Latino
Congressman Soto, State Rep. Morales Mull Mass Vaccination Sites in Their Districts
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – US Congressman Darren Soto (D-9) and Florida State Representative Daisy Morales (D-48) shared their ambitions for mass vaccinations during Morales’s vaccination event in Azalea Park Saturday. Soto appeared at Jesus de Nazaret Episcopal Church, Morales’s longtime site for food and clothing distribution events for District 48 families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which she also chose as the site for Saturday’s vaccination event for her district.
Morales teamed up with several elected officials and community organizations, including Father Jose Rodriguez of Jesus de Nazaret Episcopal Church; State Reps. Carlos G. Smith (D-49) and Anna Eskamani (D-47), the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and others to vaccinate up to 500 people.
State Senator Linda Stewart (D-13), whose district the church is also in, made an early visit to talk with residents at the church and shared her own COVID-19 vaccine experience with them, encouraging them to take it as well.
Residents registered for appointments for Saturday’s vaccination event at Bravo Supermarket and Sedano’s Supermarkets in District 48. Since many in the Hispanic community frequent those stores, residents found it convenient to register there the traditional way–by hand–removing the barriers for those who aren’t tech savvy, which applied to many of the older residents in the community who would need the vaccine.
Finding Bigger Sites for the COVID-19 Vaccine
When Florida National News asked Congressman Soto about mass vaccination sites, he noted that once the state of Florida moved into Phase 3–which opens up vaccines to the remainder of the general public–his priority will be the arenas and stadiums, including Osceola Heritage Park in Osceola, Camping World Stadium, and other large venues in Osceola and Polk counties.
State Rep. Morales told the news media on Saturday that she has two other sites in her district in mind to offer for mass vaccinations. While there are no arenas in her district, she told Florida National News of two sites she’s already secured with the capacity to vaccinate 3,000 people per day.
For Morales, this is personal, both from a medical and senior care standpoint, having been the sole guardian for her mother and her special needs sister before they both passed away. Additionally, she is a member on the Orange County Disability Board and an elder ambassador.
“It’s important that we make sure the underserved community gets the vaccine,” said Morales Saturday. “I’m here to serve people, and I want to make sure they get what they need.”
Rep. Morales’s next District 48 COVID-19 vaccination event for ages 65 and older will take place Wednesday, February 24, 2021.
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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Don Quijote Awards, presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and Prospera, is Central Florida’s premier business awards gala with good reason.
The black-tie gala, which celebrates the Hispanic business community by recognizing small business owners as well as business and community leaders who help propel the Hispanic business community forward, filled Epcot’s Showplace Pavilion with well over 1,000 formally dressed attendees for its 25th anniversary Saturday.
The prestigious ceremony recognizes companies and individuals in six categories:
- Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less
- Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 years
- Professional of the Year
- Excellence Award
- Hispanic Community Champion (this award is given to a non-Hispanic who avidly works to support and strengthen the Hispanic community)
- Lifetime Achievement Award
The 2022 Don Quijote Award Winners
Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less: Guacamole Mexican Grill
(center trio, from left to right): Gustavo Aristizabal, Mayessi El Halabi and Diego Rojas, co-founders of Guacamole Mexican Grill, Inc, receive the Don Quijote Award for Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 years: SkyBuilders USA
(center duo, left to right): Marcela Restrepo and Juan Velez, co-founders of SkyBuilders USA, LLC, receive the 2022 Don Quijote Award for Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 Years. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Professional of the Year: Luis Nieves-Ruiz, Economic Development Director, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Luis Nieves-Ruiz, Economic Development Director for East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (center), received the 2022 Don Quijote Professional of the Year Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Excellence Award: Former State Representative Bob Cortes,
Senior Government Affairs Administrator, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Former State Representative Bob Cortes, Senior Government Affairs Administrator for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, receives the 2022 Don Quijote Excellence Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Hispanic Community Champion: Dr. James Michael Burkett, President, Florida Technical College
Dr. James Michael Burkett, President, Florida Technical College (center), receives the 2022 Don Quijote Hispanic Community Champion Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Modesto Alcala,
Senior VP of Global Restaurant Development and Placemaking for Universal Creative at Universal Parks & Resorts
Modesto Alcala, Senior VP of Global Restaurant Development and Placemaking for Universal Creative at Universal Parks & Resorts, receives the 2022 Don Quijote Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com
Latino
Lt. Governor Nominee Karla Hernández’s ‘Latinas for Choice’ Tour Kickoff Lacks Hispanic Women Leaders
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – Karla Hernández, Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida, held a press conference outside of Orlando City Hall to announce the campaign’s Latinas For Choice tour Wednesday morning.
Hernández was joined by five progressive activists, including Orange County School Board Member Johnna Lopez, State Representative Anna Eskamani and former State Representative District 48 candidate Samuel Vilchez Santiago.
The following Orange County Hispanic women elected leaders did not attend Hernandez’s Latinas for Choice announcement:
- Florida State Representative Daisy Morales
- Orange County District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe
- Orange County District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero
- Orange County District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla
- Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado
- Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor Raquel Lozano
While the campaign tour is just launched and in its infancy, the press conference showcased a humble beginning in terms of support for a major support. It appeared that no Spanish-speaking news outlets were present to cover the announcement. Local media outlets WESH 2, WFTV Channel 9 and Florida National News were the outlets present.
