Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 12.20.18

Colorful beach chairs on caribbean coast

Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.

By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel McAuliffe, Jim Rosica, and Drew Wilson.

A dear friend of mine, James Miller of the Florida Retail Federation (we were fraternity brothers at Florida State), messaged me  Wednesay afternoon. His brief words were so inspiring that, without his advance knowledge, I will share what he wrote.

“Not sure what you were doing one year ago today but I was finishing up my 13-hour surgery to remove my final tumor!” Jimmy wrote. “This cancer-free thing is pretty cool, and I might keep trying it out and see where it goes!”

Talk about perspective.

As we dash through the final days of the most wonderful time of the year, let’s keep Jimmy’s words in mind. We are all so blessed to be alive and kicking — right now — with a world of possibilities in front of us in the coming year.

As dark as politics may seem … as harsh as the world feels … never forget the incredible gift we have been given, every day, to be here, and hopefully with those we love and who love us.

Don’t wait until December 25 to shower gifts on your family. Don’t wait until the Christmas card arrives to call up an old friend. Don’t wait until that Silent Night to offer charity to those in need. Go. Today. Make today as special as any holiday.

We have all been given a gift greater than anyone that will be found under a tree.

—

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

Tweet of the day:

If your holiday travels bring you to Tallahassee this week, please stop by the Senate Chamber to see our beautiful Florida-grown Christmas tree. From the Senate family to yours, best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season! pic.twitter.com/DugqC6DNtq

— Florida Senate (@FLSenate) December 19, 2018

—@MarcoRubio: Border wall alone won’t stop illegal immigration, but democrat objection to wall is irrational. Why are sensors & cameras ok but a wall immoral? What border security measures would they support? And what’s the point if you insist we release anyone caught entering illegally?

—@WmPatFL: There’s a lot less of a Dem/Repub divide than there is a feverish hate Trump/like Trump divide. Welcome to post-partisan America.

—@Scott_Maxwell: Give the Kochs credit for pushing criminal justice reform. But also, give blistering blame to politicians who ignored research and calls for reform for years and years … until their political sugar-daddies gave them marching orders and threats.

—@Ryan_Tyson: Race had nothing to do with this (Brenda Snipes‘ suspension). Incompetence did. If the prevailing wisdom on the left is that this narrative is a good idea for them, then I suggest diving into the 2016 & 2018 precinct-level data a bit deeper …

— DAYS UNTIL —

116th Congress convenes — 14; College Football National Championship — 18; Florida’s gubernatorial inauguration — 19; Scott Maddox trial begins — 25; Office of Insurance Regulation’s OIR Summit begins — 26; Super Bowl LIII — 45; ‘Hamilton’ comes to the Straz Center — 54; 2019 Legislative Session starts — 75; Tampa mayoral election — 75; ‘Captain Marvel’ release — 78; Iowa Caucuses — 410; 2020 General Election — 684.

— TOP STORY —

“Jimmy Patronis seeking Groveland Four pardons” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Patronis is sending a letter to the Florida Office of Executive Clemency, invoking Rule 17, which allows any member of the Florida Cabinet to place a case “of exceptional merit” on the upcoming agenda of the Florida Executive Clemency Board, which is made up of the Governor and other Cabinet members. It’s unclear whether that would present the case of the Groveland Four to the current Cabinet, led by Gov. Rick Scott, or the next, led by Governor-elect Ron DeSantis. For such pardons to be granted, they require yes votes from two board members plus the governor. Neither Scott nor DeSantis has publicly taken a position on the pardons. Moody has indicated she is interested in taking up the case. “The time to do the right thing is now,” Patronis said. “I’m ready to put it on the agenda and have it heard.” Patronis’ letter also instructs the Office of Executive Clemency to begin conducting their clemency report immediately.

>>>Ag. Commish-elect Nikki Fried‘s response: “I appreciate Chief Financial Officer Patronis’ timely action on this important issue that has been ignored for far too long. The time for justice has come — the Groveland Four and the families deserve for this to be considered and for the past injustices to be recognized and condemned.”

