz in SD 40 race” via Florida Politics — A Democratic polling firm says Taddeo has a four-point lead over Diaz going into the Sept. 26 special election in Senate District 40, but the margin of error makes it a dead heat on the first day general election campaigning. The survey — which was conducted between June 21 and June 26, one month before the special primary — showed Taddeo led Diaz, 42 percent to 38 percent. The poll of 400 likely special election voters was completed by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, a Washington, D.C.-based firm. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. … According to the memo, the June poll showed Taddeo’s vote share increased after voter hear “balanced positives on her and Jose Felix Diaz.” The pollsters report Taddeo opens a 10-point lead over Diaz once they hear about her background and are “receptive to Taddeo’s positive profile.
Flashback: “’Name ID v. money:’ Alex Diaz de la Portilla leads José Felix Diaz in early polls of bareknuckle state Senate race” via Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida
“American Express sues Taddeo for nearly $38K in credit card debt” via Daniel Ducassi of POLITICO Florida – Attached to the lawsuit, filed last month in circuit court in Miami-Dade County, is a December 2016 American Express credit card bill addressed to Taddeo and her translation company, LanguageSpeak Inc., listing an unpaid balance of $37,794. “In approximately December of 2016, there were some disputed charges made to American Express for items on our company card,” Taddeo told POLITICO Florida in a statement. … Taddeo suggested that the timing of the lawsuit brought by the multinational financial services company is politically motivated.
RSLC commits $100K to SD race via Florida Politics – The day after Diaz defeated Alex Diaz de la Portilla in a contentious campaign, the Republican State Leadership Committee, an organization of Republican state officials, donated $100,000 to the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (FRSCC). The FRSCC is the fundraising arm for Senate Republican leaders and is controlled by future Senate presidents Bill Galvano and Wilton Simpson.
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— NOTES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —
“As Donald Trump’s fraud commission sought data, some Florida voters canceled registrations” via Asa Royal of the Tampa Bay Times – Though the cancellations were clustered mostly in three to four counties, they represent a 117 percent statewide increase over the same period last year. Though barely perceptible in a state with 12.9 million registered voters, the cancellations concern some elections officials. Mary Jane Arrington, Supervisor of Elections in Osceola County — which had 76 cancellations in the 2017 period compared to 13 in 2016 and 9 in 2015— cited voter dislike of the commission as a top reason for the increased numbers of cancellations. Cancellations rose in 38 counties across the state, according to an analysis by The Buzz. In St. Lucie County, 487 voters asked to be removed from the rolls between June 27 and July 17, compared to two voters the year before. In Lee County, 242 people canceled their voter registration, up from 38 in 2016. In Monroe County, eight canceled their registration, up from zero in 2015 and in 2016. The pattern didn’t hold everywhere — in Pinellas County, for example, 47 voters took themselves off the rolls compared to 117 the year before — but the overall statewide increase was significant.
“Andrew Gillum, Gwen Graham, Chris King coming to West Palm Beach” via George Bennett of the Palm Beach Post – … at a Forum Club of the Palm Beaches lunch Aug. 28. The Forum Club lunch will be at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. It begins at noon, with doors opening at 11:15 a.m. Tickets are $40 for Forum Club members, $50 for their guests and club applicants and $75 for the general public.
Save the date: The trio will also address the summer conference of the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus on Aug. 19 at the Hotel Duval, 415 North Monroe Street in Tallahassee. The candidates are expected to appear separately throughout the summer conference — which runs from Friday, Aug. 18 through Sunday, Aug. 20 — to address the group and answer questions. “The LGBTA Democratic Caucus is one of the most active organizations in the Florida Democratic Party, providing workers and funding for candidates up and down the ballot,” said Terry Fleming, president of LGBTA Democratic Caucus, in a statement. “We’re excited that all of the candidates will address our members as we prepare for a crucial election season.”
Steny Hoyer endorses Graham for governor — U.S. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer has endorsed Gwen Graham in her race to replace Gov. Rick Scott in 2018. “After raising three children as a working mom, PTA president and public school official, Gwen Graham ran for office to get things done for hardworking families. She stood up for every Floridian and every American by fighting for commonsense reforms, and always put her constituents first, including returning more than $2.5 million to Florida seniors, families and veterans. Just like Washington, Tallahassee badly needs Gwen’s voice of reason, and I’m proud to enthusiastically support her campaign for governor,” said Hoyer in a statement. “Gwen is smart, disciplined, tough, caring and compassionate. She is the best candidate to win this race and the best qualified to serve the people of Florida as their next governor.”
