Peter Schorsch
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Enterprise Florida CEO Pete Antonacci was tapped for the job only this July, but he’s now consumed with his latest challenge: Seeing that Florida snags the second headquarters for Amazon, the massive online retailer.
“Amazon HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America,” the company says on its website, where it asks for applications from economic development organizations. The original headquarters is in Seattle.
“We expect to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs – it will be a full equal to our current campus in Seattle,” Amazon says, adding that HQ2 is ”expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community.”
The competition will be tough: Philadelphia, Dallas and San Francisco are just a few of the big cities seeking to be Amazon’s next home. In Florida, Orlando, Miami and other metro areas have expressed interest.
“The good thing is the company agreed to postpone our application deadline for another week,” Antonacci said, referring to the lingering recovery from Hurricane Irma.
He spoke to Florida Politics after giving a presentation on the governor’s constitutional authority to a committee of the Constitution Revision Commission.
“The communities that are interested are working to put their (own) projects together,” he said. “We’re going to submit a state application that has a number of components,” focusing on the benefits of the various communities.
“It’s an indication that the state stands behind the (local) applications,” Antonacci added. “If they happen to choose one or two to go to the next level, we will participate in pushing those applications to the end.”
Evening Reads
“Trump: We’re getting ‘really good marks’ for Puerto Rico response” via Louis Nelson of POLITICO
“FEMA chief: Puerto Rico relief is an unprecedented challenge” via Dave Lawler of Axios
“Rubio to White House: Avoid ‘Katrina-style’ disaster in Puerto Rico” via Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida
“What Maria taught me about the people of Puerto Rico” via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald
“Bryan Koon quits as state emergency management head” via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
“Gwen Graham wants Florida to sue Big Pharma ‘for fueling opioid crisis’” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times
“Chris King talks big ideas with FSU students” via James Call of the Tallahassee Democrat
“Twitter could soon expand to 280-character limits” via Tom Huddleston of Fortune
Quote of the Day
“I’m like everybody else. You get lots of voicemails and I go through the process. We have a process. If you send me, if you give me a voicemail, somebody will look at the voicemail, send it to the right agency, somebody calls them back. That’s exactly what we did in this case.” —Gov. Rick Scott, in an interview with Miami’s WSVN, on the deletion of voicemails on his cell phone from a nursing home where 11 residents now have died after losing air conditioning during Hurricane Irma.
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Breakthrough Insights
Wake Up Early
Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and state Rep. Robert Asencio, both Democrats, say they are chartering a cargo plane to deliver “over 7,000 pounds of needed supplies” to Puerto Rico. A press conference will be held before they depart for San Juan, the capital. That’s at 8:15 a.m., Opa Locka Airport, Orion Jet Center, 15000 NW 44 Ave., Opa-Locka.
The LeRoy Collins Institute will host a “Separate is Not Equal” conference on its latest research analyzing the state of “racial and socioeconomic segregation in Florida public schools.” It’s 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Turnbull Conference Center, Florida State University, 555 W. Pensacola St., Tallahassee. A livestream will be available here.
The Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Board of Directors will hold a conference call to discuss Hurricane Irma. That’s at 9 a.m. The call-in number is (888) 942-8686, and the participant code is 5743735657#.
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam will be among the speakers at the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Future of Florida Forum. It’s 11:30 a.m., JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, 4040 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando.
Orlando attorney and entrepreneur John Morgan, who led efforts last year to pass a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana, is slated to speak to the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club. The events starts at noon, St. Petersburg Yacht Club, 11 Central Ave., St. Petersburg.
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission continues meeting in committee this week in Tallahassee. For Wednesday:
— The Declaration of Rights Committee meets at 1 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building, the Capitol.
— The Finance and Taxation Committee meets at 2 p.m., 301 Senate Office Building, the Capitol.
The Gulf Consortium Board of Directors, which works on issues related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, is scheduled to meet. It’s at 2 p.m., Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista South, 4955 Kyngs Heath Road, Kissimmee.
