LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK
CHANGE OF SEASONS, Ken LaRoe, Founder, Climate First Bank I/O: According to a recent study, the climate crisis is having a profound impact on the planet’s seasons — summers are hotter and longer and winters shorter and increasingly volatile. If this continues unchecked, by the end of the century Earth’s seasons will be irreparably damaged with summer spanning six months, while winter, spring and fall shrink to less than two months each. This will have catastrophic effects to Florida’s natural ecosystem and place human lives at risk. We must work together to drawdown our levels of atmospheric CO2 now or face the consequences.
SAFE VACCINES, Anna McPherson, past president, Junior League of Greater Orlando: All Floridians 18 and over are eligible starting April 5 to get their COVID-19 vaccine. Sign up for your appointment if you haven’t already and encourage others to do so. Some are desperate to find appointments, but others are hesitating to get the shot. Hesitations sometimes can be overcome by knowing someone who has gotten the vaccine. My family has many health-care workers who have received the vaccine. Everyone is thriving and happy to have their immune systems primed with the vaccine they received. Send a text, send a link, or volunteer to help out — together we can get our community vaccinated.
MANATEE DEATHS, Brendan O’Connor, editor in chief, Bungalower.com: Faced with a staggering amount of manatee deaths this year, the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee will host an emergency presentation at their next meeting from Florida Fish and Wildlife to discuss potential causes of and solutions to the die-off. We already know it’s the result of algae blooms killing off all the seagrass where they feed. The only solution is a comprehensive retooling of what is allowed to flow into the watershed. It’s like trying to mop up a puddle when you haven’t turned off the hose yet.
FSA AT SCHOOL IS A MISTAKE, Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder, FundEducationNow. org: As FSA testing looms, Florida politicians insist parent “choice” drives a child’s education. Yet, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran is forcing students back to faceto-face school for FSA testing. This disrespects every parent who made the potentially life-saving choice to keep their kids home learning online. The high stakes of third-grade retention, graduation requirements and school grades pale in comparison to infecting an at-risk loved one with COVID-19. This year’s FSA brings the highest of consequences. Corcoran should use compassion and grace when parents exercise their “choice” to keep their kids home on testing day.
CANDIDATE, NOT VOTER FRAUD,
Gloria Pickar, president, League of Women Voters of Orange County: There was no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 Florida election — held safely with integrity, security and rapid reporting of results. Bills before Florida’s Legislature touted to restore voter confidence are really designed to make it harder to vote. However, there is evidence of candidate fraud. Former state senator Frank Artiles recruited a candidate with the same surname as the Democratic incumbent and paid him $50,000 to siphon off votes. This “ghost” candidate received more than 6,000 votes — the Republican won by just 32 votes. Many lax laws contributed to this case of candidate fraud. Let’s fix that.
DIAGNOSIS: GRIDLOCK, Larry Pino, attorney and entrepreneur: The Boulder, Colo., shooting rampage once again highlighted the perennial battle over gun legislation, where one side of the aisle lines up in favor of legislation and the other side lines up in favor of the 2nd Amendment. In short order, the discussion centers not on resolution, but on party loyalty and, for an evenly divided Senate with 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, no stray vote — let alone 10 — will go unpunished. It’s a national system spawned by an intractable two — rather than three — party system and by closed — rather than open — primaries. Alas, the gridlock will continue.
GATEWAY TO LAKE EOLA, Joanie Schirm, GEC founding president; World Cup Orlando 1994 Committee chairman:
The Orlando Land Trust, begun by lifelong Orlando residents Lynn Long and Eugenia Sefcik, achieved a great accomplishment for all residents and visitors. The $3.5 million fundraising effort led to the donation of the property at Rosalind Avenue and East Central Boulevard to the City of Orlando for green space to preserve the view lines to our city’s gathering place jewel, Lake Eola. My favorite piece was the fund’s enticement of grandmothers to contribute on behalf of their grandchildren. I feel proud to be a small piece of this evergreen, everlasting gift to the city in the names of my beloved grandchildren.
EMBRACE DIVERSITY, Beverly Seay, chair, UCF Board of Trustees: I encourage everyone to stand in solidarity with Asian and Asian American members of our community who have been impacted by an increase in violent racist acts. Violence, racism and discrimination must have no part in our communities. Diversity makes our university and our community smarter, stronger and better. It is my hope that we all will open our hearts and minds and extend compassion and respect to those around us, even if their backgrounds or views differ.