Peter Schorsch
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel McAuliffe, Jim Rosica, and Drew Wilson.
Let us sum up the essence of the Florida U.S. Senate debate between Bill Nelson and Rick Scott for the seat Nelson currently holds:
Blah, blah, and furthermore, blah.
Nelson believes Scott is a lying slimeball whose policies have savaged public education, health care, and the environment. We already knew that.
Scott believes Nelson is a do-nothing, accomplish-nothing political hack who exists to raise taxes because it’s fun to do so. Yep, knew that too.
OK, Florida … choose your candidate.
Did anyone learn anything about the hour Nelson and Scott spent telling a statewide Telemundo audience that the other is a horrible person and electing them would mean the end of life as we know it?
We doubt it.
Both men have been around long enough that we know where they’re coming from, so let’s cut the bull, shall we?
Scott is running on his record of job creation after two terms as Florida’s Governor. He is also running a campaign that shifts the blame for all the problems that environmental problems that cropped up during his reign (see Tide, Red) on Nelson because Washington didn’t act to keep dead fish from populating Florida’s shores.
Nelson whipped out the white glove and said, “We would call that a whopper because it’s totally disjointed from the truth.”
Ouch. That hurts.
In this political climate though, the truth is whatever anyone chooses to believe, so what I would sum it up like this:
Status quo was the runaway winner in this debate.
It was boring.
It was safe.
It was repetitive.
It lacked substance.
We doubt this debate got anyone excited. And what they are won’t excite anyone to do anything but what they were already going to do: vote against the other guy.
— TOP STORY —
“State Sen. Dorothy Hukill of Port Orange dies at age 72” via Mark Harper of the Daytona Beach News-Journal — Hukill, who served Volusia County in the Legislature for the past 14 years, died in hospice care, her son Jonathan announced on Facebook. Hukill, of Port Orange, last week announced she would be exiting a race for re-election to Florida Senate District 14. While her name will remain on ballots in Volusia and Brevard counties, the Republican Party will be allowed to nominate a candidate to run against Democrat Melissa “Mel” Martin, a former judge advocate in the Marine Corps. “Dorothy was many things. Before everything else, she put her family first,” Jonathan Hukill’s announcement states. “She was a faithful daughter, a loving wife and a caring mother. She also took great pride in her work, the work of improving the lives of people she cared about.”
— TWEET, TWEET —
With great sadness, we inform you our friend and colleague Senator Dorothy Hukill has passed away. The prayers of the entire Senate family are with Senator Hukill’s family and friends, and we join in their grief over this terrible loss. pic.twitter.com/nGKGiOmYov
— Florida Senate (@FLSenate) October 2, 2018
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@FLGovScott: My wife, @FLAnnScott, & I are saddened to hear the news about Sen. @DorothyHukill. I am grateful for her steadfast commitment to Florida & have been glad to work with her in Tallahassee. We are praying for comfort and peace for Dorothy & her family.
—@SenRubioPress: I am saddened to hear about the passing of State Senator Dorothy Hukill. I fondly remember the years I served with her in the Florida House of Representatives. Jeanette and I are praying for her family during this difficult time. She will be dearly missed.
—@JebBush: I’m praying for Senator Dorothy Hukill’s family today, and thankful for her many contributions to Florida throughout her lifetime of public service.
—@RonDeSantisFL: Dorothy Hukill was a great lady and tremendous public servant. Casey and I are saddened to hear of her passing and send our condolences to her family, friends and community.
—@AndrewGillum: Even during the heat of campaign season, we pause for a moment to remember Sen. Dorothy Hukill, who lost her battle with cancer today. May her family & community take strength from her many years of service.
—@JimmyPatronis: I’m saddened by the loss of Senator Dorothy Hukill, Florida is a better place by her service.
—@JoeNegronFL: The prayers of the entire Senate family are with Senator Hukill’s family and friends, and we join in their grief over this terrible loss.
—@BillGalvano: Dorothy was an amazingly charismatic and passionate person. I will always remember her quick wit and tremendous sense of humor. She was as fierce as she was loving. She demonstrated grace and beauty in suffering and maintained her fighting spirit until the very end.
