Good Thursday morning.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist has a commanding lead in the Democratic Primary for Governor, according to a new poll commissioned by his campaign.

The poll of 800 likely Democratic Primary voters showed Crist, a former Governor, with 54% support — nearly double that of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (28%) and leagues ahead of Sen. Annette Taddeo (7%).

Another 11% of Democrats remain undecided six months out from Election Day.

The GBAO poll also found Crist with solid support among key demographics. He’s the pick for 61% of Black voters and 54% of White voters. The Congressman also holds a plurality among Hispanic Democrats, pulling 44% support compared to 21% for Fried and 17% for Taddeo. The gulf between Crist and Fried was equally pronounced among women (52%-28%) and men (57%-27%).

Southwest Florida is the most Crist-friendly pocket of the state. He enjoys 66% support there versus 26% for Fried and 4% for Taddeo.

The lone region where Crist does not hold a majority: North Florida. Nevertheless, he leads with 45% of Democrats supporting him compared to 34% backing Fried and 8% backing Taddeo.

GBAO conducted the poll Jan. 26-31 via live interviews on cellphones and landlines. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@RepBrianMast: You know what will hurt Ukrainians more than sanctions on Russia? Being run over by a Russian T-90Tank.

—@MDixon55: Florida political social media has had two eras: pre-Christina, and whatever this is

—@SenJanetCruz: If our state is so focused on FREEDOM, why do our leaders work tirelessly to overextend government interference into citizens’ private decisions? Another day wasted instead of tackling real issues Floridians face: housing affordability, skyrocketing rents, & shrinking incomes.

Tweet, tweet:

Tweet, tweet:

—@HipHopLobbyist: Really biased here, but Congressman @AlLawsonJr is Black History; he’s an ingrained part of Florida’s history and a living legend. Really messed up how they are politicizing his district when the issues for Black Floridians in Tallahassee, Lake City & Jax are the same.

—@MDixon55: In short, if you’re going to run a roof scam, just make sure the target is not a state Senator

Tweet, tweet:

Tweet, tweet:

—@AGlorios: I’ve noticed that I’ve been telling people in the Fla. Capitol that I’m returning to Session after “a long illness,” as opposed to “cancer.” It’s just easier.

—@JpGillin: I appreciate the HBO programming tech who keeps putting on 28 Weeks Later, about how a deadly virus eventually infects the world because an asymptomatic carrier doesn’t follow quarantine rules.

— DAYS UNTIL —

XXIV Olympic Winter Games begins — 1; Super Bowl LVI — 10; Will Smith‘s ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ reboot premieres — 10; Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show begins — 13; season four of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ begins — 13; Spring Training report dates begin — 14; Synapse Florida tech summit begins — 14; ‘The Walking Dead’ final season part two begins — 17; Daytona 500 — 17; Special Election for Jacksonville City Council At-Large Group 3 — 20; Suits For Session — 20; CPAC begins — 21; St. Pete Grand Prix — 22; Joe Biden to give the State of the Union address — 26; ‘The Batman’ premieres — 29; Miami Film Festival begins — 29; Sarasota County votes to renew the special 1-mill property tax for the school district — 33; the third season of ‘Atlanta’ begins — 48; season two of ‘Bridgerton’ begins — 50; The Oscars — 52; Macbeth with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga begin performances on Broadway — 54; Grammys rescheduled in Las Vegas — 59; ‘The Godfather’ TV series ‘The Offer’ premieres — 84; federal student loan payments will resume — 87; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 92; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ premieres — 113; ‘Platinum Jubilee’ for Queen Elizabeth II — 119; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 156; San Diego Comic-Con 2022 — 169; Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner novel ‘Heat 2’ publishes — 187; ‘The Lord of the Rings’ premieres on Amazon Prime — 211; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 246; ‘Black Panther 2’ premieres — 281; ‘The Flash’ premieres — 284; ‘Avatar 2′ premieres — 316; ‘Captain Marvel 2′ premieres — 379; ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ premieres — 414; ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ premieres — 540; ‘Dune: Part Two’ premieres — 624; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games — 904.

—TOP STORY —

“‘Chewbacca defense’: Ron DeSantis says ‘woke’ opponents are running from Joe Biden’s record” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — DeSantis redoubled his rhetorical assault on critical race theory and its “woke” proponents Wednesday, accusing them of invoking a so-called “Chewbacca defense” by talking about those issues instead of inflation caused by the federal government. “So I think they’re trying to figure out whatever they can to stick on the wall. It’s almost like a Chewbacca defense, you know, trying to get people diverted from whatever the true issues are by manufacturing things,” DeSantis said, referring to a fictional, deliberately distracting legal strategy popularized by the TV show “South Park.” The Governor, during a morning news conference in Gainesville, worked up to this metaphor. He argued critical race theory concepts were “pitting people against each other based on race” and “denigrating our country.”

— DATELINE TALLY —

“House skimps on DeSantis’ jobs fund, avoids gas tax cut in early budget proposal” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics — DeSantis’ push to cut the state gas tax isn’t part of the House’s transportation and economic development budget proposal released Wednesday, and his request for a $100 million grant fund to dole out to infrastructure and job training projects was reduced to $25 million. The House Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee unveiled its initial budget plan, totaling $15.6 billion. Most of that, about $10.8 billion, will go to the Department of Transportation’s work program. The budget plan shows the money coming from trust funds, including gas taxes. DeSantis wants a five-month moratorium on the gas tax, which is about 25 cents per gallon, starting July 1, the first day of the next fiscal year.

“The Florida Legislature starts to move on a $4 billion tax cut for corporations” via Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents — Tax cuts are absolutely a form of spending — cutting the state’s tax on corporate profits. And that’s a tax that only the biggest businesses pay. There are about 2.8 million active for-profit businesses in Florida. But 90% of them are entirely exempt from Florida’s corporate income tax. They are organized as tax-exempt entities like “S” corporations or limited liability companies. These exemptions shield virtually all of Florida’s small businesses from the corporate tax (and a bunch of big, privately held companies, too). That left precisely 250,399 businesses that had to file a state corporate income tax return for 2020. But 90% of those businesses didn’t actually owe any tax — because Florida lawmakers have carved so many breaks into the corporate tax code over the years and because they choose not to do anything about well-known loopholes that big corporations are exploiting (and that most other states have closed). The result: Only 21,256 companies actually paid state corporate taxes in 2020. That’s 0.8% of all Florida businesses.

“Senate health care budget boasts cash for nursing homes, but adds no critical care funding” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — Sen. Aaron Bean rolled out a $47.8 billion health care spending plan that directs $685.5 million to ensure nursing home staff and direct care providers that care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities get a pay bump. Bean called the $304 million rate increases for nursing homes “massive” but said the caveat is the money must be directed to ensure that everyone who works for a nursing home is paid $15 an hour. Senate President Wilton Simpson has pushed to increase state employees’ wages, and people who have state-contracted positions, to $15 per hour. The spending plan is also devoid of additional dollars to provide enhanced Medicaid payments to hospitals that offer the most charity care in the state.

Tweet, tweet:

“Senate panel votes down exceptions for rape, incest in 15-week abortion ban” via Skyler Swisher of the Orlando Sentinel — A Florida Senate committee voted Wednesday against including exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking in a bill that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. State Sen. Lauren Book, a survivor of sexual assault, proposed the amendment, which she said was needed to prevent further trauma on women and girls. The Republican-led Health Policy Committee rejected Book’s amendment Wednesday in a voice vote, so there is no record of how each member voted. The 15-week abortion ban then advanced on a 6-4 party-line vote, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats voting no.

—”Lori Berman, Anna Eskamani join 450 doctors and health care workers in speaking against 15-week abortion ban” via Daniel Figueroa of Florida Politics

“Top state lawmaker claims Disney could run afoul of ‘anti-woke’ law” via Katie Rice of the Orlando Sentinel — Rep. Bryan Ávila, a top leader in the Florida House, is claiming that Disney employees’ diversity training program includes exercises where employees complete a “white privilege checklist,” which could put the company in violation of a new law he’s sponsoring. Ávila’s office did not respond Wednesday when asked for the source of his information, but it appears to come from a conservative magazine that obtained a document and information purportedly from Disney employees in May. Disney has previously said elements of its employee diversity, equity and inclusion program were taken out of context. Ávila made the remark when answering questions from other representatives during a committee meeting on HB 7 and said the training “claim[s] and outlin[es] that America was founded on ‘systemic racism,’” and called it “beyond egregious” and “despicable.”

