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The Statewide Coronavirus Vaccination Community Education and Engagement Taskforce met Wednesday with an urgent plea to Floridians to get vaccinated as the state saw new cases nearly double this week.

The Taskforce is primarily focused on encouraging Black Floridians to take the vaccine.

The current vaccination rate among Black Floridians is 23 percent, compared to 43 percent of white Floridians.

Taskforce Chair Dr. Reverend RB Holmes pushed other members to double their efforts in light of what he described as a deplorable Black vaccination rate.

“Somebody said the definition of madness is doing the same thing the same way over again and expect miraculous outcomes. It doesn’t work that way. We as pastors and leaders, bishops, we must be the ones advocating for our people. We allowed a lot of things to happen prior to COVID-19. That’s why minorities and people of color have died and gotten sick at a disproportionate rate. It’s a moral call,” said Holmes.

The group discussed efforts to partner with Black media to reach millennials and older Black Floridians alike.

The Taskforce also emphasized the need to push local governments to ensure federal dollars meant to be used for vaccination education and outreach efforts are used for their proper purpose.

Early estimates from the CDC show 93,000 overdose deaths throughout the United States in 2020, a 30 percent increase over the year prior.

In Florida the picture is even more bleak, with the state seeing a 37 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2020.

There were more than 7,500 overdose deaths in Florida in 2020 compared to just over 5,500 the year before.

The main driver of fatal overdoses: synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

“And we think that these overdoses were unintentional because the majority of individuals did not know that the substance that they were ingesting contained fentanyl,” said Melanie Brown-Woofter with the Florida Behavioral Health Association.

Brown-Woofter said during the pandemic the state saw a dramatic decrease in Floridians seeking help for substance abuse problems.

“And we think that was a reaction to the anxiety and the strain of the pandemic. You know the economic uncertainty, the isolation,” said Brown-Woofter.

The fear of exacerbating mental health and substance abuse issues was one of the main drivers behind Governor Ron DeSantis’ push to reopen the state last summer.

“We do know that opening things back up increased access. So we now have treatment providers who have an increased number of detox beds, of residential services that are available,” said Brown-Woofter.

Mental health experts say there’s no clear pattern to show states that locked down did better or worse at curbing overdose deaths.

Florida ranked second in the nation for total overdose deaths, but 13 states and the District of Columbia saw larger year over year increases than the Sunshine State.

Brown-Woofter did note that there have been some positive indicators here in Florida in recent months.

“We are very thankful that since March of 2021 we’ve seen an increase in the number of individuals receiving medication assisted treatment and the number of individuals coming into recovery. So there is a bright spot to all of this bad news,” said Brown-Woofter.

And according to the Florida Behavior Health Association, state lawmakers committed $273 million towards medication assisted treatment for substance abuse this past legislative session.

If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance abuse issue, Florida’s Attorney General is encouraging Floridians to visit DoseOfRealityFL.com, which offers information and resources to those seeking help.

Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty are circulating a video of a former Florida Supreme Court Justice who believes the state has executed innocent people.

The retired justice also questions the costs.

Gerald Kogan spent 11 years on the Florida Supreme Court, the last two as Chief Justice.

“Originally, I believed in the death penalty. I thought it was a proper penalty,” said Kogan in the Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty video.

More than two dozen people were executed during Kogan’s time on the court.

”Our system is not perfect,” said Kogan.

In the newly released video Kogan, who died earlier this year, questioned what he calls an imperfect system.

“I began realizing that we’re executing people who are probably innocent,” said Kogan.

The State doesn’t keep records about the costs of an execution, but in the video Kogan estimated each one costs$5 million from conviction, to appeal, to burial.

Prosecutor Brian Haas said errors may have occurred in the past, but not any longer.

We asked him directly if he thought his office had convinced an innocent person.

“No I don’t,” said Haas. “It is expensive. It is expensive, but I thing that the family members of the victims in the cases I’m handling they absolutely feel that it’s necessary.”

But the Florida Catholic Conference it quick to point out there have been 30 modern exonerations.

“We don’t know how many more innocents are on death row today, which is why we support ending the death penalty all together,” said Ingrid Delgado with the Conference.

99 people have been executed since the state resumed executions in 1979.

The most recent was two years ago.

Florida now requires a unanimous jury verdict and allows a judge to override a death sentence.

