Florida politicians react to FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, school starts with a shortage of 9,000 teachers, hundreds of migrants land in Florida Keys, and more...
August 12, 2022 — This Week's Top Stories in Florida
Welcome to the this week’s edition of Floridian Today, a newsletter about all things Florida — from politics, business, real estate, and climate. These are the most important stories in the Sunshine State that you need to know. If you’d like to sign-up to never miss an update, you can do so here:
Here’s what is happening in Florida…
Florida’s politicians react to FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
On Monday evening, a political shockwave reverberated throughout the country when news broke of an FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. Almost universally, Republicans expressed outrage with the unannounced search while Democrats justified the action by federal authorities. Florida’s politicians were quick to provide their point of view on the matter, once again, drawing a divide between political parties. Gov. Ron DeSantis shared his thoughts of the raid on Twitter, writing:
Senator Marco Rubio criticized the move by the FBI while he accused them of ignoring “groups vandalizing Catholic Churches, firebombing Pro-Life groups or threatening Supreme Court justices.” He shared the following video on Twitter:
Like Rubio, Sen. Rubio expressed his concerns of the raid, demanding answers from the FBI:
Speaking to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called the move “unusual” and asserted that federal law enforcement better have “a rock solid case.”
Across the aisle, Democrats’ tone was much different, emphasizing that no one is above the law or immune from consequences for breaking rules. Florida’s gubernatorial candidates vying for the Democratic nomination weighed in and seized the opportunity to criticize Gov. DeSantis’ reaction to the raid. Former governor Charlie Crist released a state on Tuesday, saying:
"In the United States of America, no one is above the law, not even a former President."
"Governor DeSantis’s knee-jerk partisan response to this law enforcement action proves yet again he is more interested in playing politics than seeking justice or the rule of law."
Similarly, Crist’s primary opponent, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried responded to DeSantis’ defense of Trump on Twitter:
The FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago was announced by the former president in a released statement that criticized the Bureau’s actions. The unprecedented move is part of an investigation into whether Trump removed classified documents from the White House and transferred them to his Florida estate. Earlier this year, the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved 15 boxes of classified records from Mar-a-Lago. The National Archives asked the Department of Justice to investigate possible mishandling of classified information by the former Trump Administration, alleging that the Administration should have handed over the documents upon leaving office. The FBI’s latest actions are reportedly related to a search of additional presidential records or classified information still held at the estate.
School starts with a shortage of 9,000 teachers
Students across Florida return to the classroom this week amid an ongoing teacher shortage as school districts scramble to fill job vacancies in an effort to eliminate disruptions for thousands of pupils. County school districts have faced an unprecedented challenge of trying to recruit instructors to fill open positions with a shortage of nearly 9,000 teachers statewide. The lack of adequate instructors to fill roles is a nationwide issue, but in Florida, the shortage is attributed to inflated housing costs, low pay, and an increasingly hostile work environment in which Gov. DeSantis and the state legislature have put restrictions on teachers and limitations on what they can discuss in the classroom. These pressures, along with COVID-19 and an overall lack of respect are also to blame. Schools districts continued advertising open positions in the days leading up to the official start of the session and those job postings remained active upon students returning to classes. Adding to the challenges is a lack of support staff such as bus drivers and food service workers that perform vital services to school operations. Recently, the Sunshine State relaxed educator qualifications to now allow military veterans who have served four years or more to qualify as a teacher if they do not possess a bachelor's degree.
300+ Haitian migrants land in the Florida Keys
More than 300 Haitian migrants landed off the coast of the Florida Keys on Saturday after their ship ran aground. Border patrol agents arrested 113 Haitian migrants after they jumped off the boat and attempted to swim to shore while the 200 remaining migrants on the vessel were taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard. The exact journey of the migrants is unclear, but authorities suspect their trip was organized by smugglers with the goal of entering the United States. Upon capture, the migrants were medically evaluated and several were treated for dehydration as federal authorities work to determine their identities. Over the course of two days last week, 268 migrants were arrested after law enforcement responded to more than a dozen migrant landings in Florida.
Florida ranks third in most monkeypox cases
With a federal public health emergency declared by President Biden, monkeypox infections continue to climb and cases have crossed the 8,000 mark nationwide. Florida has the third-highest confirmed case count in the country with nearly 700 infected, according to the CDC. The Sunshine State only trails New York and California in the number of cases. Most cases are concentrated in population-dense metropolitan areas such as Miami-Dade and Broward counties. In Tampa Bay, infections have quadrupled in the last two weeks amid a shortage of vaccine doses. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida will not declare a state of emergency unlike California, New York or Illinois. Monkeypox infections are most commonly spread through direct and personal contact, and begin with flu-like symptoms to include fever, chills, headache, and body aches. The viral disease will often develop a painful rash with pimples or blisters and symptoms can last for weeks.
