Governor Rick Scott today issued a proclamation to expand the ongoing special session to include funding for repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike and higher education. Click HERE to view the proclamation.
Governor Scott said, “Today, at the request of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, I expanded the call of the ongoing special session so the Legislature can consider investing money for the repair of the Herbert Hoover Dike to help the communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee. For six years, I asked the Obama Administration to fund these important repairs with no results. During this legislative session, I called on the Florida Legislature to provide funding to kick start these repairs. I have also received a commitment from President Trump that the federal government will fix the dike.
“For more than thirty years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have identified areas of the dike that are prone to stability issues and water seepage, and now is the time to fix this problem once and for all. Along with SB 10, a major priority for Senate President Joe Negron, that I signed into law last month, repairing the Herbert Hoover Dike will ensure that future generations of Floridians will not be plagued with safety concerns during flooding events and problems with algae. I urge the Legislature to take up this call and fund these critical repairs.
“Also, today, I updated the call to include higher education funding. Last week, I signed a historic $4.9 billion budget for Florida’s universities, which is a $174 million increase over last year. By adding higher education to the topics that can be considered during the ongoing special session, the Legislature will have the opportunity to modify these issues for my consideration.”
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Join the League of Extraordinarily Healthy Gentlemen
By: Adekunle Omotayo, MD, FRCP
The average life expectancy of a man born in the U.S. in 2007 is 75 years and five months. The ability to enjoy life to its fullest requires investing time and effort but pays dividends almost immediately, and it’s never too late to begin.
Our bodies are incredibly complex machines that require fuel (food, water, and air) to grow, function, and repair themselves. Like any machine, the body needs routine maintenance to make it last a long time and to function well throughout a person’s life. Let’s be honest: Most men hate going to the doctor. But June is Men’s Health Month, so consider your loved ones — for their sakes, make sure your lifestyle is healthy and schedule a check-up.
Using the body as it was intended and minimizing abuse also increases its ability to perform. Our bodies suffer through illnesses and accidents, and many are unavoidable. Taking care of your body also includes scheduled maintenance and screening examinations to detect illnesses at an early stage, which increases the potential for cure and a return to health. Learning to listen to the body’s warning signs and symptoms is the same as paying attention to the “check engine” light in your car — neither should be ignored.
A healthy lifestyle is not just an absence of disease but an opportunity to enjoy the years of life available to each person. Medical care can help the body maintain its performance as it ages. As the body ages, there is an expected and normal physiologic change in some of the hormones in the male body.
Most common diseases that affect men are potentially preventable. Interestingly, the presence of some diseases increases the chance that another will occur. Heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, and dementia all share the same risk factors, which include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and family history.
A common condition in men that is part of the normal aging process is an enlarged prostate, making urination even more difficult. Symptoms of an enlarged prostate include urinating more often, the feeling that he has to empty the bladder urgently or risk wetting himself, and poor urine stream.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of men in the United States. The major risk factors for heart disease (and stroke and peripheral vascular disease) include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and family history.
Lung cancer is the No. 1 killer among cancers in men. Smoking causes 90 percent of all lung cancers, and while the number of smokers in the United States has decreased in the past generation, 20 percent of teenagers smoke and will be the future victims of lung cancer. Tobacco in its various forms, including smokeless or chewing tobacco, is related to a variety of other cancers including cancer of the mouth, throat, and larynx.
Prostate cancer affects the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, and is a disease of aging and is rarely seen in men younger than 50 years of age. Often prostate cancer causes no symptoms and is diagnosed after a routine screening test. The cure rate for prostate cancer has increased but it still accounts for 10 percent of cancer deaths among men.
Colon and rectal cancers tie with prostate cancer as the second most common cause of cancer deaths in men. There are few symptoms in the early stages of colon and rectal cancers, so regular screenings are critical. Colon cancer can be nearly completely preventable with timely examinations.
Poorly controlled diabetes increases blood sugar levels in the bloodstream and over time affects the small blood vessels in the body, which can lead to multi-organ failure. Poorly controlled diabetes can cause vascular disease leading to heart attacks, strokes, limb amputations, kidney failure, blindness, and nerve damage (diabetic neuropathy). Be sure to eat a well-balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise regularly.
This month, take yourself in for a tune-up. Resources are available from our Healthwise Knowledgebase at capitalhealth.com.
Adekunle Omotayo, MD, FRCP, is an Internal Medicine physician and is the Associate Medical Director at Capital Health Plan.
UCF Hosts Cleantech Business-Plan Competition
Ten promising cleantech companies from across the United States, including three from the University of Central Florida, will face off in a business-plan competition today, June 9, for a chance to win $50,000 to grow their innovations into a business.
