Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

The federal Freedom of Information Act request backlog continued to rise in fiscal 2021, but FOIA offices were able to make a dent in the backlog of administrative appeals last year.

The Justice Departments Office of Information Policy (OIP) runs down the numbers in its analysis of agency chief FOIA officer fiscal 2021 reports.

Agencies received 838,164 FOIA requests in fiscal 2021, a 6% increase above the total received in fiscal 2020. And the FOIA...

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The federal Freedom of Information Act request backlog continued to rise in fiscal 2021, but FOIA offices were able to make a dent in the backlog of administrative appeals last year.

The Justice Departments Office of Information Policy (OIP) runs down the numbers in its analysis of agency chief FOIA officer fiscal 2021 reports.

Agencies received 838,164 FOIA requests in fiscal 2021, a 6% increase above the total received in fiscal 2020. And the FOIA backlog increased by just over 8% to a total of 153,227 requests by the end of fiscal 2021.

A request is considered backlogged when it has been pending at an agency longer than the statutory time to respond, which is typically 20 working days, but can be up to 30 working days in unusual circumstances.

DOJs 49,959 delayed requests made up 33% of the backlog alone. The Department of Homeland Security, which typically receives the most FOIA requests of any agency and was able to make a dent in its backlog last year, accounted for 16% of the backlog at the end of fiscal 2021, while the Defense Department represented 11% of the backlog.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have varying impacts on agencies FOIA administration in fiscal 2021, OIP wrote in the report. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office reported that while COVID-19 had some negative effects on FOIA administration, the backlog has been on a steady rise since fiscal 2015.

Meanwhile, the average processing time for simple track requests increased from an average of 30 to 32.9 days between fiscal 2020 and 2021 across agencies. DOJ defines simple requests as those that are relatively simple to review or involve a low volume of records.

But performance varied widely, with 67 agencies, including all of the Education and Treasury departments, respectively, reporting processing simple track requests within an average of 20 days or less, according to OIPs report.

On the other hand, agencies improved their handling of complex requests in fiscal 2021. Agencies processed 55.3% of complex requests in 40 days or less, an improvement of 7% above fiscal 2020. Roughly four in five complex requests were processed in 100 days or less in fiscal 2021, according to OIPs report.

Agencies processed 15,522 appeals during fiscal 2021, the most ever, according to OIP. FOIA requesters can file an administrative appeal when they disagree with an agencys initial determination on a records request.

The backlog of administrative appeals dropped to 4,734 cases at the end of fiscal 2021, a decrease of 6.66% compared to fiscal 2020.

Overall, the cost of FOIA-related activities across government was $561.3 million in fiscal 2021, a slight decrease compared to fiscal 2020. FOIA litigation accounted for about $38.5 million of those costs.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed agencies to apply a presumption of openness when it comes to FOIA administration.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have asked GAO to conduct a government-wide, comprehensive study of systemic issues agencies face in fulfilling their FOIA obligations, including the cause of the backlog and potential regulatory or legislative changes needed to reduce it.

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The FOIA backlog continued to grow last year - Federal News Network

SCHENECTADY The slot machine tax reduction offered to New Yorks casinos after COVID cut into their business appears to be working out well for them.

All four casinos not owned by Indian nations saw big jumps in the gross revenue from gamblers and in the net gaming revenue left after paying gamblers their winnings.

But even with this increase in gross and net revenue, three of the four saw their tax bills shrink.

In Schenectady, Rivers Casino and Resort which had been paying the highest slot tax rate among the four saw its tax rate drop from 45% to 30%.

Patrons played $1.57 billion in the Rivers slots from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, but won back only 90.7% of it. The $137 million they lost provided nearly three-quarters of the casinos gross gaming revenue for that fiscal year.

(Table game and sports wagering revenues are taxed at the relatively low rate of 10%, resulting in a much smaller pot of tax money than slots.)

After the fiscal year ended, on May 4, 2022, The Daily Gazette submitted a Freedom Of Information Law request to the New York State Gaming Commission for documents explaining Rivers request for a slot machine tax cut and the commissions decision to grant it.

The commission extended its timetable for the FOIL response three times over the next two months. On July 22, it provided copies of four communications between the commission and casino in the spring of 2021 that contained zero information or detail. The commission said it was still reviewing other records for possible future release under FOIL.

Rivers itself was willing to comment, in summary if not in detail.

The move came down to fairness and circumstance, said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rush Street Gaming, parent company of Rivers.

Were pleased that the NYSGC approved our request for a lower slot tax rate, especially given economic and competitive challenges faced prior to, and throughout, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, he said via email.

The new tax rate finally brought tax parity to the upstate casinos, albeit temporarily; Rivers, for no reason, had been required to pay the highest slot tax rate of all the casinos in the state. The temporary tax reduction allowed us to maintain financial solvency, hire back furloughed team members, and continue our contributions toward the economic revitalization of Schenectady.

The four commercial casinos were allowed to petition the Gaming Commission for a tax cut effective at the start of the states 2021-2022 tax year and continuing as far as 2026.

They had to show a need for the additional net revenue a tax cut would provide, and state that it would allow them to build their payrolls back up. They also needed to follow up with annual reports showing that they were meeting their workforce goals.

Three of the four casinos saw their reduced tax rates continued into the current fiscal year, so their reports presumably were satisfactory.

Rivers had a workforce of about 1,050 before the pandemic and about 660 when it reopened in September 2020. As of July 15, 2022, it had 880 employees and openings for several dozen more.

It would not share its report to the Gaming Commission with The Gazette.

The Gaming Commission on July 15 said it would provide the report to The Gazette as soon as it could redact proprietary information; it had not done so as of July 22.

An online spreadsheet maintained by the Gaming Commission shows the progress Rivers is making in bouncing back from the pandemic.

Not counting the abortive 2020-2021 fiscal year, during which the casinos operations were halted entirely for more than five months and sharply limited for several more months, there has been a large positive adjustment in the financials.

In 2019-2020, Rivers reported $167.1 million in gross gaming revenue and paid $57.9 million in gaming tax, leaving it $109.2 million in net gaming revenue.

In 2021-2022, Rivers reported $187.5 million in gross gaming revenue and paid $46.1 million in gaming tax, leaving it $141.4 million in net gaming revenue.

The state keeps 80% of gaming tax revenue and dedicates it to educational aid and property tax relief; it distributes the other 20% to nearby communities as a host benefit.

In the case of Rivers, thats 5% each for the city and county of Schenectady and 10% prorated among seven nearby counties based on their population.

The losers in that equation at this point are the state taxpayers, because the state is making the host communities whole paying them the revenue the casino is not.

As a result, the city of Schenectady got more money in its first quarterly payment this year than it did when Rivers had the much-higher tax rate a total of $837,737.

Which is a good number, Mayor Gary McCarthy said.

The state giveth and the state taketh away, however.

Every so often the host community benefit Saratoga Springs receives for hosting a video-lottery casino is threatened with cancellation in state budget negotiations, and McCarthys understanding is that the hold-harmless provision on slot taxes also must be renewed annually.

I always enjoy working with my friends at the state level. Sometimes I just dont understand their logic, he said.

The city and county budgeted their casino tax income for this year conservatively $2.75 million each given the economic uncertainty of the times.

They are on track to well exceed that sum if Rivers continues on its present course, which isnt an entirely safe assumption given the persistent COVID pandemic, labor shortage, rampant inflation and threat of recession.

But, so far so good: For the first quarter of this fiscal year, April-June, Rivers gross gaming revenue was 14.7% higher than in the same three months of last year.

I still look at this year as a learning curve, McCarthy said. Were moving to that post-COVID era, and hopefully creating business models that are sustainable.

Schenectady County Manager Rory Fluman said for budget-writing purposes, he views the casino tax as a bonus.

Rivers is one of only a handful of casinos in the state and provides benefits to the community that boost the countys economy in their own ways, he said.

Theyve been knocking it out of the park, Fluman said of Rivers rebounding from the pandemic shutdown.

The revenue from the casino is all bonus money for us, he said.Its extra into our budget so we can use it to address things like inflation. We are very conservative on that.

And the idea of the tax cut?

Certainly we were disappointed, but so were all the other counties that werent fortunate enough to have a casino in their county, Fluman said. That happens every year in our budget process. Theres always a give and a take in revenue coming from the state.