Those on death row also have an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The signing of an exclusive, thirty year gambling deal, including sports betting, with the Seminole Tribe has major out of state companies seeking to expand gambling on the 2022 ballot.  As Mike Vasilinda tells us, tens of millions are already earmarked for petition gathering efforts for at least three amendments.

Big out of state interests are bankrolling efforts to create more gambling here after they were shut out by the new Seminole Tribe gaming compact this year.

“This is the agreement.” Said Governor Ron DeSantis moments after signing the compact. No Casino’s President John Sowinski suggests they don’t have Flordia’s best interests at heart.

“A lot of gambling interests looked at that and said they would rather have a free for all for what happens in Florida” says Sowinski.

More than 60 million flowed to campaigns in June. 

Las Vegas Sands put 17 million behind two proposed amendments. It hasn’t decided which to push, but one would allow three new casino’s. The other would allow a casino somewhere between Jacksonville and Pensacola, with Jacksonville the top choice. Sowinski says a new casino will hurt where ever it’s located.

“Whatever the form of gambling is that’s introduced, it doesn’t generate new money. It simply diverts discretionary spending from bars, restaurants, movie theaters” Sowinski told us.

Neither idea violates the Indian gaming deal. Not so with another proposal to allow sports betting…which the Seminole Tribe got exclusive rights to in the new compact.

If it passes, the tribe would lower its payments to the state.

The amendment on sports betting was already being anticipated by the Governor on the day he signed the new compact. 

“We’re not authorizing that. That’s a referendum, so you could deduct the payment from that portion, but still have the other stuff” said the Governor this past April.

The Seminole Tribe says it will spend its Flordia money to stop the amendments. 

While Fan Duel and Draft Kings each pitched in ten million. 

Then there is another 15 million from the owners of a south Florida casino to a campaign that doesn’t even exist yet. Ironically, all the money is likely to create a bidding war for signatures, making each campaign more expensive in the end.

The rush to fund the amendments is because a new law limits contributions to amendment gathering efforts, but on the day it took effect, July first, a judge granted an injunction, erasing the three thousand dollar contribution limit, at least temporarily.

Florida’s unemployment rate was up a tenth of a percent in June and now sits at 5.0 percent, which is still below the national average of 5.9 percent.

While the unemployment rate may be up, state economists see it as a positive sign signaling more Floridians are returning to the labor market in search of jobs.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Chief Economist Adrienne Johnston said the state’s economic recovery continued in June with the labor force rising by 83,000.

“People are both adding jobs and then connecting to them,” said Johnston.

The state has recovered seven out of ten jobs lost during the pandemic and a new WalletHub survey ranked Florida’s workforce recovery the third fastest in the nation.

“We are continuing to see an increase in online job ads, which is an indicator that businesses are growing,” said Johnston.

State economists said the June numbers don’t reveal the impact of the Governor’s decision to end federal unemployment benefits early.

On the ground, Geoff Luebkemann with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association said businesses are seeing some positive signs.

“They are seeing some green shoots, encouragement in application numbers,” said Luebkemann.

The biggest winner for the month of June was by far leisure and hospitality, which added 41,500 new jobs.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Luebkemann.

Florida has experienced a steady rise in COVID cases over the past three weeks.

It’s too early to tell how that might impact the state’s economic gains.

“It will all be dependent on how people respond,” said Johnston.

While Luebkemann said the case numbers are a concern, it hasn’t made a significant impact yet.

“The vaccine has been immensely helpful both on the employee side and on the patron side,” said Luebkemann.

While the unemployment rate for June was up slightly, it was still six percentage points lower than the same month last year.

Florida’s total labor force sits at nearly 10.4 million.

523,000 of those workers remain unemployed.

Florida is looking to secure an additional $1.1 billion from the federal government to bolster Medicaid funding over the next two years.

The move is being applauded by health care groups, but the request for additional federal dollars isn’t exactly the Medicaid expansion Democrats have been pushing for a decade.

The $1.1 billion request is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, which allows states to draw down 10 percent more federal dollars for home and community based Medicaid services than in previous years.

“This is really called one-time rescue money,” said Executive Director of the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council Valerie Breen.

Breen said the programs help elderly and disabled populations that require services at their homes.

“What it will help with is the infrastructure of some of the huge crises that we were seeing,” said Breen.

More than $300 million will be used to cut down on lengthy waitlists to get into the programs, but Miriam Harmatz with the Florida Health Justice Project said the bulk of the funds will go to address chronic staffing shortages.

“And these are people who need a lot of help with the basic activities of daily living who were going days on end, and some living alone, with nobody coming,” said Harmatz.

