LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

ECONOMIC STIMULUS, Mary Lee Downey, CEO and founder of the Community Hope Center: The biggest thing I’m looking forward to for Central Florida is the passing of the Biden Administration’s economic stimulus package. It has a lot built into it that can help this community as we weather the pandemic, but I’m especially excited that they want to “help jurisdictions purchase and convert hotels and motels into permanent housing” as part of “ending homelessness and making housing a right for all Americans.” I’m really hoping that local elected officials will sign on to this objective.

HIGHWAY IN TRUMP COUNTRY, Francisco Gonzalez, philanthropy director, National Review Institute: The nation has still technically not elected a presidential candidate from Florida. However, in the middle of his only term, President Trump made the move from being a resident of New York to one of Florida, where he now makes his permanent home. State Rep. Anthony Sabatini has proposed a bill to rename U.S. Highway 27 the Donald Trump Highway. Highway 27 also goes right through many rural counties, often dubbed “Trump country,” in a state that the president won in his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

DAY OF UNITY, Jeremy Levitt, distinguished professor of international law, Florida A&M University College of Law: President Biden established by executive order a National Day of Unity recognizing that to overcome inequality and injustice and “restore the soul of America,” we must embrace the “beating heart of democracy: Unity.” The order aims to defeat the pandemic, create an equitable economy, right historical wrongs by rooting out systemic racism and by confronting climate change. Most important, it embraces American unity and the need to write a new democratic story premised on decency, dignity, love, healing, greatness and goodness. Now I wonder whether unity includes reparations for Black enslavement and racial segregation.

SLOW GOING FOR APARTMENTS, Amy Mercado, property appraiser, Orange County: Many new luxury rental apartment complexes in the Orlando area have opened to a bumpy start. While prepared for an influx of residents, areas like Lake Ivanhoe have not seen the traffic. These high-end complexes opened based on anticipated need, but since the pandemic set in, new residents have not arrived. Cost may be a factor — these apartments typically rent for around $1,500 monthly for a studio, making them out of reach for many renters. Developers are cautiously optimistic and believe that demand will return in the recovery from the pandemic.

LET THE PIVOT BEGIN, Jim Philips, retired longtime radio talk-show host: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has been tapped with raising corporate political donations for the GOP. The former Florida governor was ready to charge ahead, and then came the Capitol insurrection. Companies far and wide have curtailed their donations, a clear signal they are not pleased with Republican lawmakers who refused to certify the Electoral College vote. So Scott now has to find a way to win back corporate cash and defend a vote in the Senate that was doomed from the start. This could also hurt Scott’s expected 2024 run for the White House.

DAY OF FIRSTS, Gloria Pickar, president, League of Women Voters of Orange County: We finally have our first woman, first Black, first South Asian U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also our first woman president of the U.S. Senate. But that’s not all. She brings with her our first Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. But there’s more. As we peacefully restored our balance of power, Vice President Harris presided to swear in Georgia’s first Black senator, Raphael Warnock; Georgia’s first Jewish senator, Jon Ossoff; and California’s first Latino senator, Alex Padilla. The day was still not done. We changed the guard of the Senate with the first Jewish Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN TAMPA, Beverly Seay, chair, UCF Board of Trustees: Following Sunday’s championship games, Tampa will become the center of the football universe as the host of Super Bowl LV. Even during the pandemic, authorities are concerned about the potential of the game to attract human trafficking. Florida is one of the states that attracts the most trafficking, and it historically has increased around major sporting events. Throughout the year, UCF’s Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery works with partners, including Florida’s attorney general, to help prevent and detect trafficking and support victims. Working together, we aim to stop this injustice and save lives.

MURPHY’S MESS TALK, Michael Zais, political blogger for thedrunkenrepublican.com: Florida Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy’s commentary in the Jan. 17 Sentinel, “Biden, Harris up to challenge of fixing Trump’s many messes,” left me in a crumpled mess of bewilderment. False media narratives aside, what messes is she talking about? The best economy, jobs numbers, and wage growth in decades pre-COVID spawned by tax cuts and deregulation; Operation Warp Speed delivering a vaccine in months, not years; robust border security; renegotiating horrible trade deals? I could go on. Let’s chat again after the policies that delivered those successes are reversed.