The competition, called Megawatt Ventures, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Cleantech University Prize and will be held at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. The competition begins at 8 a.m. and is open to the public. The winner will have the opportunity to compete for another $50,000 in the final round later this month.
“The overriding mission of the competition is to encourage the commercialization of innovative clean technologies from the lab to the marketplace,” said Thomas O’Neal, associate vice president for innovation at UCF.
UCF is one of eight universities nationwide that facilitates Cleantech UP competitions to connect promising research in energy efficiency with experienced entrepreneurs, business executives, industry partners, venture capitalists and other resources that can lead to commercial products and high-wage jobs.
This is the fifth year of the Megawatt Ventures competition, which has been funded by the DOE for a total of $1.25 million. Teams from previous years have raised more than $4 million in additional funding after winning the competition.
The UCF Megawatt Ventures team travels to universities throughout the Southeastern United States to recruit talented multidisciplinary teams and build excitement about the concept of solving energy challenges with new technologies.
Teams consist of two or more members and at least half of the team must be students.
“We are striving to capture the innovation coming out of our universities and connect it to funders in a way that is both exciting and sustainable,” O’Neal said.
The 10 teams selected for the 2017 competition received training from UCF experts in entrepreneurship, clean energy, funding strategies, commercialization and proper presentation tactics.
The three teams with UCF ties are:
- Energitek – Founded by Necati Catbas, a professor of civil, environmental and construction engineering at UCF, the company uses highly advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to predict the amount of energy that can be generated at any given time by solar photovoltaic panels to help homeowners reduce energy costs and prevent adverse effects of increased residential solar photovoltaic usage on utility grids. Other members of the company are Ph.D. students Chuan-Zhi Dong and Ozan Celik.
- Thor ORE – Brandon Carpenter, a researcher at UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center, and Dylan Weitzman, an undergraduate in physics were UCF students when they joined entrepreneur and now CEO Glenn Wagner to form the company. The company uses nano-filtration systems to extract needed rare earth elements and uranium from the waste streams of the mining and manufacturing industries. These elements can be used in various industries from electronics and medicine to defense and renewable energy. The company’s goals are to decrease U.S. reliance on China for the elements and to reduce waste products generated by the phosphate fertilizer industry.
- ThuRiYa Energy – founded by Ngwe Zin, a postdoctoral researcher at UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center, ThuRiYa is focused on simplifying manufacturing processes and improved efficiency of solar cells.
The teams will pitch their company business plans Shark Tank-style to a panel of judges including venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, renewable-energy veterans and Fortune 1000 company technology scouts. In addition to O’Neal, confirmed judges will be George Gramatikas, founder of Turbine Technology Services and UCF I-Corps mentor; Purnesh Seegopaul, general partner at Pangaea Ventures; Carol Hunter, construction project controls manager at Disney Parks & Resorts; and Janine Elliott, program officer at VentureWell, an organization focused on supporting STEM students and researchers.
The event will also feature speakers discussing topics related to opportunities for student entrepreneurs, clean energy and local sustainability efforts, including representatives of the DOE’s Technology-to-Market Office, VentureWell, and the City of Orlando’s Green Works department.
The winner of Friday’s competition will advance to the national-level completion to be held in Austin, TX, June 26-27.
MegaWatt Ventures
MegaWatt Ventures is an annual clean energy business-plan competition that is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Cleantech University Prize (Cleantech UP) and the University of Central Florida. The competition has an overriding mission of encouraging the commercialization of innovative clean technologies from the lab bench into the marketplace. Innovations submitted through the competition are vetted by industry experts and customers with high energy/water demands throughout the entire process. A majority of members from each team must be students from U.S. universities. UCF, along with the University of California Berkley, Carnegie Mellon University, Clean Energy Trust, Rice University, Rutgers University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the California Institute for Technology host Cleantech UP collegiate competitions. VentureWell and the Department of Energy will host the Cleantech UP finals, at which top teams from each collegiate competition will be eligible to participate. For more information, visit www.megawattventures.com or call 407-882-0663.
Mallea Endorsed by Associated Builders and Contractors
The construction industry trade group says Mallea’s support for free market
principles makes him the best choice in the race for House District 116.
The Jose Mallea Campaign today announced the endorsement of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Florida, part of a national construction industry trade association that represents nearly 21,000 corporate members. Mallea is running in the special election to fill the District 116 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
“We are very pleased to endorse Jose Mallea,” said Peter M. Dyga, President and CEO of the ABC Florida East Coast Chapter. “His commitment to the principles of free enterprise and free markets lines up very well with our values. We believe we can count on him to be the kind of advocate for economic growth and increased opportunity we need in Tallahassee.”
