President Trump yesterday rendered a long-awaited decision by imposing a 30% tariff on imported solar panels*. This “remedy” derives from a complaint lodged by Suniva and SolarWorld seeking protection from the International Trade Commission under a rarely used provision (Section 201) of the 1974 Trade Act.
“SACE is disappointed that the President felt compelled to manipulate the solar market,” said Bryan Jacob, Solar Program Director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “This maneuver will increase the cost of solar and slow growth in one of the most vibrant segments of the U.S. economy.”
That said, the solar market is resilient and growth will resume. In their forthcoming Solar In the Southeast, 2017 Annual Report, SACE had previously predicted capacity of solar energy in seven southeastern states to expand from six gigawatts (6 GW) in 2017 to 10 GW by 2019 and 15 GW in 2021.
* crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and modules.
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Best of the Best UNF Alums Recognized During Annual Awards Ceremony
The University of North Florida Alumni Association announces the recipients of its alumni awards, honoring several notable graduates for exemplary service and contributions to the University during its annual Alumni Recognition Dinner and Awards Ceremony, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, at the Adam W. Herbert University Center, Board of Trustees Room, Room 1058, on campus.
“The UNF Alumni Association is proud of the 80,000 alumni worldwide who continue to achieve great success in their professions while supporting the communities they serve,” said Greg Corcoran, president of the UNF Alumni Association Board. “Our current recipients continue that tradition by setting examples that reflect most favorably on our University and its graduates.”
Honorees include Dr. Debra Harrison, assistant professor of nursing for Mayo Clinic’s College of Medicine; Tyler Morris, Independent Living Resource Center director; Judith Eisen, retired human resources professional; Dr. Walter Graham Jr., retired dermatologist; and Gerald Hurst, owner of Awards Unlimited Inc.
Harrison, a Southside resident, is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the highest award given to a UNF graduate by the Alumni Association. This award recognizes alumni who have made a significant contribution to their profession, community and/or society, having consistently maintained the pursuit of excellence as a representative and graduate of the University.
“I am honored to be receiving this prestigious award from the Alumni Association. UNF, the faculty, staff and colleagues have all played an important part in my life both professionally and personally,” she said. “I value the long-term relationships I have developed because of that and so appreciate what a special place it is.”
Harrison has spent nearly 40 years with the Mayo Clinic organization, serving as chief nursing officer for the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville campus from 2006-2016, where she led Mayo Clinic Florida to achieve the nationally acclaimed designation of Magnet Status. Recognized as an expert in the field of nursing, Harrison’s commitment to community is reflected in the educational and informative presentations she has given over the years in various community settings, contributions to research studies and keynote addresses. She’s received several awards, including the Nursing Excellence in Leadership award from the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and Great 100 Nurses of Florida and Northeast Florida.
UNF nursing students at all levels have benefitted from clinical site opportunities made available through Harrison’s efforts, relationships and renowned career. Her further commitment to the University is illustrated in her role as an adjunct assistant professor and guest lecturer for nursing and health administration graduate students in the Brooks College of Health.
Morris, who lives in Riverside, is the recipient of the Young Alumni Achievement Award, presented for outstanding professional achievement, contributions to the community and exemplary service to the University. He began assisting people with disabilities in 1996 at the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf. Morris has served on several community boards, including as chairperson for the Mayor’s Disability Council, president of the American Advertising Federation – Jacksonville Chapter and marketing chair of Riverside Avondale Preservation. He’s received several awards, such as the 2017 EverBank Builds Community Champion and the 2014 City of Jacksonville’s Community Service and Leadership Award.
Eisen, a resident on the Southside, is the recipient of the Alumni Service Award, presented to alumni who have demonstrated continuous outstanding volunteer service to the University and/or meritorious public service. She serves on the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville Board of Trustees and UNF College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council. Eisen’s impact has been felt by students through her support of the Department of Art and Design in the form of guest lectures, print/painting donations and creating new opportunities. As a long-serving member of the Dean’s Leadership Council, she has provided guidance and supported students. Eisen was also instrumental in the COAS dean search process during the 2016-17 academic year.
