Dangers linger as Florida recovery picks up momentum
Nearly a week after Hurricane Irma walloped Florida, the recovery mission picked up momentum as more people had electricity and schools made plans to reopen.
First legislation filed after nursing home deaths
A South Florida senator has filed the first bill in response to the deaths of eight nursing home residents this week after Hurricane Irma knocked out their air conditioning. Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, filed the measure (SB 284) on Friday afternoon. Among other things, it would require the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) “to determine compliance with standards for electricity and emergency power sources during the routine inspection of a licensed nursing home facility.”
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Some Florida gubernatorial candidates return to the campaign trail; some can’t
Agricultural Commissioner and GOP gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam was scheduled to appear this coming Monday night at a meet and greet event at Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, but now he won’t. The Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee announced Friday that the event has been canceled until further notice. Although no reason was given, it’s highly likely that as a Cabinet member, Putnam needs to focus on his day job while the state deals with the aftershocks of Hurricane…
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Penny for Pinellas gets free plug at post-Irma Clearwater presser
File it under the maxim first uttered by Rahm Emanuel in 2009: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”
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Duke Energy vows it will fulfill promise of restoring power to Pinellas by midnight Friday
When the day began, more than 100,000 Duke Energy customers in Pinellas and Pasco counties were still without power. But officials with the investor-owned utility vow to stick by their promise made earlier this week that everyone in those areas will have power restored by midnight Friday.
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Familiar faces on Illinois sideline will try to trip up USF
On Friday, Illinois (2-0) will make its first-ever trip to Tampa to face the 22nd-ranked USF Bulls. While the two teams will be meeting for the first time ever, the Illini coaching staff will have no trouble finding their way around Raymond James Stadium or finding the visitors’ locker room. No fewer than six Illinois coaches are familiar to Tampa Bay NFL fans. They have either played with the Bucs or served as coaches.
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State surplus money ‘gone’ because of Irma
The Legislature’s chief economist has told lawmakers that next year’s relatively tiny budget surplus will be erased because of costs from Hurricane Irma. Amy Baker, director of the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, presented a working version of the state’s long-range financial outlook to the Joint Legislative Budget Commission on Friday. She explained that extra costs to the state from last year’s hurricanes, Hermine and Matthew, cost $76.2 million, meaning a projected $52 million surplus for fiscal year 2018-19 is “gone.”
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