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DeSantis Applauded by Israelis for Tough Stance on AirBNB

May 28th, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

Governor Ron DeSantis received accolades in Israel for his showdown with AirBNB over its refusal to list houses on the disputed West Bank.

The company remains on the list of scrutinized companies, despite changing its policy more than a month ago.

AirBNB announced it would no longer list rentals on the disputed West Bank in late 2018.

On the campaign trail and then again as Governor, DeSantis took the company to task.

At the state’s second Cabinet meeting of the new administration in mid-January, AirBNB became the first American company to be placed on the list of scrutinized companies for its perceived anti-Jewish actions.

“What they have done is tied themselves in knots and you end up with a policy, which really only negatively impacts one group of people in the world,”
said DeSantis.

In Israel Tuesday, the Governor got high marks for his swift action.

“Your position and your activity changed the mind of the people in AirBNB and that’s really really appreciated,” said Yuhada Danon, Ariel University President.

Much like an honorary degree, Ariel University awarded the Governor a fellowship.
“Ron is a warrior. He understands the importance of Israel,” said Dr. Miriam Adelson with Ariel University.

AirBNB changed its policy in April, the Governor said they should be rewarded.

“I mean I never had it out for AirBNB. I never used AirBNB, but I always thought that they had a neat thing,” said DeSantis. “So when they reversed course and they’re not discriminating, you know we should not penalize a company that does the right thing.”

While its unclear if the Governor and Cabinet must take another vote to remove the company from the list of scrutinized companies, it won’t happen in Israel.

That’s because Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting will be strictly ceremonial.

Even the Governor is uncertain if he and Cabinet must take another vote to remove Air BNB from the scrutinized companies list, or if it will happen automatically.

AirBNB refused comment on the story, but in a statement AirBNB said it will continue listing properties on the West Bank, but will take no profits from the listings.

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Cannabis Director Expects First Florida Hemp Crop in 2020

May 28th, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Business leaders and entrepreneurs in the state’s capital city got an update on the roll out of a hemp industry from the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Director of Cannabis, Holly Bell.

Bell is optimistic a program will be in place by the end of the year.

Florida farmers, investors and entrepreneurs all have their eyes on hemp.

“It’s safer and it’s extremely durable too if you were to talk about clothing, infrastructure and building,” said Braden Ward, a senior at Florida Southern College.

Ward drove 3 hours to hear from Bell on how the hemp industry will look in Florida.

“What’s upcoming in the future for us to try and invest in, if that be the case,” said Ward.

The hemp bill passed in May will officially legalize hemp and its byproducts, like CBD, in Florida.

It’s expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry.

“Industrial hemp has 25,000 known uses today,” said Bell.

In addition to the numerous uses, supporters also hope hemp will become a supplemental crop for panhandle farmers hit hard by Hurricane Michael.

“They see it as, the best way for me to describe it as, a life line,” said Bell.

Governor Ron DeSantis still has to sign the hemp bill into law.

Once he does that, the Department of Agriculture will have to develop rules before the industry can truly get started.

Bell said the hemp industry will be a horizontal system, allowing people to get involved in any part of the process, unlike medical marijuana where license holders have to own everything from seed to sale.

She said it will ensure the industry open to everyone.

“From multi-million, billion dollar companies to a farmer with five acres,” said Bell.

Bell said she anticipates the state will see it first official harvest in 2020, but said it will be a multi year process for the industry and market to fully bloom.

Once the Governor signs the bill, the Department of Agriculture will begin gathering public input from around the state to help guide the rule making process.

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Suspended Okaloosa Superintendent Fights for Reinstatement

May 28th, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Suspended Okaloosa County School Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson made her last plea for reinstatement before a Senate Special Master Tuesday morning.

Jackson was suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis in January after special needs children in her district were reportedly abused by teachers.

The Governor’s attorneys said Jackson was aware of abuse and did not take action.

“One question is before the Florida Senate. Only one question and that question is should Mary Beth Jackson be removed or reinstated in her role as Superintendent. After all the facts and the evidence have been presented the answer to that question will be very clear. In order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the student of Okaloosa County School District she must be removed from office permanently,” said Nicholas Primrose, attorney for Governor’s Office

Jackson’s attorneys argued she took appropriate action in the instances of dealing with the abuse cases and that student performance in her district have significantly improved under her leadership.