— TRANSITION —

“Ron DeSantis economic transition board encouraging capital access in minority communities” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Ensuring Florida’s economic growth benefits minority communities and those impacted by generational poverty must be a focus DeSantis, according to former Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford. That will involve boosting education opportunities in all communities and finding innovative ways to increase access to capital for Sunshine State residents, he said. The issue became a focus of the last meeting for the Transition Advisory on the Economy, which Weatherford chairs. Data shows that while minorities make up nearly 46 percent of Florida population according, less than 1 million of 2.5 million businesses based in Florida are minority-owned. And many minority-owned businesses don’t see near the same level of commerce, with black-owned businesses in Florida making 43 cents on the dollar compared to those owned by whites. There are obstacles to growth for minority-run firms as well.

“DeSantis health panel explores ’empowering patients‘” via Florida Politics — DeSantis’ Transition Advisory Committee on Health and Wellness conferred via phone Wednesday in its second of three meetings … Lt. Governor-elect Jeanette Nuñez, the co-chair of the committee, promised a discussion of “empowering patients and expanding provider reach” … Florida is 30th in primary care physicians per capita, a crisis accentuated when we consider the high consumption of health care among the older cohort, and a third of its primary-care physicians over the age of 60 … the DeSantis Administration looks likely to explore how the government can “get out of the way” in the health care space, to quote the next Lt.-Gov.

“DeSantis panel says health innovation needed” via Christine Sexton of the News Service of Florida — Health care executive Alan Levine, who is helping lead a committee set up by the DeSantis transition team to examine health care, said the state should consider creating an incubator that would help link research at the state’s universities with the buying power of Florida’s $26 billion Medicaid program. Medicaid is overseen by the Agency for Health Care Administration, which will be directly under the control of the incoming governor. Levine is a former Agency for Health Care Administration secretary who also sits on the state university system’s Board of Governors. “This is a great evolutionary opportunity for AHCA to expand its role into innovation,” Levine said. “Maybe it’s a public-private partnership where there is investment funds and ideas brought forward whether they are universities or private entrepreneurs. … AHCA’s in a position to be able to help deploy some of those ideas.”

“DeSantis’ education committee talks challenges of K-12 spending campaign promise, teacher pay” via Emily Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times — DeSantis’ transition committee on education met to discuss how the state could begin to implement his campaign proposal that 80 percent of all education funding be directed “into the classroom.” The short answer: it’s not going to be simple. Many committee members said the first step is to define what “classroom spending” would actually include. “We’ve missed the mark oftentimes in the execution phase in how we define, and I’m using air quotes, ‘instruction’ and ‘classroom’ … to make sure we don’t devalue things like school security, the arts, etc.,” said Desmond Blackburn, the CEO of a national nonprofit called New Teacher Center and a former Brevard County superintendent. Many on the committee were on board with the current system of performance-based bonuses for teachers, though several members wrangled with the many different factors to include in measuring how effective a teacher truly is.

—“Directing 80 percent of education funding to classrooms is ‘pretty tough goal’ for DeSantis transition” via Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida

“DeSantis hires lawyer with major role in Obamacare suit to counsel administration” via Emily Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times — Joe Jacquot, a former Florida chief deputy attorney general, will be working as a chief legal adviser to the office of the general counsel. That means he’ll be providing DeSantis and the cabinet with legal advice and likely representing him if DeSantis is sued in his official capacity. Jacquot played a major role in Florida’s first suit (along with 25 other states) against the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” and is listed high-up as a special counsel to Attorney General Pam Bondi on legal documents from 2011. Jacquot helped then-state Attorney General Bill McCollum complete the crucial, early research in 2011 to initiate the lawsuit — deciding that it would be based on a challenge to the individual mandate, and that it should be filed through the Federal District Court in Pensacola. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually heard that suit in 2012, which upheld Obamacare for the time being.

Assignment editors — Nuñez will join Amigos For Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect, for its 27th annual holiday toy drive, 10 a.m., Shenandoah Elementary School, 1023 SW 21st Ave., Miami.

Happening today — The DeSantis Transition Advisory Committee on Public Safety will meet at 1 p.m., in Tallahassee. The meeting location will be provided at DeSantisTransition.com.

