LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

Anthony J. Abbate, architect: Follow the goings-on in Tallahassee closely as several bills are moving forward despite the lack of justification or evidence that they are necessary. Particularly worrisome are bills that would defund student scholarships toward “degrees that don’t directly lead to employment.” This lacks good sense. In other words, it’s stupid. All degrees develop critical thinking, communication and research skills regardless of the discipline. Practically every successful individual I know has a college degree unrelated to their employment and none regret their major field of study. As the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Dr. Michael Dennis, chair, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine: Progress is being made in the campaign to eliminate racial inequality — but there’s room for improvement in the area of Black membership on America’s boards. More than 2,000 of the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies lack a Black board member, including Amazon.com, Jack in the Box, and Western Union. Only 5.4% of the 27,000 members in the Russell 3000 corporations are Black. However, the national uprising over the death of George Floyd has made a difference. Black board members accounted for 18.5% of all new appointments to the major entities since his death. Let’s hope appropriate representation is soon achieved.

Lamar Fisher, member, Broward County Commission: Broward County’s Point-inTime 2021 Homeless Count takes place March 20 to 30. The annual PIT count is a critical step in finding solutions to homelessness. These results help us understand the needs of the homeless community, ensuring we take the right steps in developing targeted strategies for combating homeless in Broward County. The annual count of all sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals is required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and this information helps determine federal funding for our homeless services and programs.

Anna Fusco, president, Broward Teachers Union: Spring break… the week that students and educators alike have been looking forward to since school resumed in January. It will be an opportunity for relaxation and fun, a chance to free oneself of the stress of lesson planning and school work, a time for escaping from hour upon hour of screen time and mute buttons. Spring Break 2020 and much of the summer was consumed with planning and courses, getting ready for the massive shift to remote learning. This year presents a well-deserved opportunity for everyone to “just taking a break” to improve their personal social-emotional health.

Tina Polsky, member, Florida Senate: The Florida Senate has been hearing a slew of preemption bills, which would both give and take away regulatory powers from local governments. It’s interesting how certain issues, such as banning smoking on beaches, seem appropriate for local governments to handle, yet we need to prevent them from “infringing on one’s civil liberties” by restricting their emergency mandate powers. As a general supporter of home rule, I cannot ignore this dichotomous hypocrisy. Local governments are first-hand witnesses to local issues, and they should have the power to govern as they see fit. We don’t need Tallahassee to nanny state local government.

Alissa Jean Schafer, member, Broward Soil and Water Conservation District: The confirmation of Congresswoman Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary is historic, making her the first Native American Cabinet secretary. Haaland faces a large task. As the New York Times put it, “she’ll be charged with essentially reversing the agency’s course over the past four years.” Secretary Haaland has a history of fighting against oil and gas exploration, a stark contrast to her predecessor David Bernhardt, former oil lobbyist. Haaland’s words give me hope for the future: “Growing up in my mother’s Pueblo household made me fierce. I’ll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all of our protected land.”

John “Jack” P. Seiler, former mayor, Fort Lauderdale: Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a $3,000 bonus for Florida teachers if they complete training and certification in a new civics education program named “the Florida civics seal of excellence.” Also, hewants all high school graduates to pass a civics test similar to what aspiring U.S. citizens take. Both of these educational issues are included in the Governor’s additional $106 million proposal for this year’s budget, and it appears likely that one or both ideas will be adopted and passed by the Florida Legislature. Depending on the specific civics curriculum, these education proposals may gain bipartisan support.

Howard Simon, retired executive director, ACLU of Florida: How will Florida’s Republican state senators attempt to rationalize proposed new restrictions on voting? How will they justify purging millions of vote-by-mail requests that have already been approved by county supervisors? What rationalization will they use to justify outlawing ballot drop boxes even though the security of ballots is protected by a rigorous signature matching regime? And how will they justify making voting more difficult for voters with disabilities or those living in nursing homes who have no immediate family member nearby to assist them? Achieving a partisan electoral advantage by depressing voters who oppose them cannot justify these restrictions.