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Positivity rate has been below 6% for 6 straight days and below 10% for 3 weeks
Available ICU and hospital bed capacity continues to increase
Work search requirements have been waived for reemployment assistance and SNAP & TANF benefits
Last night, Governor DeSantis vetoed SB 810, “The Use of Tobacco Products and Nicotine Products." As stated by the Governor in his transmittal letter, “Reducing the use of all nicotine-related products, including vaping, among our youth is an important goal, but this will not be achieved by eliminating legal products for adults and by devastating the small businesses who provide these adults with reduced risk alternatives to cigarettes.”
Today at a Press Conference in Broward County, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by a bi-partisan group of leaders representing the South Florida, Caribbean-American and African-American communities to stand with Judge Renatha Francis.
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Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Florida Begins Paying Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program Benefits
Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has completed the necessary technology changes to begin paying the Federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program benefits to eligible Floridians. This program, authorized by President Trump’s memorandum, provides additional benefits for individuals who are eligible for Reemployment Assistance for weeks of unemployment ending on or after August 1, 2020.
“We thank President Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for providing this relief to Floridians during this time of need,” said Governor DeSantis. “These additional funds will provide critical support to Florida's unemployed workforce due to COVID-19.”
The Department has updated benefit payment statuses to reflect the FPUC and LWA payments in CONNECT. To better understand a claimant's Reemployment Assistance weekly benefit payment status, view the step by step guide here. To review the Frequently Asked Questions on the LWA program, click here.
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Governor Ron DeSantis Vetoes One Bill
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed the following bill:
- CS/CS/CS/SB 810 – The Use of Tobacco Products and Nicotine Products
For a PDF copy of the transmittal letter, click HERE.
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New York Post, By Donald Luskin
Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has now carried out two large-scale experiments in public health — first, in March and April, the lockdown of the economy to arrest the spread of the virus, and second, since mid-April, the reopening of the economy. The results are in. Counterintuitive though it may be, statistical analysis shows that locking down the economy didn’t contain the disease’s spread, and reopening it didn’t unleash a second wave of infections.
Given the high economic costs and well-documented long-term health consequences beyond COVID-19, imposing lockdowns appears to have been a large policy error. At first, when little was known, officials acted in ways they thought prudent. But now evidence proves that lockdowns were an expensive treatment with serious side effects and no benefit to society.
CBS 4 Miami
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed 10 bills into law on Friday, including one to bolster fraud protections for military veterans.
The Governor’s bill action Friday came hours after he received the final 26 measures approved by lawmakers during the 2020 legislative session, which ended in May.
The Florida Veterans Protection Act (SB 294) adds a veterans to the existing “White Collar Crime Victim Protection Act.”
The law makes it a first-degree felony victimize 10 or more veterans out of at least $50,000.
The law, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, already applies to victimization of 10 or more elderly individuals.
Many of the bills DeSantis signed Friday focused on extending existing public records exemptions.
DeSantis has now signed 187 bills into law from the 2020 session, including the $92.2 billion budget (HB 5001), and vetoed three measures. Most of the 2020 bills, including the budget, went into effect with the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
The Governor has until Sept. 19 to act on the remaining 16 bills or allow them to become law without his signature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been crisscrossing Florida and handing the microphone to coaches ready to play ball, brewers eager to pour pints again, and a doctor with controversial views who has the president’s ear.
The story DeSantis wants to tell: Florida has the novel coronavirus under control, and the state’s quarantine-weary everyday Joes and Janes think it’s time to get back to normal.
Florida’s tourism-based economy is firing back up, and better days are ahead, DeSantis has stressed in panel discussions held from Miami to Jacksonville.
“We will never do any of these lockdowns again,” DeSantis said during a stop in The Villages. “I hear people say they will shut down the country, and honestly I cringe.”
The Governor’s efforts to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror come as President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden are effectively tied in Florida ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Biden has portrayed Trump as prolonging America’s suffering by mismanaging the crisis. DeSantis is hoping to paint a more optimistic picture. On Friday night, DeSantis watched a high school football game in North Florida.