— ROAD TO SESSION —

“Rob Bradley on the budget: Health care ‘efficiencies,’ healthy reserves” via Florida Politics — On Tuesday in Green Cove Springs, Senate Appropriations Chair Bradley made a case for conservative budgeting, including cuts. Bradley spotlighted “health care costs, to make sure not only are we providing the necessary health care services to those who are entitled to receive them through certain programs, but that it’s done in the most efficient way possible” … Long story short: There will be no appetite for big spending boosts this Legislative Session. House budget chair Travis Cummings, an Orange Park Republican, is similarly cautious with spending.

“Jamie Grant vows he won’t obstruct or delay felon voting rights amendment” via William March of the Tampa Bay Times — “My intent is that we will not have the kind of mess we had with medical marijuana,” Grant said, referring to delays and litigation that followed voter passage of the amendment legalizing weed as medicine, and a controversial implementing bill passed by the Legislature. Grant will be chairman of the House criminal justice subcommittee, which will handle House Amendment 4 legislation. Grant said he thinks an implementing bill may be needed, but not to delay or obstruct — possibly to spell out which offenders are covered, or even which rights are restored. The amendment restores only voting rights, not rights to run for office, serve on a jury or own a gun. “Maybe we shouldn’t be selecting which rights they get back,” he said.

“Lawmakers seek silent alarms for schools” via the News Service of Florida — Silent “panic” alarms for emergencies would be required to link public-school buildings to local law-enforcement agencies under a Senate measure. Sen. Lauren Book called her proposal (SB 174) “Alyssa’s Law,” after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old student who was one of the 17 people killed in the February mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The proposal would require each building on public elementary, middle or high school campuses to be equipped with at least one panic alarm for use in non-fire evacuations, lockdowns or active shooter situations.

“Kristin Jacobs files bill to create compensation fund for Parkland victims” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Democratic state Rep. Jacobs wants to create a $110 million compensation fund for the victims of February’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in which 17 were killed. She filed legislation (HB 123) in the Florida House on Wednesday. The fund would be set up within the Department of Education. The department then would be directed to administer the funds, which would come from general revenue (GR), to settle any potential civil claims brought by survivors or victims’ families. Jacobs told Florida Politics she wants to avoid forcing victims to relive the trauma of the shooting to be compensated. “If you understand what they’re going to have to go through for years and years and years, continually living this tragedy, the process that the state currently has (is) antiquated, it’s harmful to the families, and ultimately, it doesn’t serve the state well either,” she said.

“Medical-marijuana ruling put on hold by appeals court” via Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida — An appeal court agreed to put on hold a circuit judge’s ruling that said Florida lawmakers and the state Department of Health had violated a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. The 1st District Court of Appeal delayed the ruling but also said consideration of the underlying issues in the case would be “expedited.” The Florida Department of Health went to the appeals court in October after Leon Circuit Judge Charles Dodson sided with the Tampa-based firm Florigrown in a battle about how the state is carrying out the constitutional amendment. Dodson found that a 2017 law was unconstitutional and issued a temporary injunction requiring state health officials to begin registering Florigrown and other medical-marijuana firms to do business.

“Top Florida GOP lawmakers hosting annual Mardi Gras fundraiser Feb. 9” via Florida Politics — Senate President Bill Galvano and House Speaker Jose Oliva will continue the tradition of holding a pre-Legislative Session fundraiser at Universal Studios in Orlando. The fundraiser is a joint venture of the GOP’s Senate Majority and House Majority funds, the main fundraising arms supporting Republican candidates in state legislative races. The all-day event coincides with the first day of Universal’s annual Mardi Gras celebration, which promises “springtime fun for everyone.” Festivities include a nightly parade, live music and plenty of Cajun food. The fundraiser kicks off at 8 a.m. with a VIP tour of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, followed by an 11:30 a.m. lunch and 5 p.m. dinner reception at City Walk. The fundraiser will conclude with a VIP viewing of Universal’s Mardi Gras Celebration Parade. Prospective attendees can put send their information to the fundraiser organizers online or contact Kelly Schmidt at 407-415-2879 or Tony Cortese at 850-294-3382.