Graham, an Atlantic Beach resident, is a recipient of the Honorary Alumni Award, given to friends and supporters for exemplary service to the University. He was one of the founding members of the Thomas G. Carpenter Library Dean’s Leadership Council. Since 2007, Graham and his wife, Cynthia, have been actively involved with the Library, where they’ve contributed generously to several enhancements. The couple named a reading alcove on the second floor, two study rooms and a graduate carrel. Combining their love for art and the Library, they funded a student sculpture installation and, most recently, a student art gallery.
Hurst, who lives in St. Augustine, is also a recipient of the Honorary Alumni Award. He was one of five people who founded the Osprey Club in 1982 and has supported the Club as a member for 35 years. Hurst was selected to the UNF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 and is an honorary UNF Athletics letter winner. He was instrumental in leading the funding for the construction of Harmon Stadium, the Dusty Rhodes Batting Facility and the UNF Tennis Complex. Additionally, he established the Gerry Hurst Endowed Athletic Scholarship and has made other significant gifts to numerous UNF endowed scholarships, all of which are still in effect today.
Tickets to the Alumni Recognition Dinner and Awards Ceremony are $35 each and are available online. The last day to purchase tickets is Friday, Feb. 2. The UNF Alumni Association’s purpose is to foster, maintain and support a mutually beneficial relationship between alumni and the University.
Florida Supreme Court to begin Facebook Live broadcasts
More than 40 years ago the Florida Supreme Court issued a wide welcome to cameras in its courtroom. That welcome grows even broader this coming Thursday when Facebook Live broadcasts begin, making this one of the first courts in the world to use social media for official live video.
Thursday’s event will showcase the annual Florida Bar Pro Bono Awards honoring lawyers who donate services to people in need. But afterward Facebook Live will be used permanently for all oral arguments, starting with February’s, in addition to the live and archived video already available on the Court’s 20-year-old video website portal called Gavel to Gavel.
“In the 1970s, Florida became the first state to allow broadcasts of its court cases at a time when every other court in the nation refused it,” said Chief Justice Jorge Labarga. “This Court’s experiment with transparency showed everyone a better way to balance First Amendment rights against the rights of people involved in a trial or appeal. Social media will be our next step in moving this highly successful model of openness into the Twenty-First Century.”
Over time court staff believes that Facebook Live – with access to the world’s 2 billion Facebook users – will eclipse the reach of other broadcast methods now being used. More than two-thirds of American adults use Facebook, according to research by the Pew Research Center. People can watch the live Supreme Court video simply by visiting or following the Court’s Facebook page – and can even continue watching it as they scroll through other newsfeed items.
The Florida Supreme Court first let cameras owned by TV news stations into its courtroom regularly starting in 1975. It began producing live gavel-to-gavel coverage using its own permanent cameras in 1997 in partnership with Florida State University – and made the feed available for free by the Internet, via satellite downlink, and over the statewide cable network The Florida Channel.
This system aired worldwide when the presidential election dispute of 2000, known today as Bush v. Gore, came before the Florida Supreme Court twice. A mesmerized planet watched lawyers argue from start to finish about how to determine who would become the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush or Al Gore. HBO even made a 2008 movie about these cases called “Recount,” which was filmed on location in Tallahassee and was co-produced by famed director Sydney Pollack.
More recently, the groundwork for Thursday’s Facebook Live video was laid when Labarga and his fellow justices unanimously approved a sweeping court communication plan in December 2015. It called on Florida’s courts to embrace recent advances in technology and communications, such as social media and podcasting.
The plan also emphasizes the importance of time-proven principles of effective communication. These include building and maintaining relationships of trust with the press and the public. But its key point is to maintain transparency as technology evolves.
In keeping with the plan, the Florida Supreme Court launched its official Facebook page in the fall of 2016, although it already had been using Twitter since 2009. The inaugural episode of the Court’s podcast series “Beyond the Bench” aired in late 2017 – a dialogue between Labarga and one of the key drafters of the plan, Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi-Richardson. The Court then performed a limited but successful test of Facebook Live last December with its partner WFSU/The Florida Channel.
