Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
State universities are keeping it virtual for the summer semester, but they hope to get students back on campus in the fall.
UF has proposed welcoming students back in waves, testing each of them, and separating out the infected. The university is confident if it starts with a clean bill of health, it can maintain it throughout the semester. Other state universities have pitched similar plans.
They have a powerful ally in their corner: Gov. Ron DeSantis.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends, DeSantis said he was confident universities would be ready to resume in-person classes for the 2020-21 academic year despite other states opting to scrub in-person classes through at least New Year’s.
Resuming classes could be pivotal in maintaining university finances. Though summer registrations are up for some schools, both in students, and the volume of credit hours, fall enrollment is trending downward.
If student bodies are significantly smaller next semester, universities — especially those that rely on tuition more than research funding — could face multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls.
DeSantis also argued that in-person education is imperative for producing positive educational outcomes in the university system.
“To have more distance learning is not the same at a university level,” he said. “We need to get the kids back on campus for sure.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases
— 42,038 FL residents (+802 since Wednesday)
— 1,172 Non-FL residents (+6 since DAY)
Origin:
— 1,929 Travel related
— 18,236 Contact with a confirmed case
— 1,787 Both
— 20,086 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 7,749 in FL
Deaths:
— 1,875 in FL
Unemployment numbers
As of Wednesday:
Total claims: 1,896,878
— Confirmed unique claims: 1,425,295
— Claim verification queue: 276,639
— Claims processed: 1,148,656
— Claims paid: 711,896 (+17946 since Tuesday)
Total paid out: $1.83 billion (+$60 million since Tuesday)
Evening Reads
“Ousted federal immunologist warns Congress of ‘darkest winter’” via The Associated Press
“Emails: Donald Trump nominee involved in shelving CDC virus guide” via Jason Dearen and Michael Biesecker of The Associated Press
“Marco Rubio in line to lead a high-profile Senate committee after Richard Burr resigns” via Alex Daugherty, Brian Murphy and Emma Dumain of the Miami Herald
“Another 3 million Americans filed for unemployment last week” via Courtenay Brown of Axios
“Whistleblower: U.S. still lacks virus plan; Americans at risk” via Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Richard Lardner of The Associated Press
“Coronavirus in Florida: See how the state’s economy is faring” via Malena Carollo of the Tampa Bay Times
“Unemployment: Florida numbers on the rise again” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“Another 100 prison inmates positive for COVID-19” via the News Service of Florida
“Gov. DeSantis: Florida ready for Phase Two reopening” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“DeSantis gives green light for Miami-Dade and Broward to reopen businesses Monday” via Doug Hanks and Aaron Leibowitz of the Miami Herald
“DeSantis says announcement about Florida gyms to be made Friday” via WESH 2 News Staff
“DeSantis wants university students on campus in the fall” via Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida
“DeSantis wants NFL football at college stadiums, including ‘The Swamp’ via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Welcome to Florida — the post-pandemic sports capital of the nation” via Mike Bianchi for the Orlando Sentinel
“Seminole Hard Rock’s Florida casinos could open late May or early June, chairman says” via Richard Danielson of the Tampa Bay Times
“Hurricane season may get an earlier start date, as May storms become common” via David Flesher of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“By not denouncing anti-Semitism, Marcie Adkins enables it” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics
“Pete Buttigieg PAC backs Christine Hunschofsky in HD 96” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Record low travel expected this Memorial Day” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“I’ve already spoken to some of our colleges, like the University of Florida. They have a great football stadium, the Swamp, that’s not used on Sundays. So, if an NFL team needs a place to land, we can work that out too.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on welcoming NFL teams to Florida.
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