—@LizbethKB: So heartbroken for the loss of our beloved @DorothyHukill She was the epitome of strength, courage, and determination both in her service to her community and in her fight against cancer. How fortunate we all were to serve alongside her and call her friend.
—@DanaYoungFL: The Florida Senate will not be the same without Sen. Dorothy Hukill. She was never afraid to ask tough questions and stand up for her constituents. Rest In Peace my friend.
—@ChrisSprowls: A smart lawyer, a tenacious legislator and a generous human being, Dorothy Hukill’s passion and wisdom will be much missed in the halls of the Capitol.
—@WillWeatherford: I am so sad to hear about Senator Dorothy Hukill’s passing. In 2004, as a young political staffer, I helped run her campaign … her first for the Florida House. She was an incredible public servant and I feel blessed to have known her and served with her!
—@FloridaGOP: Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of @DorothyHukill. She made a tremendous impact on our state and she will be missed.
—@FlaDems: Our prayers are with Senator Dorothy Hukill’s family and loved ones. Senator Hukill took pride in her work serving the people of Florida. We thank her for her years of dedication as an educator and a public servant.
—@FLChamber: We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Senator Dorothy Hukill. We will forever admire her strength and her commitment to doing what was right for all Floridians. Our deepest condolences to Sen. Hukill’s family and friends during this time of grief.
— LATEST TURNOUT FIGURES —
— DAYS UNTIL —
FSU vs. UM football game — 3; Voter registration deadline for General Election — 7; MLB World Series begins — 22; ‘Before You Vote’ Florida Governor debate — 22; Early voting begins — 27; Halloween — 28; General Election Day — 34; Florida Blue Florida Classic: FAMU vs. BCU — 45; 2019 Legislature Organization Session meetings — 48; Thanksgiving — 50; Black Friday — 51; Florida Chamber Insurance Summit — 55; ‘Hamilton’ comes to the Straz Center — 132; 2019 Legislative Session starts — 153; Captain Marvel release — 156; 2020 General Election — 762.
— DESANTIS VS. GILLUM —
“Brett Kavanaugh effect? Andrew Gillum clings to 1-point lead over Ron DeSantis” via Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida — Gillum‘s 1-point lead is well within the Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey’s error-margin of 3.5 percentage points, and it’s smaller than 10 other public polls of Florida’s governor’s race. All but one of the polls showed Gillum’s lead inside their error margin. Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker said the difference between his poll and other recent surveys is that his was taken from Sept. 24 through Sept. 27, the height of the confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh. “Monday through Thursday, there were lots of Kavanaugh fireworks,” said Coker, who conducted the survey for Leadership Florida, which hosts an Oct. 24 gubernatorial debate. “If you take the other polls, it could suggest Republicans might be more fired up than Democrats.” …”It’s going to be a close race,” Coker said. “I can say this as a blanket statement: It’s a turnout battle in Florida. It’s ground game, turn out your vote. Whoever has the more motivated base wins.”
“Democrats charge Republicans, DeSantis with exploiting Pulse victims in attack ad” via AG Gancarski of Florida Politics — Democrats are claiming that their counterparts went too far with one image in their latest spot: a Spanish-language salvo, “Miseria,” spotlighting Gillum’s ties to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and “the extreme left.” That image, asserts Democrats, means DeSantis should apologize, and the ad should be taken down. The ad continues the general election agitation on the right against the so-called socialism of the Democratic ticket (per the voice-over, “Andrew Gillum owes himself to Bernie Sanders. Gillum is financed by the extreme left and under a cloud of corruption.”)
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Red zone: Gillum draws hundreds to environmental discussion in conservative territory” via Danny McAuliffe of Florida Politics — Gillum rolled out his environmental plan on Tuesday, promising a series of changes to preserve the state’s natural resources and actions that he believes would curb issues currently in the fore, like harmful blue-green algal blooms and red tide. But in part, those changes are conditional. Floridians must send “a whole slate to the Cabinet, and our House and our Senate members all back to Tallahassee,” Gillum said during a waterfront news conference in Siesta Key, which has suffered toxic red tide fish kills this year. In the historically conservative Sarasota town, hundreds of Floridians showed up to listen.