Happening today — The Walton County legislative delegation — state Sen. George Gainer and Rep. Brad Drake — will meet in preparation for the 2019 Legislative Session, 9 a.m., Walton County Commission, 76 North Sixth St., DeFuniak Springs.

Happening today — The Washington County legislative delegation — state Sen.Gainer and Rep. Drake — meets in preparation for the 2019 Legislative Session, 11:45 a.m., 1331 South Blvd., Chipley.

Happening today — The Jackson County legislative delegation — state Sen. Gainer and Rep. Drake — will meet to prepare for the 2019 legislative session, 2:15 p.m., Jackson County School Board, 2903 Jefferson St., Marianna.

Happening today — The Bay County legislative delegation — state Sen. Gainer and Reps. Jay Trumbull and Drake — will meet to prepare for the 2019 Legislative Session, 5 p.m., Bay County Government Building, 840 West 11th St., Panama City.

Happening today — The Calhoun County legislative delegation — state Sen. Bill Montford and Rep. Halsey Beshears — will meet to prepare for the 2019 Legislative Session, 5 p.m., Calhoun County Commission boardroom, 20859 Central Ave., Blountstown.

— GILLUM’S MILLIONS —

No matter what you say about Andrew Gillum’s campaign — whether he targeted the right markets, struck the right tone — we can agree to disagree over things such as putting more money into field operations versus direct mail … network television versus digital, social media versus cable, or traditional radio over Pandora.

But here is one thing that NOBODY can argue: Never — EVER — take your foot off the gas, never — EVER — stop campaigning, never — EVER — leave significant resources in the bank unspent.

Nevertheless, according to the Division of Elections reports, Gillum’s political committee, “Forward Florida,” appears to have left $3 million just sitting there in the bank as of election night. And that balance is now up to $4 million, at least through the Nov. 30 reports.

Apparently, someone’s seeking to bankroll whatever’s next.

Of course, we don’t know yet about official campaign funds, since the most recently available reports only go through November 1. However, at that time, Gillum’s official campaign fund had about $2.3 million left, while DeSantis had approximately $1.8 million.

Contributors should be furious.

Now let’s revisit the above numbers with the knowledge that Gillum lost the gubernatorial race by only 33,000 votes.

Direct mail versus field? Network versus cable? Digital versus social media? It doesn’t matter.

Nobody should ever have that much left unspent, especially when losing by such thin margins.

— STATEWIDE —

“Florida added 2.5 million residents in past eight years” via The Associated Press — Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau show Florida had 21.3 million residents, as of last July. The Sunshine State has grown by 13.3 percent in the previous eight years, and Florida remains the nation’s third most populous state. Migration rather than births drove almost all of the growth. Over half of the new arrivals came from other parts of the United States and just under half came from abroad. Florida grew by more than 322,000 residents from July 2017 to July 2018.

“Leon County will register ex-cons to vote before next Legislative Session” via Danny McAuliffe of Florida Politics — Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley will begin implementing Amendment 4 in January, apparently circumventing DeSantis‘ desire to wait until after the upcoming Legislative Session. The measure, approved by voters in November, gives voting rights back to certain felons who’ve completed their sentences. DeSantis told the Palm Beach Post last week that Amendment 4 should not take effect until “implementing language” is passed by the Legislature and signed into law. But Earley’s office said the amendment takes effect on Jan. 8. “Earley will be registering new voters, including former convicted felons who are eligible to vote, at that time,” reads a news release from the Leon elections office.

“Supreme Court turns down FSU shooting appeal” via the News Service of Florida — The state Supreme Court will not take up an appeal by a former Florida State University student convicted of fatally shooting another student in 2011 during a fraternity party. The Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for declining to hear the appeal by former student Evan Wilhelm, 28, an inmate at Wakulla Correctional Institution. Wilhelm’s attorneys went to the Supreme Court after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected arguments raised by Wilhelm, including that he had received “ineffective assistance of counsel” in entering a no-contest plea and in sentencing. Wilhelm was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the death of Ashley Cowie, 20, of Orange Park, who was shot in the chest as Wilhelm played with a gun, according to the appeals court ruling.