“Jeff Brandes says pushing new PIP bill without new actuarial analysis is ‘legislative malpractice’” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — Sen. Brandes said it is legislative malpractice for the Senate to consider repealing Florida’s no-fault insurance program and replace it with a fault-based system without knowing how it would impact automobile insurance rates for Florida drivers. Brandes made the remarks shortly before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted 10-1 to pass SB 150, filed by Sen. Danny Burgess. Committee Chair Sen. Jim Boyd, who allowed for testimony earlier in the meeting on two of his proposed bills, said the committee did not have time to consider public debate before the vote.

Senate ramps up for property insurance overhaul — The Senate is once again examining roof coverage to slow down the rise in property insurance prices. Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida reported that the bill (SB 1728) would also attempt to lower the policy count at the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp, which has seen a large influx of homeowners and could hit 1 million policies by the end of the year. Lawmakers attempted to quell roof claims last year by blocking roofers from making certain statements in advertising, but the provision was struck down in court. This year, lawmakers are hoping to reduce the number of roofing claims by requiring contractors to clearly state that customers must pay the roofing deductible and that the contractor cannot waive it.

“Local Business Protection Act picks up support, moves to final House panel” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Legislation lawmakers hope will curb onerous local ordinances and the need for state preemption is nearing reality after getting pushed to its final House committee. The measure (HB 569), named the “Local Business Protection Act,” would allow businesses to sue local governments over changes to local ordinances if the businesses are at least three years old and can prove a new law resulted in a 15% loss of income. Eligible businesses would be entitled to recover expert-determined damages unless a city elects to roll back the ordinance. The House Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee adopted language that the Senate passed 22-14 on Thursday. Those changes helped garner support from some Republicans on the fence and some local government organizations.

Net metering bill set for first House hearing — Rep. Lawrence McClure said solar advocates and utilities are working through disagreements on the “net metering” bill he is sponsoring, which would lower the amount of money utilities must pay to customers with rooftop solar panels. As reported by Bruce Ritchie of POLITICO Florida, McClure said he doesn’t expect the bill (HB 741) will be in its final form by the time it goes before the House Tourism, Infrastructure and Energy Subcommittee on Thursday, but that he feels “really, really good” about the direction it is heading. He urged solar supporters to “just be patient and know we are absolutely having great dialogue to find the middle ground.”

—TALLY 2 —

“‘No Patient Left Alone Act’ ensuring hospital, nursing home visitations advances” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — Legislation aimed at strengthening patient visitation rights in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities across Florida now has just one more committee hearing to go before reaching the Senate floor. The bill (SB 988), dubbed the “No Patient Left Alone Act,” cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services Wednesday after roughly 15 minutes of conversation. Most speakers supported the bill outright, but one asked for better safeguards against potential disease outbreaks. Sen. Ileana Garcia, the bill’s sponsor, spoke of the uncertainty that patients, nursing home residents and their families faced during the COVID-19 pandemic when many health care facilities blocked or limited visitations.

“Florida House passes bill to make nursing homes more financially transparent” via Hannah Critchfield and Kirby Wilson of the Tampa Bay Times — A bill that will require greater transparency around how nursing homes statewide spend their money passed the Florida House on Wednesday. The measure, House Bill 539, would require nursing homes to submit audited financial statements to the state annually. “My father says, in businesses, you cannot manage what you do not measure,” said Rep. Jay Trumbull, the bill’s sponsor. “And this will allow us to measure success as it relates to the state’s resources.” Its unanimous passage comes as the nursing home industry requests an additional $469 million in Medicaid funding to support nearly 700 nursing homes operating statewide.

“School safety bill proceeds with amendment removing controversial provision on superintendents’ salaries” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics — New rules to bolster school safety were unanimously approved in a House committee Wednesday absent a controversial provision that would have withheld superintendents’ salaries for not complying with state safety requirements. Rep. Fred Hawkins’ bill (HB 1421) got its second committee approval, and the first unanimous one, at the House Secondary Education & Career Development Committee. The bill aims to update the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, passed in the wake of Florida’s worst school shooting. The bill requires that law enforcement be on campus during safety drills, and a Wednesday amendment made it, so the school has to give the participating agency 24-hour notice of a scheduled exercise.

‘Markel Act’ clears House panel — On Wednesday, the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee voted unanimously to advance HB 1119, the ‘Markel Act’ on grandparent visitation — a bill inspired by the murder of FSU professor Dan Markel and the consequent estrangement his parents and children experienced from each other. The bill would allow grandparents to petition courts for visitation with grandchildren in cases where a civil or criminal court has found the living parent of the grandchildren responsible for the other parent’s death. Rep. Jackie Toledo, the bill’s sponsor, shepherded the bill through an 18-0 vote. The bill also has the support of the AARP, Justice for Dan, and the Markel family.

“When parents kill: Florida considers keeping details of some child deaths secret” via Fresh Take Florida — Florida’s Legislature is considering proposals to keep secret details about the deaths of children who die in domestic violence cases, in deference to the mother of two young boys murdered last summer by their father. Under Florida law, autopsies are government reports that can be released to anyone who requests a copy under the state’s public records law. Two bills proposed by local state lawmakers would block public access to autopsies of children under 18 killed in domestic violence cases.

Bill allowing ‘seizure action plans’ clears House panel — A bill (HB 173) sponsored by Rep. Nick Duran to enable families to create and submit individualized seizure action plans (ISAP) to their schools passed the House Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee with unanimous support. “This important piece of legislation will give parents peace of mind knowing that when their child is at school or attending a school-related function, staff will understand appropriate protocols in the event their student has a seizure. HB 173 ensures students with epilepsy and seizure disorders receive appropriate care while attending school or school-related functions. I am happy this bill was able to make it out of committee and is on its way to becoming law,” Duran said.

“Plans for state loan program to finance charter schools’ buildings advances” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics — Plans to give charter schools access to $10 million in state money to finance their school buildings received a nod from the Senate Education Committee Tuesday. Sen. Manny Diaz Jr.’s legislation (SB 1690) survived its first committee stop. The bill proposes a third-party administrator to dole out the money from the state’s general fund. The interest paid would be used to defray the cost of the program’s administration. The bill encountered Democratic opposition, however. Sen. Shevrin Jones wanted to know who would pay the debt if the school closed. Diaz assured the committee the full faith and credit of the state was not on the line.

“Vacation rental preemption bill clears another Senate committee” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — The latest Senate attempt to create a statewide vacation rental homes licensing system and preempt local controls cleared its second committee Wednesday. Sen. Danny Burgess’ bill (SB 512) squeaked through the Senate Community Affairs Committee, in part on committee members’ expressed faith that he would improve the bill before it could reach the floor. For more than a decade, lawmakers made numerous attempts to bring Florida’s vacation rental industry under a statewide regulatory umbrella. Like those prior efforts, SB 512 remains hotly contested. Some want uniform statewide regulation of vacation rentals while preserving individual property rights conflict, while others favor local controls that can address local situations, especially where vacation rentals become neighborhood problems.

“Florida House OKs bill to protect lottery winners’ privacy” via The Associated Press — People who win $250,000 or more in the Florida Lottery could choose to keep their identities secret for 90 days under a bill overwhelmingly passed by the House on Wednesday. Rep. Tracie Davis read headlines of multimillion dollar lottery winners in Florida and Georgia killed after claiming prizes. “At some point in our lives, we all dream of winning the lottery,” Davis said. “But unfortunately for some people, that dream of winning the lottery, sometimes those dreams become nightmares.” The bill passed on a 114-1 vote without any debate. An identical Senate bill has one more committee stop before being considered by the full chamber. So far, it has received no opposition.

“Ricky Dixon gets bipartisan support to lead Florida’s 67 ‘inefficient, dilapidated prisons’” via Daniel Figueroa of Florida Politics — Dixon started at the bottom, now he’s here, overseeing the Florida Department of Corrections 67 aging prison facilities. The move came 25 years after Dixon started with DOC as a corrections officer. Tuesday, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice confirmed the interim DOC Secretary’s official appointment. One of Dixon’s most pressing challenges will be what to do about crumbling infrastructure within the country’s third-largest prison system. Last month, Dixon told the Senate Committee that DOC employees and inmates are packed into inadequate, overpopulated facilities, and programs known to reduce recidivism, like vocational and educational training, are not being offered.

