100 Central Florida
Our panel of 100 influential leaders discusses the most important issues affecting you.
To read responses from more Central Florida 100 participants, go to OrlandoSentinel.com/cf100
TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK
GHOST CANDIDATES, Lee Constantine, commissioner, Seminole County:
For those who constantly bang the drum about stolen elections, where’s the indignation concerning the “ghost candidates?” The Orlando Sentinel, with excellent reporting, has laid out a compelling, thorough investigation of how certain State Senate races in 2020 were hijacked from the voters by a bait-and-switch scheme involving candidates who had no intent of winning but simply to siphon votes from legitimate candidates through misrepresentation and deceit. However, have those demanding election audits also demanded changes in the law to stop this manipulation of the voting process? Where’s the outrage, the screams to protect voter integrity? How hypocritical.
PARK SCULPTURE, Glenton Gilzean Jr., president/CEO, Central Florida Urban League:
Florida Citrus Sports helped commemorate one of the most important moments in our community’s history with the inauguration of a sculpture that recognizes the first integrated Little League game to take place in the Deep South. In 1955, Orlando hosted Pensacola, an all-Black team in a Little League State tournament game. Sixty-seven years later, a statue now sits by Lake Lorna Doone Park and features two players who put racial tensions aside to simply play ball. Thank you to all who helped make this a reality for our community.
BONILLA’S ADVOCACY, Jane Healy, former editorial page editor and managing editor, Orlando Sentinel: It’s good to see Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla continuing her strong advocacy for east Orange County’s rural area, which includes the treasured Econlockhatchee River. Bonilla was elected in 2016 after strongly opposing two mega-developments in that area. One got rejected but the other, “The Grow,” unfortunately got approved. Bonilla knows she can’t stop it going forward but is leading a charge to at least minimize its environmental damage and has asked for citizen support. It’s also very important that the development not be used as legal justification for another development in the area.
OSCEOLA PROSPER,
Viviana Janer, vice chairwoman, Osceola County Commission:
Education is the great equalizer in our society. Once you have it, nobody can take away. That’s why it was so exciting to launch Osceola Prosper — a $12.4 million program that will allow every 2022 graduating senior a free college or technical education through Valencia College or Osceola Technical College. It was so emotional to watch the students react when I made the announcement at Gateway High and the Osceola School for the Arts. These are kids who want a better future but who might have been struggling to pay for it. The County Commission and I believe in them! Learn more at OsceolaProsper.com
HOSTILE JACKSON HEARING, Jeremy Levitt, distinguished professor of international law, Florida A&M University College of Law: Two words describe the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing of nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: Racially hostile. Sens. Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn, and Lindsey Graham engaged in a litany of paternalistic, disrespectful, confrontational and self-serving questions, statements, contemplations, and opinions that sought to cast aspersions on Judge Brown Jackson. Graham and Cruz exhibited antagonistic, degrading and at times sexist behavior. All of this begs the question that if white women are in solidarity with Black women, why aren’t more white women actively supporting and defending Judge Jackson’s nomination and reputation?
BIG WEEK FOR GAMING, Alex Martins, chair, UCF Board of Trustees; CEO, Orlando Magic: What a great week for the video gaming industry in Downtown Orlando’s Creative Village! Electronic Arts opened its new, 175,940-square-foot studio at 50 percent capacity for its 1,000 Central Florida employees. A short walk away, UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy was recognized as the world’s No. 1 graduate video gaming school for the third consecutive year by PC Gamer and The Princeton Review. FIEA mimics an industry setting while training the next generation of game developers. Graduates earn starting salaries over $70,000, and many stay in Orlando to work with Electronic Arts and Iron Galaxy Studios.
FINANCIAL LITERACY, Muhammad Musri, president, Islamic Society of Central Florida: All students entering Florida high schools in the 2023-24 school year and after will be required to pass a financial literacy course as a graduation requirement. SB 1054 was unanimously approved by the Florida Legislature and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday. The course will teach students how to use bank accounts, credit cards, and the importance of investments and saving for retirement. It will also teach basic money management skills to budget better and protect their credit scores. Financial literacy is an important life skill for all people, and one course is not enough, but it’s a good start.
DESSERT WARS, Jim Philips, retired longtime radio talk-show host: Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation declaring strawberry shortcake the “official dessert of Florida.” The Conch Republic blew a gasket over this. What about the state’s beloved key lime pie which was declared the “official pie of Florida” back in 2006? Now the Conch Republic Key Lime Pie Council (go figure) has launched a petition drive to amend the declaration so that strawberry shortcake is named “best cake” and nothing more. However, two things remain sacrosanct. One, Cool Whip never goes on top of strawberry shortcake and two, key lime pie should never be green in color. Now, let’s hear from north Florida and its penchant for pecan pie.