That give-and-take also played out for Rivers Casino:

As its slot tax rate was slashed for a few years, its mandated payments to the horse-racing community were made permanent and indexed to inflation.

This remains a sore point for Rivers, which said it will pay nearly $6 million to horsemen and breeders this year.

We are still the only casino in the state to subsidize a third-party horsemens association, Drehkoff, the Rush Street CEO, said in his email. Our horsemen payments today are continuing at more than pre-pandemic amounts and will continue to grow.

Actually, all casinos are required to make the payment under statute, due to the impact casinos were expected to have on standardbred race tracks and the video lottery casinos colocated with them.

A Gaming Commission spokesman said, however, that the owners of Resorts World Catskills casino and Tioga Downs Casino Resort also own the local horse tracks, and are in effect paying themselves, while Del Lago pays nothing because it is in the same region as the Tioga Downs racetrack, which gets its entirepayment from the casino of the same name on site.

Categories: Business, News, Schenectady, Schenectady County

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More money rolling into state's casinos, less tax being collected The Daily Gazette - The Daily Gazette

OPINION:

Progress is achieved when problems are solved, but Washington officialdom calculates that all things considered, it is preferable to allow certain troubles to perpetuate. Fentanyl overdose, which is killing Americans by the thousands, is one such problem. It is largely the consequence of President Bidens prioritizing of mass migration to the United States. With the borders unsecured, the deadly synthetic opioid is pouring into the U.S. and the body count mounts. The presidents progress is nothing more than tragedy.

Unnerving can only describe the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations disclosure earlier this month that it seized 1 million counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl worth $15-20 million in a raid on a Los Angeles stash house controlled by a Mexican drug cartel. The fentanyl-infused tabs are manufactured to look like genuine medications. Ominously, the DEA reports that when such pills are tested, 42% are found to contain a 2-milligram dose of the powerful opioid enough to kill.

Another drug bust in California last month involving 15,000 fentanyl pills brought two suspects before a judge who released them on their own recognizance. To no ones surprise except perhaps the clueless jurist the pair never showed up for their July court date. Choosing between years in prison and the freedom of the Biden border, the decision to disappear could not have been too ponderous.

Uninvited travelers are pouring in from more than 150 nations, drawn by the presidents wink-and-nod immigration enforcement. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has reported more than 1.7 million illegal immigrant encounters at the border in 2022, with three months remaining in the fiscal year, and fentanyl seizures totaling 8,425 pounds. During fiscal 2021, overdose deaths totaled nearly 108,000, 70% of which were caused by opioids. And as of the CDCs most recent tally in February, fatalities are up 11.9% this fiscal year.

Yet Biden administration officials declare with a straight face that the border is locked and double-bolted. Look, the border is secure, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told a security summit in Aspen, Colorado, last week. The border we are working to make the border more secure.

Mr. Mayorkas is fooling no one not fully invested in willful blindness. Americans watch daily newscasts showing columns of immigrants by the hundreds wading across the Rio Grande to be met by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, who load them onto buses and planes bound for cities across the nation. Worse, Americans read reports of fentanyl deaths that continue to occur in their own communities despite ever-larger busts of smugglers trafficking from Mexico the deadly drug worth billions.

The unprecedented influx of immigrants and drugs that have coincided with the Biden presidency can only be explained as intentional. In Mr. Bidens book, the long-run political benefit of allowing millions of illegal immigrants access to the U.S. homeland outweighs the pain of more than 100,000 American overdose deaths annually. It is a tragic and heartless miscalculation.

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EDITORIAL: Fentanyl, death by the dose - Washington Times

The Conservative leadership contest has revolved around Liz Trusss challenge to the Treasury orthodoxy that Rishi Sunak has embraced; I very much agree with her challenge. Unfortunately my arguments - and hers - have been misinterpreted, not least by the former chancellor in Mondays BBC debate. Mr Sunak wrongly claimed that I had argued that Ms Trusss policies would mean that interest rates would have to go up to around seven per cent.

The Truss programme centres on promoting growth through supply-side reform - including cutting regulation and lowering taxes. To make it work, there has to be government borrowing to finance any temporary excesses of spending over tax revenues. This tax-smoothing function of borrowing has to be consistent with the long run constraint that the debt ratio must come down again to a safe level of around 50 per cent. Spending will then match tax in the long run.

Short run fiscal rules can obstruct the vital tax-smoothing function of debt and borrowing, They produce policies such as the damaging proposed rise in corporation tax. Ms Truss rightly wants to reverse it, together with the wage-cost boosting rise in National Insurance contributions.

Fiscal deficits - the current balance of government spending minus revenue - can be used to regulate demand in the economy. What the Truss programme proposes is that this should be used to stabilise output, going up when recession threatens and down in booms. Today rising interest rates threaten a recession. Tax cuts can support demand and thus avert it.

Monetary policy has the job of controlling inflation, mainly by moving interest rates around but also by directly printing or reducing money through buying or selling market-held bonds. Currently, with inflation close to double digits, the Bank of England is raising interest rates. It is having to decide continuously how far to raise them to get inflation back down to its two per cent target; the Banks money tightening or loosening responds to inflation and output.

Research shows us that in modern economies the most successful policies for stabilising inflation, output and interest rates are a combination of a fairly tough monetary policy with a fiscal policy that stabilises output. This is because then people and firms know that inflation will not be tolerated, so they act to restrain their wages and prices; but they also know that recession will be avoided so they keep on spending in a way that keeps growth on course. This stops inflation from rising too much and also stops output from slumping. It keeps interest rates stable - with the Bank not needing to raise them too much when inflation shocks hit and not being pressured to lower them to zero as it did (with bad side-effects on saving and the survival of zombie firms) after the financial crisis.

So the Truss programme promises greater stability in output, inflation and interest rates. A fiscal policy that supports the economy now is not inflationary and would not push up interest rates. The opposite is true: by reinforcing the Banks freedom to get on top of inflation, it contributes to both lower inflation and lower interest rates. This is why my research group is forecasting that next year the economy will keep growing, inflation will come down to around five per cent and interest rates will rise to around three per cent.

Why are the Treasury, Rishi Sunak and a lot of City economists so against these ideas? Their minds are closed to the findings of research into the modern economy, which have highlighted the effects of government policies on productivity and growth (endogenous growth); and which also have explored how policy rules affect private agents behaviour through their expectations and best responses (optimal policy).

Sadly, most City economists do not do this research themselves. Their models, if they have any at all, are simply adding-up programmes into which they put some air-plucked numbers. The Treasury has disengaged from research on the economy and left it to the Bank; the OBR does no modelling research. This all needs to change. The first priority is to get policies right. Ms Trusss programme does just that.

See the article here:

Liz Truss's tax cuts are not inflationary - The Telegraph

More than 100 years have passed since social reformer Margaret McMillan fought for free school meals in Britain. As a primary school inspector in Bradford, she had seen hunger render poor children unable to learn, robbing the promise that came with universal education. The landmark 1906 Education Act provided public funds for meals where children were unable by reason of lack of food to take full advantage of the education provided.

That phrase should be at the heart of the agenda for the UNs Transforming Education summit scheduled for September. This is the worlds opportunity to tackle a hunger crisis jeopardising recovery from learning lost during Covid-19 school closures. Yet UN agencies, the World Bank, and governments shaping the summit have failed to grasp the nettle.

Perhaps thats because hunger among schoolchildren is hidden. International data focuses on child health during the critical first 1,000 days of life. That has obscured the importance of the 8,000 days it takes for a child to transition to adulthood. Nutrition during the formative years is critical for health and cognitive development.

A wake-up call is long overdue. Earlier this month, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published data on malnutrition across developing regions. Applying those rates to schoolchildren captures the deadly interaction of poverty and food price inflation. In sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, global centres of child hunger, there were almost 180 million children aged five to 18 who experienced under-nutrition in 2021 a 76 million increase over pre-pandemic levels. One quarter of Africas schoolchildren are now trying to learn while hungry.

The reality is almost certainly worse than FAO data which does not yet include the inflation triggered by the Ukraine war. Wealth and gender disparities also weigh heavily. Fewer than half of adolescent girls in south Asia receive an adequate dietary intake. Micronutrient deficiencies, and anaemia a major barrier to learning are endemic. In Africa, poor nutrition is a leading cause of ill-health among primary children and adolescents.

