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Florida is facing a mental health storm as a result of the pandemic.

The state’s Children and Youth Cabinet was told Wednesday the pandemic has also changed how people are receiving mental health treatment.

This time last year, census data showed one in seven people reporting anxiety or depression.

The number has mushroomed to 25 percent in the pandemic.

”A concerning national increase,” said Dr. Thomas Joiner.

Joiner runs the Psychology Cliinic at Florida State.

“The way that we are thinking about this is that’s as larger mental health storm,” said Joiner.

Fueling the anxiety are isolation and social distancing.

Another factor is that there are more than a million new people on the state’s welfare rolls.

FSU has responded by ramping up telehealth sessions.

“Their suicide risks from January February went down from March to April. We attribute it to on going engagement via telehealth,” said Joiner.

First Lady Casey DeSantis, who chairs the Cabinet, has been championing children’s mental health following Hurricane Michael.

She said the number one question she gets from parents is how to identify mental health issues.

“How do I know what the warning sign, symptoms are?” said DeSantis.

The answer according to Joiner, is right in front of the parent.

“What are you thinking? Secondly, have you seen departures from what you know to be the status-quo?” said Joiner.

And to help spot those with anxiety or depression, Florida State has begun training every faculty and staff member to spot changes in behavior.

“From the entire campus, people who don’t specialize in mental health, how to be on the lookout for students who might be in crisis. What are some of the signs and symptoms for them,” said Joiner.

And experts say when the pandemic ends, the explosion in telehealth will remain.

The Florida Department of Health has finally released a comprehensive report tracking COVID cases in Florida schools and universities, but the state data doesn’t match up with statistics reported by school districts, muddying an already complicated situation.

The report shows between September 6th and September 26th there were more than 4,600 cases tied to schools and universities.

Governor Ron DeSantis said he wanted the information made public.

“Because the story is a good story to tell,” said DeSantis Tuesday.

But comparing the state’s data to statistics provided by local districts, there are clear irregularities.

Case numbers by schools differ between state and local data.

Some schools are missing entirely on the state report.

“There are less than 50 percent of our schools even on the report and their numbers are all out of whack,” said Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna.

Hanna didn’t mince words when we asked what he made of the report.

“It’s an embarrassment and they should be ashamed to be honest with you,” said Hanna.

And the state’s largest teachers union fears the discrepancies will hurt public trust.

“I think we can’t trust anyone and that’s the unfortunate situation we’re in right now,” said FEA President Andrew Spar.

The inconsistent data comes as parents are faced with a choice of either keeping their children in virtual learning for the next nine weeks or making the switch to in person learning.

The Florida PTA hopes to see more consistency in the reporting going forward.

“That way our caregivers can truly have all of the information possible and be able to make informed decisions around the continued health, as well as education of their children,” said Dr. Danielle Thomas with the Florida PTA.

Hanna told us there was no collaboration between his district and the Department of Health.

He called on the state to either fix its data or take the report down.

We reached out to the Governor’s Office and Florida Department of Health for comment on the mismatched data, but did not receive a response in time for this story.

Florida Republicans and Democrats are staking their positions on Amendment 2, which would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

Democrats argue the amendment would guarantee a livable wage for all Floridians, while Republicans fear it would kill small businesses and eliminate jobs.

Florida’s minimum wage is expected to rise nine cents next year, going from $8.56 an hour to $8.65.

Democrats are proposing an alternative, by voting yes on Amendment 2, the minimum wage would rise to $10 an hour in 2021 and up to $15 by 2026.

“What Amendment 2 is about is a living wage,” said State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez.

But Republicans call the amendment deceptive.

“Amendment 2 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said State Senator Joe Gruters.

They argue it’s small businesses that stand to lose out.

“Amendment 2 will destroy hundreds of small businesses across Florida and kill the jobs they provide for Florida families,” said Gruters.

Restaurants are projected to see some of the biggest costs.

The amendment would raise tipped workers’ hourly wages from $5.54 to $11.98 over the next six years.

Restaurateur John Horne told us even though his workers make more than minimum wage after tips, he’d still have to pay them more per hour.

“It will increase the payroll at one store over $617,000,” said Horne, who owns Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Bradenton.

But labor unions argue the wage hike will pay for itself through increased spending.

“It puts all kinds of expendable cash into the marketplace. It allows workers who have not been able to fully participate in our economy to fully participate,” said Dr. Rich Templin with the Florida AFL-CIO.

State economists have estimated a $15 minimum wage would increase labors costs on Florida businesses by $540 million a year.