ICYMI – “Ron DeSantis-aligned super PAC gets familiar new head as gubernatorial rumors swirl” via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – State and federal fundraising committees tied to the two-term Republican congressman are now both headed by the same person. Erika Alba, an attorney in Foley & Lardner’s Jacksonville office, is in charge of Fighting for Florida’s Future, a super PAC that raised $1.2 million in support of DeSantis’ 2016 run for Senate, according to a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission. The super PAC was led by Nelson Warfield, a longtime GOP consultant no longer involved with the committee. Alba is also listed as chair of Fund for Florida’s Future, a state-level political committee that has been the go-to place in recent months for DeSantis’ federal donors.
Assignment editors: Adam Putnam will join the Associated Builders and Contractors as they kick off their state convention at 6 p.m. at the Marriot Marco Island, 400 S. Collier Blvd. in Marco Island.
“Raquel Regalado officially announces run to replace Ileana Ros-Lehtinen” via Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald — The former Miami-Dade school board member and candidate for county mayor in 2016 filed her paperwork to compete in the Republican primary against county commissioner Bruno Barreiro on Tuesday morning. Nancy Watkins, a top Florida GOP political accountant based in Tampa, will serve as campaign treasurer. … The 43-year-old daughter of Miami mayor Tomás Regalado can now start fundraising after Barreiro raised $176,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter. Maria Peiro, who unsuccessfully ran against Ros-Lehtinen in the 2016 Republican primary also announced her intentions to run, but has not filed yet.
“Mary Barzee Flores jumps into race for Ros-Lehtinen’s seat” via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – Barzee Flores, a well-regarded local attorney and former circuit court judge, plans to launch her candidacy for Florida’s congressional district. Barzee Flores would become the sixth Democrat vying for the Democratic-leaning seat. “I’ve always been interested in politics as a spectator sport, and as a spectator, it’s been national politics that have interested me,” Barzee Flores told the Miami Herald … adding that she’s contemplated a candidacy for six to eight years. “And after this last election, I have come to believe that I have to do it — not just want to.”
“Legislative aide John Rodriguez eyes HD 62 race” via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – Rodriguez, a former legislative aide to House Democrats Janet Cruz, Bob Henriquez, Michael Scionti and Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (who switched to the GOP since), now hopes to succeed Cruz in the Tampa-area House District 62 seat. The 54-year-old Tampa native currently works under Henriquez at the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s office … With experience working for House Democrats in Tallahassee, Rodriguez is clear-eyed about the lack of power Democrats have dealt with over the past decade. “It’s tough to get bills passed for Democrats,” he acknowledges, “and it’s only gotten more and more difficult as the years have gone on.” It’s much different from two decades ago, he added, when during Henriquez’ first term in office, he had the satisfaction of passing four of the six bills he sponsored.
“Miami Beach commission candidate taking heat for involvement with world OutGames” via Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald – Michael Góngora has had trouble remembering how long he served on the board of the ill-fated World OutGames Miami, an LGBTQ-themed sports and cultural event that canceled most of its athletic competitions at the last minute because of serious financial shortcomings. In June, he told the Miami Herald he resigned from the board in 2015. Turns out he was off by about a year. A video from May 2016 showing Góngora identifying himself as an OutGames board member has surfaced in a new political attack ad by his opponent, Adrian Gonzalez, owner of South Beach Cuban eatery David’s Café. This week, Gonzalez launched a web campaign criticizing Góngora for his connection to the OutGames, an event he helped recruit to the Beach. Gonzalez created a Facebook page and website blasting Góngora. “What did Góngora know and when did he know about the OutGames?” reads a large headline on the site.
Save the date: Kathleen Peters will hold a fundraiser for her Pinellas County Commission District 6 bid at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 at Café Ponte, 13505 Icot Blvd. in Clearwater. The host committee includes Sen. Jack Latvala, Rep. Chris Latvala, and Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
— RICK SCOTT, MIKE PENCE: WHEN FUNDRAISING MEETS TAX INCENTIVES —
A little help from your friends can go a long a way, or at least that’s what the Florida Bulldog found when it came to Gov. Rick Scott and then-Indiana governor (now Vice President) Mike Pence.
According to a recent report by Dan Christensen with the Florida Bulldog, two months after Scott helped Pence fundraise in Fort Lauderdale, Pence announced a $650,000 incentive package for a company owned in large part by Scott. Pence was running for re-election at the time, but would later drop his bid when then-Republican candidate Donald Trump would tap him to be his running mate.
Key points from the article:
- “Pence’s offer of Indiana taxpayer subsidies for Continental Structural Plastics came as Scott’s Florida contributors poured more than $125,000 into Pence’s gubernatorial re-election campaign. Scott kicked in another $5,000 personal check to fellow Republican Pence’s campaign.”
