Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The unemployment debacle continues.
As of Sunday, a little over 40,000 Floridians who have applied for unemployment in the last month are receiving checks — or about 6% of the more than 650,000 “confirmed unique claims” filed with the state.
That’s a small step forward from last week when just 4% of jobless claims had been OK’d.
The Department of Economic Opportunity also launched a “dashboard” to provide updates on the unemployment backlog. The initial data: 1.5 million claims submitted, 650,000 unique claims, 162,000 claims processed, and 40,000 claims paid.
DEO also said it has sent 23,801 federal unemployment checks to Floridians who qualified for enhanced benefits under the CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress.
The package supplements the state’s weekly unemployment benefits payout by $600. Florida’s maximum payout is $275 a week.
The status update comes shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis removed the unemployment system from Department of Economic Opportunity head Ken Lawson’s control and put Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter in charge.
The past month has been marked by technical failures in the state’s unemployment applications website, CONNECT. The platform was designed to handle as many as 20,000 simultaneous users, a capacity that was routinely exceeded after coronavirus-related business closures cost many Floridians their jobs.
As it works to boost server capacity, the state has allowed jobless Floridians to fill out paper applications and send them in by mail.
The state paid Deloitte $77 million to develop the website — $17 million more than it has paid in unemployment benefits over the past month, according to the DEO dashboard.
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The hits keep coming for Florida’s agriculture industry.
A new report produced by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shows total crop losses throughout the state may already hit $522.5 million this year.
The massive losses aren’t being pinned on greening, fungus or other blight. COVID-19 is the culprit.
Restaurants were among the earliest casualties of the global pandemic’s economic devastation. With dining rooms closed statewide, many of farmers’ most consistent buyers have either stopped ordering or scaled back commensurate with takeout and delivery volume.
“As COVID-19 continues to upend our economy, access to a safe, healthy, secure domestic food supply is critical. That depends on our farmers, who are facing significant crop losses and unprecedented market challenges,” Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said.
“With high-volume buyers like theme parks and cruise lines closed, as well as continued unfair foreign trade practices, Florida’s growers are facing over half a billion dollars in losses. These crop loss figures reported by growers are the tip of the iceberg — without quick access to meaningful federal assistance, many of Florida’s multi-generation agriculture businesses could be sunk.”
FDACS’ Florida Seasonal Crop COVID-19 Impact Assessment, based on figures reported by farmers, shows green beans alone account for a tenth of the losses. The pandemic has caused prices to crater from around $17 a box down to $7 — a 60% drop.
The price drop for zucchini and squash is among the highest, with their seasonal peak, unfortunately, coinciding with that of the new coronavirus. Prices have fallen from $28 a box down to $3. Losses are estimated at a combined $34 million.
Cabbage farmers stand to lose $24 million in crop value and pepper farmers $10 million. Cucumber farmers could lose everything — 100% of the 2020 crop may now be plowed under, resulting in a $38 million hit.
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 26,329 FL residents (+387 since 10 a.m. Monday)
— 729 Non-FL residents (+11 since 10 a.m. Monday)
Origin:
— 1,619 Travel related
— 7,456 Contact with a confirmed case
— 1,342 Both
— 15,912 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 4,000 in FL
Deaths:
— 823 in FL
Evening Reads
“Donald Trump invokes DPA for testing swabs, weeks after reported shortages” via Alice Miranda Ollstein of POLITICO
“Trump revs up for a state-by-state fight over coronavirus shutdowns” via Nancy Cook of POLITICO
“With no good answer for his lost month of coronavirus preparation, Trump snaps at another female reporter” via Amber Phillips of The Washington Post
“Reports suggest many have had coronavirus with no symptoms” via Marilyn Marchionne of The Associated Press
“Economy reopen task force told to work in ‘surgical’ fashion” via Antonio Fins of the Palm Beach Post
“Florida food stamps applications spike during pandemic” via Kylie McGivern of WFTS
“Jobless claims payments at 6%” via Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida
“Restaurant closings inflict collateral damage on Florida produce farmers” via Timothy Fanning of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“As Governor readies task force to reopen state, Florida Democrats say health experts should lead” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Mark Wilson, David Lawrence: A too-hidden key to a more rapid recovery” for Florida Politics
“Florida’s ‘distance learning’ proves challenging for parents, students” via Leslie Postal of the Orlando Sentinel
“FHSAA officially cancels the rest of the spring sports season” via Jon Santucci of TC Palm
“Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry defends reopening beaches” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Second nursing home in Pinellas reports flare-up of coronavirus, county says” via Caitlin Johnston and Mark Puente of the Tampa Bay Times
“‘Don’t ask for government permission’: Mike Hill mocks unemployed constituent” via Florida Politics
“Deepwater Horizon anniversary spurs call for ‘clean’ energy” via Jim Turner of the News Service of Florida
“Money sought from domestic violence foundation” via Dara Kam of the News Service of Florida
“Qualification week tests mettle of many a congressional campaign” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“‘Republican AOC’ Laura Loomer gains steam in congressional run” via Jon Levine of the New York Post
“Shevrin Jones: What it meant to moderate with VP Joe Biden” for Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“You had a lot of stuff being said in March about this virus, which is a serious pathogen, but I think it was really where people were legitimately just frightened to the dickens.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, claiming mass testing will assuage fears and allow the economy to reopen.
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