Nothing destroys potential as savagely as hunger. Malnourished children are less able to concentrate and absorb information. They are also more likely to drop out of school, partly because they are not learning and partly because poverty pushes them into work and child marriage.

Feeding children in school can protect them from malnutrition, increase enrolment, reduce dropout rates and improve learning. Evidence from Indias midday meal scheme shows children of women who participated when they were at school are less likely to be stunted.

Much of the infrastructure for delivering school meals is already in place. Before the pandemic, these programmes represented the worlds largest safety net, reaching more than 300 million children in the poorest places.

The pandemics classroom closures cut the nutritional lifeline of school meals, leaving many children without their main or only meal of the day. The fiscal space available to governments trying to restore the programmes has shrunk with slower growth, reduced tax revenues and unsustainable debt. Education budgets have been cut in two-thirds of the poorest countries.

Children have returned to school carrying the double burden of lost learning and increased hunger. The World Bank estimates that 70% of 10-year-olds could now be living in learning poverty, unable to read a simple story, up from 53% before the pandemic. One study after another shows deterioration in learning coupled with rising inequality. Dropout rates are on the rise.

Restoring the momentum behind school meal provision could change this picture. It would take about $5.8bn (4.8bn) a year to reach an additional 73 million children. This could protect children from hunger, restore learning, and support the budget of households living in extreme poverty. It would also represent value for money: every $1 invested would generate another $9 in benefits, according to one study. Yet major donors have shunned aid for school meals and the World Bank, the largest source of development finance, has no school meals strategy.

Which brings us back to the summit. Last month, the UN organised a preparatory jamboree bringing together dozens of governments, UN agencies, and NGOs to rethink and reimagine education, reflect on evidence and table solutions. What emerged was a stream of consciousness devoid of financing commitments and strategies for delivery. Margaret McMillan would have been turning in her grave.

There will be no transformation of education without a credible response to the hunger crisis. Children at the sharp end of that crisis dont need another talking shop. They need a properly financed plan of action to deliver what every parent reading this article would demand for their child a chance to learn in freedom from hunger.

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The UN wants to educate children it will succeed only if it feeds them first - The Guardian

Good Wednesday morning. Here are a couple of items on my mind.

Remember when everyone thought COVID-19 came from a Wuhan market? Thats so 2020. Oh, wait According to a new paper written by researchers at Scripps, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University and other top-tier institutions, that early theory was probably right all along.

Joe Bidens about as popular as a trash can fire in a prison cell. If recent favorability numbers arent convincing, maybe a much-too-early Primary poll will be. According to a recent University of New Hampshire poll, three-quarters of Granite State residents dont want him to run for re-election, and just 16% said the incumbent was their top pick for 2024 putting him behind Pete Buttigieg.

Democrats may control the levers of power in Washington, but that hasnt stopped red states from taking a hard turn to the right on social issues. CNNs Ronald Brownstein writes that conservative policy victories in GOP-led states have created a nation within a nation, and theyve hobbled the federal governments ability to respond.

The battle lines are forming for a potential some say inevitable Ron DeSantis versus Donald Trump bout in the Sunshine State. Top Florida Republicans are split on whom to support, with some ready to replace the geriatric Trump with a fresh face and others hoping DeSantis remembers that when you play the game of thrones, you either win or become Scott Walker.

If you thought MAGA die-hards would give up on the election fraud narrative, think again. Some conservative activists arent worried about convincing the average American the election was stolen because theyre too busy recruiting county Sheriffs to their side. Theyve already convinced Michigan, Kansas, and Wisconsin sheriffs to launch investigations.

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The Florida Chamber of Commerce has promoted Carolyn Johnson to vice president of Government Affairs.

In her new role, Johnson will manage the development and strategic implementation of the Florida Chambers annual legislative agenda the Florida Business Agenda and lead the Florida Chambers team of lobbyists.

She will also oversee the continued growth of many strategic initiatives led by the Florida Chambers Government Affairs department, including Autonomous Florida, the Consumer Protection Coalition, the Florida Chamber Litigation & Regulatory Reform Center, Florida Wins, the Florida Chamber Healthcare Partnership, the Florida Chamber Infrastructure Coalition and the Florida Chamber Small Business Council.

Carolyn is known by policymakers and business leaders for her deep policy expertise, tenacity on behalf of our members, and unwavering commitment to free enterprise. I am certain in her new role, she will continue to be a strong advocate for Floridas business community in the Capitol and around the state as we seek to grow and diversify our economy, said Florida Chamber Executive Vice President of Government and Political Relations Frank Walker.

Johnson has been a part of the Florida Chamber team for the past nine Legislative Sessions. Before joining the Florida Chamber, she spent half a dozen years working as legislative staff and on statewide political campaigns.

Its been an honor to work with the Florida Chamber these past nine years, and I am thrilled to continue my service representing Floridas business community in this new capacity, Johnson said. I look forward to working with the Florida Chamber Board of Directors, members, the Chamber team, and lawmakers as we advocate for the right policies to grow Florida into the 10th largest economy in the world.

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Americans for Prosperity-Florida announced this week that its promoting Chris Stranburg and Danny Martinez.

Stranburg will become Legislative Affairs Director and serve as AFP-FLs primary contact for lawmakers, state legislative staff, state agency communications, and local policy issues.

Martinez has been bumped up to the director of External Affairs. In the new role, he will be the top contact for the organizations political intel and strategy and help maintain relationships with coalition partners.

Chris and Danny have played an integral part of the AFP-FL policy team for many years, said state director Skylar Zander. Their new roles will help ensure that our organization can continue to push for state policies that will help Floridians flourish and prosper. We are excited for their advancement and continued contributions toward success.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

@POTUS: Leaders like Governor DeSantis, Senator Marco Rubio, and Senator Rick Scott are all opposed to banning assault weapons. And to me, its simple. If you cant support banning weapons of war on Americas streets, youre not on the side of police.

@MarcoRubio: I am asking for your prayers that @potus will come to Florida to campaign against me

@HillaryClinton: Many of the same Republicans who just voted against protecting birth control and celebrated when Roe was overturned also oppose paid family leave and efforts to make childcare affordable. This is not about supporting families its about dragging women back in time.

Tweet, tweet:

@KevinCate: Its exhausting reading about the same very few congresspeople who troll for attention and get it nonstop on this website. You dont have to react to every single crap post or purposefully offensive soundbite they spew.

@Fineout: Always find it fascinating to read about veto Sessions held by other state legislatures where they schedule a time to consider veto overrides. Recollection is that only successful veto override in past 2 decades in FL was in 2010 when @CharlieCrist was about to leave office

@Scott_Maxwell: The Capitolist had screeds against the @MiamiHerald and @MaryEllenKlas. I even found one against me and @Carl_Hiaasen. The reality: Few regular Floridians see this stuff. Its like a slam book for aggrieved and deep-pocketed insiders the Mean Girls of Florida politics.

@Alex_Patton: I used to joke I thought the Capitolist was a wholly owned subsidiary of FPL & utilities turns out its funny because it is true.

DAYS UNTIL

Beyonc rolls-out seventh solo studio album Renaissance 2; MLB trade deadline 5; The 10-day Florida Python Challenge kicks off 9; Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner novel Heat 2 publishes 13; Early voting begins for Primaries 17; FBHAs annual conference, BHCon2022, begins 21; FRLAs Operations and Marketing Summit 22; House of the Dragon premieres on HBO 25; 2022 Florida Primary 26; launch window opens for NASA to launch the Artemis I 33; 2022 Florida Chamber Technology & Innovation Solution Summit 35; Andor premieres on Disney+ 35; The Lord of the Rings premieres on Amazon Prime 37; NFL Opening Night: LA Rams vs. Buffalo Bills 43; 2022 Emmys 47; JMIs 2022 Tech & Innovation Summit begins 50; Vote-by-mail mailing deadline for General Election 71; Deadline to register for General Election 75; 22-23 NHL season begins 76; Cormac McCarthys The Passenger releases 90; Jon Meachams And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle releases 90; Florida Chamber Annual Meeting & Future of Florida Forum 91; Early voting begins for General Election 94; 2022 General Election 104; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres 107; Captain Marvel 2 premieres 109; FITCon 2022 begins 113; The Flash premieres 113; The World Cup kicks off in Qatar 117; The U.S. World Cup Soccer Team begins play 117; McCarthys Stella Maris releases 118; Florida TaxWatchs Annual Meeting begins 126; Willow premieres on Disney+ 126; Avatar 2 premieres 142; Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania premieres 205; 2023 Legislative Session convenes 223; John Wick: Chapter 4 premieres 240; 2023 Session Sine Die 282; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres 282; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse premieres 310; Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer premieres 359; Blade reboot premieres 464; Dune: Part Two premieres 478; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part 2 premieres 611; Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games 730; Thunderbolts premieres 730; Fantastic Four reboot premieres 835; Avengers: The Kang Dynasty premieres 1,010.