- “The Tampa Bay Times called Scott’s personal contribution to Pence ‘unusual’ because Scott ‘has never given more than $500 to a Florida candidate other than himself.’ It also noted that Pence had ‘picked up more campaign cash from Florida than any other state, except Indiana and Washington, D.C.'”
- “On April 11, 2016, back in Indiana, Gov. Pence disclosed that the Indiana Economic Development Corporation – a group he chaired – had offered Continental Structural Plastics (CSP) $600,000 in conditional tax credits and $50,000 in training grants. CSP was to expand its 323-worker operation in the city of Huntington and add 80 jobs by 2020. CSP makes lightweight composite materials used in cars and airplanes.”
- “Pence’s announcement did not mention that his friend, Rick Scott, owned a substantial stake in CSP, or that Florida First Lady Ann Scott had an additional large investment through the Connecticut-based investment firm G. Scott Capital Partners.”
- “On Jan. 3 of this year, CSP was sold for $825 million to a subsidiary of Teijin Ltd. Florida Bulldog reported in June that Gov. Scott appears to personally have pocketed $200 million in the deal.”
- “When CSP’s sale was announced, the Japanese conglomerate further identified RLSI-CSP Capital Partners LLC – Rick Scott’s partnership entity – as owning two thirds of CSP’s common stock. The governor owned 37 percent of RLSI-CSP Capital Partners.”
— CAPITOL INSIGHT —
“Rick Scott wants another raise for state law-enforcement” via The Associated Press – Scott wants the state’s highway patrol troopers, wildlife officers and law-enforcement agents to get another pay raise. This year legislators agreed to give the state’s nearly 4,000 sworn-law enforcement officers a 5 percent raise. Scott wants to set aside an additional $30 million in 2018 … the governor said the money could be used to recruit and retain officers. But Scott said each agency would come up with a plan to parcel out the raises.
“As Scott touts sales tax holiday, tax group labels it ‘poor policy’” via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times – The Tax Foundation issued a report that calls sales tax holidays “politically expedient but poor tax policy, costing states revenue while providing little benefit.” The group says Florida is one of 16 states with tax holidays this year, compared to a nationwide high of 19 states in 2010. The report says that pro-holiday politicians “distort consumer decisions” by picking and choosing which consumer items are tax-free, and that sales tax holidays favor big businesses over Mom-and-Pop retailers because the big retail chains use it as a form of free advertising.
Assignment editors: Gov. Scott will ceremonially sign a bill aimed at combating the opioid crisis at 9 a.m. at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, 2500 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando. Scott will then head to Boca Raton at 2 p.m. to announce new jobs at Modernizing Medicine, 3600 FAU Boulevard, Unit 202.
“Richard Corcoran begins committee changeup in Florida House” via Allison Nielsen of the Sunshine State News – Corcoran announced a changeup in several House committees, replacing Rep. Jose Felix Diaz with Rep. Jim Boyd to sit as chair of the House Commerce Committee. Diaz resigned from the Florida House in May to run for Florida’s 40th Senate District after Sen. Frank Artiles resigned in April. Boyd previously served as chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee but will be replaced by future House speaker Rep. Paul Renner … Renner’s appointment cements his incoming role as one of the House’s most powerful figure. He is set to become Speaker from 2022-2024. Those weren’t the only changes Corcoran has in mind for the Florida House. Corcoran said in a memo to members to expect more shuffling of positions as he forms the leadership of committees which push legislation through the halls of Tallahassee. “Updated committee assignments will be made in the next few weeks,” Corcoran wrote.
“State lawmakers dismiss fraud allegations as racist and unfair” via Dan Sweeney of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel – About 70 people came to a town hall meeting in West Palm Beach’s Gaines Park to get a post-legislative session update from state Rep. Al Jacquet and state Sen. Bobby Powell … But at the start of the meeting, Powell took a moment to address “the elephant in the room” — a recently closed police investigation looking into mail-in ballot voter fraud in the August 2016 primaries of both state legislators, along with Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard, who sat in the front row of the town hall. The report by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Public Corruption Unit found 47 mail-in ballot request forms that may have been fraudulent — 25 identified by the county investigators and 22 supplied by a private investigator working for the law firm of Steinger, Iscoe and Greene. At the town hall meeting, Powell attributed the investigation to racism — all four men are black. “What has been implicated and indicated is that if you’re a black person who may be low income or less, then you shouldn’t vote,” he said.
Assignment editors: Rep. Wengay Newton will hold a legislative wrap-up town hall at 6 p.m. at Rubonia Community Center, 1309 72nd Street E. in Palmetto.