Florida Will Start Paying $300 ‘Lost Wages’ Unemployment Benefits this Week, Gov. Ron DeSantis says
Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE — Floridians eligible for the additional $300 weekly benefits under the federal “lost wages” program should expect their money to arrive this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.
Anyone who’s currently eligible will automatically receive their three weeks of benefits, at $300 each, according to a DeSantis administration news release. Floridians do not need to reapply for the benefits.
The additional benefits cover the weeks ending Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15, the three weeks following the cancellation of Congress' $600 weekly federal pandemic benefits. The state has been authorized for three weeks of benefits, but more weeks could become available, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity.
The $300 is on top of the state’s benefits, which top out at $275 per week. Anyone who receives at least $100 in benefits is eligible for the additional $300.
The additional benefits are coming from the federal “lost wages” program authorized by President Donald Trump that allows states to tap into a FEMA disaster relief fund to pay out additional unemployment benefits.
Eligible Floridians who are currently receiving unemployment will receive their “lost wages” benefits the same way they receive their weekly benefits, according to the Governor’s news release. However, a paper check will be issued if the payment method selected is debit card. The Department of Economic Opportunity highly recommends that recipients select direct deposit as their means of receiving benefits to ensure payments are received as quickly as possible.
The department has additional information on the program here.
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COVID-19 by the Numbers | COVID -19 Fatalities
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ICUs and Hospital Beds by the Numbers | Current as of 9/9/2020
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23.51%
% of ICU Beds Available Statewide
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40.10% % of Pediatric ICU Beds Available Statewide
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25.63% % of Available Hospital Beds Statewide
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Agency for Health Care Administration
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New COVID-19 Cases in Florida Continue to Drop, Positivity Rate Remains Under 5 Percent 10 Tampa Bay
Tuesday's report from the Florida Department of Health showed the state added 1,823 new COVID-19 cases for Sept. 7.
That's now the fewest number of new coronavirus cases added in a day's report since mid-June. And, it brings the total number of cases statewide to 650,092 since March.
The median age of Floridians testing positive for the virus is 40.
The health department also reported another 44 Floridians had died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 11,915 Floridians and 152 non-residents who have died since the pandemic began.
Those numbers do not necessarily mean those people died Monday but rather the state learned of their deaths and added the numbers to the report that day. The state's line-by-line report, which you can read here, lists coronavirus deaths by the date the people tested positive for the virus, not the date they passed.
However, the state recently added a section to its daily report (on page 5) that shows deaths by date of death. This data has been reported daily on Florida's COVID-19 dashboard.
The graph for deaths by date of death is subject to change, though, because the information reported to the state can be delayed up to two weeks. So, for consistency, our charts have stuck to new deaths added by the date they were added. For transparency, you can always reference the state's data here.
As for the latest on testing, the health department reported 4.96 percent of 40,893 test results returned from labs were positive for COVID-19 through Sept. 7.
When it comes to hospitalizations, 3,172 people were hospitalized with coronavirus as their primary diagnosis as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Of those, 581 patients were in the Tampa Bay area.
A total of 40,195 people in Florida have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic.
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Agency for Persons with Disabilities
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Art Exhibit Features Creative Abilities of People with Disabilities News 13
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and for people with autism, that expression takes on a very literal meaning.
A new art exhibit in the Lake County Museum of Art debuted this past weekend, and it aims to highlight the creative abilities of people with disabilities.
“Autism will always be with these families. And to show a positive outcome like in this show, is really almost more a heart matter than it would’ve been without adversity,” autism disorder specialist Gesa Barto said. “Individuals with autism are visual learners, often think in pictures.”
They can have trouble expressing themselves, but with art, words are not necessary, she said.
Opening weekend for the exhibit brought in dozens of people who marveled at the vast variety of colors, themes, and types of art.
Proud families and artists celebrated seeing their work in the limelight, and how it reflects on the way they see life.