TOP STORY

Migration to continue driving Floridas growth as deaths outpace births, economists project via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics Floridas growth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been driven by migration from other states, overcoming deflated immigration from overseas and the states negative natural growth the difference between total births and deaths.

State economists expect that trend to continue in the coming years. The projections were increased by nearly 4,000 people per year over the previous estimate, made in December.

Overall, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research projects the population to grow by 352,301 in 2022, to 22,251,246 people, or 3,795 more than the December estimate. Thats a 1.61% growth rate.

But while the state is still expected to grow over the next five years, the rate is expected to decline. In 2023, economists predict a 1.47% increase, projected to slow to 1.16% by 2027.

Natural increase is expected to remain negative throughout the forecast horizon as deaths continue to outpace births, the economists summary states. Overall, the forecast maintains the pattern that the (estimating) conference has long been expecting, with growth slowing modestly each year.

The states negative natural growth rate is partly the reason for the slower growth. The state had 7,540 more deaths than births in the 2020 fiscal year, the first time Florida had a negative natural growth rate since at least 1950. In 2021 that grew to 42,690 more deaths than births before falling to 28,231 in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

2022

Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis jockey for position ahead of potential 2024 showdown via Alex Leary of The Wall Street Journal The current front-runners for the Republican Presidential nod are both in Florida. Whether Palm Beach or Tallahassee is more likely to produce the eventual winner might depend on if GOP voters here and around the country want an encore from the partys most dominant voice or prefer to hand the stage to its fast-climbing star. Trump is very likely to run again in 2024, aides say, and he has said publicly that he is weighing whether he should announce before or after this Novembers midterm elections. DeSantis has developed his own devout following and is one of the few potential 2024 contenders who hasnt said he would defer to Trump, though several other high-profile candidates could end up challenging one or both men.

What makes DeSantis scarier than Trump via The Daily Beast Is DeSantis going to run for President in 2024? If he is, New Abnormal co-hosts Andy Levy and Molly Jong-Fast think hell be a scarier candidate than Trump. They point to a recent lackluster speech the former President gave during an event run by conservative student activist organization Turning Point USA. DeSantis wont get up there and say, Were gonna punish transgender children. What hell do is get up there and say, We believe in parents rights, and hell couch it in various ways because hes smarter than Trump in that way.

Charlie Crist: DeSantis is Floridas worst property insurance Governor via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics U.S. Rep. Crist says DeSantis is in the pocket of the property insurance industry and is ignoring a looming market meltdown. The Democratic candidate for Governor called on DeSantis to allow any homeowner that loses coverage and cant find alternative coverage to be eligible for the states last-resort property insurance agency, Citizens, at the same rate for the next 12 months. With the trickle of insurers beginning to go insolvent and a large batch of policy writers looking at a downgrade, potentially 1 million Floridians could lose their property insurance at the height of hurricane season. Ron DeSantis has been the worst governor in Florida history on property insurance, Crist said in a statement on Tuesday.

Crist, Nikki Fried drop more cash on TV ads Crists campaign added $66,374 to its current broadcast flight, splitting the money across seven of the states 10 media markets. According to AdImpact, the recent flight is backed by $470,669 and includes Orlando, Tampa, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Ft. Myers media markets. Meanwhile, Frieds campaign has thrown another $116,990 into its flight scheduled to run Aug. 15-22. The expansion comes a few days after her campaign reserved $624,220 in ad time for the final week of the Primary race. The additional money will air ads in the Tampa and Orlando markets.

Fried asks DeSantis to stand up to Nazi ideology via Diane Rado of Florida Phoenix Fried asked DeSantis to condemn the weekends hateful demonstrations in Tampa, saying in a letter that given the level of criticism you have directed at me over policy differences, it is deeply concerning that you cannot muster even a tweet against a group that glorifies genocide while using your name. She was referencing a flag emblazoned with DeSantis Country and an image of you. Also, the demonstration, held outside the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, included Nazi flags, swastika posters, and other antisemitic images, in addition to racial slurs directed at counter-protestors, Fried, who is Jewish, wrote to DeSantis.

Why wont DeSantis denounce his neo-Nazi supporters? via Kat Bouza of Rolling Stone Florida politicians and local Jewish leaders are demanding DeSantis condemn a group of neo-Nazis who congregated outside a Tampa convention center over the weekend, passing out antisemitic propaganda and displaying swastikas alongside flags that read DeSantis Country.

Democratic Disability Caucus backs Crist The Democratic Disability Caucus of Florida has endorsed Crist in the Governor race. The caucus endorsement dropped on the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and follows the Crist campaigns recent announcement of its Accessibility for All platform aimed at providing better care to Floridians with disabilities. In a state with over 3 million individuals with disabilities and an equal number of caregivers, we need a governor who acknowledges there is no diversity, equality or inclusion without disability, said caucus president Karen Clay. Charlie Crist will be that Governor.

Worm farmer battles egg farmer in GOP Agriculture Commissioner race via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel

2022: CONG

Lincoln Project exposes Matt Gaetzs secret in new Panhandle TV ad buy via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics The new buy leads off with a comment Gaetz made during the Turning Point Action Summit: That the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions. Matt Gaetz is one of the biggest tools in Congress and a standout among the weirdest and most ridiculous members of the MAGA mutant parade, said Rick Wilson, The Lincoln Project co-founder. As we say in the South, that boy wasnt raised right. As expected, the balance of the ad twists the knife into Gaetz with a tribute to Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where the ad uses the sitcoms incidental music and its penchant for title tags. This episode is called Matt has a secret.

To watch the ad, click on the image below:

Gaetz accuses Mark Lombardo of being funded by The Lincoln Project in response to ad via Aimee Sachs of Florida Politics

4 Republicans aim to take on Darren Soto in Congressional District 9 via Ryan Gillespie of the Orlando Sentinel

Veterans initiative will fight to elect Laurel Lee in CD 15 via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics A group of veterans will go to battle for Lee in Floridas 15th Congressional District. Retired Air Force Gen. Frank Moore, Lees father, will lead the charge. If anyone knows Laurels heart and dedication to her country, I do, said Moore, head of Veterans for Laurel. Shes a born leader who is fully prepared to represent the people in District 15 and to serve us well in Congress. I know shell fight to make sure the voices of our service members and veterans are heard and heeded. Moore retired as a two-star general in the U.S. Air Force. He and the Lee campaign worked over two weeks to enlist more than 50 veterans to the cause.

Carlos Gimnez dominates CD 28 fundraising field with $217K raised in Q2 via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics U.S. Rep. Gimnez left his challengers for Floridas 28th Congressional District in the dust last quarter when he added $217,000 to his already sizable war chest through a blend of corporate, organizational and individual donations. He also spent $142,000, the majority of which covered consulting costs. By June 30, he had about $1.3 million remaining of the $1.8 million hes raised this cycle. Roughly 100 people gave to Gimnez in Q2. Several chipped in $5,800, the upper limit of what candidates can accept from individual donors, equal to $2,900 each for the Primary and General Elections.

Epilogue Anika Omphroy fined $2K for reckless 2020 campaign reporting issues via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics Rep. Omphroy is aspiring for higher office with a run for Congress, but a state Elections Commission order is fining her for unfinished business from her last Statehouse election. The two-term state Representative paid a $10,440 fee to run for Congress in Floridas 20th Congressional District on June 15. But an order filed June 8 says she owes the Florida Elections Commission $2,000 for her reckless disregard for election reporting requirements for her 2020 election to represent what was then House District 95 in central Broward County. And that might not be the worst of it. A Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office spokesperson said theres still an open investigation into Omphroys 2020 campaign finances.