Two of the six individuals at the podium being men, and one being a young student. The total number of Latinas, then, was three–if the young lady is included in the count.
However, there may be a reason for that.
New Poll Shows a Different Priority Among Latino Voters
The Palm Beach Post reported findings from a recent poll which showed that 70% of Florida Hispanics oppose making abortion illegal, but it’s not their biggest issue. According to the Post, a large majority of Florida Hispanic voters believe it’s wrong to make abortion illegal, even if it goes against their personal beliefs. Here’s the breakdown of what Hispanic voters in the poll feel are “the most important issues that elected officials should address”:
- Inflation/rising cost of living (53%)
- Crime/gun violence (38%)
- Jobs/economy (36%)
- Healthcare (21%)
- Climate/environment (16%)
Abortion, at 15%, tied with a lack of affordable housing/high rents and Social Security and Medicare.
When asked about this during the press conference, Hernandez assured that Charlie Crist, assuming he’s elected governor in November, would prioritize legislation addressing the top three priorities listed in the poll. Watch the livestream of the full press conference above.
Latino
VIDEO: Morales Campaign Drops Rita Harris’s F-Bomb-Laced Tirade Targeting Bernie Sanders and Progressive Supporters
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Daisy Morales campaign released a video over the weekend of opponent Jennifer “Rita” Harris‘s profanity-laced tirade against U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his progressive supporters on Harris’s Medium blog account.
Harris has deleted the account.
The Morales campaign brought the receipts in this press release, with screenshots from Harris’s Medium blog account and various Facebook posts.
Morales’s campaign pointed out the irony of Harris’s attack on Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters and her current backing by the progressive arm of the Democratic Party, United for Progress, Ruth’s List Florida, and other progressive groups.
The Morales campaign slammed Harris in the press release saying “she cannot be trusted, is unfit to serve in public office, and isn’t safe around children younger than 13 years old when it comes to vulgar language, dubbing herself a “part time a**hole” on her Medium blog account (which, by the way, has now been taken down).”
Harris’s Medium post, “Be Gone Bernie Sanders, and Take Your Little Bots Too,” attacks Bernie Sanders and his progressive supporters with a slew of profanities. The campaign warns that viewers will need earbuds to view the video, which is an almost seven-minute voice-to-text read-along of the blog post.
The Morales campaign continued its attack, followed by several screenshots of Harris’s Facebook posts containing F-bombs: “Tallahassee lawmakers are expected to represent the people of our districts and the state of Florida with dignity and respect. Not everything has to be a vulgar attack. Anger must be controlled. And Harris seems to have a lot of it—minus the control.
“Her social media posts are riddled with F-bombs, whether they are friendly or contentious.”
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
The Morales campaign ended the video drop by saying, “This is the real Jennifer “Rita” Harris.”
The Morales Campaign Triples Down on Harris’s Business Background
Following the video drop, the Morales campaign again highlights Harris’s business background, referring to the Orlando Sentinel’s most recent article with Harris finally opening up about her business background.
The press release says in relevant part:
“If all that wasn’t enough, Harris isn’t forthcoming about her business background. She kept that information from the voters and from the media. Her campaign never listed her business background, and the voters have a right to know. She admitted herself to the Orlando Sentinel in a recent article that she only lists herself as a CEO of her husband’s company, Harris Cloud Consulting, on LinkedIn “for networking purposes.” Why is that deception necessary? There’s nothing wrong with being a housewife promoting your husband’s company on his behalf.
“It turns out Harris Cloud Consulting isn’t the first company she’s been listed as the CEO for. She was the CEO of Kronos Unlimited, LLC, a failed business dissolved by the State. This looks like a pattern. She’s essentially a fake CEO. It’s also interesting that the Orlando Sentinel learned of her deception after they endorsed her.
“If she’s being deceptive here and now, what’s to stop her from doing it in Tallahassee? What else is she being dishonest about? (Besides the work address for one of the companies they registered in Florida using a non-Florida address and zip code.)”
Morales Campaign Also Doubles Down on Lack of Vetting on Harris
“All of this foolishness speaks loudly to the lack of a real background check on the part of the people and organizations endorsing Harris, like the Democratic establishment and high profile Democrats like Charlie Crist, State Attorney Monique Worrell, State Senators Victor Torres and Jason Pizzo, and School Board Member Johanna Lopez, just name a few,” said Rep. Morales in the press release.
“There are Democratic candidates in other Florida races that organizations and elected officials have had to rescind their endorsements from because they failed to do their research. State Rep. Anna Eskamani warned Florida Democrats of that recently concerning the Ag Commissioner race.”
Rep. Morales went on to say that Harris’s titles as Orange County Democratic Party Vice Chair and founder and former President of the Democratic Women’s Club of South Orange County don’t exempt her from a thorough background check, saying that even those running for US President have to undergo rigorous scrutiny. “It seems like in this race, many turned a blind eye to Harris’s history.”
Morales ends the press release by expressed gratitude for “the concerned voters that brought this to my campaign’s attention.”
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