Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
During a Wednesday news conference at Universal Studios, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida is ready to enter Phase Two of reopening.
Starting Friday, bars, pubs, casinos, movie theaters, auditoriums, bowling alleys, arcades, tanning salons and tattoo parlors join the list of businesses allowed to reopen after shutting their doors in mid-March.
“Those have not been operating up to this point,” DeSantis said. “They now have a pathway to do that.”
DeSantis cautioned, “it’s really, really important to continue to avoid crowds and continue to limit the risk of exposure.”
To that end, the rules mirror those applied to Phase One businesses. Capacity will be capped at 50% and businesses must enforce social distancing guidelines and be diligent about cleaning surfaces. Additionally, bars and pubs may only serve seated patrons, and casinos must have specific plans OK’d by local officials and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation before they may open.
Just as in Phase One, the next step applies to 64 counties — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach must wait, though county mayors or administrators may petition the Governor for permission.
Still, next week it’ll once again be possible to enjoy Florida Politics’ “digest of the day’s politics and policy while the bartender refreshes your drink.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 57,293 FL residents (+1,292 since Tuesday)
— 1,471 Non-FL residents (+25 since Tuesday)
Origin:
— 2,141 Travel related
— 27,090 Contact with a confirmed case
— 2,055 Both
— 26,007 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 10,525 in FL
Deaths:
— 2,566 in FL
Unemployment numbers
As of Tuesday:
Total claims: 2,298,179
— Confirmed unique claims: 2,069,967
— Claim verification queue: 244,030
— Claims processed: 1,825,937
— Claims paid: 1,188,782 (+9,460 since Monday)
Total paid out: $4.1 billion (+$30 million since Monday)
Evening Reads
“The dystopian Lincoln Memorial photo raises a grim question: Will they protect us, or will they shoot us?” via Philip Kennicott of The Washington Post
“In rare break, some Republicans reject Donald Trump’s harsh response to unrest” via Carl Hulse and Emily Cochrane of The New York Times
“Looting is second blow for reeling businesses, especially in minority neighborhoods” via Scott Calvert and Ruth Simon of The Wall Street Journal
“Attorney General Keith Ellison upgrade charges against officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck; charged other 3 involved” via Stephen Montemayor and Chao Xiong of the Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Athletes, it took shared outrage over Floyd’s death to wake up white America” via Greg Cote of the Miami Herald
“A cloistered culture in the nation’s federal prisons leads to infections and deaths” via Laura Cassels of the Florida Phoenix
“Val Demings on Floyd, protests, police, and ‘the ghost in the room’” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“Demings is a former cop. Does that help or hurt her in the veepstakes?” via Allison Stevens of the Florida Phoenix
“Ron DeSantis: Phase Two reopening starts Friday” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“‘Are you kidding me?’: DeSantis sounds off on Floyd’s death” via Lawrence Mower and Alex Daugherty of the Tampa Bay Times
“Downtown Orlando now under 8 p.m. curfew after another night of conflict between protesters, police” via Monivette Cordeiro and Jeff Weiner of the Orlando Sentinel
“Democrats, not Republicans, look to remove Kim Daniels from House” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“NBA presents players with plan for season restart” via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press
“‘All in’: DeSantis ready for NBA at Disney” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“MLB rejects 114-game plan, tells union no counter” via Ronald Blum of The Associated Press
Quote of the Day
“When I saw the video of that cop murdering George Floyd, I was just absolutely appalled by what I saw, but I immediately asked folks at FDLE and others, ‘How in the hell could you get away with even doing that tactic? And sure enough, [in the] state of Florida, you do not put a knee on a neck like that.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the killing that has sparked national outrage.
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