| | | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Hello and welcome to Thursday. The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control posted information that there were 16,935 new Covid-19 infections and 140 deaths reported by the state on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported on its dashboard that 12,408 beds — a nearly 5 percent increase compared to the day before — were being used in the state for Covid-19 patients. The end is not near — So when is the sniping between Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden going to end? How about Nov. 6, 2024? Don't speak — You just knew that DeSantis was going to respond to Biden's Covid-19 rejoinder that the governor "get out of the way" of people responding to the deadly disease. But the governor — who has repeatedly stressed he is "data driven" when he talks about coronavirus — suggested during a press conference in Panama City on Wednesday that immigrants illegally crossing the border from Mexico could be behind a surge in Covid-19. "Why don't you do your job," DeSantis said about Biden. "Why don't you get this border secured, and until you do that I don't want to hear a blip about Covid from you." Made for TV moment? — DeSantis made his unprompted and unverified remarks at the tail end of an official press conference and he then left without taking any questions from the press. Then lo and behold, a clip showing him bashing Biden was then included in a fundraising email for his political committee: "Joe Biden has the nerve to tell me to get out of the way on COVID while he lets COVID-infected migrants pour over our southern border by the hundreds of thousands. No elected official is doing more to enable the transmission of COVID in America than Joe Biden with his open borders policies." Performance art — But the governor wasn't done. He then went on Fox News later Wednesday night and repeated the same talking points, and DeSantis also did not push back when host Laura Ingraham suggested it was a media-created "narrative" that "hospitals are bursting at the seams." Ingraham then included a clip from a roundtable of hospital CEOs (put together by the governor's office, but she didn't say that) that included Shane Strum, the head of Broward Health (and former chief of staff for DeSantis. She didn't say that either). Did some of those CEOs say their hospitals were not seeing as many as Covid-19 patients as last year? Yes. But did at least one CEO say it was greater than last summer? Yes. Have other hospitals been forced to trim back visitations and limit elective surgeries due to an uptick in Covid-19 cases? Yes. And in another part of the roundtable, Carlos Migoya, the CEO of Jackson Health, even pointed out that the surge has been tempered in areas where vaccinations rates were higher. But wait, the border.... — 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 | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
|  | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | COLLISION COURSE? — "'Literally losing our workforce': Florida schools defy DeSantis' anti-mask order," by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: Florida school districts are moving to resist Gov. Ron DeSantis' order barring schools from implementing mask requirements for kids, setting up a fight with the Republican governor who has resisted any Covid-related mandates. Late Tuesday night, school board members in Alachua County in north Florida voted to require all students to wear masks during the first two weeks of school. And Wednesday morning, Leon County, which includes Tallahassee, announced it's seeking a mandatory mask rule for students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Both are direct rejections of DeSantis' executive order prohibiting schools from enacting mask requirements for students. — "Broward School district says mask mandate still in place, will review DeSantis order," by Miami Herald's Michelle Marchante SPLIT SCREEN — "DeSantis tries to thread needle with split Covid-19 messaging," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: For Gov. Ron DeSantis, Wednesday was a tale of two very different responses to the pandemic. In the morning, DeSantis huddled with a group of hospital executives on a Zoom call to talk about the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine, emerging therapies and hospital resources amid the surge in infections in the state and record-breaking hospitalizations. The executives in attendance said resources are not as strained as some say, including the Florida Hospital Association, which this week warned of the current Covid crisis. And then — But three hours later, in Panama City, DeSantis took a different approach. "Joe Biden has taken it to himself to try and single out Florida over Covid," DeSantis said at the press conference, which he held to tout additional funding for the region to recover from Hurricane Michael. "This is a guy who ran for president saying he was going to shut down the virus, and what has he done? He has imported more viruses from around the world by having an open southern border." — " DeSantis rails at Biden, blames immigrants for record COVID surge," by Orlando Sentinel's Steven Lemongello | 
