Miami, FL – Florida’s rate of new COVID-19 infections has climbed sharply over the past two weeks. Its seven day average of cases is now the highest in the nation. Hospitals across the state are adjusting their visitation protocols and rescheduling elective surgeries due to the dangerous and accelerating influx of cases. In reaction to…
Editorial by the Charlotte Daily Sun, July 20, 2021 OUR POSITION: If Gov. Ron DeSantis did foresee the increase, he should have been using his bully pulpit to urge more people to get vaccinated, to try to head it off. He’s been very vocal about the number of people who have gotten their shots but…
By Trish Zornio, Florida Phoenix, July 7, 2021 As the delta variant takes hold, the unvaccinated are in for a rude awakening. It’s not just ignorance — they’re begging for a Darwin Award. Unfortunately, thanks to all these unvaccinated knuckleheads, vaccinated Americans are now being put more at risk, too. The delta variant is a…
By Issac Morgan and Diane Rado, Florida Phoenix, June 16, 2021 While the Biden administration is pushing to vaccinate Americans, Floridians who aren’t fully vaccinated are concerned about potential side effects, misinformation about vaccines and other issues, according to a study by the University of South Florida. Researchers at USF’s School of Public Affairs on Wednesday…
Opinion by Michael Gerson, Washington Post Columnist, April 5, 2021 MAGA political philosophy is not systematic, but it is comprehensive. Right-wing populism offers a distorted lens to view nearly all of life. Through this warped lens, progress toward equal rights is actually the oppression of White people. Free and fair elections, when lost, are actually…
Editor’s note: You can watch the complete “60 Minutes” segment by clicking here and then click here to learn how retired NFL star Anquan Boldin helped his hometown of the Glades get vaccinated. By Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 4, 2021 The vaccine favoritism questions swirling around Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received a national spotlight…
Editor’s comment: The pension this bill saves may be your own! By Hazel Bradford, Pension & Investments, March 10, 2021 President Joe Biden is expected to quickly sign the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure. Final passage of a massive COVID-19 relief bill came Wednesday with House approval, along a 220-211 mostly party-line vote. The $1.9…
By Fran Dance, Charlotte Dems contributing writer On March 11th, President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. This comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill strategically allocates funding, geared toward low-income and middle-class Americans, to encourage a robust economic recovery while creating a coordinated, national vaccination program to ensure we defeat this virus.…
By the MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL BOARD, MARCH 07, 2021 For a whole year, as Floridians suffered and died by the tens of thousands from COVID-19, Florida’s government routinely kept the public from seeing detailed information about the course and intensity of the pandemic, often until the trend line had changed to better match the…
By Jim Hussey, Charlotte Dems contributing writer Someday we’ll learn how certain Florida vaccination sites, ranging from privileged ZIP codes to exclusive enclaves, were selected – but from a distance it sure seems politics was as important as epidemiology. Earlier this year, it was reported coronavirus rates were twice as high in Florida’s Black and…
Editor’s note: Charlotte Dems helped blow the whistle on this latest version of DeSantis political favoritism after he scheduled a pop up clinic at Kings Gate, a gated community and Republican stronghold in Port Charlotte. By Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune The Palmer Ranch community in Sarasota County encompasses 9,000 acres in the developed portion west…
By Anna Bryson, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer, Feb 23, 2021 Charlotte County Commissioners want to get COVID-19 vaccines to underserved communities particularly following outrage after Gov. Ron DeSantis gave 3,000 coveted COVID-19 vaccine doses to select groups including the high-end Kings Gate community. “As we see these pop up sites at Kings Gate and these…
Editor’s note: Between Sunday and Monday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 8,002 (0.5 percent), to 1,579,281; active hospitalizations went up by 29 (nearly 0.4 percent), to 7,448; deaths rose by 137 (nearly 0.6 percent), to 24,274. In Charlotte County, we have had 9,023 cases and 270 deaths attributed to coronavirus. You can…
Editor’s note: Charlotte County’s distribution effort has been stymied by a surging demand from its 65+ population and limited supply. When vaccine is available, residents quickly overwhelm this registration site. By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press, Jan 14, 2021 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s director of emergency management said Thursday that a statewide…
By RYAN GILLESPIE and STEPHEN HUDAK, published in the ORLANDO SENTINEL, Nov 20, 2020 Across the country, states and counties are ordering residents to hunker down or wear masks as governors brace for another surge of coronavirus cases. But in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has prohibited nearly all shutdown actions that local counties were able to take early…