“I would like people to know that autism is really brilliant, and it’s a good thing," said Annada Vergo, one of the artists whose work was featured. "And it’s a brilliant way to see the world,”
For Mike Mallott and his family, it was a brilliant way to spend the weekend.
“It’s kind of interesting to see how expressive these artists were in different mediums, and I think in different emotions," Mallot said. "So I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I came here, and I was kind of blown away by the variety that I saw."
It is an open door for the artists, after the pandemic closed them off to opportunities for enrichment.
Specialists say, for someone with autism, it is extremely challenging to adjust to any change, let alone the drastic changes that came along with COVID-19.
That is why this collection is not just about art. It is proof that even in tough times, these artists will shine.
The exhibit will be on display every Thursday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., until September 26.
The UCF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities helped make it all possible. The organization supports more than 15,000 people in Central Florida.
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Bay News 9
TAMPA BAY, Fla. — There is some reason for tempered optimism in the workforce this Labor Day 2020. Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 percent last week, and local experts say there are signs the rate in Tampa and St. Petersburg may be even lower. Local unemployment date usually lags a month behind national numbers. "I think everybody needs to be optimistic right now. There's a lot of employment available for folks that are looking," said John Flanagan, CEO of CareerSource Tampa Bay. Flanagan says the unemployment rate in the Tampa area was less than 3 percent in February, before coronavirus restrictions went into place. Almost overnight the local unemployment rate jumped to almost 20 percent. Since then, it has been a slow climb to getting people back to work. Flanagan says the local unemployment rate is directly tied to consumer confidence because thousands of jobs are tied to the hospitality and tourism sector. Although there has been an increase in tourism and better occupancy rates at local resorts and hotels in recent months, many people are still being more conservative in travel and discretionary spending.
"We'll see what happens with COVID as it relates to whether a vaccine is ready by the beginning of the year like they are saying, and what that does to drive the economy," Flanagan said. CareerSource Tampa Bay is working closely with Hillsborough County on the R3 Rapid Response Recovery Assistance program. Officials say the program has assisted around 50,000 unemployed workers since coronavirus restrictions went into place, with most of those calls helping recently unemployed workers navigate Florida's complex unemployment assistance program. With most workers now receiving benefits, CareerSource officials said it is now transitioning to bigger numbers of people looking to get back into the workforce.
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Department of Business and Professional Regulation
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The Real Estate Market is Booming in South Florida. Here are Tips for Buyers and Sellers Looking to Jump In Sun Sentinel South Florida’s housing market is booming through the COVID-19 pandemic as homebuyers flock from cities in the north with a new ability to do their jobs remotely from anywhere.
While it’s sellers who have the advantage right now — demand is high but supply is limited — there are opportunities for buyers to benefit, as well and local real estate agents are weighing in on how to best take advantage.
A new report shows that Florida has become a popular destination for home buyers from areas like New York, Chicago and Boston. Even rentals of single family homes are up in South Florida, as some families opt for a safer option until the market stabilizes.
Chuck Luciano with South Florida Luxury Advisors in Boca Raton said he hasn’t seen anything like it in the 21 years he has been in the industry.
“Florida has always been a destination where people plan to move. COVID-19 accelerated that, I believe," Luciano said. “This past four month stretch has been the busiest four months of my career. Most of my buyers are from the big cities trying to get out of the densely populated areas.”
The current market with its limited stock of homes has been more beneficial to sellers who haven’t had to lower their prices.
But there are still steps sellers should take to ensure the best price. Jackie Tedesco with United Real Estate Advisors in Weston said the biggest thing sellers can do is get their property appraised by a professional.
“It doesn’t matter what type of market it is, price your property at market value and get a professional opinion,” Tedesco said. “You have to compare with other properties in the area.”
Sellers’ market or not, there are still advantages for potential buyers. Interest rates are lower than before, allowing buyers to purchase more in a house than they would have been able previously, Luciano said.
“Interest rates are historically low. Even though prices are rising, interest rates are still low so they can buy more than they did a year ago,” Luciano said.
