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CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis Calls Communities to Help Stop Arson

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During National Arson Awareness Week, recognized May 6-12, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis calls on all Floridians to report suspicious activity and be on the lookout for those who attempt to commit arson-related crimes.

“Arson-related crimes can destroy property, put lives at risk and arson-for-profit schemes are one of the factors that can drive up insurance rates,” said CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis. “In 2017 alone, 1,004 of the 3,695 fires my office responded to were arson-related. These fires caused 62 injuries, 38 fatalities, and approximately $23.4 million in property damage. Community awareness and engagement is essential in our fight against this deadly and costly crime.”

To report arson, call 1-877-No-Arson (1-877-662-7766). Tips that lead directly to an arrest and conviction may be eligible for a $5,000 reward. Information can be provided anonymously. 

The Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations is a law enforcement branch of CFO Patronis’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services and conducts fire, arson, and explosives investigations as well as other related criminal investigations statewide. 

Arson Awareness Week in Florida is part of a nationwide initiative to educate the public on the important role of community arson awareness and how it can and does play an important role in preventing this dangerous crime.

PSC Assists Palm Beach County Seniors During Older Americans Month

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During May’s Older Americans Month, the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) is visiting two Palm Beach County Senior Centers on Wednesday, May 9, and Thursday, May 10.

PSC representatives will distribute and discuss water and energy conservation information, assist eligible seniors in applying for the Lifeline Assistance telephone/broadband discount program and offer protection against scams targeting utility customers.

The Palm Beach County events are scheduled for the following times and locations:

Wednesday, May 9, 2018
10:30 a.m.
Boynton Beach Senior Center
1021 South Federal Highway
Boynton Beach, Florida
and
Thursday, May 10, 2018
10:30 a.m.
Mae Volen Senior Center
1515 West Palmetto Park Road
Boca Raton, Florida

About Older Americans Month
Since 1963, communities and agencies across the state and nation have joined in the annual Older American Month commemoration. The tradition shows the state’s commitment to celebrating the contributions and achievements of older Florida residents. For more information visit, hoam.acl.gov.

DeSantis Endorses Mast For Re-Election

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The Mast for Congress campaign today announced that Florida gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Ron DeSantis has endorsed Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) for re-election.

“Brian is an American patriot.  Both on the battlefield and in Congress, he’s gone above and beyond the call of duty to defend the Constitution and our American values,” Rep. DeSantis said.  “He’s never asked anything in return for his service, but with Nancy Pelosi funding his opponent, now is the time to rally behind him and show Nancy Pelosi that Florida can’t be bought!”

Congressmen Mast and DeSantis have worked together to address numerous issues for Florida and the country, including:

  • H.J. Res. 6 – Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve
  • H.R. 2712 – The Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act
  • Calling for the creation of an Everglades Restoration Infrastructure Taskforce to “expedite and energize the federal government’s efforts to restore the Everglades”

BACKGROUND

Rep. Mast qualified by petition to appear on the ballot for re-election.  To qualify by petition in FL-18, a candidate must have 5,110 verified signatures. Candidates who failed to secure the necessary support to get on the ballot through petition signatures were required to buy a spot on the ballot.  The filing deadline was May 4, 2018.

Total Verified Petition Signatures: 5,501
Total Republicans: 3,641 (66%)
Total Independents (NPA):  952 (17%)
Total Democrats: 890 (16%)
Total Other: 18 (1%)

Total Verified St. Lucie County: 2,638 (48%)
Total Verified Martin County: 1,790 (33%)
Total Verified Palm Beach County: 1,073 (19%)

Students Curate Exhibit at Plant Museum; Based on UT Professor’s Research

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The exhibit, Red Cross Nursing and the War of 1898, will run through May

A temporary exhibit about American Red Cross nurses and the Spanish-American War, based on a University of Tampa professor’s research and curated by UT students, has opened at the Henry B. Plant Museum.

The exhibit, Red Cross Nursing and the War of 1898: The Tampa Connection, follows the women who traveled from New York to Tampa and then to Cuba to become the first nurses of the American Red Cross to serve in wartime.

