Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Crops aren’t waiting on coronavirus.
Since restaurant dining rooms closed, sales have slowed for Florida farms, leaving tons of veggies to rot.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has launched a new platform that will help curtail waste by helping farmers get their harvest into food banks and onto store shelves statewide.
The Keep Florida Growing webpage is a repository of agriculture information for the coronavirus era. The biggest piece is the Florida Farm To You commodities list, where farmers can list the produce they have on hand and their contact information.
The page also includes information on SBA loans, USDA assistance, and state emergency bridge loans, as well as state purchasing programs for agricultural commodities.
For consumers, the site features a U-pick farm locator and information on food assistance programs, such as “Summer BreakSpot” locations for school-age children and Emergency Food Assistance Program locations for low-income families.
“With COVID-19 deeply affecting not only Floridians but also agriculture, our state’s second-largest economic driver, we’re launching a new one-stop page to support consumers and our agriculture community,” Fried said.
“We’re bringing together Floridians and their food producers in one place to share state and federal resources, ways to buy and sell farm-fresh Florida products, and information on steps we’re taking to keep Florida growing.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 20,394 FL residents (+359 since 10 a.m. Monday)
— 625 Non-FL residents (+59 since 10 a.m. Monday)
Origin:
— 1,432 Travel related
— 4,566 Contact with a confirmed case
— 1,100 Both
— 13,296 Under investigation
Hospitalizations
— 2,841 in FL
Deaths
— 499 in FL
Evening Reads
“The virus should wake up the West” via John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge for Bloomberg
“Donald Trump retweets call to fire Anthony Fauci after the coronavirus expert says earlier measures ‘could have saved lives’” via Katie Shepherd of The Washington Post
“States still baffled over how to get coronavirus supplies from Trump” via Anita Kumar and Gavin Bade of POLITICO
“Sailor from USS Theodore Roosevelt dies of coronavirus” via Lara Seligman of POLITICO
“George Stephanopoulos tests positive for coronavirus” via Quint Forgey of POLITICO
“Gov. Ron DeSantis touted alcohol-free hand sanitizer not recommended by the CDC” via Kylie McGivern of ABC News
“‘Keep Florida growing’: Nikki Fried pushes to bring local food to Floridians” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Floridians should keep social distancing until a vaccine exists, Surgeon General says” via Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times
“Stephanie Murphy asks for federal probe of Florida’s unemployment system” via Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel
“Senate says new law scuttles Medicaid initiative” via Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida
“Jacksonville Mayor extends local state of emergency” via Florida Times-Union
“Everyone on exclusive Fisher Island, even the staff, can get tested for coronavirus” via Charles Rabin of the Miami Herald
“Judge rules against Walton beach property owners who sought exemption from closure order” via Tom McLaughlin for The Walton Sun
“Lee County deaths continue to climb as oldest residents feel brunt” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Disney World workers take aim at Florida’s jobless system” via Mike Schneider of The Associated Press
“Hospital group backs ventilator guidelines” via Christine Sexton of the News Service of Florida
“Bernie Sanders endorses Joe Biden for president” via Tucker Higgins of CNBC
“Poll finds Americans support mail-in voting for November” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“There’s no approved cure for COVID-19, but charlatans are trying to take advantage of folks who are desperate” via Lucy Morgan of the Florida Phoenix
“Workers sue McDonald’s over harassment at Florida stores” via The Associated Press
Quote of the Day
“A decrease in mortality rates for two consecutive days is welcome news definitely, but one that should be received with a lot of cautious optimism. While a decline in deaths is an important measure, an even more important benchmark is a wane in new transmissions.” — Ogbonnaya Omenka, a public health specialist at Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Bill Day’s Latest
Breakthrough Insights