MORE 2022

Democratic women resort to personal attacks during Florida Senate campaign Ian Margol of WPLG The heated race for Florida Senate District 35 is getting nasty. Two Democratic women who agree on most issues are resorting to personal attacks as they campaign for votes in Broward County. State Sen. Lauren Book, the minority leader, and former Broward Mayor Barbara Sharief have both released ads assassinating each others character. In the latest attack ad, Sharief shows an old video of Books 2009 appearance on the show Platinum Wedding, alleging her celebration cost more than $1 million. The ad also accuses Book and her husband of paying themselves about $350,000 from their nonprofit. Meanwhile, Book released an ad accusing Sharief of defrauding Medicaid twice. Nearly 10 years ago, the state found her home health care company overbilled Medicaid by hundreds of thousands of dollars two times. She ended up settling and paying nearly $700,000.

DeSantis endorses Kiyan Michael for HD 16 DeSantis is endorsing Republican candidate Michael in the race for House District 16. Kiyan Michael is an Angel Mom, military spouse & lifelong Jacksonville resident, DeSantis said on Twitter. Kiyan has stood with me in the fight against illegal immigration and will be a leader in the Florida House as we fight Bidens open border policies. I am proud to endorse her candidacy for HD 16. Michael is running against former Rep. Lake Ray and Chet Stokes in the GOP Primary, and DeSantis endorsement could potentially erase their lead both had more than $200,000 on hand as of July 15, while Michael had less than $20,000.

House candidate Chet Stokes has active arrest warrant via Ben Becker of Action News Jax With four weeks until Floridas Primary Elections, Action News Jax investigated a local politicians background and found some questionable claims. Jacksonville Beach City Council member Stokes is running to represent the Beaches and parts of Duval County in the Florida House. Hell defend the Constitution, said a Stokes commercial that adds he will never compromise our shared values. But we have a few questions about those shared values.

NFIB endorses Robert Brackett for HD 34 The National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed Bracketts bid for the Republican nomination in House District 34. Brackett said he was honored to have the endorsement. We need to keep our small, independent businesses strong, and that is why, as state Representative, I will fight for policies that will boost our economy and give Florida business owners the support they need to thrive, he said. Brackett faces Karen Hiltz in the Republican Primary. Democrat Karen Greb is also running for the seat, which is open due to incumbent Rep. Erin Grall opting to run for Senate rather than seek re-election.

Ford OConnell spends big, but Tiffany Esposito holds cash edge heading into August via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics OConnell spent more than double the amount spent by Primary opponent Esposito in the open state House District 77 race. But the bulk of his expenditures has come out of pocket. The Fox Business personality, through July 15, dropped $115,395 on the race, most of that with Virginia-based The Lukens Company. After spending $63,182 with the company in June on media and advertising expenditures, OConnell spent another $28,552 in the first half of July. Along the way, the Trump White House surrogate picked up the endorsement of Florida Family Action and of members of the Trump administration, including David Bossie and Tom Homan.

More than 25,000 Broward mail ballots are late getting sent to voters via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Some 25,000 mail ballots for the August primaries and nonpartisan elections in Broward County are late and havent yet gone in the mail. Theyve been intentionally held back, Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott said Tuesday, to ensure accuracy of addresses and ensure people dont receive the wrong ballots.

STATEWIDE

>>>Gov. DeSantiswill hold a press conference at Harpoon Harrys Crab House in Tampa.9:15 a.m.

Ron DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw makes sure reporters feel the burn via Paul Farhi of The Washington Post When Florida Republicans held their annual conference last week, party leaders decided to bar a large swath of the press corps from the event. While the hosts declined to discuss their reasoning, one unelected official applauded it. My message to [journalists] is to try crying about it, tweeted Christina Pushaw, whose job as spokeswoman for Gov. DeSantis is to communicate with reporters. Then go to kickboxing and have a margarita. The derisive tone was typical of Pushaw, 31, a state employee who earns $120,000 a year.

Ray Rodrigues first to apply for state university chancellor Republican Sen. Rodrigues, who is not running for re-election, was one of the first applicants to become the next state university system chancellor, Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida reports. Rodrigues is the only applicant from Florida. Other candidates seeking the job are John Martin, a former dean at Dallas College, University of Delhi chemistry professor Ramesh Chandra and Charalabos Haris Doumanidis, the Marie Curie Chair of Excellence and deputy provost at the University College Dublin in Ireland. The search committee for the position will meet on Aug. 17 to discuss the applications to succeed exiting Chancellor Marshall Criser.

Dept of Ed. to require schools to tell parents if overnight field trip stays are separated by biological sex via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics The Florida Department of Education is moving forward with a new regulation requiring school districts to adopt policies requiring parents to be notified about lodging details on overnight field trips. Specifically, whether room assignments for overnight lodging will be separated by biological sex at birth. The department published a proposed rule Monday that would install the requirement in field trip parental notification forms, along with other details, such as the nature of the field trip, the dates and times, specific locations and types of establishments to be visited, modes of transportation and method of student supervision provided, such as anticipated number of chaperones.

Lawsuit charges parental rights measure violates federal laws via Scott Powers of Florida Politics A federal lawsuit filed in Orlando is seeking to stop the implementation of House Bill 1557, the Parental Rights in Education measure that critics dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. The suit was filed by families of public-school children in Orange County and Indian River County, an openly gay Orange County high school student, and a coalition of LBTTQ+ community centers. The plaintiffs seek to have the law tossed for violating freedom of speech, depriving due process for families of gay children, and depriving equal justice under federal law.

States effort to find a new SunPass vendor crashes again. Company lacked experience via Lawrence Mower of the Miami Herald When DeSantis Department of Transportation asked companies last year to bid on a multimillion-dollar contract to take over call centers for its SunPass tolling facilities, the agency had a key requirement: Bidders had to have at least 10 years of experience doing similar work. But the department later chose a company that hadnt been in existence for even five years. In the latest questionable award for the state, a Tallahassee judge last week rejected the agencys decision to give a potential $157 million contract to Emovis US, the winning bidder on a seven-year contract to take over tolling operations for the states turnpike authority.

Happening today The Florida Gaming Control Commission meets, 9:30 a.m., Cabinet Meeting Room.

Dark power: How FPL, other utilities neutralize opponents, grow profits via the Orlando Sentinel The CEO of the biggest power company in the U.S. had a problem. A Democratic state Senator was proposing a law that could cut into Florida Power & Lights profits. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants bypassing FPL and their monopoly on electricity. I want you to make his life a living hell.seriously, FPLs CEO Eric Silagy wrote in a 2019 email to two of his vice presidents about Sen. Jos Javier Rodrguez, who proposed the legislation.

Electricity rates in Florida are about to go up again via Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents FPL, Duke Energy and Tampa Electric all got new deals approved last year, allowing them to raise the prices they charge homeowners, small businesses and other customers. The first round of rate hikes in these new deals went into effect at the start of this year. But each of these deals also included a little-discussed provision that allows them to raise rates even further if interest rates rise beyond a certain point. Not long after these deals were approved, the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to suppress inflation. So, FPL, TECO and Duke have already reached the trigger point. Under the terms of their deals, both TECO and Duke can ask the PSC to increase their ROEs by one-quarter of one percentage point.

D.C. MATTERS

Why Democrats Midterm chances dont hinge on Joe Bidens approval rating via Nathaniel Rakich and Humera Lodhi of FiveThirtyEight On one hand, Biden is historically unpopular. On the other, generic-congressional-ballot polls are pretty close. As of the same date and time, Republicans had an average lead of 1 point. Those two numbers feel difficult to reconcile. Bidens approval rating suggests that the national mood is extremely poor for Democrats, while the generic-ballot polling suggests that the political environment is only slightly Republican-leaning. But, in reality, these two types of polls arent in opposition as much as you might think. Theyre separate metrics, and a look back at past Midterm Elections shows they dont always line up. But history also shows that when they diverge, one is more predictive than the other.

Biden considers new pause on paying back student loans, $10,000 relief via Nancy Cook of Bloomberg Biden is considering extending a pause on student loan repayments for several more months, as well as forgiving $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower, according to people familiar with the matter, as he seeks to appeal to young voters ahead of the November midterms. The current moratorium on student loan payments expires Aug. 31, and a fresh pause could extend either through the end of 2022 or until next summer, the people said. Biden told reporters last week that he hoped to decide on an extension by the end of August.