“Bill to greenlight digital license plates gets first OK” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Lawmakers could be paving the way for Floridians to purchase digital license plates next year. A decade ago, Florida allowed the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to start a pilot program to test alternative license plates on government vehicles. With legislation considered this Session (SB 1178/HB 91), lawmakers hope to steer the pilot program to make digital plates publicly available. The Senate bill, carried by Sen. Doug Broxson, would make FLHSMV-approved digital license plates street-legal beginning July 1, 2023. Constraints within the bill also attempt to limit the government’s ability to track plates. Members of the Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday unanimously advanced the Pensacola Republican’s bill. Arizona and California have given the green light to digital plates for the public.

— INSIDE THE LINES —

“Florida House passes state House map for 2022 and coming decade” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — The final map passed off the House floor in a largely party-line vote. A bill (SJR 100) now returns to the Senate, which has already passed its map covering 40 Senate districts. The legislation includes both a House and Senate map. As a joint resolution, it will go into effect without the involvement of the Governor. But the legislation still must pass muster with the Florida Supreme Court, which opened a case file in anticipation this week. The map places 19 incumbent representatives in the same districts as colleagues within the chamber. That’s a list that includes Republican Rep. Daniel Perez and Democratic Rep. Fentrice Driskell. Either could become House Speaker in 2024. Two lawmakers, Republican Rep. Mike Caruso and Democratic Rep. Christopher Benjamin, have already stated they intend to move to other districts to run.

—“Chris Sprowls defends DeSantis involvement in congressional redistricting” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics

“Al Lawson: Discarding CD 5 configuration would violate Voting Rights Act” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — U.S. Rep. Lawson criticized DeSantis’ efforts to delegitimize his North Florida district. The comments come a day after the Republican Governor asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on the configuration of Florida’s 5th Congressional District. The district is the only Democrat-leaning congressional jurisdiction in North Florida. It’s also a predominantly Black district, and Lawson argues dismantling the district would violate the federal Voting Rights Act. DeSantis, previously a Congressman based in Ponte Vedra Beach, penned a filing with the court calling into question the need for a 200-mile district connecting Tallahassee and Jacksonville minority communities.

—“Historically Black Florida town could lose Black Congressman under DeSantis redistricting” via the Tallahassee Democrat

Florida Supreme Court needs convincing to hear redistricting case — The state Supreme Court set a Feb. 7 deadline for the Governor and other interested parties to tell the court why it should take up the Governor’s request to rule on changing the congressional seat held by Lawson. As reported by Gary Fineout of POLITICO Florida, the Governor filed the request after the Senate ignored a map submitted by his office that would have substantially changed the district and cut the number of districts held by Black Congress members from four to two. DeSantis wants the court to rule on whether state redistricting laws require the district to remain as drawn despite not being a majority Black district — Black voters make up about 44% of the district’s electorate.

Breaking overnight — “Two Supreme Court justices recuse themselves from issuing opinion on CD 5” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — According to a scheduling order, Chief Justice Charles Canady and Justice Alan Lawson will recuse themselves from an advisory opinion on the legality of Florida’s 5th Congressional District. A jurisdiction analogous to the Tallahassee-to-Jacksonville district appears on all draft legislative proposals but not on draft cartography submitted by the Governor’s office last month. Five justices issued the order, but the more prominent names had no role in the opinion. The absence of Canady, a former Republican U.S. Representative himself, could be particularly impactful.

—MORE TALLY —

“Education Department approves 4th grade civics curriculum with mock bills and trivia games” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — The Florida Department of Education has approved a new fourth grade civics curriculum that includes Florida trivia, mock bill drafting, and a “bingo lingo.” Florida ranks third in the nation for K-12 achievement, noted House Speaker Chris Sprowls, but the schools lack Florida-specific civics curricula. Sprowls targeted the fourth grade because that’s when students focus on state history. Sprowls touted the curriculum as the first state Legislature-produced civics curriculum in the nation. Schools and teachers don’t have to use the curriculum, but civics activities in the course material are available to teachers in addition to what is already in use.

Democrats, doctors blast ‘extreme’ abortion ban — Sen. Lori Berman and Rep. Anna Eskamani, both Democrats, spoke at a news conference alongside doctors in opposition to a bill (SB 146) that would create a 15-week abortion ban. “Abortion is health care. This proposal and the many others permutations attempting to restrict a woman’s right to choose that have passed this Legislature in my tenure, and far beyond, are dangerous, incomprehensible and unconstitutional for women all over our state,” Berman said. During the news conference, the doctors provided numerous examples where an abortion ban would adversely impact patients. “Important medical decisions, including whether to have an abortion, should be left to the patient, their family and their doctor — not politicians,” Eskamani said. “HB 5/SB 146 would take that deeply personal decision away.”

FHCA lauds lawmakers for nursing center funding bump — The Florida Health Care Association praised the proposed Senate health care budget for including a $375 million increase in Medicaid funding for nursing center care. FHCA said the bump equates to almost $550,000 per care center. FHCA CEO Emmett Reed said, “Increased funding across the system will allow our care centers to address significant needs in their workforce and clinical services, which are essential to continue providing high-quality care to Florida’s growing elderly population and individuals with disabilities. … FHCA appreciates Senate President Wilton Simpson, Sens. Aaron Bean and Kelli Stargel and their colleagues in the Senate for placing a high priority on meeting these challenges so that providers have the resources to build and maintain the robust workforce needed to care for our state’s most vulnerable.”

Public employee union cheers $15 an hour wage — AFSCME Florida Council 79 President and International Vice President Vicki Hall praised Senate President Wilton Simpson‘s push to increase state and school district starting pay to $15 per hour. “We applaud Senate President Simpson’s leadership toward a $15 an hour starting wage … A fair minimum wage will help families meet their needs, and those dollars stay in the local economy,” she said. “This will help woefully understaffed state departments and school districts attract and retain the quality workers needed, which will benefit all our communities. Proper staffing will help ensure children arrive to school safely every day, families in need can access a caseworker to help them through a crisis, and all Floridians receive the services they expect from our state’s dedicated workforce.”

Personnel note: Chicago PR firm hires comms. expert Jonathan Beaton to open Orlando office — Chicago-based public relations firm Rise Strategy Group is expanding into Central Florida with the hire of former journalist and communications expert Beaton, who joins the firm as vice president. He will be based in the firm’s new Orlando office. Beaton’s career began at several local radio and television stations and CNN, HLN, ABC News and the BBC. His reporting includes the George Zimmerman trial, the Casey Anthony bankruptcy proceedings, the disappearance of Michelle Parker, the 2012 Election along the I-4 corridor, and the Allied Vets scandal. “Jonathan’s robust experience across the journalism and public relations fields makes him an invaluable asset and addition to the Rise team,” said Rise Strategy CEO and founder Tarrah Cooper Wright in a statement. Beaton adds: “Now more than ever, it’s essential for companies to have forward-thinking PR professionals on their side, and I’m happy to help expand our presence in Florida.”

— SKED —

Assignment editors — Legislative Black Caucus Chair Bobby Powell, Jr. joins other caucus members in a news conference to lay out their proposals for 2022, 11 a.m., 4th Floor Rotunda.

— House Rules Committee, 8 a.m., Room 404 of the House Office Building.

— Senate Finance & Tax Committee, 9 a.m., Room 110 of the Senate Office Building.

— Senate Rules Committee, 9 a.m., Room 412 of the Knott Building.

— House Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Room 404 of the House Office Building.

— House Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Morris Hall of the House Office Building.

— House State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Room 212 of the Knott Building.

— House Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Reed Hall of the House Office Building.

Happening today — Seaports Day at the Capitol; Jonathan Daniels, chair of the Florida Ports Council, Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director, will deliver the State of Seaports Address providing the latest statistics on record-breaking cargo container movement and new shipping lines diverting from the West Coast to Florida seaports, 11 a.m., 22nd Floor.

— House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee, 11:30 a.m., Reed Hall of the House Office Building.

— House Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee, 11:30 a.m., Room 212 of the Knott Building.

— House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, 11:30 a.m., Room 404 of the House Office Building.

— House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, 11:30 a.m., Morris Hall of the House Office Building.

— The Senate is scheduled to convene for a floor Session., noon, Senate Chamber.

— House Finance & Facilities Subcommittee, 2 p.m., Morris Hall of the House Office Building.

— House Government Operations Subcommittee, 2 p.m., Room 404 of the House Office Building.

— House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, 2 p.m., Reed Hall of the House Office Building.

— House Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, 2 p.m., Room 212 of the Knott Building.