Before the money can go out, it must be first approved by the federal government and then by state lawmakers.

State Senator Aaron Bean said just because the state is accepting additional federal funds for these Medicaid programs doesn’t mean lawmakers have shifted their attitude on overall Medicaid expansion.

“No one is talking about Medicaid expansion. This is one-time money to deal with a system that has been stressed, overburdened by COVID,” said Bean.

And while these dollars are a one-time deal, health care groups are pushing Florida’s federal lawmakers support making the increased funding permanent, especially considering the state’s ever growing elderly population.

Florida ranks 43rd in the nation on spending for home and community based services and last in long-term services and supports.

Starting Thursday an estimated 3 million Florida families will begin receiving payments as part of the American Rescue Plan’s child tax credit program, which provides families $250 to $300 a month per-child until the end of the year.

Faith leaders, activists and Democratic political figures held a virtual press conference Wednesday to get the word out.

The American Rescue Plan increased the child tax credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 for children ages six to 17 and to $3,600 for children younger than six.

“This is transformational tax relief to hard working parents,” said Sean Shaw with People Over Profits.

Families will receive half the money over a period of six months, and see the remainder on their 2021 tax return.

To receive full credit, joint income households must make less than $150,000, $112,500 for heads of households and $75,000 for single parent households.

“For so many working families, it may be insignificant to others, but to them $250 or $300 a month is extremely important,” said Pastor John Newman from The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary in Jacksonville.

The stimulus will inject $150 billion into the economy nationwide and its estimated the money will raise 270,000 Florida children out of poverty.

“And what’ll that mean? It’ll mean we’ll cut child poverty, possibly as much as in half,” said Congressman Darren Soto (D-Fla.).

Families can opt out of the monthly payments if they’d rather receive a lump sum credit on your 2021 income taxes.

“Families need to think about whether right now they have the income that is needed to pay for their basic necessities,” said former Democratic Florida Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

It’s too late to opt out for the July payments if you haven’t already.

You have until August 2nd to opt out for next month’s payment, but once you opt out you can’t opt back in.

The Biden Administration and Democratic lawmakers are hoping the new child tax credit formula won’t be a one-off occurrence.

The American Families Plan would make the changes permanent.

To learn more about the American Rescue Plan Child Tax Credit visit ChildTaxCredit.gov.

A Miami man is facing 114 charges stemming from an alleged scheme to defraud the state’s Division of Unclaimed Property.

The man is out after posting a $178,000 bond and prosecutors are just now getting their heads around the scope of the alleged crimes.

According to charging documents from the Department of Financial Services, Alvero Abreu is accused of illegally claiming more than $2 million from the Division of Unclaimed Property in a fraud scheme that spanned more than a decade.

Abreu was apprehended and booked in Broward County before he was released on a $178,000 bond, but his prosecution will take place in the state’s capital city.

“We will be filing formal charges probably within the next week,” said State Attorney of Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit Jack Campbell.

Campbell is in the early stages of understanding the scope of the alleged crimes.

“This is the first time I’ve seen anything involving the unclaimed property particularly. And certainly it’s a large fraud in general,” said Campbell.

The Division of Unclaimed Property is responsible for holding onto and facilitating the return of money or valuables Floridians may have forgotten about like old bank accounts or abandoned safe deposit boxes.

Campbell himself has taken advantage of the service.

“I think I had a utility deposit from when I was in college. I never realized that I didn’t get that money back. 20 years later it was sitting in the bureau of unclaimed property,” said Campbell.

Campbell added the crimes alleged in this case aren’t just a concern for the state coffers.

“You’re really stealing from two. One, the rightful owner of that property. Just like with my utility deposit when I got that back. It was my money that I put down and I just failed to get it back when I moved,” said Campbell.

The Department of Financial Services had been working on the case as far back as 2017.

The charging documents also list a second suspect Christopher Abreu, whose last known address is listed in Venezuela.

According to the Department of Financial Services, Abreu is accused of making a total of $2,036,122.68 in fraudulent claims between 2009 and 2020.

Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is calling on Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency in response to the ongoing red tide blooms on the state’s West Coast.

Fried said an emergency declaration is necessary to free up additional state resources that could aid in mitigating the toxic algal blooms.

“This is something that is too big for our local governments to bear on themselves, between just the resources to clean up the waters, look at different treatment opportunities. So this has to be a partnership between the state and the local, which unfortunately we haven’t seen as much with this governor as we may have seen in year’s past,” said Fried.