The Special Master will provide a recommendation to the Senate to either uphold Jackson’s suspension or reinstate her.

The Senate will then make the final decision, but likely before committee meetings start in September.

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Florida Disaster Official to Receive Training From Israelis

May 28th, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

The State Department of Emergency Management signed an agreement with their Israeli counterpart to provide better training for the state, especially when it comes to improving response times on Tuesday.

The agreement, signed in Tel Aviv, could see Israeli disaster managers in Tallahassee in a week or two said DEM Director Jared Moskowitz.

“They’re gonna come down, we’re gonna have multiple working meetings, potentially, hopefully, training sessions,” said Moskowitz. “I also wanna hear what they’re going with artificial intelligence coming in the emergency management space, which is allowing them to do modeling, so they can predict what’s going to happen in an event so it can prepare for that and and respond quicker.”

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FIU to Partner With Israeli University to Study Anxiety

May 28th, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

Florida International University signed a five year agreement with Tel Aviv University to explore why children become anxious and how to avoid the negative consequences of that anxiety on Tuesday.

FIU President Mark Rosenberg says the two will share a $5 million grant.

“Our psychologists will identify new solutions for addressing child anxiety, new solutions for addressing depression, for reducing individuals who drop out, and in particular, they’re very concerned with child suicide, and they’re going to find a new way to treat the causes and conditions that lead to child depression,” said FIU President Mark Rosenberg. “So we’re very excited about it, 5 year study, $5 million National Institute of Mental Health, FIU and Tel Aviv University.”

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FGCU Partners with Israeli College to Grow Entrepreneurial Programs

May 28th, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

Florida Gulf Coast University signed an agreement with Tel Aviv University to cooperate on growing both schools entrepreneurial studies on Tuesday.

The plan will provide each school with greater opportunities for students to learn says FGCU’s Dr. Saundra Kauanui.

“I actually just finished talking to the professor who runs the program here, and we’re already setting up and talking about some exchange program,” said Kauanui. “So, I can see a lot of opportunity, also we do have opportunities for venture capital, one of the things we’ve not been able to do is venture capital seed funding for students and what’s interesting is it’s non-equity holding, so the kids get it as grants, the students get it as grants, and it gives them the opportunities to start their businesses.”

Kauanui says a significant number of student could benefit from the agreement.

“Our program’s got between our undergraduate and a team of our graduate students as well as our runway students we’ve probably got about 650-700 students now at minimum that potentially would be somebody who would be impacted by it,” said Kauanui. “I’m not sure what the size is of their entrepreneurship program, at the undergraduate level he’s just starting to develop an undergraduate degree program so I think we’ll be able to help them grow that.”

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Insurers Expect Lower Rates With AOB Reform Signed into Law

May 24th, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Florida homeowners may see their insurance rates go down now that the Governor has signed reforms to a common practice called assignment of benefits (AOB) into law.

The legislation was one of the most heavily lobbied bills of the 2019 session.

Homeowners can sign away their rights to sue their insurance company by signing an AOB.

Michael Peltier with Citizens Insurance said it’s commonly required by contractors for emergency repairs.

“Often times when an assignment of benefit is signed over, it’s kind of a panicky situation. There’s water coming out of the pipes in your house,” said Peltier.

Insurers have said abuse of the system resulted in rising insurance rates.

AOB’s gave contractors the same rights to have their attorneys’ fees paid for by insurance companies.

“And often times it can lead to an excessive amount of litigation, which really drives up rates for consumers at the end of the day,” said David Altmaier Florida Insurence Commissioner in February.

Under the new law, attorneys’ fees could be paid by the insurance company, the contractor or both.

It will depend on which provides the most good faith estimate for the cost of repairs.

“It provides incentives for both insurers and contractors and restoration companies to come to the table with reasonable offers of settlement,“ said Peltier.

The law also gives home owners at least 14 days to opt out of an AOB agreement and requires contractors to give insurers 10 days notice before filing suit.

“What we’ve seen in the past is a lot of the times, we’re getting notices for lawsuits even before we’ve had a chance to see the claim and I think that this bill will help to alleviate a lot of those issues,” said Peltier.

Citizen’s Property Insurance said prior to the new law they expected 3% of customers to see rate decreases, but now expect the number to be much higher.