Correction – In Monday’s Sunburn, we said that Kyle Alexander was legislative assistant for Sen. Randolph Bracy. In fact, after five years in Bracy’s office, Alexander left in June for a position at Disney. We regret the error.
— STATEWIDE —
“Florida’s jobless rate looks great — but 25 other state rates look even better” via Robert Trigaux of the Tampa Bay Times – Here are five takeaways based on new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: 1. Florida’s job market still has momentum. 2. Compared to Florida, half of all states — 25 — have lower unemployment rates. 3. Florida, usually a leader in adding jobs month to month, did not quite make the cut in June. 4. Over the past year, though, Florida remained a top job generator even as it fell behind rival Texas. 5. Hey, Florida isn’t Alaska or New Mexico, right?
“Advocates argue Florida’s public schools are failing homeless students” via Jessica Bakeman of POLITICO Florida – Attorneys representing the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, the Children & Youth Law Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, and the Disability and Public Benefits Clinic at Florida Coastal School of Law submitted an amicus curiae brief to a state appellate court in the Citizens for Strong Schools lawsuit. They argue the state is shirking its constitutional duty of providing high-quality education to homeless students. “The data submitted to the trial court indicated that this large population of children — in excess of 70,000 statewide — are not doing well, and, in fact, are doing increasingly worse,” said Angela Fiorentino, an attorney working on the case. “It’s our position that the state has an obligation to address this failing and that the trail court didn’t take into consideration all of the data that was submitted.”
“Army Corps needs more time on Joe Negron reservoir” via Jim Turner of News Service of Florida – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will need another month to figure out how to join in Senate President Negron‘s plan for a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Col. Jason Kirk, the Florida commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, advised the South Florida Water Management District this week that a review is underway of options for working together on changes to what is known as the Central Everglades Planning Project. The changes were outlined in a measure (SB 10) that Negron pushed through the Legislature this year. “We are currently working through multiple options for the next steps to address your request,” Kirk wrote.
“Auditor General reports shows AHCA not properly monitoring Medicaid managed care contract” via Christine Sexton of POLITICO Florida – Specifically, the AG report shows that, while the state did conduct “regular, sometimes daily, monitoring activities,” health care regulators did not properly monitor for fraud, abuse or overpayment or have adequate procedures to fully assess the accuracy or completeness of the information managed care organizations provided in required reports to the state. AHCA officials, in a written reply included in the AG report, said it did not “dispute the annual monitoring of the health plans may not include case-by-case review of fraud and abuse investigations.” Agency officials, however, stressed that a review is “not necessarily a topic for all health plan’s annual monitoring.” The release of the 30-page report dovetails with the second procurement of the $26 billion Medicaid program to managed care organizations.
“Florida awash in $36M of stolen firearms, new report estimates” via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – An estimated 80,000 guns are stolen from individual gun owners in Florida between 2012 and 2015, costing around $36 million, according to a new report … The Center for American Progress, a progressive group based in Washington, released a state-by-state analysis of the scope of guns thefts in America, finding that a firearm is stolen in the U.S. every two minutes and every 26 minutes from a private gun owner in the Sunshine State. “In just one day, there are 720 guns stolen in the U.S. In Florida, it’s 55 a day. And those are just the reported thefts. Stolen guns put us all at risk,” said Patti Brigham, first vice president of the League of Women Voters of Florida and co-chairs the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. Using data supplied by the FBI, the authors report that nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of guns were stolen from individual gun owners between 2012 and 2015, amounting to an estimated 1.2 million guns. The authors report that more than 80,000 guns in Florida were stolen between 2012-2015, but that number is only an estimate. The FBI just reports on the value of guns reported stolen, and the Center for American Progress then calculated a number of guns based on an average gun price of $450.
“FPL earnings increase in second quarter” via News Service of Florida – … as it added customers and continued moving forward with construction projects … FPL reported net income during the quarter of $526 million, or $1.12 a share, up from $448 million, or 96 cents a share, during the same period in 2016. FPL said its average number of customers during the quarter was about 64,000 higher than during the previous year. Also, it pointed to projects such as building solar-energy facilities and construction of a power plant in Okeechobee County.
— OPINIONS —
“Letter to USDOT: Federal loan for All Aboard Florida is too risky” via the Sunshine State News – Indian River and Martin counties have NOT ended their fight to right the wrongs they say are chugging through government channels — wrongs that would bring a high-speed rail project through the Treasure Coast at great cost to taxpayers. Together with Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida (CARE FL), the counties have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the USDOT Credit Council about All Aboard Florida’s (AAF) highspeed passenger rail service. The six-page letter asks USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao to “exercise extreme caution” before considering or approving AAF’s request for a Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loan to build out Phase II of the project connecting West Palm Beach to Orlando. The letter warns the loan is unlikely to be payable and creates a very high risk of default for taxpayers.