Gillum ad highlights Florida’s environmental crisis — The 30-second spot, “Protection,” features images of devastation that pollution and gutting environmental protections inflicted on Florida’s waterways. The ad seeks to shed light on Florida’s alarming environmental crisis surrounding the toxic air and red tide and algae blooms on the coasts of Florida. In the ad, Gillum promises to protect the environment by taking back state government from special interests and big corporations, who value profit over the health and jobs of everyday Floridians.
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Americans for Prosperity Action hits ‘extreme’ Gillum in new ad buy” via Florida Politics — The Koch-backed political committee AFP-Action is launching a digital and direct-mail campaign attacking Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gillum over his “record and extreme agenda.” “Andrew Gillum’s agenda is too extreme for Florida,” said AFP-Action senior adviser Chris Hudson. “His plan for the economy? Raise taxes that hurt Florida businesses and families. His plan for health care? Take away your health insurance and cut access to Floridians on Medicaid by expanding a broken system. His plan for education? Destroy successful programs that give students a hand up in achieving their goals. We can’t afford Andrew Gillum.” AFP-Action did not include any of the direct mailers in its announcement, though it did link to the digital ad. The 30-second spot, titled “Andrew Gillum is too Extreme for Florida,” starts by saying “Florida is on the right track, good jobs and a strong economy,” before pivoting to hammer Gillum.
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Candidates reel in record amount of matching money” via Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida — Bolstered by small-dollar fundraising in the race for Governor, $6.08 million has been sent by the state to candidates this year … A little more than $400,000 was sent out on Friday to five candidates in the general election. Gillum’s latest check from the state was for $246,965, and DeSantis, the Republican nominee, received a check for $140,037. In 2010, the state doled out $6.065 million to 10 candidates in the controversial matching-funds program, which voters approved in 1998 with the intention of diminishing the importance of special-interest money.
Assignment editors — State Rep. Joe Geller and Aventura Vice Mayor Gladys Mezrahi will join supporters and volunteers to celebrate the opening of the Gillum campaign’s newest field office, 6 p.m., 17871 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura.
— SCOTT VS. NELSON —
“Faceoff: Bill Nelson and Rick Scott trade shots in first debate” via Ryan Nicol Florida Politics — Democratic U.S. Sen. Nelson and Scott met face-to-face Tuesday for the first debate in their U.S. Senate race. Both candidates came armed with clear-cut messages they hammered throughout the discussion. Scott accused Nelson of failing to get anything done during his long tenure in Washington. And Nelson repeatedly framed Scott’s statements as untrue, arguing the election is about integrity. The candidates met at the studios of Telemundo 51 in Miramar for the taping, which will air Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The debate was moderated by Jackie Nespral of NBC6 and Marilys Llanos of Telemundo 51.
To view key moments of the debate, click on the image below:
“The liar vs. the do-nothing: Florida’s first Senate debate gets mean” via Marc Caputo of POLITICO Florida — On immigration, gun control, Florida’s water pollution crisis, Cuba, health care policy and the Supreme Court nomination fight over Kavanaugh, the Republican governor and the Democratic incumbent agreed on virtually nothing during the hourlong Telemundo 51 debate. (The channel plans to broadcast the debate at 7 p.m. in Spanish translation. Select NBC stations will webcast it in English.) The first debate topic — immigration — set the tone. On almost every topic, Scott repeated the “do-nothing” refrain. “My opponent has had 40 years to do something on immigration and he’s absolutely done nothing. … It’s remarkable he’s been there when his parties controlled both chambers and the White House, and he did nothing. … All these problems are caused because Congress failed to act, failed to act, failed to act.”
“Senate debate: Scott’s misleading attack on Nelson over universal health coverage” via Alexandra Glorioso of POLITICO Florida — In their first Senate debate, Scott accused Nelson of not expanding health insurance for all Floridians when he was the state’s insurance commissioner in the 1990s — the same era Scott fought universal health coverage under the Clinton administration. Nelson was elected as the state’s treasurer, fire marshal and insurance commissioner in 1994. “We have to make sure that anybody can get health care insurance,” Scott, a Republican, said during the Telemundo 51 debate in Miramar. “My opponent had plenty of time to take care of that when he was insurance commissioner. [He] never did.” The state’s insurance commissioner regulates the industry, but health care is largely a federal issue because it’s so expensive. Since there was no federal law creating a funding mechanism to expand health coverage, Nelson would have had little ability to do so in Florida, especially since any such proposal would have required budget approval by the state Legislature.
