Frank Artiles may have been found guilty but his scheme benefitted Florida Power & Light. By confusing voters, he undermined the most courageous critic of the state's largest utility in the FL legislature - where FPL had co-opted most Ds and Rs - former Dem Sen. @JoseJavierJJR/1 Artiles had a long and sordid career as an FPL ally and his plan - to recruit and pay a "ghost candidate" who shared the same name as JJR - had worked for FPL just two years before he tried it in Miami, as
@NickNehamas, @AnaChacinc and I reported: /2 miamiherald.com/news/politics-…

A crowd led by Al Sharpton and dozens of Black pastors from around the state, chants “this is what democracy looks like,” and marches to the Capitol to protest what they say is ⁦@GovRonDeSantis⁩’ attempt to ”erase” their history.

.@FLSenate holds moment of silence at 10:17 a.m. to honor the 17 students and teachers gunned down 5 years ago in Parkland. @LeaderBookFL and @TinaPolsky say they fear that @GovRonDeSantis plan to expand access to guns absent effective training will led to more tragedy. /1 .@LeaderBookFL has framed a piece of paper found on in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School parking lot after the shooting. It was from AP class and is about "how a bill becomes a law." /2

Judge Walker blocks Florida's Stop WOKE law from taking effect in state universities. "This is positively dystopian," he wrote and quoted Orwell: It should go without saying that “[i]f liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” Read the full ruling here: naacpldf.org/wp-content/upl…

NEW: Before @GovRonDeSantis could say he kicked migrants out of Florida, he had to pay to fly them in. Newly released records shed new light on the behind-the-scenes dealings. Here's what we've learned: miamiherald.com/news/politics-… Vertol President James Montgomerie and DeSantis “public safety czar”, Larry Keefe, boarded the plane with the migrants were part of the plan to justify using Florida funds for the Texas covert op./2

Does Florida ever learn from its windstorm and flooding disasters? Is it fair for everyone to pay higher insurance, utility and real estate costs when we don't? @harrisalexc looks at why coastal Florida keeps rebuilding after storms like Hurricane Ian /1 miamiherald.com/news/weather/h… Four years after an estimated $25 billion in damage and 59 deaths, Mexico Beach strengthened its building code. Then, in the face of owner & developer protests, scaled it back. Now homes hit by more than 6 feet of storm surge have to be built just 6 inches higher. /2

NEW: When @GovRon DeSantis needed a company he could trust to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, he turned to Vertol Systems Co., an aviation firm with a private jet, and close ties to his immigration czar, Larry Keefe. w/ @lmower3 @romyellenbogen
miamiherald.com/news/politics-… For years, Keefe represented Vertol Systems Company in a dozen lawsuits from suing former employees and contractors to seeking damages from a lawn care provider who accidentally damaged one of the company’s helicopters./2

NEW: @RonDeSantisFL is tapping into the Christian nationalism movement in his rhetoric and policies. But unlike religious conservatives of the past, his language is more aggressive, using war imagery to decide who is the better American. by @anaceballos miamiherald.com/news/politics-… “Put on the full armor of God. Stand firm against the left’s schemes. You will face flaming arrows, but if you have the shield of faith, you will overcome them, and in Florida we walk the line here. And I can tell you this, I have only begun to fight.” - DeSantis Feb. 2022 /2

NEW: Fitch Ratings warned Thursday that if the state doesn’t resolve a conflict over its decision to repeal Disney's special district and its obligation to investors, the move could harm the financial standing of other Florida governments. /thread
miamiherald.com/news/politics-… Fitch expects the state to “resolve the uncertainty.” But warned:“The failure to do so could alter our view of Florida’s commitment to preserve bondholder rights and weaken our view of the operating environment for Florida governments.” /2

NEW: Disney ends its silence, quietly tells its investors Florida law prevents state from dissolving special district without first paying debt /1
miamiherald.com/news/politics-… Florida statute creating Reedy Creek Improvement District reads: “State of Florida pledges...it will not limit or alter the rights of the District...until all such bonds together with interest thereon...are fully met and discharged.” /2

Details emerge on @GovRonDeSantis idea to repeal Disney's special district governing authority. To pay the Disney's $2 B in bond debt, Orange and Osceola county families would have to be assessed $2,200 tax bill says @FarmerForFLSen. "This is shoot first and ask questions later." Sen. @JeffreyBrandes asks: "My concern is this bill essentially wipes away Disneys' $2 billion of debt...if the legislative intent here is ultimately to attack them, then why would we want to cancel $2 billion of debt?"