Groups representing contractors are opposed to the new law.

They’ve argued it will make it easier for insurance companies to make lowball offers.

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Group Mourns First Execution Under New Governor

May 24th, 2019 by Jake Stofan

About a dozen anti-death penalty advocates held a memorial service at the state capitol for serial killer Bobby Long and his ten victims Friday.

Long was executed Thursday and was the first inmate executed under Governor Ron DeSantis.

Pastor Brant Copeland with First Presbyterian Church said he was disappointed to see the new Governor sign the death warrant.

“I am disappointed that Governor DeSantis has signed a warrant so soon after taking office, but I am hopeful that if we can sit down with Governor DeSantis and show him the evidence and appeal to his own humanity he might change his mind about signing future warrants,” said Copeland.

28 inmates were executed under former Governor Rick Scott, the most of any Governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

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Lawmakers Left $500 Million on the Table By Not Enforcing Internet Sales Tax

May 23rd, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

In the 2019 session, the Governor and Florida lawmakers passed on a chance to collect more than $500 million.

The funds are already owed to the state from sales taxes not paid from online purchases.

It is a number that will grow each year, but policymakers were concerned about the optics of collecting a tax people were ignoring.

Store fronts across Florida are closing, which retail experts blame on online sales taking their toll.

Floridians are already required to pay sales tax when making online purchases, but it’s voluntary and few pay.

“This is something that is vitally important to our members, basically for the survival of retail in Florida,” said James Miller with the Florida Retail Federation.

Miller said not collecting the tax is unfair to retailers and shoppers.

“These companies are using our roads. They’re using our infrastructure to ship their products inside of Florida, not paying for any of the infrastructure, any of the schools, anything that goes into making our state great,” said Miller. “They’re taking advantage of all those things that our instate retailers are paying for.”

The fear from Governor’s Office was that if it looked like a new tax, even though it isn’t, it would be perceived as one.

Sponsor Senator Joe Gruters said fellow lawmakers are worried about the potential mailers that could show up in mailboxes next election.

“In a lot of peoples eyes, I think, they thought it was a tax increase and I just couldn’t convince people that it wasn’t a tax increase. In fact it was a tax already owed,” said Gruters.

Initially, there were efforts to offset the increased revenue by giving bigger tax cuts, but the idea fizzled.

“Next year I’ll file the bill again. I’ll double my efforts to try and convince people that all this is a convenience for consumers because this is something thats already owed,” said Gruters. “People are breaking the law.”

The $500 million not collected could have gone to help hurricane victims, schools, or a host of other unmet needs.

41 other states have already acted to collect online taxes.

Some before and others after the US Supreme Court said collecting the tax was not an undue burden on retailers.

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Visit Florida Lays Off One Third of Employees

May 23rd, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Nearly a third of the state’s primary tourism marketing agency’s staff, were given pink slips on Thursday.

The employees were collateral damage in a political battle over the future of the agency.

Employees at Visit Florida’s Tallahassee headquarters were told in an email not to comes to work on Thursday.

Instead, 44 employees were told to arrive for a meeting to discuss their futures and to bring any Visit Florida property with them.

The layoffs were of no fault of the employees themselves.

Instead, it’s the result of a $26 million cut to Visit Florida’s funding.

It was a compromise between the House, which wanted to kill the agency altogether, and the Senate, which wanted to fully fund Visit Florida at $76 million.

“With all the back and fourth in the Legislative Session, people lives are being affected,” said marketing strategist Trimmel Gomes.

Governor Ron DeSantis helped fight for the compromise, but said he’s open to reforming the agency.

“I didn’t think letting it run aground now would have been the right thing for the state. It’s going to be something we’re going to have to look at,” said Governor Ron DeSantis in May.

Visit Florida CEO Dana Young said in a statement, “Our ultimate responsibility is to manage the tax dollars invested in our organization as effectively as possible while still working every day to promote and support Florida’s tourism industry and the revenue that it generates. While this reduced budget will require significant changes in our marketing approach, we are confident that we can continue to deliver a great value for Floridians with the funding provided.”

Visit Florida had been funded at about $75 million for the past five years.

Before that it received $50 million a year.

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association told us during last year’s budget battle, tourism numbers had skyrocketed when funding funding for the agency increased.