“Florida seen as ‘one federal judge away from losing control’ of its prison system” via John Haughey of Florida Watchdog — With the U.S. Senate passing the First Step Act — the most sweeping federal criminal justice reform package adopted in decades — the time for talk by the Florida Legislature is over, warns Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Jeff Brandes. “We are one federal judge away from losing control of our own [Department of Corrections],” he told Watchdog.org. “A federal judge will have no problem spending the state’s money to fix this if the Legislature won’t.” “Tough on crime” laws imposed in the 1990s have increased Florida’s prison population by 29 percent in two decades. The state — with 96,313 inmates on July 1 — has the nation’s third-largest prison population. State corrections spending has increased correspondingly, up 60 percent in a decade, from $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion this year. During the in the 2019 Legislative Session, Brandes wants to address more than 100 mandatory minimums sentencing requirements in state law as one tactic to keep drug offenders, in particular, out of prison and reduce costs to taxpayers.

— LOCAL —

“Report: Duval faces $1.08 billion tab to renovate, replace schools” via Denise Amos of the Florida Times-Union — School Board members learned that because Duval County has some of the oldest buildings in the state, and due to state reductions and restrictions on money to maintain those buildings, the district must seek alternative ways to finance its facility needs. “When facilities are in disrepair, it impacts student behavior and achievement,” said Elizabeth Andersen, a School Board member who represents the Beaches. About 30 percent of Duval’s buildings, at least 56, are in poor or very poor condition or they need to be replaced, according to the study by Jacobs Engineers. School Board members mentioned a variety of ways to pay for it all — instituting impact fees, a sales tax or higher local tax rates — but they emphasized they are only in the beginning stages of discussion and there are many more steps to go before they can consider any of those options.

“Rick Singh office corrects error after being sued over Disney solar farm’s value” via Gabrielle Russon of the Orlando Sentinel — The land is being leased for the solar farm, which automatically triggered the system to lift the cap that prevents assessments from increasing more than 10 percent from the previous year, Singh spokeswoman Beth Watson said. Singh’s office hadn’t been aware of the tax assessment jump until Miami-based Origis Energy USA, one of the largest solar developers in the country, filed a lawsuit in Orange Circuit Court. The cap was reinstated, Watson said. It was not immediately clear the impact would be on Origis’ tax bill. The company, which paid $120,000 in taxes, had requested a refund for an unspecific amount. So far this 2018 tax year, the tax collector’s office has processed 418 corrections for about $3.35 million, a spokesman said.

“Bitter losses fuel GOP infighting in Seminole County” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — County GOP chair Kathryn Townsend faces criticism of toying with membership lists to retain power for herself at the expense of party unity. One countywide elected official has gone as far as offering the executive committee a $25,000 reward if Townsend’s unseated during this week’s leadership election. Meanwhile, one of her challengers for chair, Ramesh Gupta, says he’s faced racially charged insinuations about his religion and immigration status. Townsend, who dismissed as lies any suggestion her leadership led to losses for local Republican candidates, said her own efforts to bring order to an unruly party organization had inspired backlash. “I am the first chairman who has actually gone by the rules,” she said.

“Could world climate conference happen in Tampa Bay next year?” via Mitch Perry of Florida Phoenix — The 2019 global conference was scheduled to take place in Brazil, but the Brazilian government announced last month that it was backing out of its commitment to host the event, leading United Nations organizers to scramble for a new sight. In a letter addressed to Patricia Espinosa, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, Kathy Castor and Charlie Crist write that the Tampa Bay community is a “leading force” in the effort to combat climate change, referring to the fact that 26 local governments have signed on this year to the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition, an initiative designed to address sea level rise and other effects of climate change. “The Tampa Bay community is not only ready, willing and able to host the COP 25, but it is representative of the local communities around the world that are both most affected by the impacts of a warming planet and leading efforts to adapt to and mitigate global climate change,” the two write.