In a statement the Governor’s Office told us us the state has been engaged with impacted local governments and has provided resources to aid and assist in the clean up of fish kills.

The Governor’s Office also explained why it has so far refrained from issuing an emergency order.

“In 2018, a state of emergency was declared which freed up a funding source to provide financial support to local communities to assist in cleanup efforts. For the time being, DEP has identified a funding source and is already working to provide grants to assist local communities with cleanup efforts,” said DeSantis Deputy Communications Director Jared Williams.

Florida Republicans are honing in their messaging for the 2022 election cycle and have launched a new internet ad describing themselves as a ‘Freedom Firewall’.

Florida Republicans are feeling confident going in to the 2022 election.

House Republican Campaign Committee Chair Rep. Paul Renner said the party will be playing offense.

In the new internet video, which features a handful of Republican State Representatives, their pitch could be boiled down to a simple message: We’re not Democrats.

“Crazy liberal ideas, they don’t fly here,” said State Representative Josie TomKow in the video.

Renner said the party wants to remind Floridians elections have consequences.

“What we have today in Florida is different than what you have in a state like California because of the choices that Floridians have made,” said Renner.

In the video, Republicans highlight their pro-police/anti-riot stance and their focus on election security.

Democrats however have a very different way characterizing Republicans’ actions on those issues.

“They basically have to use the power that they have in Tallahassee to actually roll back freedoms. This was a priority for them. Whether it was the voter suppression bill that they passed or the anti-protest bill that they passed,” said Jose Parra, Senior Communications Adviser with the Florida Democratic Party.

Neither Republicans or Democrats can target specific seats yet, because all the boundaries will change when lawmakers draw new maps early next year.

Parra said Democrats will be watching the redistricting process with the ‘eyes of a hawk’.

“We need defined concrete districts that represent the people of Florida. Not districts that are drawn just to benefit the Republican Party of the state,” said Parra.

When state lawmakers return on January 11th for the 2022 legislative session, the process of redistricting will begin.

Once that’s complete they’ll have a better idea where their strengths and vulnerabilities lie.

In 2020 Florida Republicans managed to pick up an additional seat in the Senate and seven in the House.

Currently Republicans hold a 78-42 majority in the House and a 24-16 majority in the Senate.

Florida raised the age to purchase long guns from 18 to 21 following the Parkland shooting, where a 19-year-old gunman killed 17 with a legally purchased firearm.

Federally law already required a person to be at least 21 to purchase a hand gun.

The NRA is appealing a recent ruling that upheld Florida’s age limit because the organization claims the restriction discriminates against 18, 19 and 20-year-old adults.

In the initial ruling against the NRA, the judge described the age limit of 21 to purchase a firearm as falling into a ‘constitutional no man’s land’.

The NRA’s Marion Hammer doesn’t see it that way.

“18 to 21-year-olds are full adults with all the rights and responsibilities of adulthood,” said Hammer.

Nancy Fry with Moms Demand Action argued it’s within a state’s right to put age restrictions on firearms in the name of public safety.

“Firearm homicides are four times as likely to be committed by someone between the ages of 18 to 20,” said Fry.

But Hammer called the law passed in the wake of the Parkland shooting ‘political discrimination’.

“This bill is nothing more than political discrimination against young people because of the actions of a mentally ill young person that the system, adults, elected officials failed to deal with,” said Hammer.

The district court ruling did express concerns that law is likely to have the largest impact on 18 to 20-year-olds who could benefit most from owning a gun.

Under the law 18 to 20-year-olds can be gifted a gun by a family member, but for those without family, the law acts as a total ban.

“To deny that single mother, who has a child and a home to protect, the right to protect herself and her child is just totally wrong,” said Hammer.

Supporters of the law argue history is on their side.

“There’s 150 years of case law showing a purchase age of 21 for guns,” said Fry.

And it’s that history on which the District Judge based his decision.

At the Appellate Court level however, there’s more flexibility to divert from precedent, making it difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of this case.

Florida is one of just four states that bans the sale of all firearms to those under 21.

Port St. Joe, the North Florida town where Florida’s first constitution was drafted in the 1830’s, died economically when the major employer closed just over two decades ago

But now there is new hope and it begins with New York City’s Staten Island Ferry.

Until just a little over 20 years ago a paper mill in Port St. Joe was the lifeblood of the community.

When it closed 500 jobs went with it.