He advises that before starting to hunt for a property, buyers should get pre-approved for a loan, as lending requirements are tightening as banks try to protect themselves. Tedesco also advises potential buyers to shop around for the best possible rate.
Both recommend connecting with a local real estate agent rather than going through the process alone. A local agent can find a home that fits a buyer’s specifications, helping them to get properties in better school districts or finding homes in with the best bars or restaurants for younger couples.
Most importantly, a local real estate agent can also find a property in a location that won’t lose much of its value in a cyclical market, something Luciano stresses.
“Take a look at the areas that have historically maintained their values in up and down markets and if you are going to invest when the market is on the higher side, do so with those parameters in place,” Luciano said. “There will come a time when the market will revert. "
Even though the pandemic has changed the way people interact, there are still safe ways for people to look at potential homes. Tedesco recommends wearing a mask at all times and suggests that sellers offer booties to go over shoes to prevent germs from being brought in from the outside.
“Some sellers also already leave their lights on so no one has to touch anything,” Tedesco added.
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Department of Children and Families
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Last week, Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the launch of MyFloridaMyFamily, an online hub of resources established in partnership with the Governor’s Faith and Community Based Initiative and the Department of Children and Families. Using technology from Aunt Bertha and CarePortal, the website will serve as a gateway to connect Florida families in need to local faith institutions and community organizations eager to help.
Beginning later this month, the MyFloridaMyFamily website will also direct interested visitors to the newly-established Florida’s Foster Information Center, a hotline staffed with current or former foster parents who can answer callers’ questions based on their own experiences and provide information about fostering one of the 23,000 children throughout the state who are currently in out-of-home care.
For more information about MyFloridaMyFamily, please visit www.myfloridamyfamily.com.
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Department of Economic Opportunity
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Florida Will Start Paying $300 ‘Lost Wages’ Unemployment Benefits this Week, Gov. Ron DeSantis says Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE — Floridians eligible for the additional $300 weekly benefits under the federal “lost wages” program should expect their money to arrive this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.
Anyone who’s currently eligible will automatically receive their three weeks of benefits, at $300 each, according to a DeSantis administration news release. Floridians do not need to reapply for the benefits.
The additional benefits cover the weeks ending Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15, the three weeks following the cancellation of Congress' $600 weekly federal pandemic benefits. The state has been authorized for three weeks of benefits, but more weeks could become available, according to the Department of Economic Opportunity.
The $300 is on top of the state’s benefits, which top out at $275 per week. Anyone who receives at least $100 in benefits is eligible for the additional $300.
The additional benefits are coming from the federal “lost wages” program authorized by President Donald Trump that allows states to tap into a FEMA disaster relief fund to pay out additional unemployment benefits.
Eligible Floridians who are currently receiving unemployment will receive their “lost wages” benefits the same way they receive their weekly benefits, according to the Governor’s news release. However, a paper check will be issued if the payment method selected is debit card. The Department of Economic Opportunity highly recommends that recipients select direct deposit as their means of receiving benefits to ensure payments are received as quickly as possible.
The department has additional information on the program here.