Miami puts plan to relocate homeless to Virginia Key on hold
In last week’s edition of Floridian Today, we reported on the City of Miami’s plan to build a tiny home community in Virginia Key and relocate the area’s homeless population to an empty field at Virginia Key Beach North Point Park. The plan was met with much opposition from residents, park goers, organizers, and even Miami-Dade County leaders as widespread outrage included protests that erupted across Miami. Facing pressure from public outcry, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and City Commissioner Joe Carollo said the plan to use a City-owned site on the barrier island is on hold for now, making the announcement at a press conference on Tuesday. Previously, the Miami City Commission voted to approve a proposal to place up to 100 tiny homes on Virginia Key where the City would transport homeless individuals to the site who currently reside along the streets in booming areas of Miami. The effort will be paused for at least 6 months as the City of Miami works with Miami-Dade County officials to address the issue of homelessness and propose alternative solutions such as ensuring enough shelter beds are available and identifying publicly-owned properties for temporary housing facilities aside from Virginia Key. Miami is also asking Miami-Dade County to stop releasing homeless people from county jail within their city limits. County leaders, including Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, have committed to working with the City of Miami to adequately address homelessness and evaluate the proposals. The pause for the Virginia Key plan will require formal approval from the City Commission.
Tampa’s commitment to address housing crisis
Tampa’s housing market has seen soaring prices as demand has reached unprecedented levels since early 2021. Housing affordability is a crisis that many cities in Florida are grappling with, but in Tampa, City leaders are attempting to tackle the problem by pledging millions to increase housing supply. Tampa City Council’s plan is to invest in more units as migration to the area has boomed and put stress on the stock of available options. The City of Tampa is also assisting renters and homebuyers through new advocacy services, including the recently created tenant advocacy office that assists individuals by providing rental assistance, legal services, or offering services to evicted tenants. This is in addition to Tampa’s new housing assistance hotline that aims to direct residents to resources to handle landlord or tenant issues, rent and mortgage assistance, or eviction. Council members hope that the spending will provide some relief to families and individuals while recently approved workforce housing projects like West Tampa’s Rome Yard or West River await completion and eventual occupancy. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor this week announced her goal to add 10,000 new affordable housing units to the City by 2027.
Federal judge hears arguments on the “Stop WOKE Act”
On Monday, a U.S. District Judge in Tallahassee heard arguments on HB 7, more commonly known as the “Stop WOKE Act” or the "Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees Act,” after several businesses filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against the law. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation in April that prohibits workplace training or classroom instruction that teaches that individuals are, "inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously" or people experience privilege or oppression based on race, gender, or national origin. Some businesses immediately took issue with the new law, arguing that it is an unconstitutional infringement upon their First Amendment rights. Businesses now face restrictions in requiring their employees to take part in diversity, equity, and inclusion training programs that discuss issues like racism or implicit bias. The bill is part of Gov. DeSantis’ efforts against “indoctrination” and activism that he believes is taking place in the workplace and classrooms. Following a nearly two-hour hearing related to the legislation, the federal judge did not rule on Monday, but promised to “move swiftly” on issuing a written order.
Disney World prices up nearly 4,000% in 50 years
The Happiest Place on Earth may not be the happiest for your wallet. The cost for admission to Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks has seen more than a 3,871% increase in the last 50 years, outpacing wage growth, housing prices, rent, and price of a new car. Tickets for the Florida and California theme parks have seen a steady increase since the parks opened . When Disney World’s Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, admission was priced at just $3.50 – less than a Starbucks latte or a Big Mac from McDonald’s. Adjusted for inflation, a $3.50 ticket in 1971 would equate to about $25.54 in June 2022. The data on Disney’s dramatic and decades-long price hike was compiled by SJ Data Visualizations on TikTok and has gone viral among users. The TikTok video shows the skyrocketing cost of a ticket to Walt Disney World compared to wages, rent, and gasoline on a line graph. Admission to the theme parks is not the only thing to have seen its prices swell. Many have noted the cost of food and merchandise within the parks to have seen staggering increases in the last year alone. A pair of Mickey Ears is up $10 from last year and will now cost you $39.99.
Hundreds of hunters gather for the annual Florida Python Challenge
For decades, invasive, nonnative Burmese pythons have taken over the Florida Everglades, posing a danger to the native ecosystem and driving out native wildlife such as white tailed deer and alligators. It has been an issue for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) since the snakes were introduced to the area in the 1970s, causing a reduction in the local populations of native mammals and making preservation of the wetlands a challenge. Now, over 850 hunters have descended on Everglades National Park in south Florida to take part in the annual Florida Python Challenge created by FWC. Since 2013, state conservation officials have sponsored the contest with cash prizes up to $2,500 for those who remove the most pythons. $1,500 will be awarded to the competitor who catches the longest snake. Both professional and novice hunters are allowed to take part in the 10-day event, requiring competitors to take an online training course and pay a $25 registration fee. Last year, more than 200 pythons were killed by participants. The goal is a conservation effort to capture and remove as many of the invasive snakes from the area to protect the rare Everglades habitat and the species that live there. Burmese pythons can reach an average length of 10 to 16 feet and humans remain the best means to track and rid the nuisance predators from the wild. Over 17,000 Burmese pythons have been removed and reported from Florida since 2000.