First in Sunburn – New Republican PAC launches statewide TV ad, “Empty Suit Bill Nelson” via press release – “Bill Nelson came to Washington in the ’70s when loud color suits with big collars were hip. He began his unremarkable career of doing nothing. In the shoulder pad ’80s Bill Nelson did manage to raise taxes and cut Medicare. In 1990 Florida Trend asked if Bill Nelson was an empty suit on its cover. And in the 2000s the suit remains as empty as ever as Bill Nelson misses 45% of Senate Armed Service Committee hearings and even leaves hearings on the algae bloom early. Bill Nelson gets by as an empty suit by voting with the Democrat Party 89% of the time.”
Click on the link below to watch the ad.
— NOTES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —
“Florida spends $1 million on advertising for constitutional amendments” via Mike Vasilinda of the WJHG Capitol News Desk — From one end of Florida to the other, virtually every newspaper of record got a piece of a one million dollar ad buy from the state. The ads detail all 12 constitutional amendments on the November ballot. “Well there’s a real issue with people who’ve ever read those right?” questioned Dr. Carol Weissert, an FSU Political Scientist. The 12 amendments were so long that it took two pages to print everything in English, and another two full pages in Spanish. “It made a lot more sense when newspapers were read more frequently, but it makes sense these days to save that money and do something online to make it available,” Weissert added.
“Voters in Charge announces Miami-Dade leadership committee” via Florida Politics — The political committee behind the statewide “Yes on 3” constitutional amendment campaign on Tuesday said former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz will chair its Miami-Dade Committee. “Members of local leadership committees include community, business, law enforcement and religious leaders throughout the state who are committed to ensuring that Florida voters are put in charge of casino gambling decisions in Florida,” a news release said. Along with Diaz, Miami-Dade Committee members also include Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Tomas Regalado, former Mayor of Miami.
“Economist: Amendment 13 criticisms ‘incorrect, not supportable’ ” via Florida Politics — In a new report for backers of a proposed constitutional amendment on greyhound racing, economist and financial adviser Hank Fishkind says “claims that Amendment 13 would cause economic harm are incorrect and not supportable.” Carey Thiel asked Fishkind, a former University of Florida economics professor, to “review claims of economic damage” by the amendment from its opponents. Thiel leads GREY2K USA Worldwide, which supports a ban on betting on live dog racing. In Florida, live dog racing is still conducted at 11 tracks.
— MORE NOTES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —
Florida Democrats to expand with 40 new ‘winning ticket grassroots’ offices — The Florida Democratic Party continues to expand its statewide coordinated campaign, it will open 40 offices across the state. The office openings will kickoff Oct. 3 through the weekend with a full slate of Get Out the Vote grassroots activities. “Opening 40 offices in one week is a monumental feat and it is truly a team effort — with massive support from the entire Democratic Winning Ticket including Sen. Nelson, Mayor Gillum, our Cabinet nominees, state legislative candidates and Democrats running for local office across the state,” said FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo. “The Florida Democratic Party began our coordinated ground game in early May — the earliest ever in a midterm election — and our plan to open 40 new offices this week is the next step in our plan to turn Florida BLUE!”
“Mike Miller campaign revises TV commercial after complaint” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — The congressional campaign of Republican state Rep. Miller has revised the disclaimer at the end of a television commercial after a complaint was sent to the Federal Election Commission. The complaint made allegations of incomplete campaign disclosures within two ads from Miller’s campaign. Miller’s campaign responded by changing one of the ads and saying that the other listed in the complaint has run only on the internet and had the correct disclosure information for that platform. The television commercial “The Difference” … “lacked the written statement that Mike Miller approved the communication,” according to the FEC complaint from Victoria Barnes of Sanford.