Amendment 2 is polling between 63 and 67 percent support, well above the 60 percent threshold needed for passage.

The stakes for Tuesday night’s first Presidential debate are particularly high in Florida.

Donald Trump carried the state by just under 115,000 votes.

Polls suggest most voters have already made up their minds, but a good or bad showing by either candidate could matter in a razor thin election.

Voting is already underway in Florida.

Just over 34,000 mail ballots have already been returned.

Another 5 million remain outstanding.

Biden Unite the Country SuperPac Director Steve Schale said that’s why the first debate matters.

“If you think of the last Presidential election, it was decided by about 115,000 votes. Obama’s win in in 2012 was decided by 80,000 voters, so if only five percent of likely voters in Florida care about the debates, that five percent can be decisive,” said Schale.

Florida GOP Party Chair Joe Gruters expects the President to lean heavily on what he has accomplished over the last almost four years.

“Donald Trump is going to be able to say he accomplished more in the last forty-seven months of being in office than Joe Biden’s done in 47 years,” said Gruters.

Political Scientist Susan MacManus believes the most important issues for either candidate are equality and safety.

“I guarantee you, a lot of people want to hear what are you gonna do about violence against police. What are you gonna do about police violence against minorities,” said MacManus.

To win, MacManus believes Trump must be more Presidential and Biden must be specific, not general.

“If people look at these two candidates, side by side and see how they interface when they are talking about issues of importance to them, I expect a lot of people will just fill out the ballot and put it in the mail tomorrow,” said MacManus.

And MacManus said the news media will also be on trial during the debate.

Questions have to be equally tough and the time shared equally, or fewer people will tune into the next debate.

Democrats hold a 60/40 edge in mail ballot requests over the GOP, but more than a million requests are from non-party affiliates.

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is praising the Governor’s move to phase three, allowing restaurants to operate at 100 percent capacity as “science based.”

However, the association expects members to take a cautious approach at returning to normal.

Florida restaurants were hit harder by the COVID shutdown than any other industry.

“We were at an all time high of over 1.5 million employees, and 930,000 plus were laid off,” said Carol Dover, President of FRLA.

The association is now applauding the Governor’s reopening order.

“There’s no doubt that science is on his side. The numbers have come down,” said Dover.

But the association is telling Floridians not to expect every restaurant to rush to full capacity.

“Some of my member this morning told me the patrons wanted to see, you know, open it up a little bit more. Some of them said we are comfortable right now. We’re gonna keep it as is for a couple of weeks or so to see, but the best part about it is they can make their own choice,” said Dover.

Over the weekend, state regulators were watching restaurants, bars and breweries after the opening order filed Friday.

Agents were pleasantly surprised by what they saw.

“The bars and the breweries. They knew they had to get it right this time. They tip-toed back into in a lot of different ways, they were doing the right thing,” said Florida DBPR Secretary Halsey Beshears.

The agents out over the weekend found large crowds in just two cities, Gainesville where football fans partied and downtown St. Petersburg.

The Governor’s order does allow counties to order restaurants to operate at less than 100 percent.

To enact tougher restrictions counties must submit economic impact statements explaining the cost to private businesses, but who would approve that order remains unclear.

The state’s top regulator said his agency will have only cursory review.

“We’re not going to be the ones reading all these plans. Only on the surface, they have to justify why they do it,” said Beshears.

Some top Florida elected officials are worried efforts to pay off the fines and fees of felons may be an illegal attempt to buy votes.

The controversy comes after former Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Bloomberg pledged to donate at least $16 million to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

The Washington Post article published on the Bloomberg donation alleged the former Presidential candidate hoped the money would register 32,000 black and hispanic voters, saying they are more likely to vote for Democrats.

“It doesn’t smell good, it doesn’t look good,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

Patronis believes the effort could equate to paying for votes.

“And this is why I am asking the Elections Commission to investigate,” said Patronis.

Attorney General Ashley Moody also requested the FBI and FDLE look into the matter, citing the Florida statute that prohibits offering incentives for voting.

We reached out to FDLE, which said it’s reviewing the Attorney General’s letter, but has not yet begun an investigation.

Florida Rights Restoration Coalition Deputy Director Neil Volz said the organization doesn’t ask about the race or political leanings of the felons whose fines they pay.

“We know what our true north is and our true north is to engage all returning citizens no matter what their political persuasions,” said Volz.

Volz said the coalition hasn’t even received any Bloomberg money.

He chalks the latest allegations up to partisan politics.

“Making its way into what should be an all American issue, which is allowing people to become eligible to vote and expanding democracy,” said Volz.

