Florida Political and Community Selected Weekly News
Candidate for Federal Congress Gabe Ferrer in his own words:
Selected Political News from the week of January 1-7th, 2017
The time to open Cuba is now. There is a time to hate, a time to forgive. Our time as Cuban-Americans is now.
At the insistence of my youngest son and after more than a 50-year absence, I visited Cuba. He assured me that it would be safe but I expected to be arrested and put in jail the minute that I landed. To my surprise, was welcomed home.
For complete text please click on the photo
Photo: Evan Vucci
Year 2. Volume 1. Number 3. January 8th 2018
Politics
Republicans can’t generate buzz for Ros-Lehtinen’s seat, and some say it’s unwinnable
The GOP’s inability to find top-shelf candidates to run for Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s U.S. House seat has some Republicans ready to write off the race and shift money and attention to more winnable contests.
The seat that encompasses Little Havana, most of downtown Miami and Miami Beach is now considered unwinnable by some Republicans in Congress and fundraisers who could infuse millions into a competitive congressional race, according to interviews with high-ranking GOP officials and potential donors.
State
Florida may restore voting rights to 1.7 million ex-felons: So long, Republicans!
An initiative to restore voting rights to ex-felons may be on Florida’s ballot. Will Gov. Rick Scott stop it?
Of the states that swung to Donald Trump in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama in 2012, Florida, with its 29 votes in the Electoral College, was by far the biggest. It's also one of the most prominent examples of how voter suppression efforts are distorting the political system, usually to benefit Republicans who would struggle to win in a more representative democracy.
Havana, Cuba
Examining the changes and challenges Cubans will face in this 2018
Cuba is preparing for a historic transfer of power as it deals with the consequences of a shifting international landscape.
Most Cubans were born after the revolution and have only known a Castro as head of state. That’s about to change in April 2018 when 86-year-old Raul Castro steps down as president.
Fifty-seven year old First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel is the likely successor. He faces a number of challenges – not least the island’s struggling economy.
Photo: CNN
Tel Aviv, Israel
Future presidents may thank Trump acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
While it may cost me my membership in the GOP foreign policy establishment's fan club, I think that President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was the right thing to do on several fronts.
To begin with, the simple act of aligning campaign rhetoric and gov policy is something we need more of — not less.
Much has been reported about previous presidents saying they would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital only to ignore their pledge..
Immigration
Sanctuary no more: Feds seize 1 immigration detainee daily from Miami
Miami-Dade jails turned over an average of one immigration detainee daily to federal authorities during 2017, pace set by county’s decision to comply with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on people being sought for deportation.
Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered county jails to comply with the federal detention requests days after Trump took office on Jan. 20 and promised to withhold federal funds from local governments providing “sanctuary”,
Enviroment
Florida could spend $1 billion on Everglades reservoir project, but will it work?
Last spring, Florida lawmakers approved plans for a massive new reservoir near Lake Okeechobee, touting the billion-dollar project as a breakthrough in the decades-old effort to save the Everglades
But less than a year later, South Florida water managers are struggling to make the ambitious project a reality.
Environmental groups begun to raise concerns that the plan is based on flawed data and that it might become a Trojan horse used to challenge long-standing water quality standards
Politics
Trump plan for oil drilling off coast ripped by Florida leaders: totally in both parties
Florida waters long closed to offshore drilling would open up under a Trump administration plan to dramatically expand domestic oil and gas production.
The plan drew swift criticism from political leaders of both parties in Florida. Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who previously opposed protections put in place by the Obama administration, objected.
Senator Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R), who have fought to extend a drilling ban in the eastern Gulf, also criticized a draft proposal released Thursday.
Photo: Mark J. Terrill
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Embargo Against the Cuban People:
A Mistake that we need to stop now
Photo:Julie Ebenstein
Photo: Abir Sultan
Graphic: Everglades Found.
Photo: Michael Voss
