Back to School

Posted on by Thor

School children all across Florida have returned to school. Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis issued an royal decree saying parents can elect to not mask their children if they do not want them masked. 815 physicians signed an open letter asking him to repeal his anti-mask laws. Florida currently leads the nation in the number of children hospitalized for COVID-19. A child younger than 5 has died of COVID-19 at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.

Three Broward County teachers and a teachers aid died on August 12, 2021 all in the span of 24 hours from COVID-19. The Broward County school board voted 8 to 1 to mandate that students must wear masks in school. DeathSantis later said the Florida Board of Education could withhold the paychecks of school board members and superintendents who enforce mask mandates. He later had to back down from his threat to withhold school officials’ salaries if they resist his anti-mask rule since school board officials are not on the state payroll. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended all K-12 students wear masks for in-person learning. All across the state, only 4% of students tried to find excuses not to mask up.

Hospitals in Central Florida are full and as of August 9, 2021 nearly 14,000 people were hospitalized with COVID in the state, according to federal data. 440 students in Palm Beach County have been asked to quarantine just two days into the school year, after 51 students and faculty had confirmed cases on COVID-19. Mike Burke, Palm Beach County superintendent of schools blamed the opt-out rule as the reason for the spike in cases, calling on DeathSantis to make changes to protect students from infection.

In recent weeks there has been a surge in COVID hospitalizations among children in the United States. Nearly 94,000 new child COVID-19 cases were reported last week which is a substantial increase in cases. In Florida, the state with the highest number of confirmed pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations in the country, 179 children are receiving care, according to federal data. 29 kids are hospitalized in the Orlando area including 6 in the ICU. While severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, experts say the increased trend is concerning.

On August 12, 2021 Florida shattered another record with 24,869 cases of COVID-19 with 357 more deaths.

COVID-19 Outbreak at Mar-A Lago

Posted on by Thor

Disease and pestilence follow the ex-president anywhere he goes. Mar-a-Lago the former president’s residence in Florida has an outbreak of COVID-19. It has been partially closed after some staff members tested positive.

The club said in a statement that the Beach Club and a la carte dining room were closed, but did not specify how many people had tested positive. Banquet and event services remain open. It seems insane that banquets which are by definition large gathering of people would remain open.

In January, images surfaced from a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago that showed a number of guests not wearing masks. The resort was handed a formal warning by Palm Beach County which said the event had violated coronavirus regulations. The ex-president has always snubbed basic health precautions like masks and social distancing.

Palm Beach neighbors don’t want Trump living at Mar-a-Lago. A demand letter was reportedly delivered to the town of Palm Beach asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago when he converted the estate from his private residence to a private club in the 1990s.

News of the closure was first reported by the Associated Press.

 

Half Mast for Rush

Posted on by Thor

Florida Governor Ron DuhSantis said he will order flags flown at half mast for the passing of the late conservative radio host, Rush Limbaugh. Rush died at the age of 70 from lung cancer. He was a long time denier of the risks of smoking. As he put it, “Smokers aren’t killing anybody.”

Rush’s hate filled radio take show helped fuel the divide that allowed the former 45th president to rise to power. Rush was the king of polarization and hate. The former president followed in his foot steps and gave his mentor a Medal of Freedom in return.

Usually flags are only flown at half mast in the event of the death of a present or former official of the Florida State government or the death of a member of the Armed Forces from Florida who dies while serving on active duty.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) called the governor’s decision “an embarrassment to Florida.”
“Rush Limbaugh weaponized his platform to spread racism, xenophobia and homophobia across the nation,” she said in a tweet. “His constant hateful rhetoric caused untold damage to our political landscape.
Florida Senate Democratic leader Gary Farmer issued a statement in which he said, in part, “I condemn the governor’s decision in no uncertain terms. Any move to lower our flag in deference to a man who helped drive the hatred and inflame the prejudices against marginalized groups, people of color, women, and anyone who did not look like him or think like him is wrong, and should be rescinded.”
DeSantis made his flag statement February 19, 2021 at a fundraiser he was holding for more than 100 mostly maskless donors at Hilton Palm Beach Airport Hotel. Palm Beach County has a mask mandate aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19. The mask mandate is in effect in the county until March 19, 2021. Facial coverings must be worn by anyone obtaining any goods or services, or otherwise visiting or working in any business or establishment in the county. The hotel is now under investigation to see if they should face fines and penalties.
There were 5117 new cases of COVID-19 in Palm Beach County and 219 people died on the day of the flag announcement. In my illustration, Sanford Florida firefighter Andrew Williams, who was photographed inside the Capitol points at the flags. He pleaded not guilty to two charges connected to the Capitol riots in a Washington federal court on January 19, 2021. He is facing one count of unlawful entry of a restricted building and one count of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. The FBI has two videos and one still picture of Williams inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. According to the filing, in one of the videos, Williams allegedly turns the camera on himself and then says, “We are storming the Capitol. Yeah baby!” Rush would be proud.

Miami Cranes

Posted on by Thor

In a press briefing on April 29, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about Miami-Dade which has to remain under lock down as he opens up the state… “Before this “Dade Broward and Palm Beach we’re all doing so well… You drive in Miami, you couldn’t move 10′ without seeing a crane somewhere.” He was referring to the building boom in downtown Miami, but with fewer people and cars on the streets, wildlife is finding its way back. An image search on google images shows an amazing array of wildlife reclaiming cities around the world.

