LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

DELIVERING MEAL KITS, Jeff Hayward, president and CEO, Heart of Florida United Way: Thanksgiving is almost here and so many of us have much for which to be grateful. At Heart of Florida United Way, for example, we’re grateful to all the volunteers and donors who helped make this year’s Thanksgiving Project possible. Together, we assembled and distributed 4,000 Thanksgiving meal kits — but there’s more to do. If you find yourself able, I encourage you to ask how you are giving back to the Central Florida community and consider joining our work at Heart of Florida United Way. Visit HFUW.org to learn more.

HOUSING GAINS, Joel C. Hunter, president, Parable Foundation: While affordable housing could be identified as the largest single social issue for Central Florida, the efforts toward partial solutions cannot be undervalued. Orange County extended its three-year plan to build more affordable housing. Disney and Universal are implementing projects to build over 2,000 units. Other more independent efforts, like one in Seminole County built by one woman’s retirement funds, offering just 8-10 units, are valuable additions in the right direction. Let’s hope that the combination of public, private and nonprofit solutions are a model for a movement.

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL, Ricky Ly, engineer, food writer: Nov. 26-27, FusionFest hosts its fifth annual Multicultural Festival at the Seneff Arts Plaza at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. FusionFest is what happens when we imagine what would happen if the nations of the world came together for one weekend to showcase talents, share stories and build community right here in Central Florida. It’s a beautiful space where people can come together and connect in cultural diversity drawing more than 110 different cultures to experience music, dance, food, visual arts, spoken word, games and interactive activities.

SHOP SMALL SATURDAY,

Pamela Nabors, president/CEO, CareerSource Central Florida: Sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is Small Business Saturday. I confess, I use the big online marketplace for so many of my purchases; it’s just so convenient. But recently, a friend gifted me a unique backpack for my birthday which came from a small, boutique business — I was very touched by such a thoughtful gift. You can support small businesses online, as well as visiting brick-and-mortar stores in person. I plan to do some of my holiday shopping to help support small, local businesses and find some one-of-a-kind gifts, too!

SUSTAINABLE ELECTIONS, Gloria Pickar, president emerita, League of Women Voters of Orange County: League of Women Voters in Orange, Seminole, and Volusia counties are partnering with PureCycle Technologies and local governments to collect and recycle 15,000 campaign signs and divert 10,000 pounds of plastic waste from our natural environments. These signs don’t belong in our landfills either. Regardless of political stance, we can all agree that removing trash, protecting our environment and recycling are a win-win-win. PureCycle is the only company with proprietary technology to convert the polypropylene of election signs into resin that can be reused multiple times. Heads up! You might have a former Democrat sign in your Republican yard next election.

RESIGN TO RUN? Joanie Schirm, GEC founding president; World Cup Orlando 1994 Committee chairman: Keep eyes open as the GOP-led Florida Legislature wrestles with whether to change a certain Florida law. Jon Mills, UF constitutional law professor analysis: Florida law requires elected officials seeking a federal office while serving in a current one to resign. The statute says: “The resignation must occur no later than 10 days before qualifying for the federal office, and failure to resign by that date would result in automatic resignation effective immediately.” No wonder DeSantis didn’t answer if he’d pledge to be a full-time four-year term governor during the debate. Will DeSantis supporters ram through a change? What defines “qualifying?” Will Trump supporters nix change? The plot thickens.

RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT,

Michael Slaymaker, professional fundraising executive: In the June 2022 Dobbs abortion decision, Justice Clarence Thomas invited new legal challenges to same-sex marriage rights. This was a wake-up call to Congress to jump into action. The Respect for Marriage Act is working its way through the U.S. Senate. The legislation — which guarantees recognition of same-sex marriages across state lines and by the federal government — picked up support from 62 senators, including 12 Republicans. The Senate could vote on the bill’s final passage before Thanksgiving. In 1996, 27 percent of people supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to Gallup polling. In 2022, that number is now 71 percent.

LOAN FORGIVENESS FAILURE,

Michael Zais, political blogger for thedrunkenrepublican.com: Anyone surprised one iota by the legal crashing and burning of President Biden’s student-loan forgiveness program needs a refresher course in the U.S. Constitution. A federal appeals court blocked the program, which had previously been declared unconstitutional by a Texas court. Apparently, the Biden administration intends to continue its fruitless appeals, and this may very well end up in the Supreme Court. It’s overtly clear that the “power of the purse” resides with the legislative branch, and the executive branch has no authority to commit roughly a half trillion dollars of taxpayer money. This intentional and knowing disregard of the Constitution is inexcusable.