LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

ETHICS CHAIRMAN, Glenton Gilzean Jr., president/CEO, Central Florida Urban League:

It’s not often that I write about activities that affect me personally, but recently, I was honored to be selected as chairman of the Florida Commission on Ethics, leading the nine-member commission that helps to safeguard the trust Floridians have in our public officers and employees. Together, our commission believes that a public office is the public trust. As chairman, I renew my original oath to all Floridians to ensure that your public officials, both state and local, continue to serve you justly and ethically.

SHARE THE LOVE,

Jeff Hayward, president and CEO, Heart of Florida United Way: In February, I invite you to join Heart of Florida United Way in expressing your love for your Central Florida community. We are seeking volunteers of all ages for our Share the Love volunteer opportunity on Feb. 15, in which volunteers of all ages will work together to create heartwarming gift packages for senior citizens in our community. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce your family to volunteerism and put a smile on someone’s face. Visit HFUW.org for more information on how you can get involved.

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, David Kay, chair, Interfaith Council of Central Florida:

According to our state constitution, the Legislature “shall convene on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each odd-numbered year.” But the Florida House and Senate are already pursuing a legislative agenda. What are the most pressing issues for our state, the ones our elected officials should put at the top of their list? Keep a close eye on what happens in Tallahassee in the coming weeks to see if that’s what actually happens.

UNEMPLOYMENT, Pamela Nabors, president/CEO, CareerSource Central Florida:

The new unemployment figures are in and the unemployment rate in Florida continues to decline — it’s now only 2.5%. This rate is a bit lower than the rest of the U.S., but there are little hints of growth slowing or downsizing happening. I have friends locally in both the professional and tech sectors who have received layoff notices or enticements to take buyout packages. Time will tell if this trend will impact Central Florida.

XFL STADIUM UPGRADE? Brendan O’Connor, editor in chief, Bungalower.com: Orlando’s new XFL team, the Orlando

Guardians, are set to play their first home game Feb. 26 at Camping World Stadium. The team held a press conference to hype up the media in a stadium that still bears the purple paint from Orlando City Soccer’s debut roughly 10 years ago. For a league that’s co-owned by The Rock and his longtime business partner and proud Orlando resident Dany Garcia, we hope someone can flex their checkbook and shine up the stadium a bit if they hope to fill those seats. That would hype me up, anyway.

AP PARADOX,

Gloria Pickar, president emerita, League of Women Voters of Orange County: Florida will not allow teaching the new Advanced Placement African American Studies in our public high schools. Gov. Ron DeSantis says the course breaks the state’s anti-CRT law, “lacks educational value” and “is not historically accurate.” Further, he cites inclusion of unrelated content about queer theory. In fact, the National Museum of African American History and Culture features an exhibit, “The Harlem Renaissance in Black Queer History.” Meanwhile, the Legislature proposes robbing more public-school funding ($4 billion) to make all students eligible for private-school and home-school vouchers. Hmm … Wanna bet some private schools accepting these taxpayer-funded vouchers teach AP African American Studies?

SAVING EDUCATION ONE TICKET AT A TIME,

Michael Slaymaker, professional fundraising executive: I buy lottery tickets. I am wise enough to know it’s unlikely that I will win. But I know that I am donating to the public school system every time I buy a ticket. That makes me happy. And now, with the State of Florida putting forth a voucher program that would “inflict significant fiscal damage” to the public school system, it seems that buying lottery tickets is more important than ever. Sad that this is one of my only recourses to save public education.

FESTIVITIES, Kannan Srinivasan, former president of Asian American Chamber of Commerce; CEO of Global KTech:

Indian Republic day and Chinese New Year celebrations continue for the next several days. Indian Americans celebrate the 74th Republic Day of their homeland across Florida with great fervor by hoisting the national flag amid singing of national anthem and patriotic songs after gathering in large numbers. Chinese New Year festivities continue with the famous Dragon Parade planned Feb. 5 in Orlando.