South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK
Roni Raab,
Top-notch, exciting and competitive baseball from around the world, akin to the World Cup in soccer, will be featured in our own backyard. The World Baseball Classic is coming to LoanDepot Park in Miami in mid-March. Teams from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Israel, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua will compete to claim bragging rights as the best in the world for the next four years. Which team will you be cheering for? The Miami Marlins play host March 11-15, 2023. Tickets are already on sale at Marlins.com/ WBC.
WWNN.
Gregory Stuart,
At the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, we rely on powerful computer models to emulate challenges and solutions to plan the future transportation system. Through partnerships with Google and Deloitte, leaders in the technology and business worlds, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization is applying to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SMART grant program to bring our long-range planning capabilities to a new level. By creating a ‘digital twin’ of South Florida, we will be able to model and simulate scenarios in minutes to determine which transportation projects will solve our traffic woes and which may be ineffective. The future of planning is here.
Alexandria Ayala,
Tuesday’s election results for two seats on the Palm Beach County School Board solidified that our residents are interested in dedicated, experienced leadership that prioritizes the issues really facing our schools and students over false talking points and divisive rhetoric. After a contentious time for public education, led by debates over the safety and health of the children in our care, then fueled by hateful attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, the voters have spoken. I’m looking forward to continuing the work of improving our A-rated school system by educating, affirming and inspiring each student we serve in an equity-embedded school system.
Michael De Lucca,
The United Nations has declared that the world’s population will pass 8 billion people on Nov. 15, 2022. The United Nations has chosen this date to mark this groundbreaking news based on its modeling. This is more than three times higher than the 2.5 billion global headcount in 1950. “Eight billion people, it is a momentous milestone for humanity,” said United Nations Population Fund Chief Natalia Kanem, hailing an increase in life expectancy and few maternal and child deaths. It’s projected that the population will continue to grow in the decades to come.
Melissa McKinlay,
My thoughts on the upcoming week aren’t so much about a headline as they are about a wish. A hope. As I term out of office after eight years, I am grateful for the bipartisan support I garnered and for projects we accomplished. My hope is that our very red state remembers those voices that lean blue, that all of our leaders listen to both sides and acknowledge that good ideas come from all places. Florida may not be purple anymore, but let’s pretend a little that it is. It’s what leads to good public policy and that benefits ALL Floridians.
host, Shalom South Florida on
executive director, Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization.
member, Palm Beach County School Board.
president, Broward Regional Health Planning Council, Inc.
member, Palm Beach County Commission.
Kelly Skidmore,
I am excited to leave the campaign trail and focus my efforts on ensuring that Floridians are healthy, prosperous and safe. The upcoming legislative cycle will begin with yet another special session on property insurance. This time, the Legislature must prioritize the economic safety of property owners, not just insurers. However, I believe the solution lies in Congress with the creation of a National Catastrophic Risk Pool with leadership from Florida’s congressional delegation. Insurance basics confirm that spreading the risk reduces the cost. For more than 20 years, Florida has failed to create a stable property insurance market. It’s time for something different.
Representatives.
Pines.
member, Florida House of
Angelo Castillo,
I hope the first order of business for Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Legislature will be to find better answers to Florida’s homeowner insurance crisis. The situation has gotten out of control, and a better set of answers must be provided to offer relief. If that means making tough choices, well that’s what elected officials are put in office to do. But the current situation is intolerable. Fix this problem, please. Floridians have suffered enough with skyrocketing home insurance prices, assuming you can even find a carrier willing to give you a quote!
commissioner, Pembroke
Chad Van Horn,
founding partner attorney, Van Horn Law Group, P. A.
The productivity of America’s workers is down, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reported that productivity in the first six months of
2022 plummeted by the sharpest rate since
1947. Economists theorize that people worked so hard during 2020 and 2021 that they’re now slowing down, that workers feel safe from being let go because of the labor shortage, or that the connection between hard work and reward has been broken by remote work. Regardless of the reason, it is on the employers to find ways to motivate employees, and employees need to step up.