“Kristin Carlson commits to $250K ad buy in CD 15” via Bill Rufty of Florida Politics — The massive ad buy is her first major ad campaign since winning the Democratic nomination in a three-way race in the August 28 primary. It will run over the major television network stations and cable stations covering the district for the next seven days and will not be the last, according to campaign manager Conor Hurley. Carlson’s work as an attorney for several associations in the citrus industry in education and children’s safety and seniors are the main elements of the current campaign ad, including her work in detecting and stopping the import into Florida of altered citrus juices. Political prognosticators had rated her race against Republican Rep. Ross Spano of Valrico first as “Likely Republican” and then “Lean Republican.” The Economist magazine released a predictive model showing that it now considers CD 15 a “Toss Up.”
“Vern Buchanan leads David Shapiro by 7 points in new CD 16 poll” via Florida Politics — The St. Pete Polls survey found Buchanan was the pick for just over 50 percent of likely voters in CD 16 while Shapiro earned a hair over 43 percent support. The remaining 6 percent said they were undecided, giving each candidate room to grow in the five weeks between now and Election Day. The new poll shows Buchanan much further ahead than internal numbers circulated by Team Shapiro a month ago that put the attorney within striking distance of flipping the Manatee and Sarasota-based seat. Still, the new measure shows the race is slightly tighter than it was in the summer, when St. Pete Polls found Buchanan with a 10-point edge, 44-34 percent.
“Shapiro releases new ad hitting Buchanan over health care vote” via Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times — “After taking millions from insurance companies, car salesman Vern Buchanan and Washington Republicans voted to give us less,” the narrator in the ad says over jangly guitar strumming. “Letting insurance companies deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, and drop people who get sick.” Republicans who voted for the AHCA, which would have cut Medicaid spending, repealed the Affordable Care Act and replaced it with a less robust system of government health care subsidies, have become the targets of frequent criticism from Democrats. Buchanan is no exception. Shapiro’s ad is one more piece of evidence that Democrats believe they have a winning issue in health care.
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Group pushing for lower drug prices will back Francis Rooney” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Patients For Affordable Drugs Action, a new nonpartisan super political action committee opened for this election cycle, said it is making a six-figure buy on broadcast and cable television advertising to encourage voters that Rooney is standing up for them by engaging in bipartisan efforts to lower drug prices. Rooney faces Democrat David Holden of Naples in the battle for Florida’s 19th Congressional District. “We want voters in Congressman Francis Rooney’s district to know that he is standing with patients for lower prescription drug prices,” David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs Action, stated in the news release. “He is the only Republican House member to support legislation to let Medicare negotiate for lower drug prices, and he backs important bipartisan legislation to speed cheaper generics to market.”
“New Brian Mast ad features ‘paying it forward’ for amputee cancer survivor” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — The 30-second spot is titled “Pay It Forward.” Robert Brown, who lost his leg in a cancer battle more than 30 years ago, tells the story of meeting Mast at a charity event, where Mast made the decision to pass one of his own prosthetics to Robert. Mast is a double amputee, caused by an improvised explosive device explosion while he was serving in Afghanistan. “I think about Brian Mast every single day,” Robert added. “His generosity has changed my life.”
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is outspending Carlos Curbelo on TV. Will it pay off?” via Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald — Mucarsel-Powell and her Democratic allies are spending around $1 million on bilingual television and radio advertising this week, a spending pace that’s been in place since mid-September. Though Mucarsel-Powell hasn’t been able to raise more money than Curbelo, one of the GOP’s best fundraisers, she’s outspending him. The aggressive pace is shifting momentum in one of the nation’s most-watched congressional races, in which Curbelo has seen his chances of reelection improve in the eyes of most prognosticators in recent weeks despite a national environment that favors Democrats. Mucarsel-Powell has peppered the airwaves with a biographical ad and an ad that touts Democrats’ efforts on health care in a district where more than 90,000 people are enrolled in the program. The Mucarsel-Powell campaign “went up [on TV] before the primary and they have not come down since then, and the campaign has no plan to decrease this communication,” the source familiar with media buying said. “This wasn’t an early ‘I’m going to throw all my dollars on the table and have nothing left’ strategy.”