The exhibit is based on the research of Charles McGraw Groh, associate professor of history, and was curated by students in his class Museums, Historic Sites, and Archives.

To prepare for this project, the students studied different aspects of public history curation at the Plant Museum, the Florida Holocaust Museum and Perry Harvey Park, working with local museum professionals. Plant Museum curators Susan Carter and Heather Trubee Brown offered guidance at each stage of the exhibit project.

The exhibit was developed as a companion to the Plant Museum’s permanent exhibit on the Spanish-American War. The Tampa Bay Hotel, now known as Plant Hall, received National Historic Landmark status for the hotel’s role in the 1898 military conflict, when it was used to house Col. Theodore Roosevelt, other military officers and Red Cross nurses.

The exhibit will remain on display for the month of May. It will be back on view in July during Archives Awareness Week, an annual event organized by the City of Tampa Archives Advisory Committee. UT student Selena Martinez will conduct a guided tour at this event.

For more information on the exhibit and Archives Awareness Week, contact Groh at [email protected].

The Henry B. Plant Museum interprets the turn-of-the-century Tampa Bay Hotel and the lifestyles of America’s Gilded Age. Critical to the success of this mission is the restoration and preservation of this National Historic Landmark, an opulent 1891 railroad resort, and the artifacts significant to its history, and the life and work of Henry Bradley Plant. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and select other dates. Admission is $10 per adult, $7 for seniors (65 years and up), $7 for students and $5 for children 4–12 years old. Museum members free.

Duke Energy Florida, Federal Regulators Terminate Levy Nuclear Reactor Project

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Move underscores impracticability of new reactor construction

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced yesterday the termination of the Combined Licenses (COL) of the proposed Duke Energy Florida (DEF) Levy nuclear reactors. The Levy project, which consisted of two Toshiba-Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, was plagued by schedule delays and skyrocketing costs before being cancelled by DEF in 2013. Yet there were significant costs borne by customers in subsequent years.

The 2017 rate case settlement agreement between DEF and other parties, including Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, effectively ended any possibility that reactors would ever be built at the Levy site. Given the 2017 bankruptcy of Westinghouse, due to the massive financial losses caused by the AP1000 projects in Georgia, which has doubled in cost to nearly $28 billion, and South Carolina, which has since been cancelled, any likelihood of the Levy project reemerging was squelched. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, DEF filed a letter with the NRC on January 25, 2018 requesting that the Levy COL be terminated. The NRC granted that request yesterday.

“Southern Alliance for Clean Energy applauds Duke Energy Florida for formally terminating the licenses for the Levy site,” said Sara Barczak, Regional Advocacy Director with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “This move marks the continued meltdown of the nuclear construction industry after the Westinghouse bankruptcy and the abandonment of the V.C. Summer nuclear reactors in South Carolina last year. It’s time for FPL to follow suit and stop wasting customers’ money by officially cancelling the proposed reactors at their Turkey Point plant near Miami.”

Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING…

On 150th Anniversary of Florida’s Disenfranchisement Law
Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

Florida enshrined disenfranchisement in its constitution 150-years ago today. This law was put in place in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Today, Florida is one of only four states with a lifetime ban on voting and permanently excludes 1.4 million Floridians, who have served their time and paid their debts to society, from voting. Now is the time to retire this antiquated law by voting YES on Amendment 4 in November. Here’s what Floridians from all walks of life and all parts of the Sunshine State are saying:

[Read more…] about Floridians Are Ready to Vote YES on Amendment 4

New Traffic Pattern on State Road 46

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Drivers need to be aware of an upcoming nighttime traffic shift on State Road (S.R.) 46 (East 25th Street) this Sunday, May 6. Traffic will be shifted on S.R. 46 between Beardall Avenue and S.R. 415.

This shift is related to the current FDOT widening project already underway in the area, and will involve shifting traffic normally traveling on the south side of S.R. 46 to the north side. The new traffic pattern will open at 6 a.m. Monday, May 7.

Please note construction schedules may change due to weather or other circumstances. Electronic message boards have been installed to inform motorists about the road closure, and detour signs will guide traffic. Updates will be available on the Florida Department of Transportation’s Central Florida website.

