100 Central Florida
Our panel of 100 influential leaders discusses the most important issues affecting you.
TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK
NEW ELEVATION CLASS, Chris King, CEO of Elevation Financial; 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor: On Wednesday, the Elevation Scholars program officially welcomed its eighth class of students. With this year’s graduates, Scholars from Orlando-area Title 1 high schools have now been accepted to Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Duke and many more of the nation’s top universities. After a year of limited socializing, it was a welcome reprieve to be with the new group of 17 students as they officially joined the Elevation family and celebrated the achievements of previous classes. As they pursue careers in medicine, science, law, or business, every one of these students has a bright future as a community leader and world changer.
SOCIAL-MEDIA ADDICTION, J. Matthew Knight, physician, founder of Knight Dermatology: Candy cigarettes are banned in many countries and have all but disappeared from shelves in the United States. It’s not hard to see why: they help enroll future smokers, a public-health nightmare. Facebook recently announced development of Instagram Kids, an advertisement-free version of its popular image-sharing app, aimed at children under 13. Facebook seemingly hopes to hook preteens on its social-networking services, despite the company’s troublesome privacy and security track record. More critically, multiple large studies directly link social-media use to depression and suicide in teens, especially in this younger age group. Press delete on Instagram Kids.
TEACHING ASIAN HERITAGE, Ricky Ly, engineer, food writer: Kudos to local nonprofit REACH, Recognition and Experience of Asian Cultural Heritage, named the Community Service organization of the year by the Orange County Asian Committee. For youth, at a time when there are so many uncertainties and ignorance, REACH helps provide an important space for Asian American youth to take leadership while also learning about their cultural heritage. Hopefully in the future, schools in Florida will incorporate more about Asian American history into curriculum similar to recent efforts in Illinois so that all students understand and know the role of their communities as a part of the American story.
MOSQUITO ERADICATION, Anna McPherson, past president, Junior League of Greater Orlando: Thousands of mosquito eggs are hatching in the Florida Keys and I am thrilled to see what happens next. These mosquitoes may take the whole population down by rendering future mosquito eggs unviable. Yes, this is genetic engineering, but considering the fact that Aedes aegypti is a nonnative (read: invasive) species responsible for transmitting Zika, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and possibly other diseases, I am happy to engineer our way out of this nuisance pest. This eradication program shows promise as it targets the one mosquito species and doesn’t take down the pollinator ecosystem.
HACKERS, Larry Pino, attorney and entrepreneur: Colonial Pipeline’s encounter with Darkside, which leases its software to a criminal ring of hackers who then targets tens of thousands of businesses, health-care providers, local governments and distributors, is a clear wake-up call for Florida businesses. That one attack extorted $4.4 million in ransom from Colonial and over $100 million in lost revenue. Recent estimates have suggested that the total annual damage to American businesses exceeds $25 billion, at a time in which only 5% of companies are properly protected. When it comes to cybersecurity, a word to Central Florida’s businesses: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
FRONT YARD FESTIVAL, Craig Ustler, owner/president, Ustler Development Inc.: First off, Foreigner was awesome! My favorite 1980s and ‘90s songs never sounded so good. Bigger picture, the Dr. Phillips Center Front Yard Festival deserves the highest accolades for undertaking this impactful initiative. The DPC team should be very proud of producing a firstclass event and giving fans, artists and industry workers a viable and safe venue during such challenging times. The Front Yard Festival is one of the largest and most diverse undertakings of its kind in the nation and the success should be celebrated. A standing ovation is certainly in order.
ACCOUNTABILITY, Carol Wick, CEO, Sharity: Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, among them sex trafficking of a child. Lots of terms have been used to minimize this criminal behavior including “naughty favors” and “sugar daddy” but the reality is that Greenberg and the men who also participated allegedly raped this young girl. Let’s not minimize the act of luring young girls to have sex with multiple men for money. Where do you draw the line? 15 years old? 12? Every person involved needs to be held accountable and we need to stop minimizing rape, not matter what form it takes.
LIBERAL ABSURDITY, Michael Zais, political blogger for thedrunkenrepublican.com: After enduring the predictable conniption from the media and the Left on the heels of Gov. Ron DeSantis signing into law some very common-sense election security measures, and also cracking down on would-be rioters and looters masquerading as “protesters,” I can only conclude there is not a single, commonsense election security measure that the Left won’t view as voter suppression. Further, any prudent effort to protect citizens and businesses in Florida from the violence we witnessed in cities across the country last summer is ridiculously characterized as trampling on one’s right to protest. These Leftist positions are as absurd as they are dangerous.