LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

Lamar Fisher, vice mayor, Broward County. I’m excited to join my colleagues on Monday, Dec. 13, at the celebration for the new Nancy J. Cotterman Center (NJCC). A project that has been in the works for some time, I’m happy to finally see these plans come to reality. NJCC provides services in a safe, nonthreatening environment for victims of sexual assault, child abuse and human trafficking and their supportive family members. This building is an extremely important space for victims and the employees that assist them. We look forward to constructing a LEED Gold building, that uses solar panels and energy automated systems to save energy.

Beam Furr, member, Broward County Commission. The Broward County Commission will be approving a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Florida Department of Transportation for an intermodal center at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. This center would connect the airport to Port Everglades in a transformative way. It would also move us toward connecting these two economic engines to a commuter railroad station. Taken as a whole, this would allow for unprecedented mobility and connectivity for passengers and cargo that are unlike any airport and port in America. The success of these economic engines is a major selling point to businesses, cruises and airlines looking to come to Broward.

Marlon A. Hill, of counsel, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole & Bierman, P.L. This is a warning. As you may recall, the last special election was won by only 5 votes. Monday, Dec. 13 is the deadline to register to vote in the Jan. 11 special general election for Congressional District 20 and special Democratic primaries for Florida House districts 88 and 94 and Senate District 33. Please take the opportunity to have a voting plan, updating your address, signature, party affiliation, noting deadlines to return your ballot or knowing your precinct. Go to Browardvotes.gov or, for District 88 voters, pbcelections.org for more information.

Jason Hughes, executive director, ArtServe The return of Art Basel to Miami restored a semblance of normalcy in the second pandemic year, while managing to cement the show as a trendmaker in the future of crypto-art, serving as a conduit for art lovers to familiarize themselves with terms like “art algorithm,” “blockchain culture” and “generative art” among others. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, were the buzzword, as show visitors were invited to make their own NFT at an energy-efficient booth, while another artist provided the banana-stapled-to-a-wall shock value by offering an NFT embedded with a contract for one of her own eggs. More Basel to come in a renewed spirit of normalcy for the future.

Ina Lee, owner, Travelhost Elite of Greater Fort Lauderdale. Coinciding with the 13th Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit, which brought together the four counties of South Florida, Gov. DeSantis announced the first ever statewide flooding resilience plan. Over $270 million will be spent across the state and will be matched by local investments. Ten critical projects in Broward will be funded. This long-term strategy will help mitigate the impacts caused by rising seas, the result of global warming. Much more will be needed, and federal dollars will be critical for necessary infrastructure projects.

Frank Ortis, mayor, Pembroke Pines. Leftlane cruisers beware as a proposal has been filed for the 2022 legislative session that would prohibit motorists from continuously driving in the furthermost left lane, except when overtaking and passing other vehicles. Other states already have this law. Here, however, the left-hand lane, where speed limits are at least 65 mph, has been a free zone for all drivers. Currently, drivers who drive too slow or travel the speed limit must yield to vehicles exceeding the speed limit. Sometimes this happens. It’s going to be interesting to see if behavior changes if this becomes law.

Howard Simon, retired executive director, ACLU of Florida. The Broward County School Board needs to give more thought to the proposal to censor student speeches at commencement ceremonies because they may offend some in attendance. School officials can alert students that their words might be found offensive, but censorship based on a Western High School commencement speaker criticizing the policies of the government of Israel in a speech on the topic of racism is overreaction. The last lesson the schools should be teaching about our democracy is that censorship is an appropriate tool for those in power to use to deal with words and ideas that may offend.

Gregory Stuart,

executive director, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. Last week’s Florida Automated Vehicles Summit in Orlando showcased Florida’s leadership in Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Share vehicles (ACES) technology, fostering innovation by welcoming start-ups and legacy manufacturers to test and develop their products. ACES vehicles promise to make our roads safer and reduce transportation costs for South Floridians, while electric vehicle adoption stands as a key to reducing carbon emissions. The Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization continues working with our partners in both public and private sectors to plan and fund the modern infrastructure projects necessary to enable our clean and connected future.