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Department of Environmental Protection
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DEP Virtually Celebrates Girl Scouts Love State Parks
This year, DEP is celebrating Girl Scouts Love State Parks event on Sept. 12 and 13. For 2020, the event has been transitioned into a virtual platform and is being offered to scouts around the nation. DEP's Division of Recreation and Parks Interpretive Services Team built a Girl Scouts Love State Parks Virtual Florida Adventure, an all-access-pass to everything needed for a virtual adventure, including a curated collection of fun activities, park videos and career inspirations for Girl Scouts. Although specifically designed for Girl Scouts, anyone who wants to experience Florida State Parks can participate. People who complete the adventure will receive digital rewards branded to Florida State Parks and the Girl Scouts. The resources are available now and will remain featured on the [FloridaStateParks.org] Florida State Parks homepage until the end of the month
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Florida's COVID-19 Trends Show Improvement; Numbers of Fatalities, Cases Continue to Drop The Florida Times Union COVID-19 cases, deaths and positivity percentages continued their declining trend statewide in the Florida Department of Health's Labor Day report on the coronavirus pandemic. Across the state, Florida recorded 22 additional deaths, raising the cumulative total to 12,023. Those include 11,871 Florida residents and 152 from outside the state. The Florida Department of Health recorded one additional death for Northeast Florida, listed as an 88-year-old man. Positive tests increased by 1,838, for a cumulative total of 648,269. Not since June 15, with an addition of 1,758 cases, had Florida added so few cases in a daily report. Although test volume also fell, reaching its lowest level for one week, the positivity rate in laboratory results received Sunday dropped to 6.35 percent Florida's lowest percentage since 5.36 percent on June 13. The positivity rate in Duval County held at 3.91 percent, within one-hundredth of percentage point of its rate for each of the past three days. Clay County's positivity rate dropped to 5.42 percent, that county's lowest level since Aug. 23. Those low levels, though, were not uniform across the region. St. Johns County rose to 8.59 percent, its highest level since surpassing 10 percent on Aug. 10. Putnam County continued a slow increase to 7.78 percent, as did Nassau County to 9.85 percent. Baker County's positivity rate jumped to 24 percent, although test sample size was extremely low with only 50 tests received. Duval County reported 99 additional cases, for a total of 27,734. St. Johns County added 41 cases, Nassau County 23, Clay County 19, Baker County 12 and Putnam County eight. The Agency for Health Care Administration recorded a continuing drop in the state's active COVID-19 hospitalizations, down to 3,157 as of 4:30 p.m. Monday 10 fewer than Sunday. With 199 current COVID-19 hospitalizations, Duval County's count increased by one. For other nearby counties, Baker County listed 30, unchanged from Sunday; Clay County, 35, down one; Nassau County, two, down three; Putnam County, two, unchanged; St. Johns County, seven, down three. AHCA figures also show a continuing increase in intensive care unit availability, both in Jacksonville and across the state. As of Monday afternoon, the state recorded 26.65 percent of ICU beds were available across the state, including 37.64 percent in Duval County.
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Department of The Lottery
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Hillsborough Woman Wins $5M From Scratch-off Ticket on Her 33rd Birthday WFLA
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Dover woman won $5 million from a scratch-off game she purchased at a gas station three days before her 33rd birthday.
The Florida Lottery said Ana Chavira bought the CASHWORD scratch-off game from a Circle K at 1609 Branch Forbes Road in Plant City. She’s chosen to receive her winnings as a one-time lump-sum payment of $3,915,000.
The scratch-off game costs $20 to play and includes eight prizes of $5 million and 24 prizes of $1 million.
The gas station will receive a $10,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket.
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Department of Management Services
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Launched July 2020, the Florida Digital Service (FL[DS]) is accepting applications. Led by Florida’s State Chief Information Officer James Grant, FL[DS] will fundamentally change the way we serve and communicate with the people of Florida through new technology, top talent, and private and public collaboration. Make a difference – visit flds.fl.gov to submit an interest form.
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Department of Transportation
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FDOT Road Ranger Praised with Saving Lives after Quick Thinking on I-75 NBC 2
LEE COUNTY, Fla. – A Road Ranger who works for the Florida Department of Transportation is being praised for his quick thinking and life-saving efforts. Yosvanys Hernandez saved two people from a serious accident on Interstate 75. A 21-year-old Naples woman was driving a car southbound on I-75, just south of Golden Gate Parkway when it ran into the back of a tractor-trailer. The car rotated and stopped in the grass median of the interstate.
One of the passengers in the car was ejected and landed in the southbound travel lanes of I-75. Hernandez and the tractor-trailer driver who was involved in the crash helped remove the injured and unresponsive people in the car before it caught fire.
Hernandez saw smoke coming from the car and cut the seatbelt to remove an unresponsive woman and helped the driver get out.
The people who were saved were seriously injured in the crash, but survived. Hernandez received praise from FDOT’s secretary, Kevin Thibault.