Gov. Ron DeSantis during a April 2021 press conference | Gary Fineout POLITICO | 'A GRIM MILESTONE' — "Tampa Bay hospitals suspend surgeries, limits visits as COVID admissions rise," by Tampa Bay Times' Christopher O'Donnell: "On the day that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis insisted that Florida's hospitals are still open for routine business, two hospital chains suspended some elective surgeries in Tampa Bay and announced restrictions on hospital visits as their COVID-19 admissions reached record levels. BayCare is limiting patient visits to one masked visitor a day and suspended elective surgeries at six of its Hillsborough County hospitals as its number of COVID-19 admissions topped more than 800 patients Wednesday. That's well above the previous peak of 702 in July 2020 when no vaccines had been approved. 'This week we have reached a grim milestone: Our 14 acute care hospitals have more COVID-19 patients than any other time since the pandemic began,' said spokeswoman Lisa Razler." — "As COVID admissions spiral, Memorial Health in South Broward suspends elective surgeries," by Miami Herald's Daniel Chang PLEASE SAY YES — " Lenny Curry, other mayors promote vaccines as COVID cases rise at Jacksonville hospitals," by Florida Times-Union's Beth Reese Cravey and David Bauerlein: "Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry continued Wednesday to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations as 'the best tool' for rolling back a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" that is straining hospitals, but said he won't require city government workers to get the shots as some other local governments in Florida have done. Curry was joined by the three mayors of the Beaches cities in what they called a 'unified message' urging vaccinations as Northeast Florida deals with a surge in COVID-19 infections." — " Carnival Cruise Lines shifts policy to require masks, antigen tests for all," by Orlando Sentinel's Richard Tribou — "Florida prison inmate numbers expected to increase after pandemic drop," by News Service of Florida — " Food equipment manufacturing trade show canceled at convention center amid coronavirus concerns," by Orlando Sentinel's Ryan Gillespie | | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET? — "DeSantis donor got $50 million in emergency pandemic work," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration awarded nearly $50 million in no-bid Covid-related work to a controversial Utah company that lobbied his administration for the money, then gave the Republican governor a $100,000 political contribution. The company, Nomi Health, Inc. has received $46 million under two separate contracts it signed with the state for Covid-19 testing and vaccine work throughout Florida between February and June, state records show. The spending was approved under a DeSantis-signed pandemic executive order, which gave the administration broad legal authority to spend state funds without legislative approval or going through a normal procurement process. Writing a check — After getting lucrative work from the administration for the first time, on July 23, Nomi Health gave a $100,000 political contribution to a committee controlled by DeSantis, who is raising huge sums of campaign cash ahead of 2022 re-election bid. The company previously had never had a political presence in the state. DeSantis' office said that the decision to hire Nomi Health was not made by the governor and did not influence the administration's decision to award the contracts. THE POWER AND THE GLORY — "DeSantis gained immense power during the pandemic. Will his fight with schools change that?" by POLITICO's Gary Fineout: Last week alone he took two major steps that some consider legally suspect. He stepped in and commanded the lowering of tolls on privately-owned but state-maintained bridge in northwest Florida… DeSantis also announced that the state would buy the bridge. During his remarks, the governor added he would have the Legislature "codify" his actions — a nod to the questionable nature of them. Followed by this — Then on Friday, DeSantis signed an executive order on masks in schools that came amid a push by federal authorities for a mandate in the wake of a new surge in Covid-19 cases. Initially, DeSantis floated pushing legislators to hold a special session and passing a law that would bar their mandatory use. But he didn't go that far, in part because there wasn't an appetite within the GOP-led Legislature. "There's no desire to have a special session on this issue," said state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from St. Petersburg, said of mask-wearing. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FOLLOW THE MONEY — "#Resistance Pol Alan Grayson raised $$$ to probe Trump … and kept the cash," by The Daily Beast's William Bredderman: "Former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) convinced donors to fork over more than $150,000 to his The Resistance Political Action Committee, which vowed to 'end the Trump regime.' But a Daily Beast analysis indicates the PAC was mostly dedicated to resisting Grayson's own slide toward political irrelevance." Things fall apart — "But Grayson admitted to The Daily Beast that the fundraising committee's efforts to pursue its announced aims were 'minimal and basically abandoned.' 'It did not take off in the way that I was hoping,' he said in a phone interview. 