Phase one of the Governors plan to re-open Florida includes:

  • Schools must keep distance learning
  • Visits to senior living facilities are prohibited
  • Elective surgeries can resume
  • Restaurants may offer outdoor seating with six feet of space between tables
  • Indoor seating at restaurants must be at 25% capacity
  • No change for bars, gyms and personal services, like hair dressers
  • Vulnerable individuals should avoid close contact with people outside the home
  • Everyone should maximize physical distance from others while in public
  • Avoid socializing in groups of more than 10 people in circumstances that do not “readily allow for physical distancing”
  • Face masks are recommended for those in face-to-face interactions and where you can’t social distance.

The Governor’s reopening plan applies for all Florida counties except Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Governor DeSantis said. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said it could be a while longer before
businesses begin reopening in his county because they will need more
time to prepare for the new guidelines. Central Florida  has seen the most cases of Covid-19.  A curfew remains for all of Orange County from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.
The mayor said he has no plans to lift that anytime soon. Demings didn’t give an exact date for when businesses would reopen but
said he doesn’t want to rush it and risk seeing a spike in Covid-19
cases.

The mayor said under the
governor’s order restaurants and retail shops can reopen in the county
if they are able to comply with the guidelines, including 6-feet between
customers and maintaining a 25% occupancy. “In the
absence of recommendations from our task force that they can get to me
in a timely manner, those entities will be able to reopen on Monday as
long as they do so in compliance with the governor’s order.” Demings
said. There is a nationwide shortage on personal protective equipment as well
as hand sanitizer, two requirements of the governor’s mandate.

The Guidelines for Reopening Businesses Group is expected to
put out a finalized list of guidelines businesses would have to follow,
both recommendations and mandates. The group, which included major
theme parks and business leaders, met Wednesday morning, turning to
health care officials with both Orlando Health and AdventHealth for
guidance on what those guidelines could look like.

The group is expected to meet again Thursday and Friday to continue developing a plan to safely reopen the county.

At last check, there were more than 33,690 confirmed cases in Florida with 1,268 deaths. There were 1,339 confirmed cases in Orange C0unty with 30 deaths. Florida Medical Examiners Commission chairman Dr. Stephen Nelson said that state officials asked them to withhold Covid-19 death figures. The pause in reporting, has been occurring for nine days. The blackout comes as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis contemplates how Florida will begin to reopen amid the pandemic.

83 Seats

Posted on by Thor

83 people died in Florida on Tuesday April 28, 2020, the highest total so far for a single day. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided it was the best day to fly to Washington D.C. to visit Donald Trump and tell him what a great job he has done to keep the state safe. I started to wonder what that flight to DC would have been like. How many seats would be on that plane? Then I realized that 83 people could have flown on that flight had they been alive. People with husbands, wives, children and friends. People DeSantis seems to feel are acceptable collateral damage as he makes plans to reopen Florida to help Trumps re-election plans.

The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday reported
a total of 1,171 deaths and nearly 33,000 confirmed cases, although the
true number of infections in the state is believed to be significantly
higher. Meanwhile, Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity has
struggled to process nearly 2 million unemployment claims in a state
where the economy relies heavily on tourism and hospitality.

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article242339311.html#storylink=cpy

Trump has not been back to his Mara Lago estate in Florida since the beginning of March and he fired his whole staff. His popularity in Florida has been slipping away to his opponent Joe Biden. I can’t imagine what he might have said to make his numbers drop.  Florida has been the recipient of critical personal protective equipment. Trump is pushing states to reopen businesses “as quickly as possible.” DeSantis is falling lock step in line. The planned meeting was mired in confusion after the White House
abruptly announced the two men would hold a formal press conference,
then abruptly announced they would not.

The Governor said he would be reviewing a document issued by his re-opening task force. Phase one of the DeSantis plan to re-open Florida will begin Monday May 4, 2020. The plan will allow limited reopening of stores and restaurants everywhere except
the hardest-hit counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
counties. Capacity for retail stores and dine-in restaurants will be limited to 25
percent, more conservative than the 50-percent threshold in neighboring
Georgia, which began reopening last week. He stressed the importance of social distancing and continued
testing in the first phase, but sought to convey a sense that the state
was committed to moving forward. Then he mangled FDR, saying, “The only thing we have to fear is letting fear overwhelm our sense of purpose and determination,”

Florida should test potentially triple the number of people now
being tested every day to re-open safely. But DeSantis said Tuesday that Florida’s testing
capacity exceeds current demand. However, without testing, you have no idea how many are infected. Like Trump he loves to deny reality. “We have challenges. This is not an easy situation,” DeSantis said. “But
I have less than 500 people in a state of 22 million on ventilators as
of last night. And I have 6,500 ventilators sitting unused in the state
of Florida.” DeSantis’ month-long stay-at-home order expires on Thursday April 30, 2020.

During this pandemic airlines are still packing flights full with no social distancing measures in place. It is business as usual. After seeing a viral video about the viral flight crowding, American Airlines announced it will start distributing face masks, sanitizing wipes and gel to passengers in May. Starting May 4, 2020 Jet Blue Airline will require passengers to wear face masks saying, “This is the new flying etiquette.” Air Asia has come up with new flight attendant uniforms that consist of long sleeves, a face mask and hood.

It turns out that none of this should matter to Ron DeSantis, because he flies a 15.5 million dollar business jet. This is good for him since he doesn’t know how to put on a face mask. The airplane model is a Cessna Citation Latitude from Textron Aviation Inc.
The company advertises it as a jet with “elegant and lean design,” an
electronic door, touch-screen avionics and a spacious 6-foot standing
cabin.  The plane is being funded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Which is of course funded by you.

To date there have been 1,171deaths due to Covid-19 in Florida.

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article242339311.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article242339311.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article242339311.html#storylink=cpy