The coalition told us it has so far spent $5 million to pay the fines and fees of 5,000 felons.

There are estimated to be about 750,000 felons in Florida currently blocked from voting because out outstanding costs related to their sentence.

The coalition said newly eligible felons will march to the polls across the state in a day of action to speak out against what they describe as the ongoing efforts to suppress felons’ voting rights on October 24th, the first day of early voting.

Despite repeated calls from news organizations and the GOP, the Florida Democratic Party has so far refused to release its Payroll Protection Program loan application.

Political parties were specifically excluded from PPP loans, but Democrats got at least $780,000 dollars.

The GOP now wants the Small Business Administration to release the information, and is running an ad in the nations capital designed for an audience of two; the Administrator of the SBA and the President.

“How did all that taxpayer cash flow to Democrat campaigns?”

An ad now running on the Fox News Channel locally ai the Washington DC area asks a blunt question: “How did all that taxpayer cash flow to Democrat campaigns?”.

It also calls on the Small Business Administration to release the PPP loan application that resulted in the party receiving a quarter million dollars.

Former Green Beret and now Florida Congressman Michael Waltz said he and others are also pushing for the application’s release.

“Who filled out the application, who circumvented the law?” said Waltz.

This week we asked Nikki Fried, the lone Democrat elected statewide, whether or not that application should be released.

“I do feel satisfied with the information that has been given to me,” said Fried.

Fried dismissed the push for more information.

“Political tactics being used by the Republican Party, and that’s all that it is at this point,” said Fried.

“Apparently it went through a building fund,” said Waltz.

The ad claims the building fund has no employees.

It then suggests Democrats listed party employees, which it calls illegal.

“I’m certain that if Nikki Fried would be demanding the same if a Republican political entity had done the same. Bottom line is, there needs to be accountability and there needs to be transparency,” said Waltz.

There are also calls for an investigation by the Small Business Administration into the loan and whether or not it’s actually been repaid as Democrats claim.

In documents, Democrats show repaying the money to a different bank than the one that issued the loan.

We asked the SBA for status of the loan, but didn’t hear back.

We also asked the Florida Democratic Party why it isn’t releasing the application, but also did not hear back from them.

It’s been more than a week since Hurricane Sally ravaged the Florida panhandle.

While President Trump declared a Major Disaster, the order only reimburses local governments, not affected residents.

The process has been slow and residents feel it should be a warning to other Floridians who may be impacted by future storms.

Waterlogged furniture and personal belongings line the streets of Bristol Woods, Holly Rose’s neighborhood just outside of Pensacola

“We started doing sandbags, trying to stop the water from coming in, which was a pointless effort,” said Rose.

She and her neighbor Wayne Quarrier didn’t have flood insurance.

“This neighborhood unfortunately has never been declared a flood zone,” said Quarrier.

Any help recovering will likely have to come from the federal government.

“I mean my family won’t have a home if FEMA doesn’t step in,” said Rose.

Normally after a disaster FEMA arrives to assess the damage.

If it’s bad enough, it grants individual assistance to help victims like Holly and Wayne recover.

But State Senator Doug Broxson told us the pandemic has complicated things.

“Even FEMA [is] trying to do things remotely,” said Broxson.

The small FEMA team that did come out determined there wasn’t enough damage.

Now the local governments are having to collect their own evidence to prove the damage warrants extra aid.

“We’re kind of exhausted with the COVID dilemma. We’re exhausted with a surprise storm. And now we’ve been told that the burden is on the citizenry to prosecute their own ability to deal with the federal government,” said Broxson. “What we’ve got to do is get people to bombard the counties with information so that we can improve our application to FEMA.”

The Governor said in a Thursday press release that the state is conducting damage assessments and is continuing to work with FEMA to get individuals the help they need.

But Holly and Wayne are skeptical help is on the horizon.

They said Floridians best bet in any future storm is flood insurance, not federal aid.

“Don’t rely on anyone to step up and help even when they’re supposed to,” said Rose.

And the Senator told us he’s doubtful much if any help will be coming from the state, which has seen more than $2 billion in lost revenues due to the pandemic.

Damage estimates from Hurricane Sally range from two to $10 billion for the Gulf Coast.

After a two hour roundtable with scientists who argued COVID restrictions hurt society, while more openness doesn’t increase risk significantly, the Governor said he would soon ease restrictions on bars and restaurants.

Three scientists comprised of two Stanford medical professors and another from Harvard Medical school told the Governor society is better off with fewer COVID restrictions.

“Lockdowns are not a way to eliminate the disease. Lockdowns have never in history eradicated a disease and they will not do that in this case either,” said Sanford professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.