— House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, 4:30 p.m., Morris Hall of the House Office Building.

— House Public Integrity & Elections Committee, 4:30 p.m., Room 404 of the House Office Building.

—GOV. CLUB MENU —

Cauliflower and herbed goat cheese with Brussels sprouts; garden salad with dressings; marinated artichokes and hearts of palm salad corn and black bean salad; Caprese wraps; beef tips with green peppercorn sauce; baked spaghetti squash casserole, broccoli, wild rice, and GC bread pudding with bourbon sauce for dessert.

—STATEWIDE —

“Florida National Guard remains in Ukraine as troops sent to nearby countries” via Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel — As Biden deploys more U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the crisis over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine deepens, one American military unit is already stationed inside Ukraine itself: the Florida National Guard. About 150 members of the Pinellas Park-based 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been training the Ukrainian military on a rotating schedule since their initial deployment in 2015 under former President Barack Obama. The troops are among the only U.S. forces in the beleaguered nation itself. Wednesday’s deployment announcement is for 1,700 troops from the 82nd Airborne division to head to Poland, another unit of about 300 18th Airborne Corps troops to move to Germany, and a 1,000-person Army armored unit is being sent to Romania, according to reports.

“DeSantis announces $89 million for workforce education” via Divya Kumar of the Tampa Bay Times — DeSantis announced an $89 million state initiative to boost career and technical training for students who decide against a traditional college degree. DeSantis said the allotments include $10 million to Miami-Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Santa Fe College, St. Petersburg College and Tallahassee Community College to create career and technical education charter schools for high school students. Students would graduate with a high school diploma, an associate degree and a workforce credential. DeSantis also announced $26.5 million to expand dual-career enrollment in science, technology, engineering and math programs and $20 million to “accelerate” post-secondary pathways in cybersecurity and information technology.

“DeSantis blames inflation, ‘demand’ for Florida housing crunch” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Rents continue to rise around the state, and DeSantis believes the blame should be laid at the President’s feet. In a news conference Wednesday in Gainesville, DeSantis blasted the Biden administration for inflationary policies and added that Crist was “joined at the hip” with Biden. Noting quickly that his proposed budget fully funds the Sadowski trust fund, DeSantis moved almost immediately to macroeconomic issues. DeSantis also cited the federal eviction moratorium, which expired last October, as another reason affordable housing was scarce.

Nikki Fried urges DeSantis to issue State of Emergency to help farmers in wake of freeze — Fried sent a letter to DeSantis on Wednesday asking him to declare a state of emergency for Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Desoto, Hendry, Collier, Glades, Okeechobee and Palm Beach counties so the Florida Department of Transportation can suspend size and weight restrictions, allowing farmers impacted by the recent freeze to move as much product as possible before it spoils. “Our agriculture industry is our state’s second-largest economic driver, and our farmers are the best in the world. They remain resilient in the face of continued unfair foreign trade, invasive pests and diseases, a global pandemic, and extreme weather — from hurricanes to now these record cold temperatures. But they need our help now to keep Florida growing,” she wrote.

“A new Marsy’s Law case is prompting media groups to seek answers from the Florida Supreme Court” via Gina Jordan of WUSF — A recent case out of Boynton Beach is calling new attention to Marsy’s Law, Florida’s 2018 law designed to boost and protect crime victims’ rights. A 13-year-old boy on a dirt bike was killed the day after Christmas as police tried to pull him over for riding recklessly. Now, the Boynton Beach police officer who attempted the traffic stop is seeking to have his identity withheld. “The law enforcement officer, in that case, is claiming he’s a victim under Marsy’s Law,” says First Amendment Foundation Executive Director Pamela Marsh. Marsh says various media groups and law enforcement organizations are in the process of filing briefs with the Florida Supreme Court seeking clarity around Marsy’s Law. A Tallahassee case now before the court asks whether law enforcement officers can have their identities shielded when suspects threaten them.

A troubling read — “Florida renters scramble for shelter as affordable housing erodes” via Lauren Peace of the Tampa Bay Times — In 2021, Tampa Bay experienced the highest rent increase in the nation, at 24%. That far outshot the previous regional high point of the last two decades, when the rent increased by 6.2% in 2015. The city’s growth has attracted a wave of workers, said Jason Matthis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to urban redevelopment. As young professionals leave larger metro areas to work remotely in Tampa Bay, even our rising prices comparatively seem like “a good deal.” And for certain businesses, he said, it is a good deal. But for those already here, increases in the cost of living coupled with stagnant wages have pushed those who once had padding closer and closer to the edge.

“Florida’s ‘anti-woke’ bills raise concerns for scholars who teach about race” via Divya Kumar of the Tampa Bay Times — DeSantis sharpened his assault in December by launching the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, an effort to “take on both corporate wokeness and critical race theory.” It’s a collection of bills aimed at ridding Florida’s classrooms of “race or sex scapegoating” and “divisive concepts.” Now, as the legislation easily makes its way through the House and Senate, university faculty across the state are voicing fears about its impact on the scholarship around race. “I’m definitely concerned,” said Jonathan Cox, a sociology professor at the University of Central Florida who is teaching a graduate course on critical race theory this semester and wonders if he’ll be allowed to continue. Members of the State Affairs Committee approved House Bill 7, known as the “individual freedom” bill, aimed at critical race theory. The bill’s next stop is the Education & Employment Committee.

Sara Newhouse appointed state Disaster Recovery Mental Health Coordinator — First Lady Casey DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Wednesday that Newhouse would serve as the state Disaster Recovery Mental Health Coordinator. Newhouse is a Florida Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a State of Florida Victim Services Practitioner with experience in victim advocacy and crisis counseling. “The ripple effect of a disaster goes beyond physical destruction to include grief and distress in a community, and I am proud that Florida continues to lead on the mental well-being aspects of recovery,” Casey DeSantis said. “Sara’s unique experience in victim advocacy and psychological first aid prepared her for this role. I look forward to continuing to work with FDEM to provide additional mental health support for Floridians who find themselves in emergency situations.”

“Consultants named in ghost candidate probe had role in questionable gambling petition” via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald — The political consultants who created the funding structure for the 2020 ghost candidate scandal are now in the midst of another election controversy. Tallahassee-based political consultants Abigail MacIver, Dan Newman and Jeff Pitts, who run Canopy Partners, formed a subsidiary called Game Day Strategies to get enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the 2022 November ballot. MacIver and Newman worked with Tallahassee pollster and political consultant Ryan Tyson, and the effort was financed by casino giant Las Vegas Sands, through a political committee named Florida Voters in Charge. Tyson’s role in the ghost candidate case is also under investigation. By Tuesday’s deadline for verifying petitions, the casino amendment effort appears to have fallen short.

“Donald Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking in Sarasota next month” via Zac Anderson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Former Secretary of State Pompeo is speaking to the Sarasota GOP on March 24, an event sure to draw a large crowd in a state that could be important to his future ambitions if he runs for President. Pompeo recently launched a super PAC and has been traveling to key states, stoking more speculation that he is interested in running for President. A former U.S. Army captain who received a law degree from Harvard Law School, Pompeo worked in Kansas’ aerospace and oil industries before winning a U.S. House seat in 2011.

— CORONA FLORIDA —

“Florida reports 16,883 new COVID-19 cases as vaccination rate falls to lowest level in over a year” via David Schutz of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Florida reported 16,883 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as daily vaccinations dropped to their lowest levels since early 2021 with fewer than two-thirds of the state fully vaccinated. The seven-day average for new cases continued its three-week decline, falling to 21,715, its lowest level since Dec. 24. The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year. The seven-day average for daily vaccinations declined to 34,520 on Wednesday. The last time it was lower than that was Jan. 7, 2021, in the earliest days of vaccinations. At the peak of the omicron wave, the state was averaging 118,177 vaccinations per day. About 65.1% of Floridians are fully vaccinated, and 36.7% have received booster shots.

“‘Critical red’: Tallahassee Memorial expediting patient discharges amid admission surge” via Christopher Cann of the Tallahassee Democrat — Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) has begun to speed up the pace of discharges as the hospital deals with an influx of patients, many of whom are positive with COVID-19. Red level occurs when there’s a surge in patients waiting to be admitted while others are slow to transition out of the hospital’s care. In addition to expediting discharges, the hospital asks people to ensure they seek care in the right places, whether through TMH’s emergency department, urgent care center, or primary care provider.