The communication plan, called “Delivering Our Message,” was approved and forwarded to the Florida Supreme Court in 2015 by the Judicial Management Council, a court advisory body that includes judges, lawyers and non-lawyers.
The JMC has been a driving force behind Florida’s uniquely broad policy of openness for more than two decades now, including support for the most extensive network of court communications professionals of any state in the nation. Florida now has public information officers or PIOs at all 26 levels of the state courts system as well as at the judiciary’s central statewide administrative office in Tallahassee. Their statewide professional association, FCPIO, first met in 2005 and is currently the only such state association in the nation. Its president is Michelle Kennedy of the Eighteenth Circuit Court based in Viera, Florida.
Mast Statement on End of Manufactured Shutdown Crisis
U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (FL-18) today released the following statement:
“I’m relieved to say that the government is going to be back open, but this was an entirely avoidable crisis. The bill passed today by the Senate is fundamentally the same as the one the House passed last week. The fact that a minority of Senators were able to hold the government hostage for 3 days—and make no real changes to the bill—shows just how broken the system really is. Sadly far too many people in Washington remain more interested in helping themselves than the people they represent.
“With this manufactured crisis behind us, we need to get back to work—fix the broken system, stop governing from crisis to crisis, get our country’s finances back on track, cut wasteful spending and do what we were sent here to do: put power back in the hands of the American people.”
BACKGROUND
On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to keep the government open through February 16, 2018 and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years. The only change in the bill passed by the Senate today—after 3 days of holding healthcare funding for 9 million children hostage and jeopardizing pay for our military—was to reduce the length of the funding extension to February 8, 2018.
Florida Women’s Hall of Fame Seeks Nominations
Nominations for the 2018 Florida Women’s Hall of Fame are now being accepted through Jan. 31, 2018, by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women. The Florida Women’s Hall of Fame commemorates women’s history by honoring and remembering those women whose lives and contributions have improved the quality of life for both Florida and the nation.
The Commission will accept all nominations for the 2018 Florida Women’s Hall of Fame postmarked by Jan. 31, 2018 or through the website FlWomensHallofFame.org/Nominate. The Commission will recommend to the Governor of Florida ten outstanding women from whom up to three will be chosen for induction. Inductees will be recognized at a special ceremony on Sept. 26, 2018 in Orlando.
Since its inception in 1982, the Hall of Fame has recognized and honored Florida women who, through their lives and work, have made significant contributions to the improvement of life for all citizens of the state. Some of the notable inductees include former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, singer Gloria Estefan, internationally-honored tennis athletes Chris Evert and Althea Gibson, Pilot Betty Skelton Frankman, Bethune-Cookman College founder Mary McLeod Bethune, Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Carrie Meek, Tillie Fowler and Ruth Bryan Owen, Florida Trend Publisher Lynda Keever, and Everglades advocate and suffragist Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
This year’s inductees will join current members on the walls of the Florida Capitol. Visitors can view the Hall of Fame members immortalized on plaques in the Capitol Rotunda or on the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame website.
About the Florida Commission on the Status of Women
The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is a nonpartisan, statutorily-created board of 22-member commissioners that work to collaborate with, educate and celebrate Florida women and girls. The Commission does so through annual events and programs including the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame. The Commission acts as a resource for lawmakers, businesses, and residents, so they have a better understanding of the important issues facing women, and by extension all Floridians
Flagler College to host Naturalization Ceremony as part of Inaugural Week
Flagler College and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will hold a Naturalization Ceremony on Feb. 21 in the Lewis Auditorium for approximately 50 individuals as part of the college’s Inaugural Week for new President Dr. Joseph G. Joyner.
Joyner, who is the fourth president in the history of the college, began work in July 2017. His inauguration on Feb. 24 is being celebrated with a week of activities centered around the theme of “Citizenship in a Diverse Democracy.” As part of that week, the Naturalization Ceremony will involve approximately 50 people taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America, thereby completing the process of becoming a U.S. citizen.
