Florida Stories You Might Have Missed: DeSantis targets school board races, sea level rise threatens 900,000 properties, and more...
March 3, 2023 — Florida News You Might Have Missed
Welcome to this week’s express edition of Floridian Today, a newsletter about all things Florida — from politics, business, real estate, and climate. Reporting from the Sunshine State, these are the most important stories you might have missed. To always stay updated, subscribe here:
The Scoop: News from around the state…
Gov. DeSantis gains control of Walt Disney World, ending the company’s 56 years of self-governing status in Florida. DeSantis has appointed five new board members to oversee the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
New legislation has been announced by Gov. DeSantis to address the border crisis. The proposed plan includes increasing penalties for human smuggling and falsifying documentation, mandating universal use of E-Verify, and restricting municipalities from issuing IDs to illegal aliens. The legislation would also eliminate out-of-state tuition fee waivers for students who are undocumented immigrants and enhances detention for unauthorized aliens.
TikTok could soon be banned from public universities in the state if a bill backed by Gov. DeSantis passes the Legislature. The legislation announced as part of a “Digital Bill of Rights” would block access to the social media app via any university or public school network and prohibit state and local government-issued devices from using it. The potential move comes amid heightened scrutiny of how the video-sharing app collects data and its ties to the Chinese government.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is seeking to crack down on invasive species by announcing Florida is “off limits to any new species.” FWC’s plan would include conducting a required risk analysis of any species brought into the state and requiring the individual to “prove” that the animal will not “harm the native ecosystem.” More than 500 invasive species currently live in Florida.
The Florida Democratic Party has a new leader as party members convened to elect former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried as their party chair. Fried previously ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and will now be tasked with turning the party around after a defeating midterm election.
Port Canaveral has been named the world’s busiest cruise port — surpassing Miami — with 4.07 million total passengers for 2022. Port Canaveral edged out Miami’s 4.02 million passengers last year thanks to the addition of new ships and destinations to the East Coast port. The news signals a strong recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, in which 2022 saw rebounded numbers following two years of declining passenger counts.
What you might have missed…
DeSantis seeks to unseat school board members across the state
It was unprecedented for a sitting Florida governor to weigh in on nonpartisan school board races, but Gov. DeSantis took the unusual step during the 2022 midterm election, endorsing more than two dozen candidates for school board. And it’s clear the Republican governor is not done using his influence to reshape local school districts. Last week, DeSantis appeared on Fox News and unveiled the names of 14 incumbent school board members from across the state that he is targeting to unseat in 2024. He is pushing for voters to remove these officials for their support of “woke ideologies” that “do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students.” They include sitting members overseeing public schools in Miami-Dade, Brevard, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Duval, St. Lucie, Volusia, and Indian River counties. Many candidates have not announced their election plans or have declined to run altogether in 2024. The list was developed after state officials, including Gov. DeSantis, House Speaker Paul Renner, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., and new Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler met with conservative activists, including Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice. The governor aims to use his platform and resources to convince Floridians to vote out the 14 identified school board members amid his efforts to reshape public education. This includes his backing of legislation last year that limits lessons on race, gender, and sexuality, as he continues to combat progressive activism. Most of those targeted for ouster voted in favor of COVID-19 mandates, including mandatory student masking.
NOAA: Over 900,000 properties in Florida are projected to be underwater by 2100
In a worst-case scenario, Florida could see sea levels rise up to 6 feet by 2100 if emissions and ocean and atmospheric heating continue their upward trend, according to an NOAA oceanographer. This could result in nearly one in eight Florida properties, or over 900,000 residences, to be underwater in less than 80 years. Current projections show sea levels in the state are expected to rise 1 foot above current levels by 2050 and see at least 2 feet of rise by 2100. In a February 2023 analysis by XDI, a climate risk data company, Florida was determined to be at the greatest risk in the world to experience negative climate-related economic damage outside of China. Florida’s geography lends itself to climate change susceptibility given its 825 miles of coastline that sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, more than 75% of Florida’s 21.5 million residents live in coastal areas. Both the rate of sea level rise and temperature are accelerating as the state braces for two to three feet of sea level rise by 2050 and two additional months of temperatures above 90 degrees around the same timeframe. In the meantime, coastal communities are trying to become more resilient against the implications of climate change, including more frequent flooding episodes, by heightening sea walls, hardening stormwater infrastructure, and building higher roadways.
Gator removal permits soar after Fort Pierce attack
On February 20, an 85-year-old woman was brutally attacked and killed by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog along a retention pond in her Fort Pierce retirement community. A neighbor’s security cameras captured the unfolding drama when the alligator lunged out of the water and grabbed ahold of the elderly woman. The shocking video grabbed national headlines and has furthered fears of another attack, despite being a rare occurrence. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission (FWC) now says the number of permits issued to remove nuisance alligators in St. Lucie County has sharply increased. In a three-day span immediately after the attack, FWC issued 19 permits in the county. During the same period last year, only 1 permit was issued in St. Lucie. The attack and accompanying video footage have increased awareness for Floridians of the potential risks alligators pose, leading FWC to receive more calls to remove an alligator from private property when one is spotted. However, in the wake of renewed fears, only 26 people in the state have been killed by an alligator in the last 60 years, according to data by FWC.
Mountains of sand pile on Miami Beach ahead of spring break
With thousands of tourists projected to soon descend on Miami Beach for spring break, beachgoers will be disappointed to find portions of the beach closed off to the public due to a major effort to combat erosion. Currently, mountains of sand sit on Miami Beach as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working on a beach renourishment project in segments since late summer 2022. Portions of Miami Beach look more like a construction site with large dump trucks moving on and off the beach as the shoreline is dotted with large piles of sand. The work is part of a $40.4 million beach renourishment project that aims to control erosion and protect against hurricane-induced storm surge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the effort to widen the beach will “protect infrastructure, preserve wildlife, support the economy, and build coastal resiliency.” In total, approximately 835,000 cubic yards of sand will be dumped along Miami-Dade County’s shore when the project is estimated to be completed in late April.
Thanks for reading this edition of Floridian Today. To never miss an update, subscribe for free:
In the meantime, if you learned something or found this read interesting, please consider sharing it to grow our community!