TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK

president, Children’s Services Council of Broward County. One indicator of the overall well-being of a community is access to high quality and affordable health care. Over the years, in laudable bipartisan fashion, funding health care access for children has been considered a political win for all. In the past three years, however, according to the Georgetown Health Policy Institute, 55,000 Florida children have lost coverage. This is the second-largest increase of uninsured children in the nation. At a time when we are struggling with a pandemic that is affecting our children, even if it is less fatal for them, we must once again work together to increase access to coverage for our children.

member, Broward County Commission. The Broward County Commission recommended that the school board provide a waiver of school impact fees for developers who build low- and moderate-income affordable housing. An impact fee is assessed on developers when they create housing that could have an impact on local schools. Waiver of impact fees paves the way for the creation of new affordable housing units. This action would expand the definition of affordable housing that is eligible for a waiver. The decision to expand waivers for impact fees will go a long way towards increasing the affordability of housing stock in Broward County.

member, Palm Beach County Commission. Many have forgotten we are still dealing with another public health emergency, one whose statistics are once again on the rise – the opioid epidemic. The news of OxyContin maker Perdue Pharma’s settlement shocked families who lost loved ones to this company’s greed. The $8 billion settlement is a drop in the bucket a company that killed tens of thousands with its ‘miracle’ drugs. Justice has not been served. I, for one, do not welcome Purdue’s founders, the Sackler family, to my county (Palm Beach County, where they recently set up shop). I wish they’d hide elsewhere – like a jail cell.

CEO and President, ChildNet. Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis this week announced that the Department of Children and Families has received a $5 million federal emergency grant to expand crisis counseling services through the state’s network of 2-1-1 crisis hotlines. Obviously, it’s a wonderful example of the state bringing much needed resources to local communities at an especially critical time, as the continuing pandemic creates unimagined stress and anxiety for us all. Maximizing this investment will, however, require hiring and training qualified staff and intelligently monitoring their effectiveness. Hopefully, we might then discover a model worthy of continued local investment well beyond the current emergency.

former mayor, Fort Lauderdale. In a surprising development, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to apparently endorse same-sex civil unions. The pope’s comments were well received by LGBT and liberal Catholics, but many conservative Catholics demanded clarification or greater explanation. The pope’s remarks were deemed progressive, given the Vatican’s official teaching on the issue, but Pope Francis has generally proven to be extremely inclusive, respectful and welcoming to all. In a documentary, he stated, “homosexual people have the right to be in a family; they are children of God,” and indicated a civil-union law is needed because “that way, they are legally covered.”

retired executive director, ACLU of Florida. There is nothing quite like October baseball – whether or not you are a fan of the national pastime. It is baseball at its highest level of perfection. And this October is not disappointing – even if the “fans” are cardboard cut-outs and the “cheering” is canned. Maybe by next season there will be real people in the seats. The scrappy, lower-budget Tampa Bay Rays have been impressive against the mighty New York Yankees, and now the Mookie Betts-infused Los Angeles Dodgers. Any baseball game that is decided in the 9th inning is exciting baseball – and many of these games have been.

president, Hoffman’s Chocolates. The Miami Dolphins announced this week that they will be starting Tua Tagovailoa in their upcoming game against the Los Angeles Rams. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had done an admirable job as the starter over the last two seasons, was left “heartbroken” when he heard the news. More affectionally known as FitzMagic, he had become a fan favorite because of his grit, enthusiasm and passion for the game. As a lifelong Dolfan, I am grateful we had a chance to have FitzMagic as part of the team. He has been a great leader and teammate, and he deserves our admiration and appreciation.

archbishop, Archdiocese of Miami. Here in this country, we have been blessed with a constitutional regime that, at least until now, has respected the freedom of religion and conscience. But the ascendant secularism of our society today is increasingly eroding this understanding. For example, the Little Sisters of the Poor, a community of nuns that take care of elderly people, have had to fight in the courts to protect their rights to conscience so as not to be coerced into paying for other people’s abortions. With a possible change in administration, they will most likely be back in the courts again.