| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Presented by AARP | Hello and welcome to Wednesday. The daily rundown — Between Monday and Tuesday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 5,610 (nearly 0.3 percent), to 1,878,533; active hospitalizations went up by 23 (nearly 0.46 percent), to 4,198; deaths of Florida residents rose by 148 (nearly 0.5 percent), to 30,213; 2,748,495 Floridians have at least one dose of the vaccine. After all that — Gov. Ron DeSantis finally did as promised and issued his order Tuesday evening calling for flags to be lowered to half-staff all day today to honor late conservative radio star Rush Limbaugh. But… — After close to four days of Democratic politicians — including Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried — ripping DeSantis over the plans, the governor's order turned out to be very limited in scope. DeSantis has the power to direct for flags to be lowered on state and local property but his memorandum identified just three locations: The state Capitol, the Palm Beach County Courthouse and Palm Beach City Hall. Limbaugh lived in Palm Beach County, as does the person who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. How many? — DeSantis' tightly written flag order came after Fried, as well as local officials around the state, said they had no plans to lower their flags to honor Limbaugh due to his years of inflammatory rhetoric. And it wasn't even clear if all three locations chosen would ultimately lower their flags. Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said the flags would not be lowered at the county courthouse. McKinlay late Tuesday said on Twitter that "Although Rush Limbaugh was a significant public figure, he was also an incredibly divisive one who hurt many people with his words and actions." Helping your opponent — DeSantis kicked off the Limbaugh controversy late last week by declaring Limbaugh a "legend" and promising to honor him. But his decision to do so ignited a brush fire of media coverage and — just as notable — gave an opening for Fried to get national media exposure just as she's starting to ramp up an expected campaign for governor. — WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com | | | | A message from AARP: Don't cut quality care for nursing home residents. Nearly 10,000 residents and staff of Florida nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19. Now is the time to strengthen protections for our loved ones — not cut them. Vote 'No' on HB 485/SB 1132. | | |
|  | TRAIL MIX | | HEFTY — "Former congressman Rivera fined $456,000 for propping up ringer candidate," by Miami Herald's Alex Daugherty: "A federal judge ruled Tuesday that former Miami Republican Rep. David Rivera violated campaign finance law when he funneled $75,927 in campaign money to a novice political candidate running against Rivera's likely Democratic challenger in Florida's 26th Congressional District — and ordered Rivera to pay a $456,000 fine for devising a scheme he knew was illegal. In a scathing order, Judge Marcia Cooke said Rivera's violations were knowing, willful and injured the public. She said Rivera has the money to pay the fine and also issued a permanent injunction to further prevent Rivera from breaking campaign finance law in the future since he continued to run for office after losing the 2012 race for Florida's 26th Congressional District to Democrat Joe Garcia." RICK SCOTT, MEET MATT GAETZ — "GOP 'Civil war is now canceled,' says NRSC chair Rick Scott in fiery memo asking for party unity ahead of 2022," by Fox News' Tyler Olson: "'The Republican Civil War is now cancelled,' Sen. Rick Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), says in a fiery memo being sent widely within the Republican Party on Tuesday. The two-page letter, first obtained by Fox News, is addressed to GOP voters, activists, leaders and donors. Scott, who is charged with winning back the Senate for Republicans in 2022, says in it that the GOP needs to put aside its internal squabbles and focus on beating Democrats, not on relitigating Trump-era internal disagreements. 'The long running impeachment show is now over,' Scott, R-Fla., writes." About that — "It's unclear how much cooperation Scott will get in his efforts from other Republicans. Rabble-rousing rank-and-file House members like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., are aiming to elbow out any Republicans who don't fully support the former president, including House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo." LOCKED IN — "Top Florida Democrat makes 2022 play as DeSantis stock rises," by POLITICO's Gary Fineout and Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis' profile is growing, and Nikki Fried has noticed. As DeSantis quickly becomes the national conservative media's favorite governor and basks in recent polling that his approval rating is above 50 percent, the state's agriculture commissioner is trying to increase her profile ahead of a likely gubernatorial run. She's hired a top-tier Democratic consultant, is plotting high-profile attacks on DeSantis and growing her presence both on social media and national cable shows. Getting out in front? — Mac Stipanovich, a veteran Florida political strategist and former Republican, said Fried's recent offensive against DeSantis appears to be aimed at trying to convince other Democrats that she will be the nominee. "I suspect this is an attempted preemptive strike instead of a general election ploy," Stipanovich said. "There's really no reason from the standpoint of a general election for her to fling herself on DeSantis now, other than to portray herself as the person best suited to fling themselves on DeSantis." | 
