South Florida 100

Our panel of 100 influential leaders discusses the most important issues affecting you.

TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK

Bernie Fernandez Jr., M.D., CEO, Baptist Health Medical Group. As the number of COVID-19 cases are declining once again, a new threat has emerged — “pandemic fatigue.” This frustration over the protracted duration of the pandemic is derailing efforts to end it. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 75% of 1,536 adults described themselves as “tired of the pandemic,” and 77% felt it was inevitable that they would contract the virus. These beliefs tee up resistance to booster shots, shown to keep people with COVID out of the hospital, and masks, shown to limit transmission of the coronavirus. This resistance, ironically, helps fuel a longer pandemic.

Lamar Fisher, vice mayor, Broward County. Broward County’s Office of Economic Development (OESBD) recently launched a new dashboard that provides the opportunity for anyone to search the county’s Small Business Directory. You can search the directory by the type of service, zip code, city, business name and more. OESBD also developed a new Broward County Incentives Story Map, which provides developers, investors and small businesses access to economic incentives and information. Both come with a brief tutorial for everyone’s convenience. You can contact the OESBD at 954-357-6400 to request the links for each.

Frederick Lippman, chancellor of Nova Southeastern’s Health Professions Division. At this juncture in history, we are confronting several crises — pandemics, climate change and toxic political polarization, to name a few. Viruses and violent weather patterns don’t respect national borders or recognize political affiliations. We need to recognize and expand our definition of “we” — too often our sense of “we” is based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. We’re all created in the image of God. The only way we can confront these challenges and respect the wonderment of our species is to expand our sense of “we” and embrace the beauty of our country and the diversity of the human race.

Tim Ryan, member, Broward County Commission. Florida’s climate change mitigation efforts are getting a big boost from $404 million in federal dollars. The largest climate-related federal investment Florida has ever received is funded by the American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Biden last year. The money will pay for 113 projects statewide, including 15 in Broward County. Local enhancements will include hardening sea walls, improving drainage, adding pump stations and rehabilitating canals. While the investment is historic, conservative estimates say that Florida will need to spend many billions more to properly prepare for sea-level rise. This is just a start.

Kelly Skidmore, member, Florida House of Representatives. Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products and is a critical, yet ignored, crisis affecting students’ education. In Florida, one in five students miss up to four school days each month, or as many as 36 days a year, because they don’t have access to period products when needed. As the adults in the room, we need to ensure basic hygiene necessities, like toilet paper, paper towels and period products, are available and accessible during the school day. If half the battle of success is just showing up, let’s make sure all our students can be present.

Gregory Tony, Broward Sheriff. The Broward Sheriff’s Office has come so far since the first African American deputy, James Primous, joined our ranks. As we celebrate Black History Month, we honor trailblazers like him whose dedication and sacrifices helped pave the way for others. I invite you to learn more about Deputy Primous and the men and women who helped transform BSO into one of the most inclusive public safety agencies in the nation at a special museum exhibit at the Broward County Main Library. The free exhibition, titled The Broward Sheriff’s Office: A Century of Progress in Public Safety, runs through April 30.

Dean Trantalis, mayor, Fort Lauderdale. The future of technology is emerging in Fort Lauderdale. Last week, I had the pleasure to meet with Bob Venero, president and CEO of Future Tech Enterprise, a global IT solutions firm for Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, defense, education, energy, health care and manufacturing industries. Future Tech just relocated its headquarters from New York to Fort Lauderdale! Also, this past Tuesday, Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis welcomed SCHROTH Safety Products to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, its new headquarters in the Americas. SCHROTH is a leader in safety harnesses and restraints for leading aerospace companies, including SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin.

Ghenete “G” Wright Muir, attorney, LGBTQ advocate. Over 100 LGBTQ+ people and allies gathered at the Pride Center, where students, teachers and other leaders spoke out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill (HB 1557/SB 1834). This anti-LGBTQ+ bill is moving through the Florida House and would prohibit public school educators from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in primary grades. Schools should be a safe space for all students; a law like this would further alienate LGBTQ+ students and families. The rally was hosted by Safe Schools South Florida and supported by several organizations including the Human Rights Campaign, TransInclusive Group and Equality Florida. Take action: linktr.ee/HRCFlorida.

LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK

Wael Barsoum, M.D., president and CTO, Healthcare Outcomes Performance Co. Pfizer and BioNTech are both seeking emergency use authorization from FDA for COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 5. They expect to complete the EUA submission in the coming days. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 11.4 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, with over 3.5 million cases reported in January alone. The companies are testing a threedose version of the vaccine in the youngest children.

Dr. Michael Dennis, chair, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine. At a time when the effort to contain and eliminate the coronavirus pandemic should be a top priority for everyone, it is extremely worrisome and shocking to read that The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 60% of the KN95 masks evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health did not meet the requirements. Fraud and deceit have no place in responsible medical management. Hopefully, the Department of Justice will aggressively ensure that purchases by the public — especially online — will only provide quality products. Americans deserve to be truly confident in their protection.

Anna Fusco, president, Broward Teachers Union. The end of 2021 and beginning of 2022 saw a concerning increase in book challenges and removals from libraries and schools, according to the American Library Association (ALA). In addition, discussion is underway in several legislatures (including Florida) to pass laws to make it easier to remove books that were labeled by noneducational “watchdog” groups as being “inappropriate.” Many are classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” from mainstream publishers but involving issues of race or LGBTQIA. A free society depends upon accurate information from legitimate sources. There is no room for banning books if we are to remain free.

Michael Gottlieb, member, Florida House of Representatives. Next week, I will be moving three bills forward, hopefully. One bill increases the homestead exemption for those who recently lost a spouse. One bill increases the value of an exempt vehicle in bankruptcy, helping to allow the bankruptcy subject to continue to work. And one bill will allow the Fort Lauderdale DDA to continue to borrow money to help to create a vibrant downtown accessible to all. Additionally, if all of my appropriations pass, I will help bring back more than $9 million to Broward County. I am looking forward to continuing helping Broward and those who are economically disadvantaged.

John “Jack” P. Seiler, former mayor, Fort Lauderdale. Hopefully, the media and the public will responsibly wait for all the facts to come out before condemning the Miami Dolphins and its owner, Stephen Ross.

Based upon allegations contained in a lawsuit seeking money, members of the media have been prematurely critical and unreasonably judgmental of a team and owner with a solid track record of educating and empowering the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, promoting social justice, improving race relations, forming public and private partnerships that build a better community, and providing opportunities for athletes, coaches and teams to be successful in sports and life.

Nick Sortal, member, Plantation City Council. I am delighted to see Daryl Campbell seated as a state representative in Tallahassee. (Thank you, legislative leaders, for doing the right thing.) Plantation consists of 30 precincts, and Rep. Campbell’s district envelops nine of them. Even before his election, he has been in the community, attending such gatherings as the Park East Homeowners Association meeting.

Chad Van Horn, founding partner attorney, Van Horn Law Group, P.A. It’s getting more and more expensive to live in Fort Lauderdale, and our residents with the lowest income are paying the highest price. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now $2,000, up 19% from last year, according to Zumper.com. Soaring rents are compounded by rapidly rising inflation, as the dollar loses its purchasing power. I fear for our neighbors already on the brink of financial insolvency. Food insecurity and not being able to purchase necessities — even homelessness — unfortunately could be in their future.

Robert Weinroth, mayor, Palm Beach County. “No Place for Hate” is an educational program rolled out in over 1,600 schools across the country by the Anti-Defamation League. The program teaches that we all have a role in combating bias and bullying. Against that backdrop were two disturbing incidents that demand swift public condemnation. The first was a hateful and antisemitic demonstration in Orlando by neo-Nazis. The second, much closer to home, were the homophobic statements made by a candidate for mayor in Boynton Beach, which could only be deemed bigoted, ignorant and disgusting. It is time to take the slogan, “No Place for Hate” to heart!

To read responses from more South Florida 100 participants, go to SunSentinel.com/100