Recent editorials from Florida newspapers:
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June 19
The Miami Herald on Florida Democrats:
Former Vice President Joe Biden was in Florida last weekend to cheer on the state’s dysfunctional Democratic Party looking high and low for a message to woo voters.
As reported by the Herald’s Patricia Mazzei and Martin Vassolo, he noted to the attendees of Leadership Blue, the party’s annual fundraiser, that working people elected him again and again. Also, “They voted for a black man named Barack Obama!” he said. But, he said, those same voters fear losing jobs to automation and globalization.
“We didn’t talk much to those people lately,” Biden scolded. “We have to let them know we understand their fears, their concerns and that we have some real answers.”
He also told state Democrats: “We’re better than this.”
Maybe not. State party leaders are making increasingly clear that those are the very people for whom they have little use. In a rush to hurry the proceedings along at Leadership Blue so that a time-pressed Biden could get on the stage, state party chairman Stephen Bittel scuttled the introduction of lawmakers, who were already gathering. No one alerted them to the change of plan. State Sen. Oscar Braynon II, made his displeasure known, after which Bittel muttered: “They’re like children, these black lawmakers. They just don’t get it. I raised more money in this amount of time than they ever could.” Braynon said that Sen. Lauren Book, who rightly took offense, relayed Bittel’s words.
It was a tone-deaf, bigoted, and embarrassing remark, for which Bittel apologized in a tepid, boilerplate statement: “I respect all of our elected officials, especially our legislators who are on the front lines fighting for Democrats and our values,” Bittel wrote Sunday in a statement to the Herald. “My behavior did not reflect that. I sincerely apologize and I will do better.”
On Monday, the Editorial Board sought an interview with Bittel regarding his comments. Instead, a party spokeswoman emailed the board the exact same statement.
To be clear, Braynon, as the Senate Democratic leader, was angry on behalf of all the spurned lawmakers, diverse in race, ethnicity, and geography. So for Bittel to single out “these black lawmakers” is telling, and we don’t like the message, especially because it also dismisses the people whom some of them represent - African American Democrats.
But Bittel’s subtext dovetails neatly with another questionable statement by the state party’s executive director. Last month, Sally Boynton Brown told the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Broward County, among other inscrutable comments, that poor people don’t vote based on the policies that will affect them. “They’re emotional beings who are struggling to make a living, and they need to know that somebody’s going to be on their side and be able to help them.” Come on, they are not emotional, they are likely apathetic because, as Biden said, they are being ignored. Of course, Brown also apologized.
Brown was imported from Idaho, where she was executive director of that state’s Democratic Party. The population of Idaho is smaller than that of Miami-Dade County. Its governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller treasurer, attorney general and all four members of the congressional delegation are Republicans. So Brown has her work cut out for her in Florida.
Infantilizing what was a reliable base as childish and emotional is not a winning message. Candidates who don’t reflect the reality of the state’s diversity won’t help. African-American support for Florida Gov. Rick Scott doubled when he sought a second term.
Given the losses the Democrats continue to rack up in Florida, and across the nation, Bittel is the one who doesn’t get it. Big bucks always help, but not if the party and the people it’s pushing don’t bring a powerful vision and a persuasive message to draw back its base and to grow the party. Hillary Clinton outspent Donald Trump and still lost Florida - and the presidency. Right now, we’re still not convinced that the party is “better than this.”
Online: https://www.miamiherald.com/
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June 17
Naples Daily News on diversifying tourism with a sports complex:
When the economy went south during the Great Recession, the number of visitors from the north declined and tourism suffered in beach-oriented Collier County and beyond.
After the Deepwater Horizon spill in April 2010, word spread that oil-tainted Gulf waters were lapping on beaches. Even though the visible environmental effects were realized on sands far from Collier County, visitation here was affected by a generalized national perception about Florida beaches.
Any time reports circulate of beaches eroded by a tropical storm system or coastal waters harmed by algae or red tide, there’s a residual effect that can determine where tourists decide to take trips instead if they can’t enjoy the beach.
Just as Collier needs to diversify its economy beyond hospitality, agriculture, construction and real estate, it’s wise to diversify the visitation segment of the economy through sports tourism.
So we applaud the unanimous decisions reached recently by Collier commissioners and their tourism advisory board to pursue construction of an amateur sports complex and consider increasing the bed tax charged on hotel rooms and short-term rentals to pay for it.
While beaches remain our No. 1 tourist draw, the expansion of a series of offshore artificial reefs and more recently the emergence of Collier County as a national destination for the rising sport of pickleball were two steps forward on tourism diversification.
A $60 million to $80 million amateur sports complex near the Interstate 75 and Collier Boulevard interchange is another positive move toward diversifying tourism in our economy.
Amateur sports complex
The plan presented by Deputy County Manager Nick Casalanguida on behalf of county staff this past Tuesday earned wide praise from local elected and community leaders in attendance, and deservedly so.