They said protect the elderly first, who are much higher risk, but argued against masks on third graders and restrictions on college students.

“The students should be on campus and they should go in person to their classes,” said Harvard professor Dr. Martin Kuldorff.

And the Governor said FSU, among others, has gone too far.

“I just don’t think policing them off campus is likely to be effective,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

We asked if the Governor was planning on lifting restrictions on bars and restaurants.

“We can’t have these businesses dying. So they are not going to be able to be closed by locals anymore and they will be able to operate at the capacity they are comfortable with. So that’s gonna happen,” said DeSantis.

As described by the Governor, the state has the authority to override local ordinances because it licenses restaurants and bars.

“Everyone in Florida has a right to work. Everyone in Florida has a right to operate a business,” said DeSantis.

The Governor did acknowledge that Florida could see a second wave of cases.

“People shouldn’t think it’s over. They shouldn’t think it’s done. We could easily see a resurgence. I don’t think anybody knows,” said DeSantis.

Unknown is when the Governor will issue the order for bars and restaurants or how and when he will implement a bill of rights for college students.

The Governor also encouraged Disney and other theme parks that have voluntarily limited visitors to allow more people to visit the parks.

Voters will decide whether to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2026 this November.

Polls show the proposed constitutional amendment with strong support, but The Florida Restaurant and lodging Association is fighting back.

Amendment 2 would spike Florida’s $8.56 minimum wage to $10 on September 30th, 2021.

Amendment supporter Bob Rackleff explained it would then increase by a dollar a year until hitting $15.

“They have until 2026 to figure this out,” said Rackleff who also head the Big Bend Voting Rights Project.

But Vice President of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association Geoff Luebkemann argues by nearly doubling the state’s minimum wage over the next six years small businesses could be crippled.

“It will cost folks jobs. It will decrease opportunity,” said Luebkemann.

The association has launched an online calculator that shows how much more businesses with tipped employees can expect to pay if Amendment 2 passes.

“In an industry with razor thin margins, taking this kind of hit may remove the opportunity to be profitable at all,” said Luebkemann.

Rackleff said the hospitality industry pushed the same message when voters approved a minimum wage hike in 2004.

“And all the panicky things that were going to happen didn’t happen,” said Rackleff.

There is one glaring difference between 2020 and 2004.

In 2004 there wasn’t a global pandemic.

“The timing couldn’t be worse with an industry already on its knees,” said Luebkemann.

However, Rackleff contends more money in the pockets of low wage workers will translate to more spending.

“They’ll be good customers for these same businesses that are crying the blues right now,” said Rackleff.

Pandemic or not, the amendment is polling well over the 60 percent needed for passage.

We did reach out to Florida For a Fair Wage, the committee backing Amendment 2, for comment on this story.

We did not receive a response.

Starting Thursday, mail ballots will begin going out to the 4.7 million Floridians who have already requested them.

It already dwarfs the 3.3 million requested in 2016 and supervisors have told us they’re getting more requests each day.

At Election Supervisors’ offices across the state mail ballots were being prepped Wednesday.

The unprecedented 4.7 million ballots that have been requested so far may seem like a daunting task, but President of the Association representing supervisors of elections Craig Latimer told us the state is prepared.

“Because we’ve been doing vote by mail for almost 20 years, I think that Florida is really in a great position to end up being the shining star on election night,” said Latimer.

Vice President of the association Mark Earley agreed.

“Well this is Florida. Elections are close. So I’m never going to say you should know the winner on Election Day, but we will certainly have the vast majority of our ballots counted by the end of the night on election night,” said Earley.

Supervisors also said with more people opting to vote by mail, in person voting should run smoother.

With fewer people at the polls precautions for sanitation and social distancing are expected to be less burdensome.

Earley did notice one issue in the Primary Election.

Some voters attempted to drop off their mail ballots in person, without the envelope.

“You can’t. It’s got to be in the envelope because otherwise there’s no way for us to know whose ballot that was,” said Earley.

Requesting and returning your ballot early is key.

While you can request a mail ballot as late as ten days before the election, supervisors and the post office recommend mailing it back at least a week before the election.

“If you don’t want to trust the mail, you can go to any early vote site during early voting and there will be a drop box there,” said Latimer.

Ballots have already begun flowing in.

More than 2,100 have been received from overseas voters according to the latest numbers published by the state.

The man who wrote and passed the constitutional amendment giving felons the right to vote asked the Governor and Clemency Board for a full pardon from a 18 -year-old cocaine conviction Wednesday, but he will have to wait a little longer.

