LOOKING AHEAD THIS WEEK
HALLOWEEN CHOICE, Pamela Nabors, president/ CEO, Career Source Central Florida: As the country is cautious ly loosening mandate son COVID -19 safety protocols, the decision to celebrate Halloween( or not) is largely becoming a local debate. My family in New York has said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo almost banned Halloween but reversed his decision due to public outcry. The CD C recommends lowto moderate risk activities such as leaving grab and-go goodie bags outside your door or having kids participate in socially distant costume parades. Although large gatherings are not recommended— it looks like door-to-door trick or treating is on in Orlando— I think I’ll stay in, leave candy outside and enjoy my favorite Stephen King book!
BALLET RETURNS, Colene Smith, executive director, Creative City Project: Orlando Ballet opens its 2020-2021season on Oct. 22. It’s theworld premiere of artistic director Robert Hill’s “The Sleeping Beauty” at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Featuring luxurious sets and costumes, Tchaikovsky’s glorious score and a cast of fanciful characters, “The Sleeping Beauty” will awaken the senses. On Oct. 24, Orlando Ballet presents a one-hour, condensed family version of the show. Orlando Ballet and Dr. Phillips Center staff have collaborated to ensure socially distanced seating in the Disney Theater. Tickets at drphillipscenter.org.
CITIZEN INITIATIVES, Gloria Pickar, president, League of Women Voters of Orange County: Orange County voters have two citizen-initiative amendments on the ballot that directly affect their voice in government — Florida Constitution Amendment 4 and Orange County Charter Amendment Question 3. State Constitution Amendment 4 would require two elections for any constitutional amendments to be approved, making it almost impossible for voters to enact future amendments through the citizen-petition process. Vote “No!” In contrast, Orange County Charter Amendment Question 3 fixes a flawin the short time frame for gathering citizen petitions with the Stop-the-Review-Clock Amendment. This makes sense and deserves a “Yes” vote. We must protect citizens’ right to petition their government.
HOLD ABUSERS ACCOUNTABLE, Carol Wick, CEO, Sharity: Aswe mark this Domestic Violence (DV) Awareness Month, we must double downon supporting survivors and crisis centers impacted by the terror of DVd uring this pandemic. Like COVID-19, DV knows no partisanship. In the U.S., 24 people every minute are victims of physical violence, rape, and/or stalking from their partners; the numbers are even more stark forwomen of color. Freedom from fear and abuse is a fundamental human right. Now, more than ever, we must break the silence of this shadow pandemic and rededicate ourselves to holding abusers accountable.
CLIMATE CHANGEIS REAL, Joanie Schirm, GEC founding president; World Cup Orlando 1994Committee chairman: Vice President Pence’s refusal to use thewords “climate change,” while alleging “we will listen to science” is unacceptable. As journalist Kevin Spear reports, our planet is tracking its hottest year on record with 60 of the past 63months in Florida hotter than normal. Florida has mostly dodged the full bullet of the 23 named storms. A hotter climate could dry out forests, causing fires. Jeff Masters, a founder of Weather Underground and Yale University meteorologist, says, “unusual Jet Stream behaviors behind extreme US weather was made more likely by globalwarming.” Slang reminds us, advanced “weather weirding” is underway thanks to deniers taking little evasive actions.
EXPERTS’ ACADEMY, Beverly Seay, chair, UCF Board of Trustees: Florida government agencies can now turn to a recently formed academy of experts to help solve their communities’ challenges. Mitigating COVID-19 impact, increasing transportation efficiency or making coastlines more resilient— these are just a few examples that the not-for-profit Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida (ASEMFL) can help solve through cutting-edge, unbiased studies. Members of ASEMFL hold the highest career distinction in the country as members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and they work at Florida’s universities, public agencies and private industry. To learn more, visitasemfl.org.
HOUSING SHORTAGE, Rick Singh, property appraiser, Orange County: We are experiencing a national housing shortage. Studies by both Realtor. comand the Miami Herald tell the tale of families seeking larger residences after being homebound due to the pandemic. We’re doing more from home: working, hosting remote school and finding home-entertainment options. But these moves won’t be easy and will costmore. Nationally, the number of available homes is 39% lower in September than this time last year, and listing prices average an11% increase. Locally, active listings are down19% over last year, and homes are selling in less than two months. If you’re looking tomove, be ready for these challenges.
PENCE’S STRONG DEBATE, Michael Zais, political blogger for thedrunkenrepublican.com: Florida voters and President Trump have something in common. They could both benefit greatly from paying very close attention to last Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate. Thanks to Mike Pence and no thanks to a biased and complicit national media, the Biden/Harris ticket is fully exposed as to their clear intention to pack the Supreme Court by outright refusal to address the question and continual flip-flopping on issues like fracking. For his part, President Trump went to debate school courtesy of Professor Pence. Itwould behoove the president to mirror Pence’s world-class debate techniques, albeit in his own rudimentary way.