Jill Bidens press secretary leaving White House via Kate Bennett of CNN Michael LaRosa, the Press Secretary for First Lady Dr. Biden, is departing the White House, a White House official told CNN. LaRosa began serving as Bidens spokesperson in 2019 during the presidential campaign and was appointed Press Secretary in January 2021. In September, he was given the added title of special assistant to the President. For nearly three years, from the campaign to the White House, Michael has brought an encyclopedic knowledge of politics and media to my team as my spokesperson and adviser, the First Lady told CNN.

Republicans Senate campaign boss just admitted his candidates have a money problem via Chris Cillizza of CNN Scott is in charge of winning back the Senate majority for Republicans this November. And hes worried. Look, we have great candidates; we have every reason to believe we can win, the Florida Senator said in a speech at the America First Policy Institute summit on Monday. The issue weve got is weve got to raise money. Scott, who runs the Senate Republicans campaign arm, points to the vast fundraising deficit that some top-tier Republican candidates face less than four months before the Midterm Elections. Scotts move is strategic. He is hoping to wake up Republican donors to the fact that they are facing a serious deficit in the money fight at the moment.

Pick people you would hire: Rick Scott likens down-ballot races to job interviews via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics Scott is urging voters to see themselves as the ultimate hiring manager when selecting candidates. How many people in the House or the Senate would you hire to work at your business? If you wouldnt hire them, then why are you voting for them? Its as simple as that, Scott said. Lets start electing people we would hire, Scott continued. Because guess what? Were giving them a lot of power over our lives. Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair for the 2022 cycle, extended his analysis from federal races to down-ballot battles on the local level.

The inside story of how John Roberts failed to save abortion rights via Joan Biskupic of CNN Roberts privately lobbied fellow conservatives to save the constitutional right to abortion down to the bitter end, but Mays unprecedented leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made the effort all but impossible, multiple sources familiar with negotiations told CNN. It appears unlikely that Roberts best prospect, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was ever close to switching his earlier vote, despite Roberts attempts that continued through the final weeks of the session. New details obtained by CNN provide insight into the high-stakes internal abortion-rights drama that intensified in late April when justices first learned the draft opinion would soon be published.

19-year-old turns Matt Gaetz insult into $115K abortion rights fundraiser via Andrew Jeong of The Washington Post Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old abortion rights advocate, wrote Rep. Gaetz a tongue-in-cheek thank-you note on the platform. Dear Matt, Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me, she wrote after his tweet about her spurred a load of harassment as well as a flood of donations to her reproductive rights advocacy organization. In just about a day, shes helped raise approximately $115,000 for the nonprofit Gen Z for Change. Gaetz had mocked abortion rights activists, calling them disgusting and overweight.

JAN. 6

Biden slams Trump for watching Jan. 6 riot as police faced medieval hell via Amy B Wang of The Washington Post Biden made rare comments Monday about testimony presented by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, sharply criticizing Trump for his reported inaction as the attack on the Capitol unfolded. In a prime-time hearing Thursday, the committee showed evidence that Trump resisted multiple pleas from senior aides to call off the mob attacking the Capitol in his name, even as members of the security detail for Vice President Mike Pence feared for their lives. Committee members said that Trump largely spent his time during the attack watching television. Biden referred to this Monday in virtual remarks to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives conference.

Merrick Garland calls Justice Departments Jan. 6 probe the most wide-ranging investigation in its history via Ken Dilanian and Corky Siemaszko of NBC News The Justice Department plans to prosecute anyone who was criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another, Attorney General Garland said Tuesday, speaking more expansively than he has previously about a federal criminal investigation that appears to have moved far beyond the rioters who attacked the Capitol. Garland said that the televised hearings by the House Jan. 6 committee highlighted the truth of what happened and what a risk it meant for our democracy. And he acknowledged that Justice Department investigators learned things from the congressional testimony.

D.C. man is second to receive longest sentence in Jan. 6 police assault via Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post A District man who assaulted three police officers and shattered a riot shield with a pole was sentenced to 63 months in prison Tuesday, matching the longest sentence handed down to a defendant convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Mark K. Ponder admitted to fighting with police in video-recorded confrontations between 2:31 p.m. and 2:48 p.m. that day in the lower west terrace of the Capitol, which was overrun by a violent mob angered by Trumps false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Ponder pleaded guilty on April 22 to one count of assaulting an officer using a dangerous weapon.

Kind of wild/creative: Emails shed light on Trump fake electors plan via Maggie Haberman and Luke Broadwater of The New York Times Previously undisclosed emails provide an inside look at the increasingly desperate and often slapdash efforts by advisers to Trump to reverse his election defeat in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack, including acknowledgments that a critical element of their plan was of dubious legality and lived up to its billing as fake. The dozens of emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates of Trump show a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim, with no basis, to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost.

State bar investigates two Georgia Trump electors via David Wickert of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The State Bar of Georgia is investigating two Republican lawyers who served as fake presidential electors for Trump. The bar association notified Brad Carver of Atlanta and Daryl R. Moody of Alpharetta on July 15 that it has referred complaints against them to the State Disciplinary Board. The complaints were filed in March by a nonprofit legal watchdog that said the attorneys violated professional conduct rules by falsely swearing to be Georgias official presidential electors in documents submitted to state and federal officials. The U.S. Justice Department and the House Jan. 6 committee also are investigating their actions.

House Dems berate campaign arm over very dangerous GOP primary scheme via Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick of POLITICO House Democrats are seething at their own campaign arm for meddling in a GOP primary to promote a pro-Donald Trump election conspiracy theorist after months of warning such candidates were a threat to democracy. Democratic members are aghast the committee is spending nearly half a million dollars to air ads boosting Donald Trump-endorsed John Gibbs over Rep. Peter Meijer, a Michigan Republican, who voted to impeach Trump last year. No race is worth compromising your values in that way, said Rep. Stephanie Murphy,a Winter Park Democrat, who sits the Jan. 6 committee.

Jan. 6 defendant from Polk City wants new charge a felony dismissed via Gary White of The Ledger Joshua Doolin, a Polk City resident charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol Riot, is asking a judge to dismiss a recently added felony count and to limit testimony in his September trial. Allen H. Orenberg, Doolins lawyer wants U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols to remove the charge of obstructing, impeding or interfering with a law-enforcement officer, which was added in a new indictment filed July 13 against Doolin and four fellow defendants. Orenberg filed a second motion requesting the judge to block prosecutors from mentioning weapons, ammunition or body armor.

MORE LOCAL: S. FL

Parkland killer said he wanted rifle to go shooting with friends, former gun shop owner tells jury via Scott Travis and Rafael Olmeda of the Orlando Sentinel Just before the Parkland killer picked up his brand-new Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic rifle at a gun store in Sunrise, the seller asked him what he planned to do with it. I go shooting with my friends on the weekend, the young man replied. He was four months past his 18th birthday. The sale was legal and raised no suspicions. Nikolas Cruz paid $618.17 for the rifle. It was February 2017. A year later, he would use that rifle to kill 17 and injure 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez still supports cryptocurrency despite major drop in value via Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald Suarez is still publicly promoting cryptocurrency following a crash in the price of Bitcoin that has led digital currency enthusiasts to discuss how to weather the downturn. The Mayor told the Miami Herald he still wants to make Miami a crypto capital. He said he is still converting 100% of his city salary into Bitcoin, though he declined to discuss his current cryptocurrency holdings. Recently released financial disclosures show that as of the end of 2021, he held a cryptocurrency account with $10,761.49. Suarez also said he still wants to use his position as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors to sponsor a crypto compact that would promote digital currency and foster education about digital currency.

Most of Matt Willhites donations for Palm Beach Commission campaign are from firefighters. Is that a problem? via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics Browsing through the list of contributions to Wellington Rep. Willhites political committee, Floridians for Public Safety PC, a trend becomes clear that indicates his bid for the Palm Beach County Commission could enjoy less support than outwardly evident. Willhite raised roughly $585,000 since April when he filed to run to replace outgoing Palm Beach Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, who must leave office this year due to term limits. Of that haul, $479,500 came through his PC, and roughly 76% of that portion came from firefighters and firefighter groups, including $350,000 alone from the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County.