“Orange County Schools will no longer allow excused absences for kids staying home due to COVID-19 concerns” via Marlene Lenthang of NBC News — The ninth-largest district in the nation will no longer allow excused absences for students who remain at home due to COVID-19 concerns. Orange County Public Schools, which has over 206,000 students at 202 Orlando-area schools, made the announcement Wednesday, saying parents “keeping students home during the increased COVID-19 cases” will no longer be able to get excused absences for their children starting Jan. 31. “It is … an additional strain on our teachers as they continue to manage assignments for large numbers of absent students,” the district said in a statement.

“Duval Schools provides cloth masks to its employees. But educators want N95s.” via Emily Bloch of The Florida Times-Union — Dozens of Duval Schools educators rallied Tuesday afternoon, pushing for stronger COVID-19 safety precautions in the classroom — including better face masks. They say they want to be better equipped to protect themselves. “Teachers should have a surplus of masks, not just any masks but KN95 masks,” said Monica Gold, a sixth grade language arts teacher, at the protest. Gold is a part of Duval CORE — short for the Duval County Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee — a group formed in 2020 to oppose unsafe conditions in Jacksonville schools. Last month, the CDC recommended KN95 and N95 masks be worn instead of cloth masks to better protect people from the more contagious omicron variant. Duval CORE members want the district to supply those heavier duty masks to staff, faculty and students.

— 2022 —

“‘Fauci can pound sand’: DeSantis takes on Dr. Anthony Fauci in re-election messaging” via Steve Contorno of CNN — “Fauci Can Pound Sand,” it says on the soles of sandals now available for purchase on DeSantis‘ campaign website. While shopping, DeSantis supporters can also buy “Don’t Fauci My Florida” beer koozies. Perhaps they were directed to his site from a recent DeSantis campaign email, subject line: “Fauci for Prison.” In the absence of a clear political opponent at the onset of his re-election campaign, DeSantis seems to have created one out of the 81-year-old doctor from Brooklyn and Biden chief medical adviser. Beyond campaign merchandise and fundraising pitches, Fauci figures prominently in most of DeSantis’ public remarks.

“Charlie Crist extols Biden policies, calls DeSantis a ‘disaster’” via James Call of the USA Today Network-Florida — How would a Crist administration handle this differently? “I would be advocating vaccines every day and wearing a mask indoors. And I wouldn’t be signing executive orders that essentially say kids can’t wear a mask at school. DeSantis is out politicizing these things (that) have real-life consequences for our fellow Floridians. And his leadership is misleading. And it’s wrong. And I think he knows it. Maybe he doesn’t. I don’t know. But we deserve better than this.” As for Biden: “I’m very encouraged by the Biden administration. I thank God he got elected. I shudder to think where we would be right now if he hadn’t been. I think this presidency will end up going down in history as one of the best we’ve ever had.”

“Marco Rubio vs. Val Demings: Florida Senate race will be tough, high-profile and nasty” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel — A quick primer on this year’s Florida Senate race between Rubio and Demings: It’s going to be high-profile and nasty. Rubio seems like the heavy favorite. Why? Because no Florida Democrat has unseated a Republican in a statewide office in more than three decades. Also, early polling shows Rubio with a solid lead. Still, Team Rubio is acting frantic. With Demings, Rubio is facing something he hasn’t before: a tough-as-nails, well-funded challenger. Rubio breezed through 2016 against a Democrat whose name I bet most of you can’t even recall. Also in 2010, his opponents, Kendrick Meek and Crist, ended up in a dumpster-fire fight with each other. With Demings, Rubio’s facing a well-known name who’s been elected before and is setting fundraising records.

“Matt Gaetz’s fundraising dips as sex trafficking investigation intensifies” via Will Steakin and Soo Rin Kim of ABC News — As the federal investigation into possible sex trafficking allegations against Rep. Gaetz continues, his campaign’s fundraising has been dwindling. In its latest campaign finance disclosure filed on Monday, the Gaetz campaign reported raising $534,000 in the final three months of last year, a major drop from the $1.8 million he raised in the first three months of the year, fresh off the 2020 election. Overall, Gaetz’s fundraising has been gradually slowing down, dropping to $1.4 million in the second quarter and then to $527,000 in the third quarter. A joint fundraising operation between Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also reported bringing in only $19,000 in the final quarter of 2021, compared to the nearly $360,000 it raised in the second quarter.

Audrey Henson rolls out digital ads in CD 13 Republican Primary — Republican Henson launched a pair of digital ads this week as she seeks the GOP nomination in Florida’s 13th Congressional District. The first ad shares the story of illegal immigrant Yery Noel Medina Ulloa, who was flown into Florida and was accused of killing a Jacksonville man in October. The second ad focuses on Henson’s commitment to protecting Pinellas seniors and their Social Security. “Whether it’s protecting our streets or our seniors, I’ll go to Washington to put an end to the woke liberals’ disastrous policies that are hurting communities like Pinellas all around the country,” Henson said in a news release. The campaign said the ads “will target high propensity Republican primary voters across Pinellas County.”

To watch the ads, click on the images below:

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“Ted Deutch raises $66K in Q4, leaves competitors in the dust in money race for re-election” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics — U.S. Rep. Deutch raised $66,246 in the last quarter of 2021, adding to his war chest as he looks for a seventh term in Congress. He currently represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, but the decennial U.S. House redistricting effort might have him facing a reconfigured district. Some drafts have him up against fellow incumbent U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel. Still, he has a hefty campaign kitty compared to his current competitors inside CD 22. Deutch has just over $401,700 to spend as of Dec. 31 as he looks to fend off challenges from three Republicans and one Democrat. Deutch spent $132,823 during the last quarter of 2021. Deutch’s closest Republican competitor, Jim Pruden, raised almost $60,000 in the last quarter of 2021.

“Carlos Giménez overshadows challengers with $316K haul in Q4 for CD 26 defense” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — U.S. Rep. Giménez added $316,000 toward his re-election bid in the final quarter of 2021, thanks to broad support from several industries with strong presences in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. As of New Year’s Day, Giménez’s campaign held more than $1.06 million, according to his filings with the Federal Election Commission. The latest report shows that the campaign spent about $99,000 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 and owes $70,000. A pair of Republican political newcomers, Jeremiah Schaffer and Ruth Swanson, have registered to oppose the former Miami-Dade County Mayor in the Aug. 23 Primary Election. Of the two, only Schaffer has added any money to his campaign coffers. The Florida Division of Elections also lists Democrat Juan Paredes as a CD 26 candidate, but the FEC lists no record of him.

“Hagen Brody announces run for Sarasota County Commission District 2” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Brody announced he’s running for the District 2 seat on the Sarasota County Commission. That pits him against incumbent County Commissioner Christian Ziegler. The move comes as Democrats face their greatest opportunity to win a space at the county dais in decades. A new redistricting map just put in place by the county makes District 2 a Democratic seat, and this election marks the first time single-member voting will be in place to elect a District 2 Commissioner. That is unless the voters repeal single-member districts in a vote this March. The Republican Party of Sarasota will campaign in favor of a referendum that would do just that and reverse a switch to single-member voting passed in 2018.

“‘Flipping this seat’: Duval GOP all in on Nick Howland City Council campaign” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Voting already is underway in the Jacksonville City Council Special Election, and Republicans are shoring up their candidate down the homestretch. On Wednesday, the Republican Party of Duval County announced a $50,000 donation to Howland, which is the most state law allows. A local political party has never done this before in Jacksonville, and the fact that it happened this time is a testament to the unique circumstances of the Special Election, which sees no other races on the ballot on Feb. 22. Dean Black, chair of the Duval County Republicans, expressed confidence in a statement while taking a shot at Howland’s Democratic opponent, Tracye Polson.

— CORONA NATION —

“U.S. has far higher COVID-19 death rate than other wealthy countries” via Benjamin Mueller and Eleanor Lutz of The New York Times — Two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus is killing Americans at far higher rates than people in other wealthy nations, a sobering distinction to bear as the country charts a course through the next stages of the pandemic. The ballooning death toll has defied the hopes of many Americans that the less severe omicron variant would spare the United States the pain of past waves. Deaths have now surpassed the worst days of the autumn surge of the delta variant, and are more than two-thirds as high as the record tolls of last winter when vaccines were largely unavailable.

“Army to immediately begin discharging unvaccinated soldiers; CDC predicts 75,000 more deaths by Feb. 26” via John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz and Celina Tebor of USA Today — The Army will immediately begin discharging soldiers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Under a directive issued by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, commanders are to initiate “involuntary administrative separation proceedings” against unvaccinated soldiers with no approved or pending exemption request, the Pentagon said. The order applies to regular Army, reservists and cadets. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August ordered vaccination for every service member. The Army has not yet involuntarily separated any soldiers for failing to get vaccinated. The Navy and Air Force began letting go of unvaccinated people in December.