“Mucarsel-Powell poll shows her ahead by a sliver” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — A survey commissioned by the Mucarsel-Powell campaign is echoing a recent polling trend, showing a tight contest in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. The poll, which was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research has Mucarsel-Powell, the Democratic candidate, earning 49 percent of the vote. Her opponent, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo earned 48 percent. Recent polls of the race have told a similar story. Late last month, a Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by Protect Our Care had Mucarsel-Powell ahead 46 percent to 45 percent. Another poll from The New York Times gave Curbelo a slight lead of 47 percent to 44 percent.
National GOP group ad blasts Mucarsel-Powell’s ‘shady characters’ — The 30-second ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee — “Shady Characters” — expands on CD 26 Democratic candidate Mucarsel-Powell’s “growing list of shady connections and dark money.” “Ukrainian oligarchs and scandal-prone congressmen are just a couple of the shady cronies financing Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s life and campaign,” said NRCC Communications Director Matt Gorman. “If she refuses to give back money from people accused of murder for hire plots and molesting teenagers, whose money won’t she take?”
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“For Democrats, flipping a Miami congressional seat is harder than they thought” via Patricia Mazzei of The New York Times — Donna Shalala, the health and human services secretary under President Bill Clinton and a former president of the University of Miami, had unmatched fundraising prowess and deep name recognition, and she was thought to be a shoo-in in a district whose voters, despite sending a Republican to Congress since 1989, have steadily trended more Democratic. Democrats have fretted for weeks that Shalala and party leaders in Washington overestimated her appeal and underestimated Republican Maria Elvira Salazar’s in a district where 57 percent of registered voters are Latino. Most of them are Cuban-American, as is Salazar, who is well-known from her years working for Telemundo, CNN En Español and a local station, MegaTV. Trump has solidified support among Cuban-American voters, who unlike many other Hispanics have historically tended to vote Republican, said Jim McLaughlin, Salazar’s pollster. “The Cubans are falling in like they used to in the past,” McLaughlin said. “And now these non-Cuban Hispanics, they’re saying even we like people like Gov. Rick Scott and Maria Elvira Salazar.”
— DOWN BALLOT —
“Bob Buckhorn stars in Janet Cruz TV ad” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics — The ad shows the two-term mayor in black and white, standing in a bare room. “My friend Janet Cruz embodies what it means to be a Tampanian. And as a daughter of immigrants, she has spent every day enhancing their legacy,” Buckhorn says. The 30-second spot goes on to describe a candidate who “will make sure our public schools are fully-funded, and without mold and crumbling infrastructure.” The Cruz campaign claims her opponent, incumbent Republican Dana Young, voted on or otherwise supported $1.3 billion in cuts to public education throughout her tenure in the legislature.
To view the ad, click on the image below:
“Justices give the boot to appeal over late campaign paperwork” via Florida Politics — A deadline is a deadline, the Florida Supreme Court said Tuesday. The justices rejected a law professor’s arguments that she should have been allowed on the ballot in a judicial election — even though she missed the deadline for filing her campaign paperwork. The court appeared to accept arguments raised by incumbent Clay County Judge Kristina Mobley that Lucy Ann Hoover’s case was unworthy of consideration. That’s because it didn’t affect a “class of constitutional or statewide officers,” but only Hoover herself.
— STATEWIDE —
“State says it is ready to address red tide in Atlantic” via the News Service of Florida — Florida has money and resources ready as red tide that has lingered along the Gulf Coast has been detected in Palm Beach County’s coastal waters, Gov. Scott’s office said. The announcement came after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found the toxic bacteria present in low-to-medium amounts in the Atlantic Ocean off Palm Beach County. “While red tide is nothing new to Florida, we won’t spare any resources to combat the current impacts and make sure that all of our communities quickly recover,” Scott said in a statement. The red-tide bloom is believed to have traveled in the natural currents from the Gulf. Red tide and algae blooms, which have impacted both coasts, have become a growing issue in this year’s elections. Since Scott issued an emergency order in August for red-tide impacts in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, state agencies have allocated more than $14 million to various projects, such as assisting small businesses, cleaning up dead fish, helping redfish restocking efforts and boosting tourism marketing.