— D.C. MATTERS —

“Donald Trump’s vow to build a wall hits a dead end” via Lesley Clark, Andrea Drusch and Bryan Lowry of McClatchy DC — Trump insisted via Twitter: “One way or the other, we will win on the Wall!” His last best 2018 hope was to hold up funding part of the government until he got $5 billion for the project. But the votes for that sum, or for that matter much of anything involving progress on a wall, aren’t there. Congress is expected to end its year later this week by passing a stopgap budget that prevents a partial government shutdown Friday night. The president’s other options for massive wall funding are extreme long shots at best.

“Why Marco Rubio voted against a bipartisan criminal justice bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate” via Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times — Rubio was one of just 12 Senators to vote against the First Step Act … The bill, backed by the White House and a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, would retroactively reduce the disparity in prison sentences for people arrested for crack vs. cocaine, gives judges more discretion at sentencing and eases the so-called “three strike rule” so repeat offenders are guaranteed 25 years of prison, not life. Rubio vaguely said the bill “did not address serious concerns raised by local law enforcement, federal prosecutors and constituents in Florida about the sentencing reforms in this bill … As I’ve said before, reforms to our criminal justice system are needed because 95 percent of federal inmates will be released at some point. Preparing them to integrate into society and find meaningful work is in our best interests, but we must always err on the side of public safety.”

“What will happen to Florida’s supposed offshore drilling ban with Ryan Zinke gone?” via Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times — The Trump administration has yet to unveil a long-anticipated proposal to expand offshore drilling along the east coast, including the Gulf of Mexico, and off California and Alaska. A framework was expected by the end of the year, but the U.S. Department of the Interior wouldn’t say whether Zinke‘s departure alters that timeline. It means Zinke leaves without any official, written acknowledgment that what he said in January is actually department policy. Democrats and environmentalists say they have a reason for doubt. Just days after Zinke’s Tallahassee trip, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Interior Department agency that manages offshore leasing, said the secretary’s announcement was “not a formal action.”

— BLUE DOG PRAGMATISM —

For those who think U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy‘s ascendancy to leadership of the Democrats’ centrist “Blue Dog Coalition” is about rebranding, a profile in The Washington Post suggests otherwise.

Murphy is not rebranding; far from it. Rather, she hopes to change the Blue Dogs. Murphy downplays any policy differences within her party, hinting the difference is more about whether members want to espouse a partisan ideology or focus on attainable objectives and goals.

— “I certainly think that we do, considering the profiles of our membership. In addition to the fact that we are operating in a closely-held Congress on behalf of the American people who are desperate for pragmatic legislators who are just willing to get stuff done.”

— The Washington Post referred to the caucus as “Murphy’s Blue Dogs.”

— Murphy “is living proof that the Blue Dog Coalition has morphed into something its founders would struggle to recognize.”

Don’t mistake the Blue Dogs’ definition of fiscally-responsibility policy, at least from Murphy’s point of view, with conservative economics that sees tax cuts as a stimulus that then increases federal tax revenue, ultimately leading to federal fiscal health.

“What I’m talking about is having an honest conversation about revenue and outlays, and prioritizing what this country wants to invest in.”

— OPINIONS —

“The fall of Trump’s ‘persistently illegal’ charity started with $25,000 given to Pam Bondi” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel — Trump had agreed to shut down his charitable foundation for what the New York Attorney General called “persistently illegal conduct.” The A.G.’s office said it discovered “a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation” where Trump used the charity’s money for personal and political purposes. So what does all this have to do with Florida? A lot. Back in September of 2013, I noticed something wildly inappropriate — Bondi’s political committee had cashed a $25,000 campaign check from Trump. Now, Trump wasn’t much of a political figure back then — certainly not a candidate for the White House. But he was the target of a slew of accusations from people who said they’d been scammed by get-rich-quick seminars called “Trump University” and “Trump Institute.” Customers from Florida and New York said they’d paid thousands of dollars for programs that didn’t deliver what Trump promised — and they wanted their money back. Her office never formally pursued the claims. Prosecutors should never take money from people they’ve been asked to investigate. Yet Bondi did.