AP Photo | ROOM FOR MORE — "Sen. Randolph Bracy of Orlando considering run for governor," by Orlando Sentinel's Gray Rohrer: "State Sen. Randolph Bracy is considering running for governor in 2022, according to a source close to the Democrat from Ocoee. He has met with political consultants, had informal talks with Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee in 2018 who narrowly lost to Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is looking to boost his profile among Democratic voters statewide as he weighs getting in what could become another crowded Democratic primary." | | | | NEW - "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | THE PLOT THICKENS — "Sarasota County community with million-dollar homes got special vaccine access," by Herald-Tribune's Zac Anderson: "But the emails from employees of private developer Neal Communities provide further evidence of how some Florida residents in affluent areas have been allowed to cut in line. They show how the developer offered the vaccine to homeowners in the upscale Boca Royale Golf & Country Club community, their family members and members of the community's semi-private club, essentially turning the vaccine into a perk of living in a gated country club community where some homes are priced at more than $1 million, or of buying a club membership, which can cost thousands in annual dues." — "Controversial affluent Florida vaccine site administered more than 3,000 doses," by POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian and Andrew Atterbury A NEW PHASE — "DeSantis expands vaccinations to teachers, cops ," by News Service of Florida's Tom Urban and Christine Sexton: "Marking a significant change in Florida's vaccination strategy, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said teachers and law enforcement officers ages 50 and older will have access to COVID-19 vaccine doses in the coming days as four federally supported vaccination sites open in the state." BY THE NUMBERS — " Florida vaccines flow to seniors - who happen to trend Republican," by NBC 6's Tony Pipitone: "Yes — the county with the largest concentration of people getting at least one shot is Sumter County — home to The Villages, a stronghold for Republicans. But Sumter County also has the state's highest share of residents aged 65 or over, the age group DeSantis has from the beginning made a priority for the shots. Who's up? — "An NBC 6 review of counties with the highest share of its 65+ population getting at least one shot found no pattern of political bias. Among large- and medium-sized counties, St. Johns leads the pack — with over 70% of seniors getting at least one shot. The county supported DeSantis by 30 points in his razor-thin 2018 election victory over Democrat Andrew Gillum. But the second most successful such county, Leon, is just a percentage point behind, at 69%, and it supported Gillum by 28 points." GUESS WHO? — "'I was not invited': Hialeah mayor crashes DeSantis news conference," by WPTV's Victoria Lewis: "Notably absent from the podium was Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, but he was in the audience. After DeSantis finished speaking, Hernandez walked towards the governor. 'Governor, the mayor of Hialeah. How are you, sir?' Hernandez began. 'I would like to speak.' DeSantis continued to leave and Hernandez stepped up to the podium. 'I was not invited to this,' Hernandez said. 'Just like I was not invited to a previous meeting, even though Hialeah is one of the cities most affected by COVID.'" — " CVS pharmacies will now distribute COVID-19 vaccine in Florida," by Sun Sentinel's Lisa J. Huriash — "Federal court deals blow to Broward's COVID-19 curfew," by Sun Sentinel's Rafael Olmeda | | | |   | | |
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | BUDGET SHORTFALL? WHAT'S THAT? — "Lawmakers tee-up early tax cut ideas as budget gap looms," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: As lawmakers work to bridge a nearly $3 billion pandemic-driven budget gap, one consistent feature of the GOP-dominated Legislature is likely to remain: tax cuts. Though the size and shape of this year's potential tax cut package is not yet clear, there are early talks in the halls of the Florida Capitol of once again reducing corporate and property taxes, a regular feature of recent legislative sessions, and economists are quietly starting to put revenue numbers on tax cut proposals. VETTING? WHAT'S THAT? — "Company giving free books to Florida had $10 million settlement for deception," by Tampa Bay Times' Tracey McManus: "Last month, Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls announced that a California-based technology company called Age of Learning will offer 5,500 digital books for Florida children 12 and under through the rest of this year. The partnership, part of Sprowls' focus on literacy for his first year as House speaker, is a free alternative to the company's ABCmouse Early Learning Academy online library, which costs $9.95 a month or $59.95 annually. The announcement came four months after Age of Learning paid $10 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint of illegal marketing and billing practices related to its ABCmouse, which charged tens of thousands of people memberships without consent." BEER BRAWL — "Universal, Disney lobby for beer ads in theme parks; small breweries won't drink to that," by Orlando Sentinel's Gabrielle Russon and Gray Rohrer: "In the real-life world of brew, Orlando's theme parks are pushing again for a state law change to give beer companies more exposure and the parks potentially more revenue during the coronavirus pandemic recovery. Universal and Disney are both lobbying for HB 73, which carves out an exemption to a Prohibition-era rule that would let theme parks make advertising and naming rights deals with beer manufacturers. The theme parks are jumping into a fight with craft brewers and smaller distributors who fear an uneven playing field if Anheuser-Busch Inbev or another large company get multimillion-dollar deals with the corporate-owned theme parks." HEADING TO TRIAL — "Daniel Baker pleads not guilty to federal charges in Capitol threat case," by Tallahassee Democrat's Jeff Burlew: "A trial date has been set in the case of a Tallahassee man who was arrested by the FBI after issuing a violent call to arms against right-wing protesters he thought would attack the Florida Capitol. Daniel Baker, 33, appeared Monday at the U.S. Courthouse in Tallahassee for his arraignment on two federal counts involving the transmission of threats over the internet to kill or injure." — "Florida bill would limit college aid for degrees that don't lead to jobs ," by Tampa Bay Times' Divya Kumar — "Janet Cruz files legislation to protect the press against hate crimes," by Florida Politics' Kelly Hayes | | | | HAPPENING TODAY - A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH REP. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY : Democrats clinched control of the House in November but did not achieve their expected gains, making it trickier to push forward with President Joe Biden's agenda. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair, joins Playbook co-authors Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels to discuss his plans for protecting Democrats' slim majority in 2022, lessons learned from the November campaign cycle, and the continued fallout from the Jan. 6 insurrection. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | THE GUNSHINE STATE | | 'A ROLE TO PLAY' — "3 years after Stoneman Douglas, lawmakers try again to shift focus of threat assessment center to school violence prevention," by Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man: "A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers said Tuesday it is making another push for a law aimed at trying to stop future school shootings. The proposed Eagles Act would expand the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center for a greater focus on school violence prevention. It is named in in honor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Eagles. The Parkland high school was the site of the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre in which 17 people were killed and 17 injured. The lead House sponsors are U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Broward/Palm Beach county Democrat whose district includes Parkland, and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Miami-Dade/Collier/Hendry county Republican." | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE — "Water officials okay Ginnie Springs bottling plan after years-long battle," by Tampa Bay Times' Zachary Sampson: "Water management officials on Tuesday unanimously approved a permit for a company that wants to pump nearly 1 million gallons a day from Ginnie Springs to make bottled water, following a 2-year battle by environmentalists opposed to the plan. Seven Springs Water has drawn water from underground High Springs for years. The renewed agreement will let the business continue pumping to meet demand from an associated bottling plant, which is increasing capacity. With the Suwannee River Water Management District's approval, the family-owned company can draw as much as 984,000 gallons of water a day out of the Floridan aquifer over the next five years." DIVINE INTENT? — "Court focuses on 'Holy Spirit' remark in Corrine Brown appeal," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders: "A federal appeals court appeared divided Tuesday as it heard arguments about whether to overturn the conviction of former Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown, who contends that a juror was improperly removed from her 2017 trial because he said the "Holy Spirit" told him Brown was not guilty of fraud and tax charges." 'IT'S LIKE A SUGAR HIGH' — " Home prices are surging in South Florida — and there's no end in sight," by Sun Sentinel's David Lyons: "Homebuyers saw home prices exceeding 10% or more across South Florida during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, as interest rates hit new lows and the numbers of houses for sale sharply dropped off. The monthslong, rock-bottom interest rates coupled with the heavy demand for homes all fueled the push, experts say. And there doesn't seem to be an end in sight, even though South Florida home prices are well above their historical highs." — "Treasure Coast stakeholders to Army Corps: Stop Lake O discharges to St. Lucie River," by Treasure Coast Newspapers Max Chesnes | | | | A message from AARP: PROTECT NURSING HOME RESIDENTS NOW
Right now, nursing home residents receive much of their daily care—like bathing and vital checks— from Certified Nursing Assistants, who must obtain at least 120 hours of training. But a proposal in the Florida Legislature would permanently allow that hands-on assistance to come from Personal Care Assistants with a mere 8 hours of training. Florida's most vulnerable residents deserve better.
Nearly 10,000 residents and staff of Florida nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19. Now is the time for commonsense solutions that strengthen protections for our loved ones — not cut the quality of their care. Tell state lawmakers: Vote 'No' on HB 485/SB 1132. | | |
| | ODDS, ENDS, AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Lawyer: Hate crime claim against Florida doctor 'not true,'" by The Associated Press: "Lawyers for a South Florida doctor accused of attacking a Hispanic man at a supermarket say the allegation that she committed a hate crime is "simply not true." Dr. Jennifer Susan Wright, 58, was arrested Friday outside her Miami Springs home on charges of criminal mischief, tampering with a victim and battery with prejudice, a hate crime enhancement that upgraded the charge to a felony." BIRTHDAYS: Susan K. Goldstein with The Legis Group ... Bud Chiles, national director American Grown
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