Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Pence: Florida ‘leading the way’
Tourism leaders want more aid, quick reopening
Florida tourism leaders called for a quicker reopening and more government help in a roundtable with Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Ron DeSantis in Orlando on Wednesday, with SeaWorld’s CEO saying the park might reopen as soon as June.
At the same time, DeSantis urged theme park companies to open up their water parks.
The meeting came as Universal Orlando said it would be the first major theme park to present reopening plans Thursday to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ Economic Recovery Task Force, paving the way for that resort to reopen.
Marc Swanson, interim CEO of SeaWorld, was the only theme park representative to give any kind of estimate as to when the parks could reopen, saying the park could open in June if it begins the county review process soon.
“It’ll be a couple weeks, two to three to four weeks to ramp up, get our employees back, get everybody in there,” Swanson said. “We’re going to try to get out things moving as quickly as possible, and if we get the approval, we
would probably be [open] again sometime in June.”
The roundtable discussion at the Rosen Shingle Creek was the last stop on Pence’s trip to Orlando, which included a visit at a nursing home and lunch at Beth’s Burger Bar with the governor.
Neither Pence nor DeSantis wore masks during those stops, though Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez wore one while sitting in the audience of the roundtable.
Pence said Florida was “really leading the way” when it came to reopening, noting that all 50 states were now in some phase of restarting the economy after coronavirus stay-at-home orders.
“Because of the choices you have made since we last met together in the month of March, the truth is we slowed the spread, flattened curve and saved lives,” Pence told DeSantis.
“There’s no one in America that wants to open up our economy more than President Donald Trump,” Pence said. “And for all the sacrifices the American people have made, all the sacrifices your great businesses [have made] – we’re anxious. We’re anxious [to reopen] as cases are declining.”
DeSantis described Central Florida as “a bright spot” for the state for its lower infection rates and deaths compared to harderhit South Florida.
He also told business leaders, which included representatives from Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld and the hotel and restaurant industries, that he would be open to suggestions if they felt the current pace of reopening was going too slow.
“Look, if there’s anything that you guys want to do that’s not authorized under our setup or structures, this is a work in progress,” DeSantis said, citing his conversations with barbers and salon owners in Orlando earlier this month that spurred him to reopen those businesses sooner.
Water park push
DeSantis was even more eager than the industry leaders themselves when it came to water parks, citing new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“They haven’t seen evidence that this virus is transmissible in things like pools and water,” DeSantis said. “So we already know outdoors is a better environment in terms of minimizing risk. … I think there’s going to be some people going down that slide at Universal on the Disney parks and some of these other ones hopefully very soon.”
DeSantis added, “I really want to see which theme park opens the first water park. Who’s going to make the first move?”
Disney executive George Kalogridis, after giving details about Shanghai Disneyland’s partial opening this month, told DeSantis, “I’m sure tonight we’ll have discussions about water parks.”
NBC Universal Executive Vice President John Sprouls said there has been “almost no negative pushback” to the strict masks and social distancing requirements instituted for Universal City Walk’s partial reopening this month.
Universal’s plan at Thursday’s county meeting is expected to include a projected opening date, county spokeswoman Despina McLaughlin said. She said she did not know when Disney and SeaWorld would present their plans, contradicting earlier information provided by the county that said all three theme parks would present on Thursday.
Representatives from the hotel and restaurant industries were more blunt in their recommendations.
Hotelier Harris Rosen called for the “elimination” of all restrictions other than screening all employees and visitors.
“If (businesses) are sloppy… people won’t enter that facility,” Rosen said. “Isn’t that what free enterprise is all about?”
Rosen, who added he also wants the Orange County Convention Center to reopen as soon as possible, said, “Orlando is suffering, Orlando is struggling. The hospitality industry is in a deep depression. But there’s hope.”
Carol Dover, president and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, praised the “incredible creativity” of restaurants that reopened at 25% and later 50% capacity, saying the 25% mark wasn’t sustainable.
Gene Lee, the CEO of Darden restaurants, added, “if anything, [customers] are pushing back against 50% capacity” and want more.
But Dover also asked Pence in defeating Amendment 2, the $15-an-hour minimum wage measure on the ballot in November.
The amendment has been spearheaded by Orlando attorney John Morgan.
“Nothing could be more catastrophic to an industry already hit as hard as it’s been hit is to be hit with an increase in the minimum wage,” Dover said.
In response, Morgan wrote on Twitter that Dover “makes $620K a year, 3 times more than @GovRonDeSantis!! Who are the fools paying her this?! She makes far more than @VP Pence. The restaurant industry must be flush with cash to pay her this. She has a farm with show horses and restaurants are closing.”
Delivering PPE
Earlier in the day, the vice president delivered personal protective equipment to the Westminster Baldwin Park senior living center, part of the Trump administration’s efforts to provide such supplies to nursing homes across the country.
“Now as Florida begins to open up again … we are going to continue to partner with you to protect your most vulnerable,” Pence said to DeSantis, who met the vice president’s Air Force 2 jet at Orlando International Airport and traveled with him to the senior center.
There has “not [been] a single coronavirus case” at Westminster Baldwin Park, Pence said, commending Shirley Schultz, the director of nursing.
DeSantis said the problem areas in Florida have been prisons and nursing homes, and he’s not seeing spikes in the general public.
The campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, went on the attack about Pence’s visit.
Kate Bedingfield, communications director for Joe Biden, said Wednesday, “Vice President Pence’s damage control tour is coming to Florida, but it is too little and too late.”
“Tourism and hospitality industry workers in Orlando, as well as hard-hit small business owners, deserve more than just a visit from the Vice President,” Bedingfield said in a statement. “They need immediate economic relief, free and easy access to testing, and a President who will provide a comprehensive economic recovery plan for all Floridians, not just the Mar-a-Lago crowd.”