100 Central Florida
Our panel of 100 influential leaders discusses the most important issues affecting you.
TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK
LESSONS OF MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Dick Batchelor, president, Dick Batchelor Management Group: Gov. Ron DeSantis has again debased the meaning of “freedom” for crass political theater by gratuitously shipping 50 Venezuelan refugees to Martha’s Vineyard. After previously signing legislation called “Victims of Communism Day,” he said that “it was fashionable in some circles to whitewash the history of communism.” Well, governor, are you in that circle? Tell us what type of regime you think these Venezuelans are trying to escape? Communism? Socialism? Please tell us just how your treatment of these refugees, many of whom are children, is the correct lesson for them to learn about living in a democracy?
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT, Mary Lee Downey, CEO, Hope Partnership: We are now seeing regular stories about the housing crisis in Florida: retirees are being forced back into the workforce, young professionals can’t afford mortgages as prices soar, and rental prices are completely out of control. This is the same housing crisis we’ve had for years; now it’s hitting the middle class. There are plenty of ways to make housing more affordable, and none of them are easy. Little can change without a shift in our fundamental beliefs about housing. We’ve accepted that real estate is an investment strategy. What if we decided instead that housing is a human right?
FLAWED INFLATION STRATEGY, John L. Evans Jr., Vice chairman, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority: Remember the Affordable Care Act? LOL, your health insurance has inflated 26% in the last two years. Moreover, so many Americans gushed with joy when President Obama said we could all keep our plans if we wanted to. So do you think President Biden’s plan to curb inflation has merit? To my liberal friends, set aside your Trump histrionics for a moment and ask yourself earnestly if this administration’s policies can get inflation under control. The societal disease is crushing our working families.
Mark Freid, Immediate past president, Holocaust Center:
CALLOUS AND HEARTLESS,
How is there not more outrage? In an act of political theater with human beings as pawns, our governor made a conscious decision to ship people to Massachusetts as if they were unwanted freight. I’d like to think the decision was rash and impulsive, because it’s impossible for me to believe that anyone who considered how terrified those people must have been — for their safety and that of their children — could have callously done what he did. Fortunately, our governor’s heartless act was met with kindness and compassion, as the state of Massachusetts, local nonprofits, and the faith community came together to provide shelter, clothing, food and, most importantly, hope.
HAPPY 100th, Glenton Gilzean Jr., president/ CEO, Central Florida Urban League: It’s not often we get to celebrate a 100th birthday, so I’d like to take a moment to wish Freddie Demings, the father of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and father-in-law of Rep. Val Demings, a very happy birthday! Freddie has witnessed some incredible changes in our country over the last century and I know I speak for all our readers that I wish him a long, happy and healthy life to come.
CAREFUL, DISNEY, Francisco Gonzalez, host, Agents of Innovation podcast: This past week, 160 people in Central Florida were arrested on sex crimes, including charges of human trafficking. Two of them work at Walt Disney World. Earlier this year, five other Disney employees were arrested for similar crimes. Considering that thousands of children visit Walt Disney World each day, perhaps the Mouse needs to step up its background checks and do a little more diligence to make sure we are not putting our kids in the crosshairs of unexpected villains.
NEW MAGIC FACILITY, Jane Healy, former editorial page editor and managing editor, Orlando Sentinel: It’s exciting to see that the Orlando Magic has revived its plan for a sports and entertainment complex in downtown Orlando across from Amway Center. This comes on the heels of opening its training center there, away from Maitland. The complex is expected to have restaurants, stores, business and entertainment. It was first proposed for 2020 but shelved by the pandemic. What’s most significant about this is that it’s a major development west of I-4 in Parramore. For decades, about the only new buildings were government offices. With the ever-growing Creative Village just to the north, the area is being redefined.
NO. 1 IN EDUCATION FREEDOM, Michael Zais, political blogger for thedrunkenrepublican.com: It should come as zero surprise to anyone that Florida has been ranked number one in overall education freedom in terms of transparency regulation and school choice by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. After all, these are the things Gov. Ron DeSantis has overtly strived for the past few years through various policies and legislation — empowering parents in school choice, and shining a bright light on indoctrinating and age-inappropriate curriculum. Yet, DeSantis is routinely and confoundingly excoriated as an authoritarian dictator by the left and media — the very people who typically favor central government, top-down, one-size-fits-all policies and mandates. Pot. Kettle. Black.