Media inquiries should be directed to the FDOT Communications Office at 386-943-5479 or[email protected].

FDOT advises drivers to slow down and use extra caution in construction zones.

DCF takes action to remedy Eckerd Connects deficiencies

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Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Mike Carroll today took action to establish specialized oversight of Eckerd Connects, the community-based care, lead agency in Hillsborough County. Child welfare policy and financial experts will be placed on-site to improve child welfare practices, organizational administration, and financial management. In March, Secretary Carroll deployed a team to conduct a comprehensive review of the Hillsborough County child welfare system of care. Today’s actions are a direct result of the preliminary findings by this team.

“We are taking immediate action to address significant issues that have been identified by the review team that has conducted an extensive examination of the local system of care,” said Secretary Carroll. “We have zero tolerance for any management or practices that could result in anything less than excellent care for the children and families we serve. These initial actions will ensure that no time is wasted in correcting deficiencies that must be immediately remedied.”

The review team’s immediate recommendations include bringing a child welfare subject matter expert to work toward systemic stabilization of placements and streamlining the placement process. The preliminary recommendations include 10 directives that address specific issues, such as case management caseload, behavioral health services, and placement availability and stability.

Based on these recommendations, DCF has deployed a nationally-recognized child welfare consultant, Dr. Joyce Taylor, to work directly with Eckerd Connects, on-site, to provide guidance to strengthen their practices and policies. Dr. Taylor is affiliated with Yale University’s Program on Supervision, was formerly the Deputy Commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and has assisted other community-based care lead agencies in Florida.

DCF has assigned a financial consultant, Melissa Jaacks, to work directly with Eckerd Connects to review all finances to identify administrative cost savings and develop a sound financial viability plan to avoid future operating deficits. Ms. Jaacks is a certified public accountant, previously served as the assistant secretary for administration at DCF in Florida and the chief of staff of the federal Administration for Children and Families. She also provides financial consulting services for a variety of child welfare agencies.

The review team, which includes independent child welfare experts and department leadership, will provide the department a full report following the conclusion of all activities, including the DCF Inspector General’s management review of placement data and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Child Protective Investigations Division’s child protective investigation related to inappropriate supervision. Following the release of the team’s report, the department will hold a community meeting where the review team will share findings and recommendations with the community.

Attorney General Bondi Files Lawsuit Against Farm-to-Table Restaurants’ Deceptive Claims

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Attorney General Pam Bondi today filed a complaint against Icebox Cafe, L.C. and Icebox Cafe at MIA, LLC, Miami restaurants, for allegedly supplying non-locally sourced or sustainable products as claimed on restaurant menus. Icebox Cafe at MIA, a self-proclaimed farm-to-table eatery, allegedly misled customers by claiming the restaurant received state certification as a local provider and sold local products. However, national food distributor, SYSCO, provided much of the food sold.

“Many Floridians want to know where and how their food was grown, and we will not stand for any restaurant misrepresenting the origin of the produce they sell to deceive customers seeking locally-sourced, fresh food,” said Attorney General Bondi.

Farm-to-table is a growing movement for consumers looking for a more health-conscious lifestyle, willing to pay top dollar for the freshness and uniqueness these restaurants provide. Attorney General Bondi’s Office along with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are currently looking into the business practices of so-called farm-to-table restaurants across the state to ensure consumers are not being deceived.      

The Icebox Cafe eateries are allegedly in violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, as a result of allegedly making false or misleading statements, as well as material omissions regarding the food products offered and sold to consumers.

Some examples cited in the complaint include:

  • Claiming one restaurant sold produce from Paradise Farms, in Homestead with no record of purchase from this source;
  • Offering fish such as wild salmon, with no invoices substantiating that claim; and
  • Falsely professing to create Garden-to-Glass and Farm-to-Bar cocktails made with ingredients often picked from a nearby garden.

The Attorney General’s complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief against the defendants. The companies also face civil penalties for violations of FDUTPA.  

To view a copy of the complaint filed, click here.