Florida’s post-Ian era: Recover. Reconnect. Reassess. Rebuild?

It is Monday, Oct. 3, and we are now in the post-Ian era of Florida history. Thirty years ago, Hurricane Andrew and its Category 5 wind field irrevocably changed the face of South Florida, left a decade-long impact on the state’s built environment, it’s native habitat, its public policy, and the domestic insurance market. Now Hurricane Ian — with its Cat 4 coastal destruction, colossal deadly storm surge, river-swelling rain and flood-soaked inland towns — has a cleaved a new Florida map. It wi

It’s debate week, conflicting visions of Florida, another DCF horror story

It’s Monday, July 18, and “if American politics had an address, it would have been in downtown Tampa” last weekend. That’s how reporters Emily Mahoney and Bianca Padró Ocasio described the dueling political conferences hosted by the Florida Democratic Party and the conservative group Moms for Liberty at adjoining Marriott hotels over the last three days. The convergence seemed fitting: On one side was a Democratic Party in control of the White House but struggling to regain a foothold in a sta

Florida’s GOP stays vague about abortion; Gillum indicted and defiant; Surfside remembers

It’s Monday, June 27, and we are still recovering from last week’s news whiplash. The U. S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, even though the ruling was expected, it wasn’t any less jolting for both sides. Will it matter to voters? Less expected was the indictment that came down from the federal government against former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, once a rising star on the Democratic Party’s national stage who came within 32,000 votes of becoming Florida governor.

Florida becomes ground zero for B.1.1.7 and Trump’s relaunch, as Haiti could become Biden’s first foreign policy test

It’s Monday, Feb. 15. Happy President’s Day. It seems Florida has become ground zero. When it comes to the B.1.1.7 variant of the COVID virus, also known as the ‘”U.K. variant” which is the more infectious version of the virus, Florida is now the nation’s hotspot. When it comes to the reemergence of Donald Trump, after his historic defeat, second impeachment trial, and Pyrrhic acquittal victory, Florida is also closest to detonation.

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