— CORONA ECONOMICS —

“Next big health crisis: 15M people could lose Medicaid when pandemic ends” via Megan Messerly of POLITICO — Millions of the most vulnerable Americans could lose their Medicaid insurance when the pandemic ends, and some state officials are worried they might not have enough time or resources to help people find new coverage. States expect the current federal public health emergency to expire this year, triggering a requirement that they must comb through their Medicaid rolls to see who is no longer eligible. Those audits, suspended for the past two years, could lead to as many as 15 million people losing health insurance, including 6 million children.

— MORE CORONA —

“Why do Americans keep taking ivermectin for COVID-19 despite FDA warnings? Hundreds of doctors continue to prescribe it.” via Adrianna Rodriguez of USA Today — Contrary to scientific evidence and warnings from health agencies, hundreds of doctors nationwide continue to prescribe ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19. During the omicron wave, they’ve been busier than ever, writing tens of thousands of prescriptions. Many doctors follow treatment guidelines set by an organization called the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which promotes the controversial drug and other unproven therapies. The alliance has been gaining momentum, appearing in conservative media outlets and serving as an inspiration for proposed legislation in various states to force acceptance of the anti-parasitic as a legitimate COVID-19 treatment.

“Quality time for kids and parents — a pandemic trend that should stay” via Jeffrey M. Leving for the Miami Herald — The pandemic has been hard on us, but one of the positives to come out of it has been the increased amount of quality time parents have spent with their children. This is especially true for fathers, who typically spend less time with their kids than mothers, and is something that all parents should strive to maintain, even once the pandemic is a memory. In January, a survey the U.S. Census Bureau released found that parents spent more time eating, reading, and playing with their children from March 2020 to June 2020, when lockdowns were at their most intense. This interaction time was up significantly from previous years. Many parents learned during the pandemic that quality time isn’t limited to going to a baseball game or museum. It can be found at home, free of charge.

“‘I miss everything. I miss everybody’: Depression rates for seniors are soaring amid COVID-19” via Marc Ramirez of USA Today — Even before the pandemic, advocates and health experts had warned of loneliness and social isolation among the nation’s older adult population. Now, nearly two years in, they say government mandates and precautionary measures meant to control the virus by limiting social interaction have taken an emotional, mental and physical toll. Geriatric workers say rates of depression and anxiety have risen among their clients in that time, and in more severe cases, those conditions have led to cognitive and physical deterioration, or worse.

“Still feeling pandemic miserable? There are ways to dig out” via Alex Janin of The Wall Street Journal — The unhappiness people feel now is different from the unhappiness of the early days of COVID-19. Brief spurts of hope after the first time COVID-19 cases started to decrease or after the first round of vaccines became available have been dashed by the continued emergence of new variants. The phenomenon is called resilience fatigue, which is the exhaustion that comes after a prolonged period of staying motivated or positive. The dropping temperatures and darker days of winter, which encourage hibernation and make it harder to socialize outside, aren’t helping.

— PRESIDENTIAL —

“Biden to relaunch ‘cancer moonshot,’ aiming to reduce death rate, administration officials say” via Laurie McGinley of The Washington Post — President Biden, renewing his pledge to “end cancer as we know it,” plans Wednesday to announce a multipronged effort to bolster prevention, screening and research, with the goal of reducing the death rate from the disease by 50% during the next 25 years, senior administration officials said. Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, embraced the cause with fervor after the death of their 46-year-old son, Beau Biden, from brain cancer in 2015. Biden has often said his work on cancer reflected the almost-unbearable frustrations the couple felt as they struggled to find the best care for Beau.

“Biden grappling with ‘perfect storm’ of rising gun violence” via Colleen Long, Michael Balsamo and Michelle L. Price of The Associated Press — Illegal guns are flooding the streets. Teenagers are being murdered. And alarming numbers of police officers have been shot dead. Gun violence already on the rise during the pandemic is spiking anew, and beleaguered cities are struggling with how to manage it. On Thursday, Biden visits one of them, New York, as he tries to dispel criticism from the right that he hasn’t been tough enough on crime. Biden will showcase federal, state and local efforts to get guns and repeat shooters off the streets. But there are limits to what the President can do when Congress has no appetite to pass gun legislation. The strongest effort in recent years failed, even after 20 children and six adults were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Biden’s student-debt pledge stalls, frustrating supporters” via Andrew Restuccia and Gabriel T. Rubin of The Wall Street Journal — As a candidate, Biden endorsed canceling $10,000 in student debt per borrower through legislation and proposed forgiving tuition-related federal debt for people who earned undergraduate degrees at public colleges and universities, as well as schools that historically serve Black and minority students. Legislative efforts to forgive student debt have sputtered in Congress, and progressive lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Biden to take executive action, calling on him to cancel up to $50,000 in debt per borrower. Biden has revealed little publicly about whether he plans to take additional action to forgive student debt.

“Biden officials push to hold up $11.3 billion USPS truck contract, citing climate damage” via Anna Phillips and Jacob Bogage of The Washington Post — The Biden administration launched a last-minute push Wednesday to derail the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to spend billions of dollars on a new fleet of gasoline-powered delivery trucks, citing the damage the polluting vehicles could inflict on the climate and Americans’ health. The dispute over the Postal Service’s plans to spend up to $11.3 billion on as many as 165,000 new delivery trucks over the next decade has major implications for Biden’s goal of converting all federal cars and trucks to clean power. Postal Service vehicles make up a third of the government’s fleet, and the EPA warned the agency last fall that its environmental analysis of the contract rested on flawed assumptions and missing data.

— D.C. MATTERS —

“‘Lives continue to be in danger’: Lawmakers want Florida migrant detention center to close” via Syra Ortiz-Blanes of the Miami Herald — A group of 17 members of Congress asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to shutter a Florida detention center that houses migrant detainees, and that is at the heart of multiple complaints made to the Biden administration. The Feb. 2 letter points to a slew of recent grievances from immigration advocates and watchdog groups, including allegations of sexual misconduct, medical negligence, racist violence and more at the Glades County Detention Center. The county jail, near Lake Okeechobee and west of Palm Beach County, is run by the county sheriff’s office and has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold immigrants in federal custody.

— CRISIS —

“Donald Trump gives Capitol riot suspects a reason not to help investigators” via Philip Bump of The Washington Post — Trump used his pardon power for two primary ends: first, to benefit his close allies (and often himself by extension); second, to aid prominent figures on the political right or at the request of people he knew personally. What’s remarkable about the end of his tenure in office, really, is that he didn’t pardon those accused of crimes related to the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This failure to rise to their defense did not go unnoticed by the accused. But then, during a rally in Texas on Saturday, Trump cracked the door back open. “If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly,” he said. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.”

“Jan. 6 committee member says Trump ‘absolutely’ tampering with witnesses as he continues to dangle pardons” via Chandelis Duster of CNN — A member of the House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol accused Trump of tampering with witnesses by vowing to pardon those involved in the riots if reelected in 2024. Trump’s comments over the weekend added fresh urgency to the committee’s work as the prospect of Republican control of Congress in 2023 and a potential re-election bid by Trump threatens to derail the investigation into the riot. “Absolutely,” Rep. Pete Aguilar said when asked if Trump was tampering with witnesses by dangling pardons in front of January 6 defendants. Trump also reiterated his vow to pardon the rioters on Tuesday night.

“Jan. 6 select committee subpoenas phone records of Arizona GOP chair” via Kyle Cheney, Nicholas Wu and Josh Gerstein of POLITICO — The Jan. 6 select committee has subpoenaed the phone records of Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, who both signed documents falsely claiming to be among their state’s presidential electors in 2020. The Wards filed suit Tuesday against the House panel in federal court in Arizona seeking to block the couple’s phone provider, T-Mobile, from sharing their records with the committee. The subpoena seeks phone records from Nov. 1, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2021. Kelli Ward was among the most prominent GOP officials working with Trump to stoke claims of fraud in the 2020 election and later to transmit an unofficial slate of GOP electors to Congress as part of a bid to reverse the outcome on Jan. 6, 2021.