Inflation has pushed South Florida farmers to breaking point: Its pretty bleak via Ashley Dyer of CBS Miami Farmers in South Florida are hurting like everyone else when it comes to the rising costs of inflation. Does the consumer have enough money left over to pay a price for produce that will keep me sustainable? Thats the dilemma right now, said longtime farmer John Alger, the owner of Alger Farms. Alger Farms has been operating since the 1930s. Alger said itd been a struggle to break-even for the last 10 years, even before the pandemic, supply chain issues, and inflation. Now, he says farmers all over South Florida are reaching a breaking point. His three-generation farm, with fields of sweet corn and green beans, stretches for miles and supplies the entire east coast with its crops.

Florida Bulldog joins fight to unseal Everglades Foundation file via The Backstory Blog Another news outlet has joined the legal battle to fight the Everglades Foundations efforts to seal virtually all court records in its lawsuit against its former top scientist, Tom Van Lent. And surprise, surprise it aint a legacy newspaper. The Broward Bulldog, dba The Florida Bulldog, an independent, nonprofit watchdog news website, filed court papers on Friday to join efforts by another independent digital news outlet, The Capitolist, to unseal records in the Foundations lawsuit. The Bulldogs two-page motion to intervene was filed by The Capitolists attorney Edward Birk, a former editor and reporter for The Associated Press who sits on the board of the First Amendment Foundation.

Stunning drone video shows lemon sharks, stingrays swimming near shore off Jupiter Island via Jennifer Sangalang of Treasure Coast Newspapers They say a pictures worth a thousand words. What words would you use if you saw video of lemon sharks swimming close to shore? Florida photographer Paul Dabill told Storyful that he often sees sharks when he films in the Jupiter Island area, but the water being particularly calm and clear helped produce stunning results on a recent drone video. In a video posted online, coincidentally during Shark Week 2022, Dabills drone footage shows several lemon sharks swimming off the coast with a beachgoer or two nearby. The video also shows the sharks swimming near stingrays.

More here:

Sunburn The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics 7.27.22 - Florida Politics

I am pleased to share with readers a post that Christine Tang and I wrote for Globalsource Partners (globalsourcepartners.com) subscribers on the Philippines fiscal outlook. We are their Philippine Advisers.

Last Friday, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), an inter-agency body made up of the departments of budget, finance, planning and the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), presented the new administrations fiscal program for 2022 to 2028. The medium-term program hinges on the economy sustaining its growth clip at 6.5% to 8% starting 2023 and inflation returning to the BSPs 2% to 4% target starting 2024.

Given nominal GDP growth of 9% to 10%, the fiscal program aims to reduce the overall national government (NG) budget deficit, which reached 8.6% of GDP last year, by 1 ppt every year until it falls to 3% of GDP, the pre-pandemic deficit target. With this performance, it expects the NG debt ratio, which is anticipated to creep up to 61.8% of GDP this year, to gradually drop to 52.5% of GDP by the end of the administration.

The reduction in the deficit and debt ratios to GDP will be done through a combination of raising revenues and cutting expenditures relative to GDP. The revenue effort is programmed to rise from 15.5% last year to 17.6% by 2028 or an increase of 2.1 ppt, while spending as a share of GDP is programmed to fall from 24.1% last year to 20.6% in 2028, equivalent to a decrease of 3.5 ppt. Despite the reduction in expenditures, government intends to keep infrastructure spending at 5% to 6% of GDP.

OUR VIEWAs far as the numerical targets are concerned, the latest medium-term fiscal program is basically an extension of the last one, crucial mainly in terms of signaling to markets that the new administration is committed to pursuing fiscal consolidation. The 2028 target for the debt ratio, i.e., 52.5% of GDP, is certainly more realistic and supportive of post-pandemic recovery needs, than a promise of quickly paring it to the pre-pandemic ratio of 39.6%.

We are looking forward to the nuts and bolts of the fiscal program, particularly:

1. New economic growth drivers that will keep the medium-term GDP growth rate at 6.5% to 8%, an ambitious target for the post-pandemic period especially with the lingering effects of the pandemic, the many external headwinds (end of cheap credit, elevated commodity prices, slowing global economic growth) and governments more limited macro policy space (both fiscal and monetary) to support domestic consumption and investments.

We note that the 6% growth target for goods exports is itself unaspiring, especially in light of the new laws liberalizing foreign investments.

2. Sources of new revenues that will keep revenue growth above nominal GDP growth from 2023 onwards. The Finance secretary said recently that the economic team will pursue the remaining tax packages of the Duterte administration, dealing with property valuation and financial sector taxation which, while revenue neutral, will make the tax system more efficient. He is also in favor of imposing taxes on digital transactions but did not specify expected revenue inflows.

3. Expenditure reforms that will create space for continuing social protection programs, especially in health and education, and maintaining infrastructure spending at 5-6% of GDP, even as government pared its overall spending as a share of GDP. The budget for military pension liabilities alone is expected to take up about 1% of GDP annually during the term of this administration.

We await the Presidents State of the Nation Address later this month where he is expected to present his administrations economic program.

End.

POSTSCRIPT:Although we expect GDP growth this year to reach 6.8% (driven by base effects and election spending), we think the governments 6.5% to 8% growth target through 2028 is rather ambitious.

My own gut feel is medium-term growth potential is now much lower, closer to 4-5%, the long-term Philippine growth rate rather than the 6-7% of the past decade pre-pandemic. As mentioned in our post, this is because of the drag from scarring from the pandemic (closed businesses, education, and labor mismatches) and considering the end of decade long credit cycle (cheap credit), elevated inflation everywhere affecting consumption and investments, global economic slowdown, even risk of recession, and governments more restricted fiscal space.

But I would like this government to prove me wrong. The way I think it can do this is if it can quickly earn investors trust to attract more FDIs, especially job creating ones, and revive PPP (public-private partnerships) as a way of sustaining infrastructure investments, including digital ones. Moving us towards more investment rather than consumption driven growth.

On PPP, there are immediate to dos:

1) Signal respect for sanctity of contracts and the rule of law by complying soonest with the terms of the MWSS concession agreements and the international arbitration ruling. (See the column of National Scientist and UP Economics Professor Raul Fabella https://bit.ly/Fabella060622).

2) Scrap the midnight revisions on IRR (implementing rules and regulations) on build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects and PPPs. The flawed revisions include overly restrictive MAGA coverage (material adverse government action), and removal of provisions on parametric formula for rate setting, and on international dispute settlement. (Please see the Op Ed that summarizes the specific concerns of the Foundation for Economic Freedom and the Makati Business Club https://bit.ly/BOT_amendments ).

Romeo L. Bernardo was finance undersecretary from 1990-96. He is a trustee/director of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, Management Association of the Philippines, and FINEX Foundation. He is Philippines principal adviser to Globalsource Partners

globalsourcepartners.com

romeo.lopez.bernardo@gmail.com

Read the rest here:

A first look at the medium-term fiscal program - BusinessWorld Online

BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, others respond to boycott notices from West Virginia State Treasurer

Six financial institutions that West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore contacted over their alleged boycotting of the fossil fuel industry have replied, denying the accusations while laying the groundwork for what could be a protracted legal battle.

The Epoch Times obtained the letters through a West Virginia Freedom of Information Act request.

Moore sent letters to BlackRock, JP Morgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley on June 10.

That was in line with a new West Virginia law that limits the states ability to do business with financial institutions believed to be boycotting energy companies with ties to coal, oil, or natural gas production.

The companies had to respond to the letters within 30 days of receiving them to avoid being placed on a list of restricted financial institutions, which would have been published 45 days after Moores office sent them.

The West Virginia State Treasurers Office still intends to publish a list of restricted financial institutions.

Coal, natural gas, and oil are important sources of revenue for the Appalachian state, including through what are known as severance taxes.

In Fiscal Year 2022, the state collected almost $800 million in such taxes, well above the nearly $300 million collected during the previous fiscal year.

In addition to providing direct tax revenue, the fossil fuel industry is a significant driver of the states overall prosperity.

A West Virginia University research report found that coal power and coal mining were collectively responsible for roughly $13.9 billion in economic activity in West Virginia during 2019.

Unsurprisingly, one of the few national-level Democrats who defends fossil fuels is West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

On July 14, Manchin made it apparent he would not back President Joe Bidens efforts to finance additional climate and energy programs.