The ceremony will take place at noon and is open to the public. Dr. Joyner will give the welcome address, and naturalized citizen and Associate Professor of Education Edwidge Bryant will give the keynote address. Naturalized citizen and Flagler Head Men’s Soccer Coach John Lynch will offer closing remarks, and the Flagler College Chamber Choir led by Assistant Professor Kip Taisey will perform the national anthem.
A small reception for newly naturalized citizens and their guests will take place immediately following the ceremony.
First Lady Ann Scott Releases Educational Children’s Book Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida
Fun and informative book helps children explore
Florida’s history, culture, environment and much more
First Lady Ann Scott, in collaboration with the Florida Department of State, today released her new educational children’s book titled Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida, which takes children on a journey across the state to explore Florida’s history, culture and environment through colorful illustrations, engaging activities and creative content. The book will be distributed to Florida schools and libraries at no cost.
First Lady Ann Scott said, “Reading and literacy is the foundation for a student’s success in life and one of my primary goals as First Lady has been to encourage a love of reading among Florida’s students. I passed my love of reading on to my daughters Allison and Jordan, who inspired the two main characters in the book, and now I do the same with my grandchildren. Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Floridacombines my passion for encouraging children to read and my love for our great state. It is my hope that this book will spark a child’s imagination, inspire a passion for reading and teach them about Florida.”
Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida is a collaboration between First Lady Ann Scott and the Florida Department of State.
“It was an honor for the Florida Department of State to work with First Lady Ann Scott to produce this fantastic children’s book, which showcases fun facts and the unique history behind each part of Florida, and I am so proud of the exceedingly talented team at the department whose creativity and hard work made it possible,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Recently, the department commemorated 50 years of dedication to our mission of preserving and sharing Florida’s history and there is no better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than by releasing Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida, a book that encompasses and propels our mission forward.”
The 52-page book is geared toward students in elementary school. A copy of Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida will be distributed to elementary school libraries and public libraries throughout the state at no-cost to them. The book is now available for preorder on Amazon for $12.00. All proceeds from book sales will benefit the Friends of the Museums of Florida History Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit citizen support organization of the Florida Department of State that supports the promotion of Florida’s history and culture.
Additional resources for teachers, parents and students are available online at AllyandJordisAdventures.com. The website includes downloadable versions of the puzzles and activities from the book, interactive puzzles that can be done online and a host of other resources to help educators bring Florida history to life in the classroom.
The First Lady will highlight her new book as she visits schools and libraries across the state.
For more information, please visit AllyandJordisAdventures.com.
First Lady Ann Scott Releases Educational Children’s Book Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida
Fun and informative book helps children explore
Florida’s history, culture, environment and much more
First Lady Ann Scott, in collaboration with the Florida Department of State, today released her new educational children’s book titled Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida, which takes children on a journey across the state to explore Florida’s history, culture and environment through colorful illustrations, engaging activities and creative content. The book will be distributed to Florida schools and libraries at no cost.
First Lady Ann Scott said, “Reading and literacy is the foundation for a student’s success in life and one of my primary goals as First Lady has been to encourage a love of reading among Florida’s students. I passed my love of reading on to my daughters Allison and Jordan, who inspired the two main characters in the book, and now I do the same with my grandchildren. Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Floridacombines my passion for encouraging children to read and my love for our great state. It is my hope that this book will spark a child’s imagination, inspire a passion for reading and teach them about Florida.”
Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida is a collaboration between First Lady Ann Scott and the Florida Department of State.
“It was an honor for the Florida Department of State to work with First Lady Ann Scott to produce this fantastic children’s book, which showcases fun facts and the unique history behind each part of Florida, and I am so proud of the exceedingly talented team at the department whose creativity and hard work made it possible,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “Recently, the department commemorated 50 years of dedication to our mission of preserving and sharing Florida’s history and there is no better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than by releasing Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida, a book that encompasses and propels our mission forward.”