— EPILOGUE TRUMP —

“Trump son, allies sued by witness from first impeachment case” via Eric Tucker of The Associated Press — A retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a pivotal witness in the first impeachment case against Trump has sued the oldest son of the former President and other Trump allies, accusing them of participating in an “intentional, concerted campaign of unlawful intimidation and harassment” over his decision to testify. The lawsuit from Alexander Vindman, who testified in 2019 impeachment proceedings about a phone call in which Trump pressed his Ukraine counterpart to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter, was filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington. Trump was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.

“Fox News doesn’t carry Trump rallies live anymore. ‘He’s got to be very unhappy about it.’” via Jeremy Barr of The Washington Post — When Trump began speaking at a boisterous rally Saturday night in Conroe, Tex., his favorite cable news channel did not show it. Fox also chose not to broadcast Trump’s first big speech of 2022, at a Jan. 15 rally in Arizona, even though a reporter for the network later described it as “his first stump speech of a possible 2024 campaign.” As Trump appears likely to run for President again, his supporters can no longer turn to Fox News Channel for live coverage of his latest speeches, as they generally could during his 2016 campaign, the presidency and re-election campaign. It’s the latest sign that Fox is becoming more selective about how it covers Trump.

— LOCAL NOTES —

“Judge who was adamant about no more delays agrees to push back Parkland massacre sentencing trial” via Amy Beth Bennett of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — A judge overseeing the sentencing trial for the killer behind the 2018 Parkland massacre agreed to delay the start of the hearing for at least another six weeks, giving both sides more time to prepare. Jury selection had been scheduled for Feb. 21. Instead, several hours that day and the following few days have been set aside for unfinished business. Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who had been towing a hard line for no more delays, tried Tuesday to get both the state and defense team for Nikolas Cruz to commit to a new date. A new date, possibly as early as the first week of April, might be decided on March 14. In October, Cruz confessed to the murders as well as the attempted murders. His guilt has never been in doubt, although a death sentence has been.

“Broward School Board selects two finalists for superintendent, including Vickie Cartwright” via Omar Rodriguez Ortiz of the Miami Herald — The Broward School Board Wednesday narrowed its list of finalists for a new school superintendent to two, including the district’s interim superintendent and a retired Air Force colonel who has had a career in educational technology sales. After about four hours of interviewing the top three candidates and hearing from the public, the nine board members chose Cartwright and Michael Gaal to proceed to the next round of interviews. Each of the board members voted for their top two choices. Cartwright, whom the Board chose as interim in July with a $275,000 contract, received nine votes. Gaal received seven.

“For second time in three weeks, Flagler School Board members reject declaration against hate” via Flagler Live — At a workshop in early January, School Board members Jill Woolbright and Janet McDonald shot down a proposal by fellow-Board member Cheryl Massaro to issue a proclamation denouncing “hate groups.” They were opposed to using the word “denounce,” too. The proclamation they ended up favoring was an aqueous declaration for civility. Board member Colleen Conklin had been absent from that meeting (she had a COVID-19 infection). Today, she submitted a revised proclamation that restored some of the language, this time “Denouncing Hate Speech,” as she had it in the headline of the proclamation. After researching the subject, she also included 2020 hate-crime data totaling over 11,000 reported incidents. She got no support either for the reworded headline or for the data.

“Seth Weightman enters race to succeed Mike Moore on Pasco County Commission” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Weightman has announced a run for the Pasco County Commission, hoping to succeed District 2 Commissioner Moore, who announced his retirement Monday. Weightman, who is running as a conservative, works as the municipal services manager for Republic Services Inc. in addition to running a family business with his wife. In announcing his candidacy, Weightman laid out his platforms, which include strengthening the local economy, investing in sustainable infrastructure, promoting public safety and preserving the community’s character with smart growth. Weightman serves on the Southwest Florida Water Management District Board after being appointed by DeSantis in November 2019.

Exclusive — “FBI accuses Central Florida couple of $1.2M in bogus PPP loans” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics — A Florida couple is accused of obtaining at least a dozen fraudulent loans worth more than $1.2 million to manipulate a government program meant to help small businesses during the pandemic. Pretending to be longtime business owners, Levelle and Rachelle Harris received the money between May 2020 and April 2021 and bought two houses in Central Florida, according to documents filed by the U.S. government as it seeks to seize the properties in Apopka and St. Cloud. For the Harrises, their scheme began when they applied for loans “on behalf of six similarly named businesses to at least seven lenders,” federal court documents said. All the different businesses sounded the same.

“Oral arguments next in Rayonier lawsuit” via Wes Wolfe of the News-Leader — The lawsuit between Rayonier, Nassau County and County Attorney Mike Mullin is set for oral arguments Feb. 16 in the state 1st District Court of Appeal.

“Frontier contractors spill over 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water in Pinellas County over last month” via Justin Garcia of Creative Loafing — Last month, contractors for Frontier Communications were named in several reclaimed water spill incidents, totaling over 500,000 gallons. The spills occurred when three different contractors working for Frontier hit water mains and released the water in mostly small amounts, except for a huge half-a-million-gallon spill on Jan. 19. Vertek LLC, while working for Frontier, hit an eight-inch water main causing it to break, Pinellas County reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). The spill went on for four hours, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. During that time, the water spilled and saturated the area before going into Boca Ciega Bay. Fortunately, the water was already treated as reclaimed water (the kind people use to water their lawns) and was not sewage.

“Fort Lauderdale getting a $190M U.S. courthouse, while efforts mount to save the old one” via Andres Viglucci of the Miami Herald — Solving a 20-year quandary, the federal government has unveiled plans for a $190 million U.S. courthouse in Fort Lauderdale that echoes the city’s signature Mid-Century Modern architecture and is expected to drive a wave of redevelopment on the funky south side of the city’s resurgent downtown. The project is slated to start rising in 2023 on a site on the Tarpon River acquired by the government last year for $13.5 million. In a nod to tropical Modernist design, the 10-story tower is fronted by a wavy, sheltering arcade for pedestrians that extends to the ends of the 3.5-acre lot. At the back, on the riverbank, the plan calls for a new park and promenade and preservation of existing mangroves.

“Immigrant IDs to be issued in Florida’s Miami-Dade County” via The Associated Press — Commissioners in Florida’s Miami-Dade County have given a nonprofit the green light to issue IDs for immigrants who are in the country illegally and others who don’t have identification. The plan proposed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava passed by a 7-2 vote Tuesday. Supporters note that immigrants often struggle to access their children’s schools, coronavirus tests or vaccines. They say the IDs also will enable them to use library resources, local recreation facilities and storm shelters, and provide them with the necessary identification to return to their homes after evacuating during hurricanes or fires. The two Commissioners voting against the IDs voiced concerns that they could lead to fraudulent activity.

“Miami Film Festival announces 2022 lineup for hybrid event” via Shalini Dore of Variety — The Miami Film Festival returns this year with a hybrid event that includes nine premieres from March 4-13 in the Florida city. The festival had previously announced that “The Good Boss” would open the event while “Plaza Catedral” would be the closer. In total, 120 films from more than 35 countries will unspool next month. The festival will also give cash prizes to shorts, docs and features. Competing for the $25,000 Knight Marimbas Award is “Paris, 13th District,” “The Box,” and “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future,” among others.

“This Havana-inspired cocktail bar with a secret entrance just reopened in Miami Beach” via Connie Ogle of the Miami Herald — After almost two years, The Regent Cocktail Club has opened its (hidden) door once again. The Havana-inspired bar and lounge, located inside the Gale South Beach, Curio Collection by Hilton, closed in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Miami. It was a tough break for The Regent, which opened in 2012 and was named one of the Top Ten Hotel Bars in the World in 2017 by Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. The bar had just undergone a renovation in 2019 before the shutdown. The space, which used to be home to the underground nightlife spot Rec Room and can seat up to 200 guests, is three times the size of the original club.

— TOP OPINION —

“Too many Whites remain willfully blind to America’s racist past. Same old same old” via Leonard Pitts, Jr. for the Miami Herald — In America, there are some stories we don’t allow to be told, some memories we would prefer not to maintain. DeSantis claimed he was standing against “state-sanctioned racism” in promulgating a new anti-Black history law. It bans teaching that might make a student “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex or national origin.” The stories that cannot be told do not disappear. No, as they’ve always done, they sit in communal memory, lie in wait to be discovered.