The move prompted one University of California, Santa Barbara political science professor to write on Twitter that she was holding [her] children and sobbing.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and other Democrats have since taken aim at Manchins chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Treasurer Moore, a Republican, thinks Democratic rhetoric and policies targeting the fossil fuel industry have helped shift voters in West Virginia, a state long dominated by Democrats, toward the GOP.

We have union members voting for us in large numbers now, which was not the case previously, Moore told The Epoch Times during a July 18 interview

The banks and financial institutions that received letters have argued that their various policies on fossil fuel financing do not qualify as boycotts, claiming that they are covered by the reasonable business purpose exemption in West Virginias new law.

The Companys reasonable business purpose for any determination not to proceed with a transaction includes assessment of both commercial viability and risk management for the Company and its clients, Goldman Sachs letter stated.

It then added that it tells firms in the energy sector a diversification strategy tends to make companies much more successful in obtaining financing.

That is the basis for the note in the Companys Environmental Policy Framework, available on its public website, about the phasing out, over time, of financing of thermal coal mining companies that do not have a diversification strategy within a reasonable timeframe.

Goldman Sachs letter also stated that it does not back energy firms if their financing supports new thermal coal mines, mountaintop removal mining, new coal plants that lack carbon capture or equivalent technologies, and new upstream oil drilling in the Arctic.

Similarly, Wells Fargo asserted that its limitations on the financing of coal, its additional levels of due diligence to companies in the oil and gas and mining industries, and its unwillingness to fund oil drilling in the Arctic reflect a reasonable business purposenamely, risk management.

Morgan Stanley explicitly argued that its risk management strategy encompasses the risks of climate change to our reputation and client relations.

In itsown Environmental and Social Policy Statement, it pledges not to finance new coal plants without carbon capture or similar technologies and not to finance new thermal coal mining.

By 2030, we will phase out our remaining credit exposure to companies with greater than 20% of revenue from thermal coal mining globally, it additionally states.

JP Morgan Chase made a very similar argument in its letter to the West Virginia State Treasurers Office.

Like Wells Fargo and other firms that responded to Moores letters, they said they already provide significant financing to the energy industry, countering the argument that they are boycotting it.

Yet, the language in West Virginias law refers not merely to full de-banking, but more broadly to any action intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or limit commercial relations with a company involved in fossil fuels or doing business with a fossil fuel company.

This includes actions on some firm because it does not commit or pledge to meet environmental standards beyond applicable federal and state law.

Wells Fargo, for its part, pointed out that it recommended against a resolution at its 2022 shareholder meeting that would have seen it adopt a boycott-like policy prohibiting lending to or underwriting new fossil fuel development. That resolution failed to pass.

William J. Carney, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law Emeritus at Emory Law School, did not find the financial institutions arguments convincing.

In a July 15 email interview with The Epoch Times, he noted that some of the banks and financial institutions claim environmental risks, which involves either the risk of government regulations or a risk of reduced demand for their products.

Rising oil prices put the lie to the price risk, as does President Bidens trip to Saudi Arabia to beg for more output, he said.

Government regulation is dependent on politics, which currently suggests a consumer revolt against anti-energy policies, he added.

Carney strongly disagrees with the overall push for debanking oil, coal, and natural gas companies.

Obviously it is suicide for local banks to boycott fossil fuel companies in West Virginia.The entire anti-carbon fuel movement is predicated on a false assumption: that global warming is caused by the use of fossil fuels, he said.

[Boards] that act on this assumption have not engaged in a reasonable inquiry, and thus should not be protected by the Business Judgment Rule.

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Financial Giants Reject West Virginia's Claims That They're Boycotting Fossil Fuels - The Epoch Times

Residents of five Waldo County towns will be asked to vote in July and August on a proposal to create a fiber broadband connection for every home.

Frustrated by slow and expensive internet service, residents of each of the towns formed a committee that has worked for over two years to develop a better approach with the goal of providing equitable access to a fiber-optic broadband network with fast upload speeds, providing a minimum of 100 HMbit/sec symmetric service.

Resident responses to surveys indicated a need for faster internet for education, telehealth, employment, business and entertainment. The Southwestern Broadband Coalition board of directors reviewed an analysis of currently underserved areas and completed a feasibility study of providing fast fiber-optic access to every home in Freedom, Palermo, Montville, Liberty and Searsmont.

After extensive research, the SWCBC board determined that the most economical and efficient solution was to create a municipal utility, owned by the towns, that would provide open access to internet services and operate at no cost to taxpayers.

The towns now seek input from residents on the proposal. Other underserved town groups, like Downeast Broadband, have done this with great success, providing much lower-cost internet and telephone service as a choice for (residents), according to a press release July 18 from SWCBC.

By providing a range of choices for internet service, residents will not be limited to just one internet provider and, instead of being dictated by one or few providers that offer low-speed and spotty service in most of the towns, residents could select what internet service best meets their needs and budget.

Informational sessions are being offered in each town to provide residents with results of the SWCBC research and fiscal plans for the proposed Interlocal Agreement. A second meeting will then be held in each town to vote on the proposed nonprofit municipal utility, according to the press release.

If approved as a nonprofit municipal utility, owned by the five towns, the utility district will engage with an Internet Service Provider to run fiber-optic lines to every home, business and public building in the towns.

A copy of the Waldo Broadband Coalition Interlocal Agreement document is available in each town office. A positive vote will be a step forward to getting a choice of services among providers, the press release said. Children will have a better education using the internet, the rest of us will be able to work from home and access telehealth services, the release said.

More information is available at swwaldobroadband.org.

Following is the schedule of public informational meetings and voting by town:

Searsmont: Meet Wednesday, July 20, 7 p.m.; vote Wednesday, July 27, 7 p.m. at Searsmont Community Room.

Freedom: Meet Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m.; vote Thursday, July 28, 6 p.m. at Freedom Town Office Annex.

Palermo: Meet Tuesday, July 19, 6 p.m.; vote Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m. at Palermo Library.

Liberty: Meet Wednesday, July 20, 6:30 p.m.; vote Thursday, July 28, 6:30 p.m. at Liberty Community Hall.

Montville: Meet Tuesday, Aug. 2, 6:30 p.m., or Wednesday, Aug. 17, 6:30 p.m.; vote Tuesday, Aug. 23, 6:30 p.m. at Montville Town House.

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Five Waldo County towns ready to vote on broadband - Republican Journal

New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the Indian Navy spent over 64 per cent of its capital budget in domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to increase to 70 per cent in the current financial year.

Addressing the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar Swavlamban here, Singh laid thrust on innovation, indigenisation and partnerships between the Armed Forces, Industry, research establishments and academia.

He commended the Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, likening it with the Swadeshi movement of Father of Mahatma Gandhi.

Asserting that New India is making giant strides to achieve self-reliance with a new resolve, he exuded confidence that we will soon end the dependency on imports and touch newer heights.

He pointed out that at a time when the Nation is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a new dimension of self-reliance has been added to the definition of freedom.

We have not only achieved self-sufficiency in foodgrains, but are one of its major exporter countries. Vaccines manufactured in India are saving lives of people all over the world. Our space craft is taking satellites of other countries into space. Today, India is not only self-reliant in many sectors, it is also fulfilling the needs of other countries, he said.

He stressed that self-reliance not only means overcoming economic constraints, but also to achieve decisional autonomy for the country by overcoming diplomatic constraints. The self-reliance efforts in the defence sector, under the guidance of the Prime Minister, have transformed Indias image and we will soon become a global manufacturing hub, he said.

Rajnath Singh appreciated the Indian Navy for playing a pioneer role in this endeavour by making remarkable progress in surface, sub-surface and air domains, setting up an in-house-ship-design-organisation and transforming itself from a Buyers Navy to a Builders Navy.

He described the ever-increasing indigenous content in warships as a testament to Indian Navys unwavering commitment towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat, saying that it is a matter of great pride for the nation that the shipyards and the industries are together developing the capacity and capability of the Armed Forces.

He said that in line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, the Indian Navy spent over 64 per cent of its capital budget in domestic procurement in the last financial year and it is expected to increase to 70 per cent in the current financial year.

He said the role of the Indian Navy is going to increase further in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific in the times to come and expressed confidence that it is ready to deal with every situation and will prove its mettle in all circumstances, whenever needed. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

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Indian Navy expected to spend 70 pc of capital budget in domestic procurement this fiscal: Rajnath Singh - ThePrint