“Soon to be 120 million visitors. That is directly correlated back to the amount of money we’re spending on advertising,” said Carol Dover with Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association in February of 2018.

However, Gomes said the cuts could result in more efficient spending by the agency, which has traditionally spent big dollars on television ad buys.

“Now they’ll be streamlining and looking at digital ads to market to the rest of the world,” said Gomes

The employees that are left will return to work Friday, but their jobs aren’t necessarily safe.

It’s likely another funding battle will play out in the 2020 legislative session.

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Gubernatorial Trade Missions Without Controversy are Historically Rare

May 22nd, 2019 by Mike Vasilinda

Governor Ron DeSantis will join Florida business leaders on an economic development trip to Israel on Saturday.

Historically, trade missions often result in as much criticism as actual successes.

Governor Reubin Askew went on a trade mission to Japan in 1978.

When he returned, he was widely criticized for his $300 a night hotel room.

“I’m just saying that what you wrote was an unfair story,” Askew said to reporters in 1978. “I don’t care if we’d gone in the bottom of a cargo ship, you would have said it was a junket.

Five years later, Bob Graham made the same trip to learn more about high speed rail.

“Speeds of a 152 miles an hour,” Graham said to reporters in 1983.

Florida still doesn’t have a train.

Graham also took a beating from industrial giant Sony over the then recently enacted tax on worldwide corporate profits.

It was called the unitary tax.

A year later the tax was repealed.

There have also been trips to the jungles of South America to highlight the war on drugs.

They did little to stop the flow, but earned then Governor Bob Martinez death threats.

Charlie Crist prayed at the wall in Jerusalem for an end to Hurricanes.

It worked for a decade.

Later Crist was lampooned for a $430,000 trip to Europe.

A Rick Scott trip to Spain went south when he embarrassed the Spanish King over a hunting trip.

So for Ron Desantis the coming trip may or may not be the first kink in his political armor.

The Governor is expected to visit at least ten companies seeking investments in Florida.

He will be accompanied by at least 60 Floridans seeking to do business in Israel.

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Florida’s Fallen Correctional Officers Honored by State

May 22nd, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Fallen correctional officers were honored Wednesday morning by the new Florida Department of Corrections Secretary.

One of the officers who lost their lives in 2018 died supervising inmates, while another died helping after hurricane Michael.

Correctional Officers put their lives on the line everyday, often dealing with the worst society has to offer.

“They have rightly earned our love and respect and for this we honor their memory,” said Chaplain Johnny Frambo.

A total of 52 Florida correctional officers have died in the line of duty.

Their sacrifices are remembered each year at the Fallen Officer Memorial.

The name of each officer was read aloud.

In 2018, two correctional officers lost their lives while serving.

“A man and woman of courage,” said FDC Secretary Mark Inch.

Tawanna Marin was struck by a vehicle while supervising a work crew.

Sergeant Derrick Dunn suffered a heart attack while volunteering in the panhandle following hurricane Michael.

“He knew they needed help. He probably was the first one to step up,” said Dunn’s cousin, Conchita Baldwin.

Sergeant Dunn’s family said he died doing what he loved.

“I don’t think that he would have wanted to go any other way other than being in the line of service,” said LaDawn Baldwin, also Dunn’s cousin. “Didn’t matter where it was at because he was that person all around.”

Officer Marin and Sergeant Dunn’s names are engraved on the Fallen Officer Memorial at the Wakulla Correctional Institution.

The FDC is in desperate need of more officers like Dunn and Marin.

Statewide, there are nearly 2,000 vacancies.

“I am awed by the number of individuals who step forward and dedicate their life literally in service to our state and our nation,” said Inch.

To help address the shortage, the Legislature passed a bill to lower the age to become an officer from 19 to 18.

It’s awaiting the Governor’s signature.

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Ag Commissioner Warns New NAFTA May Hurt Florida Farmers

May 21st, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture fears the new North American Trade Agreement, officially known as the United-States-Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), proposed by the Trump administration may leave Florida farmers unprotected.

For the last two decades, producers in Mexico have undercut American prices.

Graves Williams has farmed tomatoes in Quincy, FL for more than 30 years.

He’s one of the few left in the state.

“When I started in Florida there were 224 tomato farmers and I think there’s less than 25 now,” said Williams.

The reason so few are left is due in part to Mexican producers flooding the market with cheaper produce.