Desmond Meade was in his early 30’s when he was convicted of possessing cocaine.

Since then he has graduated law school and lead the successful effort to restore nonviolent felons’ voting rights.

On Wednesday he was before the Clemency Board asking for a full pardon.

“The man who is here right now in front of you all is not that same man,” said Meade.

Immediately there were questions.

“Was the first criminal offense you were charged and convicted of was that a court Marshall in 1990?” Asked Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Yes sir. On drugs and trying to get money to satisfy a drug habit,” responded Meade.

Then CFO Jimmy Patronis wanted to know about domestic violence.

There were no details in the file.

“I’d like to hear something from a brother if that’s possible,” said Patronis.

But Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried urged a yes vote

“The fact you got an amendment written into our constitution has shown that you are somebody who is an exemplary citizen,” said Fried.

But it wasn’t to be, yet.

“I think that this military court marshal, I’d like to get a little more information on that,” said DeSantis.

Despite today’s road block, Meade said he’s not going to leave the state and he’s going to keep doing what he’s doing.

Meade called the delay a system failure, not retribution for his voting work.

“Its very arbitrary. You can have someone who hasn’t done half of the things that I’ve done since turning my life around, that can get it, and then someone like me would appear and you would think its a no brainer,” said Meade.

Meade was able to register to vote after passing Amendment 4, but he wants to use his law degree and can’t until the state wipes the slate clean.

In addition to not being able to practice law, Desmond Meade also can’t serve on a jury or run for public office until his rights are restored.

With voting registration closing in two weeks, CFO Jimmy Patronis is questioning the millions flowing into Florida to help felons pay their fines and fees.

At least $20 million has been raised, much of it by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Patronis and others are concerned that the money will be used to help likely Democratic voters.

“We’re going to go ahead and submit a formal inquiry and get an opinion from the elections commission to ensure that these dollars, if they are coming in, I just don’t look like some type of way of buying votes,” said Patronis.

The Florida Elections Commission usually only acts after the fact and only on a complaint from someone with firsthand knowledge of a violation.

On Wednesday afternoon, Patronis asked the commission to formally investigate whether former New York Mayor, and Presidential Candidate, Michael Bloomberg is trying to illegally influence the outcome of Florida’s election.

For months, Attorney Daniel Uhlfelder has been touring the state dressed as the Grim reaper to oppose what he considers the unsafe reopening of schools and businesses.

Wednesday, he was at the Governor’s Mansion with three baby goats (kid) to continue the protest, this time suggesting the concept of herd immunity isn’t science.

“There are studies that show that people can get re-infected. So, but the percentage, the number of people you would have to get reinfected to reach herd immunity is at least seventy percent. And that would be millions of people. In Florida we have the largest population individuals who are susceptible, and it is especially devastating,” said Uhlfelder.

A handful of opponents carrying Trump Signs protested nearby.

They oppose Uhlfelder efforts to shut down the economy.

“Right now we’re here to support business owners who are making a living and need to continue making a living and not give into the fear of the liberal left,” said Leon County GOP Chair Evan Power.

A coalition of Black Lives Matter and other activists pushed back against at the Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposal to increase penalties for violent protestors Tuesday.

The Governor’s efforts to curb violent protests with longer jail time, temporarily denying bail and felony charges for obstructing traffic during un-permitted protests brought disdain from protestors from across the state.

“No one leader of any movement that has organized protests following the rash of murders and public lynchings of black and brown people has advocated for looting and violence,” said Bacardi Jackson with the Southern Poverty Law Center.

When we told the Governor about the pushback he chuckled.

“Yea, right. Let me just say, do you think it’s okay to throw a brick at a police officer? Do you think its okay to burn down buildings?” Said DeSantis.

Then he drew this distinction.

“Protest all you want. Knock your socks off, but when it goes into violence, you know, that’s when there has to be accountability,” said DeSantis.

The protestors argue the idea of granting drivers immunity from arrest for fleeing a mob would encourage white supremacists.

Sarasota activist Ruth Beltran with the Party for Socialism and Liberation urged people not to come to Florida.

“Travelers may also encounter unjust detention, deportation, racial profiling and even death. It is not safe to travel to the state of Florida,” said Beltran.

Normally, a Governor’s proposal would get taken up in a March legislative session, but DeSantis is asking lawmakers to take it up in a one day organizational session in November.

The measure would also deny any local governments state funds if they scale back on police protection.

“You pay taxes to have this kind of protection,” said DeSantis.

The Governor did note the state has been spared from extreme violence, but said the tough measures will make sure Florida protests don’t take a violent turn.