Flying with Stallion 51
Belinda Ortiz Kirkegard,
Stallion 51 Corporation is located at Kissimmee Gateway Airport and has for the last 30 years been in the business of sharing the cockpit of their dual control Mustang plane with admirers. Thousands of people have experienced the elegance of this quintessential World War II fighter jet, some experiencing the same aircraft their grandparents flew. Stallion 51 believes in paying it forward, and regularly donates flight experiences to worthwhile causes — like the Corporate Angel Network (CAN). CAN provides transportation for patients to cancer care centers, and with the help of Stallion 51, their recent fundraiser raised $300,000. Next time we look up into the Kissimmee sky and see a blue plane, we can all smile knowing the co-pilot is having the flight of their life alongside a pilot, who believes in helping those who are fighting for their life.
Arts funding falls
Cole NeSmith,
In 2018, Florida dropped to 48th for arts and culture funding in the country. While Florida invests about 38 cents per capita into the arts, our neighbors to the north, Alabama, invest $1.12. That’s right, Alabama invests almost three times as much per capita as Florida in the arts. And on the upper end, Minnesota invests more than $7 per capita. Florida invested $43 million in 2014, and that was slashed to $2.6 million in 2018. But the state hasn’t gone lean on its budget. The state of Florida’s 2018 budget was its largest ever at $88.7 billion. The cuts are a blow to institutions like museums, theaters, zoos, and science centers — all working to make Florida a better place to live and visit.
Representation matters
Rick Singh,
Across the nation, the electoral landscape shifted on Nov. 6, 2018. Federal, state, and local elections were won — often by wide margins — by members of once marginalized groups; women, young people, persons of color, and members of the LGBTQ community, among others. Even in primaries, incumbents lost races they were sure they’d win. Some might say it was two years in the making but certain events — like the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland — drove the narrative, too, by motivating affected groups and their allies into action. Locally, our County Commission is all female, with three Hispanic women, two white women and two African-Americans, including our new mayor. Representation matters, and more voices are being heard. Let’s not waste this opportunity to form a diverse chorus that brings about real change.
Crypto currencies decline
Kannan Srinivasan,
The value of online crypto currencies like Bitcoin soared last year, up nearly 2000 percent. This year, it was a big decline. Experts point to a number of factors driving the decline. One of the most significant is the refusal of U.S. regulators to approve a number of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) based on Bitcoin due to concerns over the security of exchanges. Other cited factors for the crypto crash include the increasing cost of mining the larger currencies, various warnings from central banks, and a wave of selling among crypto entrepreneurs.
Memorable midterm elections
John Thedford,
2018 was truly the wild, wild South of midterm elections with record early voting, a number of unrelated bundled amendments, and final voting results still unresolved many days after the polls closed. Democrats gained control of the House, Republicans held fast in the Senate. A historic number of women and LGBT candidates were elected. Amendments passed that would give convicted felons back their voting rights while greyhound supporters had their racing rights voted away. The homestead exemption failed to pass for lack of voter understanding. It was truly a cornucopia of issues and candidates that will play out in the years ahead for Florida.
#MeToo movement
Carol Wick,
2018 was a year that saw the emergence of not just a hashtag but a movement. #MeToo catapulted the issue of violence against women and sexual harassment into the mainstream. More importantly, it amplified the voices of survivors and forced predators out into the open. The powerful fell, rapists were exposed and held accountable and women felt free, often for the first time, to stand up and say no more without fear. 2018 and #MeToo changed the behavior of many and that’s a good thing we can all be proud of and continue to fight for.