— OPINIONS —

“I got it wrong on masks at the start of the pandemic. This is how we can get it right.” via Dr. Jerome Adams of USA Today — Back in February of 2020, I famously tweeted “STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing the general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if health care providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!” Dr. Fauci, the CDC, the WHO, and many others said the same thing. It’s certainly an admonishment many of us would love a redo on, but it doesn’t mean it was intentionally misleading or represented an unreasonable recommendation based on information available at the time. We also need to communicate a path forward that makes sense to people. There need to be clear guidelines for stopping mask mandates when vaccination rates are high enough, and local spread falls low enough.

“Florida wants execution drugs hidden from you — and the companies that make them” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel — A bill zipping through the Legislature would allow the state to hide the kind of drugs it uses to kill people — even if the drugs used are controversial, not made for that purpose or being used to kill people over the objections of the manufacturers. You’d still know the state was executing people. You just wouldn’t know precisely how. This push for secrecy comes in a state with a nasty record of both wrongful convictions and botched executions. “This exemption will make it impossible to oversee the state’s administration of executions,” said Virginia Hamrick, an attorney with the First Amendment Foundation. That seems to be the idea: More killing. Less accountability.

“Skylar Zander: It’s time Florida empowers workers over unions” via Florida Politics — Working-class Floridians need and deserve to hang on to every penny they can. And unions need to be held accountable. That’s why Florida lawmakers should pass legislation that would force greater accountability on labor unions that represent public employees and ensure that union membership is truly voluntary. SB 1458 and HB 1197 would require union membership authorization forms to include a specific statutory notice that the public employee does not have to become a union member and can revoke their membership simply by requesting it — no questions asked. Importantly, it would require a public employee to willingly submit a signed form before union dues can be deducted from their paycheck. Together, these provisions would give the employee power over the union bring a far greater measure of transparency to how public employee unions operate.

“Proposed bill is a tool to help restoration ecology” via Rep. Toby Overdorf for Florida Today — After entering public service in 2018, I became the only member of the Florida House with a master’s degree in biology and extensive knowledge of restoration ecology. As a resident of the Treasure Coast, I have seen the degradation of the marine resources firsthand, and as a legislator, I am working to expand environmental restoration tools. Recently, along with Rep. Tyler Sirois, we filed CS/HB 349, Water Resource Management. If approved, the bill allows both public and private entities to use submerged sovereign lands to establish mitigation banks. The mitigation banks allow private equity to invest in restoring mangroves, hard bottoms, seagrass, bivalves, corals, and other benthic habitats/ecology.

“Don’t Say Gay’ and other conversation-canceling bills in Tallahassee will kill people” via Arianna Inurritegui-Lint for the Miami Herald — My life as an HIV advocate means breaking silence and busting stigma with a positive, three-point mantra: There’s a pill you can take to prevent HIV! HIV isn’t a death sentence! Did you know, treating HIV means the virus can become undetectable and therefore untransmittable, (U=U)? These incredible advances in treating and preventing HIV are already underreported. Now we have bills in Tallahassee that will make talking about it harder, even illegal. The bills are dangerous and shameful, and I’m here to say, plainly and without exaggeration, these bills will lead to people not getting services that could save their lives. Let’s talk about it. The “Don’t Say Gay” bill silences vital conversation in school and threatens all kids’ ability to learn.

“The unseen leak in your home has powerful allies in Tallahassee” via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board — A law that makes it difficult to sue builders over construction defects is about to get worse. The legislator behind this monumentally bad bill (SB 736) works in a family construction company, with 20,000 home sites in northeast Florida and plans for thousands more. State law currently forbids claims against contractors if they are filed more than four years after certain key dates unless the problem was “latent,” or not visible until later, like a stucco leak that causes mold and rot. In such cases, the current absolute deadline is usually 10 years from the date the owner takes possession, or a certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever is later.

—TODAY’S SUNRISE —

Gov. DeSantis says critics of his anti-woke legislation are trying to divert attention from the failed policies of the Biden administration. Or, as the Governor put it, it’s like they’re trying to use the “Chewbacca Defense.”

Also on today’s Sunrise:

— A new study shows bonefish off the shores of Florida are pretty loaded — with pharmaceuticals.

— The Save the Manatee Club has joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to try and — well — save the Manatee.

— What is the Chewbacca Defense?

To listen, click on the image below:

— OLYMPICS —

“Virus infections for Olympic athletes, coaches rising faster” via Graham Dunbar of The Associated Press — Athletes and team officials are testing positive for COVID-19 at much higher rates than other people arriving in China for the Beijing Olympics, organizers said Tuesday. Figures released by local organizers showed 11 positive tests for COVID-19 among 379 athletes and officials arriving Monday. They have been taken into isolation hotels to limit the spread of the infection and could miss their events. The positive test rate of 2.9% for athletes and officials compared to 0.66% for Olympic “stakeholders,” a group that includes workers and media, in the same period. There were 1,059 people in that category. Over three days, from Saturday through Monday, the positivity rate for athletes and officials was 40% higher than other Olympic arrivals.

“John Shuster to become first curler to carry U.S. flag at Olympics” via Bernie Wilson of The Associated Press — Before he throws a stone at the Beijing Games, Shuster will become the first curler to carry the American flag in an Olympic opening ceremony. That’s a big deal for a sport that’s becoming more popular in the United States thanks to Shuster’s Olympic exploits. The announcement of the flag bearers came shortly after competition at the Beijing Olympics began Wednesday with the opening games of mixed doubles curling at the Ice Cube, the reconfigured venue where Michael Phelps won a record eight swimming gold medals at the Summer Olympics 14 years ago.

“USA Luge’s cool uncle: Chris Mazdzer ready for 4th Olympics” via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press — Mazdzer tends to be the guy with just about all the answers for USA Luge. He always finds the quickest path to get where food is served. He knows how to handle logistical issues. He can even advise on where to get a haircut. At 33 and now a member of four U.S. Olympic luge teams, it’s clear that his career is much closer to the end than the beginning. And while he hasn’t announced a retirement plan, it’s relatively obvious that the team’s leadership torch is going to be passed soon. But first, Beijing. Men’s luge, where Mazdzer is one of three Americans in the field, starts Saturday, with the first sliding medals of this year’s Olympics awarded Sunday.

— ALOE —

“Publix is the top grocer on a new Forbes survey of customer service and social responsibility” via Paul Nutcher of The Lakeland Ledger — Publix keeps landing on Forbes best-of lists, and this time the grocer took the top spot of grocery chains on a list of best customer service and social responsibility. “The list recognizes companies customers say are excelling at delivering great customer experiences in a responsible way,” said a Publix news release issued Tuesday. Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. was named to the magazine’s inaugural Forbes Halo 100 list, ranking No. 4 out of 100 companies and No. 1 in the grocery industry, the release said. Forbes partnered with HundredX to compile the list through surveys of 110,000 customers who had more than 2.8 million interactions with the companies on the list during 2021.

“More than half of her class had never seen snow. So a Florida teacher got her sister to ship her a snowman.” via Andrea Salcedo of The Washington Post — In November, a classroom of kindergartners listened attentively as their teacher, Robin Hughes, read them a book about snow. But as the Riverview, Florida, special education teacher flipped through its pages and showed them photos of children sledding and making snow angels, Hughes, 60, noticed some students looked puzzled. Only a couple of kids said they had seen snow. Days later, Hughes’s sister sent a complete snowman named Lucky on a nearly 800-mile journey to Florida in an insulated container filled with ice packs. Hughes and an entire classroom of kindergartners awaited Lucky’s arrival. Hughes cut the box open before presenting the snowman or what remained of it to her students. To Hughes’s surprise, Lucky had arrived almost intact.

“It’s time for Steve Ross to sell the Dolphins” via Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Let’s hope Ross throws in the towel as easily as he allegedly asked his coach to do. That’s the only way out of the latest and messiest fiasco of his Miami Dolphins ownership. Ross can still run Hard Rock Stadium, where he’s made buckets of money on tennis, a grass company and now a Formula One race. He should just sell the community jewel of the Dolphins to his already-hand-picked and NFL-approved successor, Bruce Beal. Ross isn’t a bad billionaire. He’s really not. The Dolphins have done more in the community than any other franchise. But he doesn’t know how to run a sports team. Worse, he doesn’t know that he doesn’t know.

— HAPPY BIRTHDAY —

Celebrating today is former everything Tom Gallagher, former Sen. Arthenia Joyner, Carolyn Pardue, Hillary Stapleton, and Jodi Stevens, Director of Government Affairs for PACE Center for Girls and Monte’s better half.

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Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Daniel Dean, Renzo Downey, Jacob Ogles, and Drew Wilson.