“I appreciate Yosvanys for rescuing these motorists in their time of need,” Thibault said in a tweet. “Your actions are one of the many reasons @MyFDOT is very proud of its Road Rangers.”
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Florida Department of Corrections
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LAKE CITY, Fla. (WCJB) - Florida Gateway College is expanding its education program for Florida inmates.
FGC is now offering a B.A. degree in water resource management for people incarcerated in the Columbia Corrections Institution.
The degree prepares graduates for jobs in the field of water conservation, resources, and policy.
Of the 60 inmates enrolled in the Second Chance Pell Program this summer, 55 had a 4.0 GPA.
This semester classes will be held online only.
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Florida Division of Emergency Management
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Help Available for Trees Lost to Hurricane Michael Dothan Eagle
Certain property owners in Jackson County whose trees were damaged in Hurricane Michael can now apply for a Florida Timber Recovery Block Grant, and the registration process for that help is now underway.
Qualifying landowners in Jackson and 17 other counties are potentially eligible for the funds.
The damage across all 18 is estimated at more than $1.2 billion, with approximately 2.8 million acres of trees lost or so significantly damaged their remaining values were pennies on the dollar in salvage harvests after the storm, according to Jackson County Forester Barry Stafford, of the Florida Forest Service.
Jackson County tree farmer John Alter is one of the many in Jackson County expected to seek a grant from the program. He said last Friday that he is applying and that he encourages others to do so as well.
Alter qualifies on all four of the conditions that must be true for someone in the 18 counties to qualify: He owns and has rights to the timber crop, which is private, non-industrial as defined by the USDA, his crop comprises at least 10 acres, and he sustained more than a 25 percent loss.
He lost about three-fourths of his trees, some 400 acres worth. Some of them were young, some were mid-aged and some were older. The grant amounts to be awarded are based, in part, on the ages and types of the trees lost.
Florida Forest Service workers are already surveying the applicants’ properties, doing that in batches as they come in between now and the November deadline, to determine whether they meet the qualification standards.
Stafford, for one, was busy on that task last Friday. He and others will be working in the field , taking the applications in batches to confirm eligibility as the process continues. He said damage varied throughout the county but that it had a devastating overall effect.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the program is managed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management in conjunction with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Forest Service. Technical assistance will be available to forest landowners required to produce documentation to receive compensation for their loss.
To be eligible for the Florida Timber Recovery Block Grant Program (TRBG), a producer must be the owner of record or the lessee who has rights to the timber crop at the time of application, have a minimum of 10 contiguous acres of non-industrial private forest land located in one of the eligible counties, and have stands of timber that sustained a minimum of 25 percent loss due to Hurricane Michael.
Eligible counties include Jackson, Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.
Registration is the first step toward receiving block grant funds and should only take a few minutes to complete, officials say.
The deadline to register is Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. For additional details and to register for the TRBG, visit www.FloridaDisaster.org/timber. Registrants can email questions to timber@em.myflorida.com or call the Timber Hotline at (850) 270-8317.
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement
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More Florida Law Enforcement Agencies Using NDI FDLE PIO The National Decertification Index (NDI) is a national registry of law enforcement certifications or license revocations following officer misconduct. Since 2001, the NDI has been a valuable tool for criminal justice agencies when deciding whether to hire an officer.
FDLE serves as Florida’s NDI representative, adding information each time the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission revokes a Florida officer’s certification or when an officer voluntarily relinquishes their certification. The registry includes name of the former officer, action taken against the certification and who to contact for additional information. The NDI contains more than 28,000 actions reported by 45 certifying organizations. Florida’s large officer population, coupled with the Commission’s progressive disciplinary process, have led to 10,279 Florida revocations and relinquishments being added to the NDI during its 19-year history. In July 2020, the Commission issued a memorandum reminding Florida agencies about the services provided by the NDI. Since that time, over 60 new Florida agency users have been added to the system, bringing the total number of Florida users to 533.