“For Democrats, Miami is hands-down best choice to host 2020 presidential convention” via this South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board — Miami Beach is back in the mix — with strong assists from Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami — to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Also in the running are Milwaukee and Houston. To become finalists, all three cities had to prove they had a minimum of 15,000 hotel rooms within a 20-minute drive of the main convention site for the July 13-17 event. The stakes are high, with a projected economic impact of $200 million. Come on, DNC. Can there be any doubt? Miami is hands-down the best choice. Nothing against Milwaukee or Houston, but Miami has sizzle. It draws the world’s eye. Its sexy backdrop would help capture the nation’s attention. Plus, Miami has the facilities, experience and bandwidth to host big events successfully. For proof, look no further than its successful record as a Super Bowl host.

“Why the Sun Herald is changing how it covers crime” via Blake Kaplan of the Sun Herald — We know crime stories are among the most popular content we can give our readers on our website and on social media. And, for us, more clicks lead to more advertising revenue and more exposure for the Sun Herald. But what is good for us may not be what is good for South Mississippi. We need to re-evaluate. For years, we posted pictures of people charged with felony crimes, and, again, it was a popular part of our website. But the mugshot stayed a part of people’s lives forever, whether they were convicted or not. Plenty of people have contacted us over the years to say they were cleared of the crime, but that mug shot has prevented them from getting jobs. It turns up in background searches. And the mug shot gallery did not really meet our core mission of our news organization, to inform and serve the people of South Mississippi with the news that affects their lives.

— MOVEMENTS —

“Circuit Judge Karen Gievers announces she’s leaving bench” via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics — Gievers, a Tallahassee-based circuit judge whose rulings often thwarted Gov. Scott and the GOP-controlled Legislature, has resigned. Her letter, dated Wednesday, was sent to Gov. Scott on the same day. Her resignation itself, however, isn’t effective till April 27, 2019, her 70th birthday … In the last year, Gievers ruled against lawmakers and the Republican Scott administration in striking down the state’s ban on smoking medical marijuana and ordering that Tampa strip club mogul Joe Redner can grow his own medicinal cannabis to make juice of it, to keep his lung cancer in remission. The state is appealing both decisions.

“Ethics complaint against Dana Young dismissed” via William March of the Tampa Bay Times — The complaint, by Milton Toro Marquez of Tampa, arose from a Times story about Democrat Janet Cruz‘s criticism of Young during her re-election campaign. Cruz unseated Young in the Nov. 6 election. The complaint alleged that in supporting bills to make it easier for craft breweries to retail their products, Young benefited companies her husband had invested in, which make canning and bottling equipment for small breweries. It also alleged that Young’s net worth since taking office had increased tenfold to $4.7 million, primarily because of her joint investment accounts with her husband. In a ruling Dec. 7, the commission found that even if the legislation Young sponsored helped the industry in general, there was no apparent connection between the bill and any benefit to the specific companies in which her husband invested.

New and renewed lobbying registrations:

David Childs, Jonathan Johnson, Hopping Green & Sams: Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District

Angela Drzewiecki, Peebles, Smith & Matthews: Florida Sheriffs Association

Mike Haridopolos, Dean Mead: Larkin Health Systems

Jerald Paul, Capitol Energy Florida: Sarasota Family YMCA, Vapor Technology Association

Richard Pinsky, Akerman: Baleária Caribbean

Sean Pittman, Jasmyne Henderson, Pittman Law Group: Northwest Florida State College

Joseph Salzverg, GrayRobinson: Cellebrite

Alex Villalobos, Florida Legislative Research: Pennekamp Law, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart and Shipley

— HAPPY HOLIDAYS —

“Barack Obama dons a Santa hat and hands out gifts in surprise visit to D.C. children’s hospital” via By Helena Andrews-Dyer of The Washington Post — With a fluffy red cap and a bulging bag slung over his shoulder, Obama delivered presents (and more than a few gasps) to the young patients at Children’s National hospital in Northwest Washington. First on Obama’s list was a group of patients 4 and up who were making snowflakes in one of the hospital’s playrooms. After the excitement died down, the former president handed out jigsaw puzzles (which were his grandmother’s favorite, he told the crowd), Hot Wheels sets, remote-control cars, and glittery nail polish, among other goodies collected by Obama and his staffers. Hey, the guy knows his audience. Obama Claus also dropped by individual patient rooms for one-on-one visits with children and their parents. He gifted one 12-year-old patient who was nervous about heading to high school next year a piece of advice: “Even the cool kids don’t have it all figured out.”