The 52-page book is geared toward students in elementary school. A copy of Ally & Jordi’s Adventures Through Florida will be distributed to elementary school libraries and public libraries throughout the state at no-cost to them. The book is now available for preorder on Amazon for $12.00. All proceeds from book sales will benefit the Friends of the Museums of Florida History Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit citizen support organization of the Florida Department of State that supports the promotion of Florida’s history and culture.
Additional resources for teachers, parents and students are available online at AllyandJordisAdventures.com. The website includes downloadable versions of the puzzles and activities from the book, interactive puzzles that can be done online and a host of other resources to help educators bring Florida history to life in the classroom.
The First Lady will highlight her new book as she visits schools and libraries across the state.
For more information, please visit AllyandJordisAdventures.com.
Lawmakers Announce Legislation Promoting Fair Business Practices for Florida’s Franchise Owners
Legislation supported by the Coalition of Franchisee Associations
Florida’s small business owners will benefit from fair business standards under new legislation sponsored by Sen. Greg Steube and Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen. The proposal will establish commonsense safeguards ensuring that entrepreneurs who often invest their lifesavings into a franchised business have parity when it comes to the business relationship with their corporate franchisor. These business standards will promote economic opportunity and encourage continued investment in our state’s small businesses.
The proposal filed by Steube and Fitzenhagen will provide legal protections for businesses, leading to more economic growth and jobs in communities across the state. The Small Business Parity Act will introduce a greater degree of fairness for owners of franchised small businesses in Florida. The bill would apply only to renewals and new franchise contracts issued after the bill’s effective date.
“Florida’s hard-working franchise owners typically invest more than $375,000 of their own personal savings in order to pursue their dream of owning a small business, and we must do our part to help protect these investments in our local communities,” said Sen. Steube, the bill’s Senate sponsor. “These dedicated small business owners employ more than 404,000 Floridians, and I am proud today to do my part to file commonsense legislation that would protect the livelihoods of these men and women.”
“We simply want to level the playing field for these small business owners,” said Rep. Fitzenhagen, the House sponsor. “The unfortunate truth is that many of these large, out-of-state corporations are taking advantage of the tremendous imbalance in the franchisor-franchisee relationship. This is wrong, and this bill provides an opportunity to level the playing field.”
If enacted into law, the Small Business Parity Act will:
- defend franchise business owners from unjust terminations and non-renewals without good cause
- defend franchise owners from unjust limitations on sales and transfers based on unreasonable requirements
- give franchise owners the right to pursue legal disputes against their franchisors in Florida court and under Florida law
- requires that both franchisors and franchise owners act in “good faith”
The Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) is supporting the new legislation for the upcoming legislative session. The CFA, founded in 2007 as the largest franchisee-only trade association in the country, provides a forum for its members to share best practices, knowledge, and resources for the benefit of all small businesses that operate independent franchise establishments.
“I wish Florida would offer me the same protections that more than 20 other states give to their small business owners,” said Terry Hutchinson, a Florida franchise owner. “Franchise owners like me support our local economies, hire people from our communities, and pay state taxes — we deserve a stable relationship with the corporate brands, so we can both grow and foster Florida’s economy.”
For more information on the Small Business Parity Act please visit protectFLbusiness.com.
Sen. Bill Nelson on vote to end shutdown
By a vote of 81 – 18, the U.S. Senate today voted to cut off debate on a bill to end the federal government shutdown – essentially ensuring its passage in a subsequent vote likely to be held later today.
In speaking prior to the vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) credited a small bipartisan group of senators for their efforts over the weekend to bring people together to reach a consensus to reopen the government. Among the group of 13 Democrats and 9 Republicans credited for their efforts was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL).
Here’s a statement from Nelson following today’s vote:
“This is a win for bipartisanship and common sense,” Nelson said. “I have been meeting with a group of moderate senators for days to reach a consensus to end the shutdown and get a commitment to take up other critical legislation. As a result, there is now a path forward to help the Dreamers, fund the military and other agencies and provide Florida with the hurricane disaster assistance it still needs.”
