TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK

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

Mike Caruso,

member, Florida House of Representatives: Every year, the Florida Legislature convenes for 60 days to pass legislation and approve our annual budget. This year was a little different as we were also tasked with the job of redrawing the congressional, Florida Senate and Florida House districts based upon the new census data. Included in the district shakeup was my District 89. It was broken up into three new districts. As a result, I will not be running for re-election in my current District 89. This November, I will be running in District 87 which runs from Manalapan through Juno Beach. Over the past 4 years, I am proud of the 11 legislative bills that I have passed as well as the nearly $100 million in appropriations that I have secured. I thank you for this privilege of representing you. At the same time I look forward to serving the constituents of D87.

Michael De Lucca, president, Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc.: On Feb.

26, West Side Elementary School in Healdsburg, Calif., launched a hotline filled with recorded messages in English and Spanish. The recordings feature children in their own voices providing their own words of encouragement for everyday situations. In less than one week, the project went viral and currently receives approximately 300-500 calls an hour and up to as many as

5,000 calls a day. If you need something to brighten up your day, pick up the phone and dial 707-998-8410 and listen to our future leaders!

Ina Lee,

owner, Travelhost Elite of Greater Fort Lauderdale: Last week: As the state legislative session wraps up, there were some clear victories for tourism. Visit Florida, the state’s marketing arm for promoting tourism, avoided being sunset and was reauthorized until 2028. Also, there was a $50 million non-recurring funding for the agency. Unfortunately, every year the tourism industry needs to lobby to get funded. Not a great way to run a business. In addition, all attempts failed to divert tourist development tax for uses it was not intended for. We must protect our #1industry.

Tim Lonergan, former mayor, Oakland Park: This week we received exciting news about the Florida Department of Transportation’s $12.95 million funding designated for a design study of an automated monorail system from a Brightline connection to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. This smart investment represents a first phase and positive step forward. A well-designed monorail system will assist in conveniently and quickly transporting travelers to their destination while reducing traffic on our roadways. Potential future expansions could and should include the Broward County Convention Center, Port Everglades and other key destinations throughout Broward. Investing in clean and energy-efficient transportation improves our quality of life.

Melissa McKinlay, member, Palm Beach County Commission: The most talked about topic in my office this week has been housing affordability. With the conclusion of the annual legislative session and no conversation centered around the spike in housing costs occurring during those 60 days, families and employers are rightfully concerned. The fallout from this — employers cannot find employees who can afford to move here. Add to that, zero fixes to property insurance costs that are skyrocketing. The Legislature responded by proposing an additional homestead exemption to help firefighters, law enforcement, nurses, teachers and state child welfare workers — all most definitely needed — but, if passed, will unfairly shift the results of those cuts. Florida needs to do a better job of making sure all of its residents have a safe, healthy, affordable place to live.

Maria Sachs, member, Palm Beach County Commission: Safety of Floridians should never be a political issue. Unfortunately, the Florida session ended without a definitive standard for safety for Florida’s high-rise condominiums. The tragedy at Surfside was a wakeup call for all government officials to review the safety of all buildings over a certain height and age. Florida is the condo capital of the country. We build and house more people in high-rises than any other state. It’s time the state took the responsibility to assure safety in all our buildings.

Alissa Jean Schafer,

The State Legislature just passed a bunch of bills that Floridians didn’t want. This week, two cities greenlit development projects that their residents didn’t want (looking at you, Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale.) Last week, there were some local elections that only saw a handful of people actually vote. (For example, about 1,500 votes were cast in a Pembroke Pines city election, where I live and voted.) Voter engagement and turnout, from the local level on up, especially in the face of further voter disenfranchisement, remains one of the most critical tools we have, and it’s never been more clear to me how dire the situation really is.

member, Broward Soil and Water Conservation District:

Calibe Thompson, executive director, Island SPACE: As the world became overwhelmed with concern for the people of Ukraine, a small number of Jamaican students were in that country when the war began. They made their way out, but shared stories of the type of racism we’ve also heard about from Africans there. It seems that when institutions take steps toward meeting their diversity quotas and being inclusive, they don’t always send the memo to the other support systems around them. It is saddening that Black people continue to be treated as less than, even by their hosts as they flee for their lives. While the world is doing good for this region, here’s one area where this region needs to do better.