“We have a hard time competing with Mexico when they pay, on average, their workers $8 a day when we’re paying $80 to $100 a day for the workers doing the exact same job,” said Williams.

To help US farmers compete, the Trump administration imposed a 17.5 percent tariff on Mexican tomatoes in February.

While the new tariffs may help even the playing field in the short term, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried said the tariffs could be pulled back and even refunded under the new USMCA proposal.

“This supposed ‘better deal’ is a bad deal for Florida farmers, and could put farms out of business. Smoke and mirrors from the White House won’t help our proud but struggling farmers,” said Fried in a statement.

That would once again make it harder for farmers like Williams to compete.

“They [Mexico] need to play by the rules. They just can’t flood this country with produce,” said Williams. “Our government needs to make sure they just don’t completely destroy American produce.”

A hit to the agriculture industry would be felt statewide.

Florida agriculture is a $132 billion industry, second only to tourism.

“Trump Administration wants to put America first, they should put Florida’s farmers first, and help them compete on a level playing field. Until that happens, this new deal isn’t anything new – just a worsening of 25 years of NAFTA’s failures,” said Fried.

Fried has asked the Trump administration to support the Domestic Produce Production Act.

It would make it easier for the Federal government to investigate illegal trade practices by Mexican producers.

Current law requires petitioners to demonstrate harm as measured from a nationwide and year-round perspective.

“Florida farmers aren’t looking for a handout, just the chance to compete on a level playing field,” said Fried.

The Domestic Produce Production Act is supported by Florida Senator Marco Rubio and backed by all of Florida’s 27 US representatives.

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TEC and Duke Energy Customers Won’t See Rates Increase

May 21st, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Tampa Electric Company and Duke Energy customers will not see an increase in their monthly bills, despite recent hurricanes.

The Public Service Commission approved a settlement for both companies Tuesday morning that will allow them to use money the businesses saved as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to cover storm related costs.

The settlement was supported by PSC chairman Art Graham.

“These agreements are in the public interest because they reduce storm cost recovery for customers and implement processes and procedures that will continue to benefit customers,” said Graham in statement.

“These procedures require better documentation, more communication with vendors before a storm hits and setting expectations with vendors about invoicing and work management upfront,” said Jeffry Wahlen, a lawyer with Tampa Electric Company.

Duke Electric received $484 million in savings and Tampa Electric Company received $91 million in savings from President Trump’s tax reform.

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Toll Road Plan Taking Fire From Environmental Groups

May 20th, 2019 by Jake Stofan

Environmental groups have condemned Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a bill they believe would harm environmentally sensitive areas in the state.

The new law will start planning for three new roads through mostly rural parts of the state.

It would be largest road project in the state since the 1950’s.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce said it will ease congestion and bring more business to rural counties.

“Infrastructure is the lifeblood of an economy,” said Christopher Emmanuel with the Chamber. “We’ve got 4.5 million new Floridians that we can expect by 2030, three million new drives on our roadways, and this is an important infrastructure piece, to help conect those people to jobs and rural communities to urban cores.”

$45 million is earmarked for 2019-2020 to initiate planning for a new toll road from Collier to Polk County, connecting the turnpike to the Sun Coast Parkway and extending the Parkway to the Florida Georgia line.

Aliki Moncrief with the Florida Conservation Voters said the new roads could devastate ecosystems in the mostly rural lands.

“The state would be destroying wetlands and so you’re destroying habitat for all the animals that depend on wetlands, but you’re also destroying wetlands that help protect our drinking water supplies,” said Moncrief.

In addition to eventually building the roads, the plan would construct water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

It also requires environmental impact studies be conducted prior to breaking ground.

Jordan Lubkmann with Earth Justice is concerned the studies will be treated only as a formality.

“And it will really remain to be seen who is allowed to participate in the task forces,” said Lubkmann.

The road expansions were the top priority on Senate President Bill Galvano, but he’ll be long out of office by the time construction is set to begin.

However, the three legislators next in line for President all voted in support of the bill.

Galvano said he’s confident the project will be seen through to completion.

“If we’re breaking ground by 2023, once that’s on its way, it’s on its way,” said Galvano.

Spending on the project is set to increase incrementally, reaching $140 million a year starting in 2022.

It would remain at that funding level until its scheduled completion date in 2030.

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