ABC represents every segment of commercial construction from general contractors to subcontractors and suppliers. The association promotes lower taxes, free enterprise, reasonable regulation, and is the largest provider in Florida for training in the industry. The Florida East Coast Chapter represents more than 450 member companies between Key West and the Space Coast region, making it the largest commercial construction association in Florida.
“I am honored to have the support of ABC,” said Mallea. “I appreciate their commitment to the principles of freedom and hard work that built this nation. I look forward to working with them to keep Florida’s economy strong and growing.”
Paid by Jose Mallea, Republican, for State Representative
UF to hire 500 faculty in major new initiative
The University of Florida will hire 500 new faculty to further enhance teaching and research and to continue to be one of the very best research universities in the nation, UF President Kent Fuchs announced today. UF’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution in support of the announcement.
Funding for the new hires and compensation increases will come from state allocations, alumni and friends, as well as university resources.
“We know what we need to do and we are laser-focused on several areas that will have the greatest impact on our educational and research missions while giving UF an edge to compete successfully with the nation’s other top institutions for talented faculty, students and staff,” Fuchs said. “UF ranks among the top 10 public research universities and we have our eye on being among the top five.”
The 500 new faculty hires represent a number over and above the 300 to 400 faculty that UF hires annually to replace those who retire or leave the university, UF Provost Joe Glover said.
Funding for new hires and compensation increases will come initially from a $52 million allocation to UF that the Legislature approved earlier this year and from reallocated internal resources, Glover said. The university will also seek additional funding from a variety of sources for future years.
The hiring plan was created to address two primary university goals: reaching top-ranked status by strengthening various research disciplines, and improving the university’s student-faculty ratio, a widely recognized metric in determining an institution’s excellence and stature.
UF’s current student-faculty ratio is 20 to 1; the 500 new hires ultimately will result in a student-faculty ratio of 16 to 1. By comparison, the ratio at the University of Michigan, is 15 to 1. (Michigan, like UF, belongs to the Association of American Universities and is considered a peer institution to UF; others include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California, Berkeley.)
The new faculty will be hired in a variety of fields, Glover said, but “certainly a good portion will be in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and health. We will also give priority to areas focused on new business start-ups, tech transfer and economic development.”
The new hires will be in addition to the growth of 115 faculty hired in the past three years with funding the Legislature has provided as part of UF’s designation as a preeminent university.
The announcement of the new hiring initiative follows Wednesday’s news that UF faculty achieved a new high of nearly $800 million in research expenditures for the year. UF also announced an expected new record in annual fundraising topping $440 million. Additionally, five faculty became members of the National Academies during the year.
Fuchs said that UF has already made tremendous progress – and the new initiatives and records will propel UF to the highest ranks.
“In the vast majority of university rankings, the University of Florida is among the top 10 public research universities in the nation,” Fuchs said. “Our goal now is to be among the top five.”
Senate Democratic Caucus to Gov. Scott: "Veto HB 7069"
Led by Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon (D-Miami Gardens), united members of the Senate Democratic Caucus on Friday called on Governor Rick Scott to veto HB 7069.
“Signing this bill signals immediate financial peril for our public school system in Florida, and endangers the future of public education in our state,” said Leader Braynon. “We call on the governor to exercise his authority and stop it in its tracks.”
On Thursday, Senate Democrats attempted multiple amendments to restore critical funding to the K-12 system by rerouting state dollars committed to the controversial charter school plan pushed by the House Speaker. While future promises have been made to correct a multitude of problems expected to arise from HB 7069 should it become law, Democrats argue that the better, more pragmatic approach is to preempt them through a veto.
“Aside from the financial dangers, the fatal flaw in this legislation is that it was hatched in secrecy, and never subjected to vetting by the full legislature prior to its narrow passage,” said Leader Braynon. “Even the governor recognized this critical defect, and chastised those who participated in its creation. Propping up for-profit charter companies violates every tenet of our duty to the constitutional requirement of a quality public education for all children, and walks away from the oath we took to ensure its success. We owe no such duty to charter school management corporations.”
As the special session nears its end, Leader Braynon and the Democratic Caucus urged the governor to reexamine the need for such rushed legislation and quash the clandestine measure before the damage is done.
“Dropping this 278-page rewrite of Florida’s K-12 education on the last day of the 2017 session violated every promise of transparency and accountability made by those we task with governing,” said Leader Braynon. “We call on the governor to do what multitudes of parents, educators, school superintendents, and lawmakers are all looking to him to do: Veto HB 7069.”