'We weren't getting the kind of response that we wanted to get, it was not a successful organizing effort, so over time, we let it go.'" ANOTHER UNANNOUNCED TRIP OUT OF STATE — " Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raises big bucks at suburban Milwaukee fundraiser," by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice: "A big-time Florida politician came to the Milwaukee area last week to raise buckets of campaign cash and elevate his Republican presidential aspirations. No, it wasn't former President Donald Trump. It was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Insiders say the fundraiser was held on July 26 at the Fox Point mansion of Kathryn Burke, a local philanthropist and the widow of John J. Burke Jr., the founder of Burke Properties who died in 2019. The Burkes were responsible for such Milwaukee landmarks as the Brise Soleil wings at the Milwaukee Art Museum." DEMOCRATS GET A CANDIDATE — "Janelle Perez, self-styled 'moderate Democrat,' will run against Maria Elvira Salazar," by Miami Herald's Alex Daugherty: "Six years ago, Janelle Perez moved back to Miami after working on Capitol Hill — as a GOP staffer. Now, Perez, a 34-year-old co-owner of a Medicare managed care company, is running for Congress as a Democrat. Perez will run against Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar in Florida's 27th Congressional District, a Democratic-leaning seat that changed party hands in 2020 after Republicans performed well in South Florida." Why she's jumping in — "Perez, a Pinecrest resident, said she's committed to running against Salazar even if the district lines change. She said her decision to run for Congress was prompted by Salazar's vote in February against the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation by amending the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. 'That was an attack on who we are and our lives,' said Perez, who is married to Monica Perez and is the chair of Miami's LGBTQ+ advisory board." — " Blaise Ingoglia enters August with $1.42M on hand," by Florida Politics' Janelle Irwin Taylor | | ...HURRICANE HOLE... | | THIS IS NOT NEEDED NOW — "NOAA calls for busier hurricane season that originally predicted," by Sun Sentinel's David Fleshler: "A pessimistic revision to this season's Atlantic hurricane forecast was released Wednesday, just as the season ramps up to its period of peak activity. The forecast from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center predicts 7 to 10 hurricanes, up from the pre-season forecast of six to 10. The agency predicts a total of 15 to 21 named storms, which means those with winds speeds of at least 39 mph, up from its earlier prediction of 13 to 20. The number of expected major hurricanes, which means those with winds of at least 111 mph, held steady at three to five." | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | TURNAROUND — "Appeals court reverses itself, rules in Boynton case that people can videotape police," by Palm Beach Post's Jane Musgrave: "In a decision that was hailed as a victory for the public's right to hold police accountable, the 4th District Court of Appeal on Wednesday reversed course, ruling that a Boynton Beach woman shouldn't have been arrested for videotaping police. In a stunning turnaround, the West Palm Beach-based appeals court unanimously ruled that Sharron Tasha Ford had the right to turn her video camera on Boynton police in 2009 when they summoned her after stopping her son for sneaking into a movie theater." SAD — "Florida's deadly manatee crisis could flare again this winter," by Tampa Bay Times' Zachary T. Sampson: "The problems that have caused an unprecedented die-off of Florida manatees in 2021 could linger for years to come, according to state wildlife officials. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission board on Wednesday heard a blunt assessment of the situation from agency staffers. At least 890 manatees had died as of late July, which means 2021 is already the most lethal year on record for one of the state's most iconic species. The numbers are inflated by a crisis on the east coast, centering on the northern Indian River Lagoon, where manatees starved after retreating to their winter homes around warm discharges from power plants." GONE — "Duval County school district agrees on settlement for Amy Donofrio lawsuit, terminates teacher," by Florida Times-Union's Emily Bloch: "The Duval Schools teacher who said she was removed from her position because she hung a Black Lives Matter flag over her classroom door will not be returning to school. Tuesday evening, the Duval School Board voted to reach a settlement with Amy Donofrio's legal representation, which included the Southern Poverty Law Center. Details from the settlement weren't immediately public, but in a press release, the SPLC said Donofrio's contract was not renewed." — " Judge: Preserving evidence key to Florida collapse probe," by The Associated Press' Curt Anderson — "Can Surfside condo collapse bring reforms? State, local group to consider new laws," by Miami Herald's Douglas Hanks | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Feeding stray cats could get you fired at Nova Southeastern University," by Sun Sentinel's Susannah Bryan: "The stray cats that prowl Nova Southern University are becoming more than a nuisance. They're now grounds for firing. The university, in an attempt to control troublesome wildlife, is threatening to fire anyone who feeds the cats, according to a directive issued by Vice President Daniel Alfonso with approval from President George Hanbury. warning has drawn the ire of both students and staff, says one student who says she found out about the ban from two relatives who work at the university. She and others fear the cats will starve." BIRTHDAYS: State Sen. Ed Hooper … State Rep. Tyler Sirosis … Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico)
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