“State seeks to stamp out marijuana license case” via Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida — The Florida Department of Health is asking an appeals court to block a lower-court judge from moving forward with a lawsuit in which a Martin County nursery argues it should receive a potentially lucrative medical-marijuana license. The department went to the 1st District Court of Appeal last week in the dispute, which stems from nursery Edward Miller & Son Inc. being denied a marijuana license — at least in part because the firm missed an application deadline by 27 minutes. Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers had scheduled a trial to start Oct. 8. But the appeals court issued an order that at least temporarily put the case on hold and gave Edward Miller & Son until Oct. 31 to respond to the state’s arguments that the lawsuit should be scuttled.
Assignment editors — The Florida Recycling Partnership, Anheuser-Busch and the Department of Environmental Protection are holding a summit to address the current state of recycling in Florida. The one-day event will begin with a news conference at Anheuser-Busch’s Metal Container Corporation, featuring state Sen. Rob Bradley, 12:30 p.m., 1110 Ellis Road North, Jacksonville.
— OPINIONS —
“Gillum is exactly the friend Israel needs in Tallahassee” via Allan Katz for the Tallahassee Democrat — While Andrew is a dynamic fresh face at a time when Florida needs one, he is also somewhat of a throwback. Jewish Americans of my generation are old enough to remember a time when African-Americans and Jews regularly spoke of a sense of deep connection between their histories of oppression and their struggles for freedom. Countless black religious leaders invoked the Jewish exodus from Egypt from the pulpit as they preached about the struggle of the 1950s and 1960s for racial equality. Like many Jews who came of age in the 1960s, I remember taking part in civil rights marches as I held my mother’s hand. Over a decade ago, I saw Andrew’s heart for myself –– and I know that in it lives a deep belief in the Jewish people, the state of Israel, and its right to defend itself. In Andrew Gillum, I see the same passion for social justice that I learned at those civil rights marches burning bright. This was part of the bond that drew us together, and it remains so today.
“Six broader insights from the Kavanaugh saga so far” via Tyler Cowen for Bloomberg News — I would like to consider last week’s Senate testimony from Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh. Stepping back from the most partisan elements of the day-to-day, I see the following as most noteworthy: Alcohol is an underrated factor … I am struck by how many of the accusations — from various women, not just Ford — suggest a role for alcohol in tales of abuse. Americans don’t care enough about other problems. There is an asymmetry between male and female perceptions … Most men are not abusers, yet very large numbers of women have been abused. So if a man is an abuser, there is a good chance he has abused a fair number of women. Our criminal justice system isn’t very good. The Democrats are in a fog … I would like to point out that the Democrats don’t seem to know what they are doing. This is how social change happens. This is not the end of the republic, but it is part of how we redefine what the republic stands for. For better or worse.
— MOVEMENTS —
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
William Brod Jr., Capitol Lobby Firm: Capitol Lobby Firm
Robert Cerra, Cerra Consulting Group: Foundation for Florida Gateway College
Andrew Kalel: Criminal Conflict & Civil Regional Counsel Region One
Chris Spencer, GrayRobinson: Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists
Alan Suskey, Suskey Consulting: Innocence Project
— ALOE —
“SeaWorld attendance continues to rise” via John Gregory of Orlando Rising — SeaWorld Orlando’s parent company says attendance at all its parks is up 9 percent so far in 2018, continuing the theme park chain’s comeback after years of seeing fewer guests pass through the turnstiles. The company released preliminary third quarter financial results as part of a potential debt refinancing deal. Through Sept. 30, total attendance at its 12 parks increased by 1.4 million guests, along with a $90 million estimated jump in total revenue. Attendance is up 10 percent and revenue up 9 percent compared to the third quarter of 2017, which was impacted by hurricanes causing temporary closures at SeaWorld-owned parks in Florida and Texas. If the preliminary results hold up, it will mark a third consecutive positive quarter for SeaWorld. Attendance at its theme parks increased by 15 percent year-over-year through the first three months of the year, followed by a 4.8 percent jump in the second quarter.
Happy birthday to INFLUENCE 100’er and Golden Rotunda winner — and great mom and wife — Tracy Mayernick. Also celebrating is state Sen. Travis Hutson.