Now three Staten Island Ferries are being readied on the old site and there is new economic hope.

“It was a blow,” said State Representative Jason Shoaf.

Shoaf ran and won on bringing jobs back.

“All of my friends, all of my family. Everyone either worked at the paper mill or in a job indirectly tied to the paper mill,” said Shoaf.

“A lot of jobs went away for Gulf County, so a lot of people had to move away,” said Sandy Quinn, Chair of the Gulf County Commission.

Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City won the contract to build three Staten Island Ferry’s.

“There’s about 200 on this site, working on these vessels,” said Joey D’Isernia, President of Eastern Shipbuilding.

D’Isernia said the site was tailor made.

“It has good deep water, a good strong bulkhead, and no air draft restrictions, which means we don’t have a bridge or anything we need to go under,” said D’Isernia.

The first ferry will leave for New York in about 30 days, the second, six months later and the third six months after that.

Even three-term Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison once worked at the mill.

“See all of the jobs and everything we are hoping to keep here local. It’s going to have a huge impact,” said Harrison.

After the ferries leave, the company will be building at least four and as many as 15 high-tech Coast Guard Cutter’s, which are expected to bring even more jobs.

The county has already invested $6 million in the project and has plans for another $50 million investment.

Tropical Storm Elsa, which only briefly reached hurricane status, came ashore Wednesday morning on the upper Gulf Coast.

The storm came quickly and left quietly.

The Keaton Beach RV Park we visited was all but deserted, with many leaving their campers behind.

As Elsa came ashore, park owner Spyridon Aibejeris was still worried about rising water.

“It might flood the ground, but I don’t think get bad enough to really damage anything,” said Aibejeris.

In Steinhatchee, where Elsa came ashore, we found flooded streets and several downed trees.

We also found 10-year-old Bryson turning the storm’s minor flooding into some fun.

We asked him why he decided to jump in.

“I don’t know, because it flooded,” said Bryson.

We even helped Roger Carnes get debris out from under a dock.

“The wind blew this way all day and had the water out. It wasn’t that much of a big deal of storm, but now that it’s passed us, it’s started now to bring in the storm surge,” said Carnes.

At an 8 AM briefing, the Governor was breathing a sigh of relief.

“We looked at 72 hours ago, I think the impacts have been less than what we thought would be reasonable,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

While the storm’s impacts appear to be relatively minor, the Governor is cautioning that the worst danger may still lie ahead.

“You know, we typically have seen fatalities after a storm passes,” said DeSantis.

And although it appears the state dodged a bullet, it will be good practice for the next storm.
“You know, just caution people. This part of the year is not the major leagues for tropical cyclone activity,” said DeSantis.

The Governor cautioned home owners about removing debris from their roofs.

He noted falls from roofs after a storm are frequent causes of fatalities.

As of Wednesday afternoon roughly 23,000 Floridians were without power due to now-Tropical Storm Elsa and for the second day in a row, state officials warned of the dangers of improper power generator use.

“There have been more deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning over the last four years than there have been for direct impacts in storms in Florida, and we’ve had some significant storms,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Between 2015 and 2019, 228 Floridians lost their lives to carbon monoxide poisoning, a deadly odorless gas released from many things including the exhaust of generators.

At the EOC in the state’s capitol county, we got a run down on some generator dos and don’ts.

“Most times during storms people put it in their garage. They think that that’s not a big deal, but you know, due to carbon monoxide poisoning we want to make sure that they’re 20 feet away from your garage space. You know, in an open well ventilated area,” said Sarah Cooksey, Public Information Officer for the Tallahassee Fire Department.

That includes away from windows and vents.

“Make sure it’s in a flat space. You want to make sure that it’s completely cooled off before you put fuel in it. You know, if it’s still hot that’s obviously a fire hazard,” said Cooksey.

If you do place a generator in an unsafe spot, be aware of the symptoms of CO poisoning.

“Being pale, sweaty, having a hard time breathing,” said Cooksey.

Because carbon monoxide is odorless, you should install a carbon monoxide detector in your home, so you can be alerted if there is a gas leak.

Call poison control if you are experiencing any symptoms of CO poisoning.

One of the most common mistakes however, isn’t related to the dangerous emissions, rather, plugging a generator directly into a wall outlet.

“This is what’s called back feeding and when you do that it puts our linemen at risk when they go to re-hook the utilities back up,” said Cooksey.

Perhaps the most important tip: Learn how to properly use your generator before you’re in a situation where the lights go out.