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Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs
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New Veterans’ Home Seeks Administrator
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. -- The Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie is seeking a Nursing Home Administrator as its construction nears completion. The 120-bed skilled nursing facility is scheduled to open to its first residents in late 2020.
When fully operational, the approximately 121,000 square foot veterans’ home will host approximately 175 health care, food service, maintenance and administrative staff designed for 24/7 operations.
The veterans’ home is named in honor of a Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War -- Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County native Sergeant Ardie R. Copas.
The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs operates six veterans’ nursing homes in Daytona Beach, Land O’ Lakes, Pembroke Pines, Panama City, Port Charlotte and St. Augustine and one veterans’ assisted living facility in Lake City.
Learn more about the home administrator’s position at Port St. Lucie by visiting: https://bit.ly/338zqeJ
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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FOX4
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launches new gopher tortoise website
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is launching a new website designed to provide biologists with thorough, reliable data and promote science-based gopher tortoise conservation efforts.
The new system will replace the Florida Gopher Tortoise smartphone app, which will be decommissioned Sept. 8.
To report a tortoise sighting or notify the FWC of a sick, injured, or dead tortoise, click here, then click on the button that reads “Report Gopher Tortoise Sightings.”
There, you can also view an interactive map, which features user-submitted photos and locations of tortoise sightings throughout the state.
According to FWC, the gopher tortoise is a protected species that occurs in all 67 Florida counties. The tortoise is known as a keystone species. Its burrows serve as important refuges for 350 native species, including threatened species such as the Eastern indigo snake, the burrowing owl, and the gopher frog.
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Florida Housing Finance Corporation
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HUD Urges Local Governments to Distribute Housing Aid Funds Florida Realtors
Gov. DeSantis authorized $120M of Florida’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to help Floridians hurt by the pandemic and struggling to pay expenses such as rent, mortgage payments and emergency repairs. The Florida Housing Corp. will distribute the money.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reiterated a commitment to “minimize displacement and evictions resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic national emergency.” It’s pushing grantees – states, cities, communities and nonprofits – to spend the money, which can be used for expenses, such as rent, mortgage payments and emergency repairs.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis authorized $120 million out of the State of Florida’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) for allocation. Local governments will distribute the funds to needy homeowners and renters. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation will oversee distribution to local leaders.
It’s unclear how soon money will make it into the hands of homeowners and renters, however. The Florida Housing website says, “It is important to note that at this time your local government and SHIP office, who will be administering this program, are working on implementing the application requirements, process and system and may not be ready to accept applications.”
The Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) is part of the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) signed into law in March. Florida Housing’s CRF Fund for Impacted Homeowners and Renters will be administered by the local State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) housing office in local communities.
“From day one of this pandemic, the administration has done everything in our power to ensure that the American people have a roof over their heads during these trying times,” says HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
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Air Travel Has Best Day Since March Travel Pulse
Airline travel had its best day since the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the industry, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
The TSA processed nearly 1 million passengers on Friday, September 4 – 968,673 to be exact – the first time since March 17 that the total number of passengers was above 900,000, according to the blog Airline Geeks.
That number still pales in comparison to the 2,198,828 that flew on Sept. 4 of last year but nonetheless represents a solid figure as airlines try to make a comeback.
In fact, the Labor Day weekend was a strong one for the airlines, which at one point were down 95 percent in total capacity compared to last year.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, there were 877,698 fliers. As for the rest of the week, passenger counts varied between 500,000 and 800,000 people. Predictably, the low came on a Tuesday at 516,068, while the weekend travel dates of Thursday, Friday and Sunday would take the top spots at over 700,000 passengers each day, according to the blog
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National Day of Service and Remembrance
This Friday, September 11th, is Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance. On this day, Americans across the country are called to volunteer in their local communities in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, first responders, and the many who have risen in service to defend freedom. To explore the different volunteer opportunities available in your community, please visit www.volunteerflorida.org.
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Department of Elder Affairs
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Department of Juvenile Justice
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Florida Department of Citrus
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
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