Property owners of destroyed Surfside condo hit with large tax bills
Last year, the 136 unit owners of the collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside were hit with property tax bills for their respective share of the appraised taxable value for the 2-acre oceanfront property. Gov. DeSantis and the state legislature intervened to provide relief, excusing owners of the destroyed condo from paying hefty tax bills. This year, the issue has resurfaced with unit owners being hit once again with a total property tax bill of $787,000 based on an assessed value of $41.3 million for the vacant land, per the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s Office. The average individual tax bill comes to approximately $5,785 or nearly $800,000 in total. The tax payment was initially expected to be paid out of each owner’s share of the recent $96-million settlement from a class-action suit. It was a sum that plaintiffs argued was too low and that they felt pressured into agreeing with. Owners also questioned why tax bills were to be paid out of the settlement and not out of the funds from the sale of the land, which sold for $120 million to a Middle Eastern developer in July.
Days after these concerns were made known, a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge ordered a tax break for the Surfside condo owners. He ruled that property taxes not be paid out from the settlement, but that proceeds from last month’s $120-million sale of the property be used to pay the tax bills.
Survey: UF faculty expresses lack of confidence in leadership, desire to leave
A recent survey of University of Florida faculty shows dismal results in school leadership, morale, and the culture cultivated in Gainesville. The 32-question survey was sent to 2,000 faculty members and returned 623 responses from each college of UF. Well over half of respondents felt that their academic freedom was curtailed and two-thirds felt they could not “openly express a dissenting opinion about the administration’s policies without fear of reprisal.” Another 65% of faculty members expressed their belief of a lack of accountability among administrators and nearly 75% had concerns that the UF board of trustees “ensures that the university is free from undue political influence.” Perhaps most telling of morale among faculty is that 63% agreed that they would leave the school if “offered a comparable job elsewhere.” Current University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced in January 2022 that he would be stepping down as president in the beginning of 2023, and a nationwide search for a replacement has been underway. UF has been subject to recent controversy over politically motivated restrictions on academic freedom and free speech that resulted in negative headlines late in 2021. School administrator’s prohibited three well-known UF political science professors from testifying as expert witnesses in a voting rights lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, citing the university’s conflict of interest policy. University administration later reversed its decision and a federal judge sided against school officials, ordering UF to stop enforcing its conflict of interest policy against professors.
Local celebrity helps 30,000 kids get ready to go back-to-school in Tampa
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa was a busy venue on Saturday as over 39,000 families participated in the fifth-annual Back-to-School Bash. During the free public event, more than 30,000 backpacks stocked with school supplies were distributed to children as they soon return to the classroom. Free medical, dental and vision services were available and attendees had access to complimentary haircuts in addition to food and entertainment to celebrate the upcoming school year. WWE global ambassador and local Tampa philanthropist Titus O’Neil hosted the event through his Bullard Family Foundation with the help of hundreds of volunteers that showed up to support the community.
Mobile home park in Manatee County sells for $70M
A manufactured home community near Palmetto in Manatee County recently sold for $69.9 million to a real estate company in Virginia. The 55-plus communities of Country Lakes Village and Country Lakes Village II were included in the transaction and consist of over 470 lots. The real estate company owns additional manufactured home communities across the state.
Clearwater’s $350M Marina transformation
Nearly 15 vacant lots in Clearwater’s Marina District are being purchased by RSR Capital Advisors in an effort to transform the area into a mixed-use walkable community with offices, retail space, luxury condos, affordable housing, and a boutique hotel. The project spans 21 acres and is estimated to be valued at over $350 million in commercial development. The developer touted his ability to work with the Church of Scientology that has a strong, demanding presence in Clearwater, comparing his previous projects and experience working with the Mormon Church in Mesa, Arizona. RSR expects to finalize the sale of the first parcel of land this summer with others closing in the following months. The first phase of the project will include construction of luxury condos along the waterfront with opening by the first quarter of 2024 at the latest.
Home believed to have belonged to ABBA lists on the market
Swedish disco pop group ABBA is famous for hits like “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia,” and “Waterloo,” and now you can own a part of possible ABBA history. Located in Tierra Verde, a 4,527-square-foot waterfront home built in 1982 and rumored to have ties to the supergroup, has gone on the market for $3.9 million. The home has locally been known as the “ABBA House” for years, but it's unclear to know for certain if it was ever owned by the Swedish quartet. The property was purchased in 1982 by Andante Music, Ltd. which was affiliated with ABBA’s former business manager, John Spalding. Spalding was believed to have represented the group on the transaction and his signature was found on property records. Further linking the 6-bedroom, 6-bath house to ABBA is the fact that sound equipment with the group’s music tapes was found when the house sold in 1986.
Record levels of seaweed covers South Florida coast
A record amount of seaweed has been causing a headache in the Caribbean Sea, choking the beaches of islands like Puerto Rico and Barbados. Now, South Florida is feeling the effects with more than 24 million tons of sargassum seaweed found in the Atlantic Ocean and washing up on the beaches. Sargassum floats on top of the water in large masses, has a foul stench, and can pose a danger to wildlife in such high quantities. It is unclear why levels of the seaweed in the region are reaching record levels, but scientists believe possible contributors include warming water temperatures, fertilizer use and runoff, and sewage waste that creates algal blooms.
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