We've tried before to get specific answers to questions on redistricting transparency from @WiltonSimpson, @ChrisSprowls, @isayray and @TomLeekforFL. No luck. So let's try Twitter. /thread You have promised to operate redistricting in the sunshine. But you have not explained why you are rejecting transparency practices adopted in other states. Can you please explain why you reject the suggestions by the Fair Districts Coalition: /2

NEW: @GovRonDeSantis may want a ban on vaccine mandates, but the Legislature’s proposed bills for special session stop short of it. Here's what they do, and don't do, with @lmower3 @anaceballos_ @KirbyWTweets /1 miamiherald.com/news/politics-… Far from a ban, one of the bills lawmakers will consider requires employers to offer more alternatives to opt out of mandatory vaccines. Companies that don’t comply could face thousands of dollars in fines. /2

Must read: Across Florida, former President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are scouring communities for evidence of voter fraud in a state he won handily. ‘We need to force it,' one wrote. via @scontorno @romyellenbogen @allisonsross /1
miamiherald.com/news/politics-… Notably, after @GovRonDeSantis dismissed the idea, he was called an 'election integrity denier.' "What we do in Florida is, there’s a pre- and post-election audit that happens automatically,” DeSantis said last week. “So, that has happened. It passed with flying colors.” /2

.@SenJanetCruz pointedly asks @HealthyFla: "As a state, are we playing a Squid Game here, where only the strong survive? We're working toward herd immunity rather than try to save as many lives as possible. It seems like we're trying to save as many businesses as possible." /1 .@HealthyFla's Melissa Murray Jordan says the age-adjusted mortality rates of 1.6% "are lower than the national mortality rates and lower than many of the other states that have implemented more stricter business closures and other mitigation strategies." /2

NEW: In an exclusive analysis, @MiamiHerald shows what has been happening with the reporting of Florida's COVID-19 data - and how that is distorting what the public sees about deaths and trends. via @Blaskey_S @AnaChacinc @devoun_cetoute /thread miamiherald.com/news/coronavir… As COVID-19 cases surged in August, FL Dept of Health @HealthyFla abruptly changed the way it reports deaths, creating a dramatic, temporary and artificial decline, distorting the trend for weeks. /2

Judge Cooper concludes: FL law "does not support a statewide order, or any action interfering with the constitutionally provided authority of local school districts to provide for the safety and health of children, based on the unique facts on the ground in a particular county." Cooper adds: "The evidence submitted by the defendant [the state] I think reflects a minority, perhaps even a small minority of medical and scientific opinion."

.@GovRonDeSantis success with vaccinating elders in nursing homes stopped at below national average and is worse among staff. Now, as nursing homes have low staff vaccination rates, resident cases and deaths are rising. Must read by @dchangmiami /thread miamiherald.com/news/coronavir… A picture tells a thousand words /2

UPDATE:National accrediting organization slaps FL Dept of Health @HealthyFla after complaint that it failed "to maintain accurate records regarding COVID-19 infection rates in schools,” issued incomplete data, and neglected Miami-Dade, Broward schools. via
@Blaskey_S @conarck/1 On May 17, the accreditation board issued its gentlest reprimand, saying that while the health department was generally in line with accreditation standards, it should have done a better job sharing the data it had with the public./2

.GovRonDeSantis opens a Tallahassee #COVID19 event with White House advisor Scott Atlas who has supported the president's positions on masks and opening schools, quoted as saying "the disease is extremely low for children, even less than that of seasonal flu." WH advisor Scott Atlas says 'the strategy is understanding who is going to be vulnerable' with focus on protecting those in nursing homes, prevent hospital overcrowding and 'open schools and the rest of society because a prolonged lockdown is extraordinarily harmful.'

In Orlando, @GovRonDeSantis acknowledges #COVID19 surge means 'there's been an escalation in transmission over the last 7 to 10 days.' Advises 'wash hands and 'when you can't socially distance, wearing the face mask.' Adds: 'obviously there's some need for improvement.' A stronger line from @GovRonDesnatis: warns at restaurants and bars that if 'it's dance party USA and it's packed to the rafters' there will be 'no tolerance for that, just suspend the license' and 'hopefully people will get the message.'