LOOKING AHEAD THIS WEEK
OCOEE LEGACY, Ken LaRoe, Founder, Climate First Bank I/O: We honored the 100-year anniversary of the Ocoee massacre — a horrific event where, to suppress the Black vote, a white mob invaded, murdered and razed the Black community. While we’d like to believe that history is behind us, systemic racism still simmers in Central Florida today. Even more apparent are the relics to racial terror that remain like Bluford Avenue, named after a Confederate captain who profited off the lynching of massacre victim July Perry. Oneway to do better is to support Ocoee High School senior Rain Bellamy’s petition to change the name to honor and remember the victims of the massacre.
HIRE VETERANS, Pamela Nab ors, president/ CEO, Career Source Central Florida: Every year, Nov. 11 marks Veterans Day, the daywe remember and give thanks to those who selflessly served our country. As the daughter of parents whowere both World War II veterans, one day doesn’t seem quite enough to honor those served in times of both war and peace. One effort to prioritize veterans’ needs is the statewide virtual Paychecks for Patriots hiring event. This effort matches transitioning veterans with employers who value the skills and knowledge candidates attain during military service. One of the most impactful ways to thank a veteran for his or her service is to hire them!
FUND PUBLIC SCHOOLS, Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder, FundEducationNow.org: Florida school districts have announced a return to face-to-face learning in January since the state is going to stop funding remote synchronous learning like launched. Districts who cannot convince parents to send students back to school won’t be fully funded. Florida has spent the past two decades passing laws granting parental “choice.” When parents, concerned about COVID-19, don’t return to brick-and-mortar, their “choice” means funding cuts. What schools need from Gov. DeSantis is time. Keep public school supplemental funding in place this year. It’s time for DeSantis to prove Florida’s parental choice promise embraces public-school families, too.
PLANNING YEAR-END GIVING, Beverly Paulk, founding member, Central Florida Foundation and The Orlando Philharmonic: Important nonprofits are now requesting cash donations, sowe should start planning special year-end giving. Local nonprofits are seriously stretched, meeting unprecedented demand. To expand your giving: Hope community Center in Apopka (the Apopka Nuns) needs more toys, bikes, sports equipment, Walmart and Target gift cards, baby items and cash donations than ever before. Visit www.hcc-offm.org. Harbor House, serving domestic-abuse survivors, needs gifts for specific individuals and families, Walmart and Target gift cards and cleaning supplies. Details at www.harborhousefl.com. In addition, discarded mobile phones are collected year-round.
RECYCLING ELECTION SIGNS, Gloria Pickar, president, League of Women Voters of Orange County: Awin for the environment. Seeing the obvious need, Winter Park, Orlando, Orange County, and the League of Women Voters are championing the collection and repurposing of 20,000 election signs. Together, let’s responsibly dispose of election litter, save a mountain of plastic signs and metal stands fromthe landfill, and convert waste into reusable resources. The plastic will be transported to Nu Cycle Energy in Plant City to be transformed into “fuel cubes,” a cleaner energy source than coal. Be a part of the solution! Deposit signs at five collection sites by Nov. 22. SeeLWVOC.org for details and locations.
DEMOCRACY WINS, Larry Pino, attorney and entrepreneur: In the midst of what could probably be described as the most vicious campaign in recent history— two years and counting— for the presidency of the United States, and regardless of whether your candidate will ultimately win or lose when all the votes are finally fully tabulated and the lawsuits resolved, what is worth pausing to note is that 160million votes were cast— the largest number in history— at a 67% voter turnout rate, the largest in120 years. In this election, one candidate won and one candidate lost, but, at the end of the day, American democracy was the real and clear winner.
FEAR OF SOCIALISM, Joanie Schirm, GEC founding president; World Cup Orlando 1994Committee chairman: Miami-Dade election results were very disheartening with the premise that a fear of socialism drove Republican, Cuban and Venezuelan voters to turn away from a proven moderate. The U.S. has mixed characteristics of both capitalism and socialism. Such amixed economy embraces economic freedom when it comes to capital use, while allowing for government intervention for the public good. If you appreciate Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid for the poor and disabled, Obamacare, public schools and infrastructure, then you understand public good purposes. They aren’t the socialist boo geyman, they are your government working for you.
HELP FOR LANDLORDS, Rick Singh, property appraiser, Orange County: It won’t be long before evictions reach a crisis point in our community. Right now, there is a CDC moratorium in place to protect renters and families, but it is set to expire at the end of the year. Even so, landlords are preparing to remove nonpaying renters. We knowthat many landlords are working with their tenants to keep them housed, but they have mortgages and bills, too. In the meantime, help is available. With funding fromthe CARES Act, Orange County has an Eviction Diversion program with emergency funding for renters and landlords, both of whom must apply before the end of the year.