“Record number of people set to hit the road during the holiday season” via Ashley Halsey of The Washington Post — More than 102 million people, according to survey projections by INRIX and AAA, plan to drive 50 miles or more during the holiday season. Combined with those who expect to travel by other modes, more than one-third of the nation is headed out from home. This year INRIX, a traffic data firm, has forecast the very worst time for drivers to set out on the highways, and for the Washington region, that’s five days before Christmas, on Dec. 20, between 1:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. John Townsend, spokesman for AAA mid-Atlantic, said that a year ago the worst time to depart Washington was later in the afternoon, but he thinks people have wised up to their own bad timing.

But why? — “How to pull off a no-gifts Christmas” via Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post — Start 2019 with a commitment to get off the gift-giving train, at least until you’ve taken care of some important things like saving for retirement or building an emergency fund. (By the way, having a credit card “in case of an emergency” is not the same as having a rainy-day fund.) Now, if you’re going to do a no-gift Christmas, here are some rules you need to follow: Give people plenty of warning; You don’t need buy-in from everyone; Don’t spring your no-gift idea while you’re opening presents; Don’t overshare; Don’t tell people what do to with their money. A no-gift Christmas doesn’t have to mean you can’t be generous. Time is such a precious commodity, so spend more of it with the people you love. That’s a gift they can’t regift or take back to the store.

“Juicy present for citrus growers: Gift baskets of Florida oranges rebound after sour year” via Martin Comas of the Orlando Sentinel — Gift fruit production currently amounts to about 1 percent of the total fruit production in Florida. It’s estimated that 740,000 boxes of Florida citrus — including oranges, grapefruit and specialty fruit — will be used as gift fruit in 2018-19, a 22 percent increase from last season, according to the state Department of Citrus. Even so, that’s still far less than the 1.6 million boxes of gift fruit produced in 2014-15. This year, the Florida Gift Fruit Association estimates it will ship out about 300,000 gift cartons, a slight increase from last year. However, the association handled nearly double that number of gift cartons in 2008 and 1.6 million cartons in the 1987-88 season, when it had 100 members.

“Porch pirates stole a package from an engineer — so he created a trap using glitter and ‘fart spray’” via Amy Wang of The Washington Post — Mark Rober’s muse was a package thief. Two package thieves, to be exact, both of whom had made off with a delivery from his California porch one day in broad daylight, about seven months ago. Indignant, Rober — a former NASA engineer who runs a popular YouTube channel documenting his many quirky science experiments — started thinking about how he could apprehend the porch pirates. With the help of friends, Rober mocked up a design for his ideal trap: It would be disguised as a package — specifically, a cellophane-wrapped Apple HomePod box he knew would be “enticing” for any porch pirate. It would be GPS-enabled, so he could track its journey once it left his home perimeter. It would record video with embedded cellphones, no matter how the thief picked up the parcel. “Ultimately, when they opened the package, I wanted to celebrate their choice of profession with a cloud of glitter,” Rober said. To add insult to injury, Rober also built in a can of “fart spray,” programmed to spray after the glitter explosion was triggered.

To view Rober’s project, and the results, click on the image below:

“Accused of stealing Christmas wreath, man turns himself in” via Tim Swift of Local10.com — A spokesman for Hialeah Police Department detectives said Angel Hugo Soles Romaguera surrendered to police after he found out officers were looking for him. Police said he was caught in part because he put the stolen wreath on the front door of his own home, police said. Romaguera, 55, faces charges of burglary and petty theft. Rodriguez said a homeowner reported that man stole a Christmas wreath from a home in the early morning hours of Dec. 7. The family had a doorbell camera and filmed the theft.

— HAPPY BIRTHDAY —

Celebrating today is our great friend, Mr. St. Pete, Greg Holden. Also celebrating today are Kelly Skidmore and Jenn Stutler.