— MOVMEMENTS —
“Civil-rights attorney Ben Crump to form own law firm” via Florida Politics – Crump, a civil-rights attorney who has represented the families of Martin Lee Anderson and Trayvon Martin, Wednesday announced he’s leaving longtime friend and law partner Daryl Parks and teaming up with Orlando mega-lawyer John Morgan to open “Ben Crump Law.” The new firm “will focus on civil rights, employment law, personal injury, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases, as well as mass torts and class actions,” a press release said … “Ben Crump Law has established an affiliation with the Morgan & Morgan law firm to create linkages with some of the top lawyers in the country, allowing the firm to handle cases anywhere in the country as part of the Ben Crump Law network.”
“Personnel note: Jeffrey P. Brosco names Deputy Secretary at Health” via Florida Politics – The department on Tuesday announced that Brosco, an M.D. and Ph.D, will become Deputy Secretary for Children’s Medical Services (CMS). He’ll oversee the Division of Children’s Medical Services, the Office of the CMS Managed Care Plan and Specialty Programs, and CMS area offices. “Dr. Brosco brings over 30 years of experience in the organization of health care services for children with special needs, practical experience as a clinician and administrator as well as leadership experience at the state and national levels which makes him ideally suited to lead this division,” said Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip. Dr. Brosco currently serves as the Maternal and Child Health statewide consultant for CMS, is professor of clinical pediatrics at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine (UM), and served as a regional medical director for CMS from 2012-2015. Brosco replaces Dr. John Curran, who is retiring.
New and renewed lobby registrations: Paul Bradshaw, Jerry Lee McDaniel, Southern Strategy Group: Atkins North America, Inc.
— ALOE —
Assignment editors: First Lady Ann Scott will conclude her “2017 Summer Literacy Adventure” at 10 a.m. at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, 16450 SE Federal Hwy in Hobe Sound. She is expected to read to students from the Tree Top Academy of Palm Beach.
“Gordon Ramsay cooks up unique Florida dish: Burmese python” via the Associated Press — Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay cooked up a unique dish while filming in Florida: Burmese python. Ramsay joined Kyle Penniston of Miami on July 15 to hunt invasive pythons in the Everglades for an upcoming episode of his competitive-cooking television variety show “The F Word with Gordon Ramsay.“ Penniston hunts pythons for the South Florida Water Management District, the state agency that oversees Everglades restoration. Researchers say pythons are decimating populations of native mammals that live in the vast wetlands. According to a statement Tuesday from the district, Ramsay and his son, Jack, helped Penniston kill three pythons in western Miami-Dade County.
“Airbnb may host 100 million guests this year, as it aims for business travelers” via Riley McDermid of the Tampa Bay Business Journal – Airbnb has a brand awareness that is about as high as major hotel and travel chains like Marriott and Expedia, with Google Search trends now almost on par with those bigger brands, Recode reports. Airbnb hosted around 80 million guests in 2016, meaning 20 million more people will have stayed with the San Francisco company this year than the year prior. Still, Airbnb’s efforts to add higher-end services for premium customers, coupled with a more focused approach to business travelers, gives it several areas for major growth heading into 2018. The home sharing site is currently valued at $31 billion, a fraction of the $550 billion global hotel industry’s worth, but it is gaining ground. While half of guests who booked with Airbnb in 2016 used it instead of staying in a hotel, there is plenty of business travel left for Airbnb capture.
What Jeff Brandes is reading – “Fully autonomous cars will cost hundreds of thousands” via Steve LeVine of Axios – The first generation of truly autonomous cars — in which you can safely doze off through city and highway driving, and never have to touch the wheel — may cost $300,000 to $400,000 … In other words, you and I are highly unlikely ever to own a car that takes us anywhere we want to go while we read the newspaper, according to Austin Russell, CEO of Luminar, a Silicon Valley startup that’s developing a Lidar visual system for self-driving. The reason: The expense of Lidar and other sophisticated sensing devices required to make autonomous cars safe around unpredictable humans. Russell said such technology doesn’t currently exist, but that when it does, it will be almost the exclusive preserve of ride-hailing fleet owners such as GM, Lyft and Uber. “People think that they’ll go and buy and autonomous cars. That’s not going to reflect reality,” Russell tells Axios.
Happy birthday Rep. Richard Stark.