Staff outlined a systematic process to move quickly but deliberately through the steps toward having an amateur sports complex in play within a couple of years, initially using 60 acres of the City Gate business park with later phases developed on adjacent county-owned land.
Along the way, there will be many opportunities for transparent public review and commission discussions, such as when a $12 million contract could be approved in September with City Gate developers to buy land for the initial phase. Various design contracts and plans, a policy on naming rights for the complex, a bond financing agreement and many other steps are ahead. At any point should surprises arise, there will be opportunities to adjust the plan.
Yet the end result of adding what staff bills as a “regional tournament-caliber sports facility” could be to successfully diversify the essential tourism segment of our economy. Visitors could be lured here not just for beaches but for sports tournaments, cultural arts and amenities, recreational sports, plus offshore diving and fishing, not to mention the rich offerings of nature in our vast preserves.
An amateur sports complex - available to local children and adults when there aren’t tournaments - is a plus toward economic diversification, particularly at such times when uncontrollable events reduce beach visitation.
The 5 percent
Tourism advisers and commissioners also wisely agreed to go forward with increasing the current 4 percent tax on short-term rentals and hotel rooms to 5 percent, with the extra penny per dollar to pay off the bond debt for building and marketing an amateur sports complex.
The increase must be voted on by commissioners through an ordinance, creating yet another opportunity for public review of the proposal.
The increase would bring Collier in line with most coastal Florida counties, which already have a 5 percent - in some cases 6 percent - bed tax. The staff proposal wisely changes the tourist tax distribution formula by increasing money for beach-related projects to $11.1 million. The annual share for beaches (42.5 percent) would exceed that for marketing (33.6 percent), a positive reversal of the current distribution formula.
Tourism advisers questioned whether that’s too much of a cutback for marketing while museums still receive bed tax support. That will be debated further later this month, when we hope to see a compromise reached.
Online: https://www.naplesnews.com/
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June 17
The Ledger of Lakeland on a veto’s effect on state colleges:
Gov. Rick Scott recently threw a scare into most presidents of Florida’s state colleges, including Polk State College’s own President Eileen Holden, when he vetoed $75 million for various projects at their campuses. Thankfully, lawmakers rescued most of that funding during the recent special session, although the proposed $3 million cut to Polk State was not fully restored, thus forcing the college to surrender its management of the Lake Wales Arts Center.
Nonetheless, Scott on Wednesday used his veto pen to do a favor for some of those presidents, including Holden, and more importantly for their students.
The governor rejected Senate Bill 374, a broad higher education reform package that in part would have curtailed the ability of state colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees. The governor made the right call, and hopefully his veto settles this matter.
In 2001, the Legislature permitted state colleges - then known as community colleges - to offer four-year degrees in certain academic disciplines. The intent was to offer at state colleges niche courses geared toward workforce training - think nursing, education, or public safety - that the State University System either ignored or did not fully cover.
The idea was grand, and over the years both parts of the system have flourished. For their part, the state colleges were able to better serve their communities by giving nontraditional students - those who were older, perhaps with families, and already established in the job market - an opportunity to advance their careers.
Enrollment in such programs at state colleges has doubled just since 2011. The growth is impressive, but that still equates to just 15,000 students, or less than 5 percent of all full-time enrollment at the 28 state colleges.
Despite that, state Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican, proposed a bill to cap the number of students who could enroll in baccalaureate courses.
The cap maxed out at 8 percent, although it could be increased to 10 percent with legislative approval. That would have been detrimental to Polk State, where 14 percent of the students are already enrolled in four-year programs.
Moreover, Hukill’s measure would have given the universities greater veto power over new course offerings at state colleges, and extended the time frame for getting those approved by the state Education Department.
Proponents of Hukill’s bill complained that expanding the universe of baccalaureate offerings at the state colleges was “mission creep” that at best would duplicate existing programs at universities, or, worse, undermine their curriculum.
Holden told us three months ago that Hukill’s measure, if enacted, would have two effects. First, it would inhibit Polk State’s ability to nimbly assess and meet the demands of Polk County employers. Secondly, it would reduce the students’ ability to improve their education in timely manner and within their own communities.
On Wednesday, Senate President Joe Negron disputed the opposition, telling the Miami Herald that SB 374 simply attempted to “elevate Florida’s nationally-ranked community colleges through a renewed focus on their core mission - on-time completion of vital associate degrees and workforce credentials that prepare students for jobs in communities across our state.”
To Negron’s point, we would argue that schools like Polk State College are already doing that. But if not, we fail to see how the state colleges will get there by erecting educational hurdles to the small segment of four-year-degree-seeking students they now serve. Gov. Scott apparently saw it our way. In his veto letter, Scott said he objected to the cap and to “unnecessarily increasing red tape” that would impede the communities and families served by state colleges.
“That is good news for us,” Holden said of the veto in an email. “Let’s hope this doesn’t come back next year.”
We agree, and applaud the governor for blocking this change - at least for this year.
Online: https://www.theledger.com/
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