Constitution Revision Commission Postpones June 22 Public Hearing in Central Florida
The Constitution Revision Commission today announced that a public hearing tentatively scheduled for June 22nd in Central Florida has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. The public hearing will be rescheduled for a future date.
Chairman Carlos Beruff, said, “We are actively working to reschedule this public hearing for a future date. I believe it is important that we schedule public hearings on dates which allow a majority of Commissioners to attend, especially considering that hundreds of Floridians take time out of their personal schedules to have the opportunity to speak before a full Commission.”
The Constitution Revision Commission will announce future public hearing dates and locations as soon as possible. All public hearings and meetings are noticed on the official CRC website, flcrc.gov. To watch previous public hearings and meetings held by the CRC, visit the Florida Channel’s website which has a page dedicated to all CRC public hearings and meetings.
Senator Jeff Brandes files legislation to implement amendment 2
Alternative proposal for medical marijuana offered for consideration by full Senate
Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) today filed legislation to implement the medical marijuana constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 2, which passed with over 71% of voter approval on the November 2016 General Ballot. The proposal by Senator Brandes will be considered as an amendment to Senate Bill 8A, the Amendment 2 implementation bill filed by Senator Rob Bradley (R-Orange Park) scheduled to be heard by the Senate during the 2017 Special Legislative Session A.
“This proposal is the purest implementation proposal that the legislature has seen to date for Amendment 2,” stated Senator Brandes. “For the first time the Florida Senate will have an opportunity to vote consistent with our Republican principles of free markets and fair competition. This legislation puts Florida patients first, and protects the physician-patient relationship. I look forward to a robust conversation with my colleagues on this proposal, and I urge their support so that we can address this important issue during the Special Session.”
The proposal by Senator Brandes repeals Florida’s current law relating to low-THC medical marijuana. Under the Brandes proposal, medical marijuana is not subject to sales tax. Additionally, the number of Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTC) licensed in the state will be determined by market demand, rather than an arbitrary maximum set in law. Furthermore, the Brandes proposal eliminates the “vertical integration” mandate, which is a requirement that the same company must grow, process, transport, and dispense medical marijuana. The Brandes proposal provides flexibility to local governments to determine whether or not medical marijuana retail facilities may be located within their jurisdiction, and limits the number of retail facilities to not more than one per 25,000 residents. Finally, the Brandes proposal authorizes any method of consumption so that physicians can determine the best form of administering medical marijuana, rather than lawmakers.
For more information on the proposal by Senator Brandes, click here.
Sen. Bill Nelson statement on Comey hearing
Following is a statement from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony today:
“The special counsel got a lot of material from Comey. The ultimate goal is to get to the truth. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Trumbull Appointed to Florida Defense Support Task Force
The office of Representative Jay Trumbull released the following statement earlier today regarding his appointment to the Florida Defense Support Task Force.
“Today, State Representative Jay Trumbull announced that House Speaker Richard Corcoran has appointed him to the Florida Defense Support Task Force. The group’s mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance Florida’s military missions and installations. Trumbull’s appointment is effective immediately and will run through November of 2018.
“‘Florida plays a proud and strategic role in our nation’s defense,’ said Trumbull. ‘Our military installations are key economic drivers across the state, particularly in the Panhandle, and I’m honored to be a part of this task force. I look forward to this opportunity to help make sure a Florida installation won’t be subject to a Base Realignment and Closure Action.’
“Florida’s 20 major military installations have an annual economic impact of $73 billion and more than 750,000 jobs. Working with military leaders to improve transportation access to bases and strengthened support for veterans and military families are among the group’s objectives.
“This year, the task force will oversee an update to its strategic plan for protecting the state’s military installations. The plan was initially drafted in 2012 and most recently updated in March of 2016. Last year, it also published the 2016 Florida Military Friendly Guide, a summary of Florida laws that benefit active duty, National Guard, and reserve service members and families that was distributed throughout the state.
“Trumbull represents House District 6, home to Tyndall Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Panama City.”
About Jay Trumbull for State Representative
Born and raised in Panama City, Florida, Jay Trumbull Jr. graduated from Bay High School and then from Auburn University with a degree in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. The Trumbull family has been in the bottled water and water conditioning business for over 4 generations and owns 6 Culligan dealerships in Panama City; Ft. Walton; Dothan, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; Tifton, Georgia; and Americus, Georgia. Jay started out driving a truck for the first 2 years and then later became a part of the dealer management team. Jay is active in local business community organizations, including the Bay County Chamber of Commerce and the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce. Jay married his high school sweetheart, Brittany Fishel. They are members of the First United Methodist Church of Panama City and are both active in the community.
