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Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla to Host Puerto Rican Evacuees Assistance Summit

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WINTER PARK, Fla. – Since Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it’s been estimated that as many as 70,000 people may move to Florida, looking for opportunities to better their lives. In 2017, Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla initiated a Puerto Rican Migration Task Force to coordinate with community organizations to identify the needs of these citizens, and help implement solutions. The task force found that the incoming population needs better access to a number of resources like healthcare, housing, food, and employment.

Commissioner Emily Bonilla and her task force will be hosting a Puerto Rican Evacuees Assistance Summit and press conference at the Orlando Magic Recreation Center on Goldenrod Road. This summit will give organizations the opportunity to form partnerships and learn from each other’s experiences in order to understand how they can better help the Puerto Ricans who have been negatively affected by Hurricane Maria.

“I think it’s great that so many organizations are coming together to support such an important cause. This summit will be a place for groups to network and pool their resources together to better help our Puerto Rican neighbors and others,” Commissioner Emily Bonilla said.

Commissioner Emily Bonilla is a third-generation Puerto Rican-American whose grandparents migrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. In the days after the hurricane, Commissioner Emily Bonilla assisted the organization CASA to attain warehouse space to organize donations and shipments to Puerto Rico and created a task force. In addition to organizing her own task force, Commissioner Bonilla most recently attended Congressman Darren Soto’s task force meeting and job fair to support his efforts in Central Florida. She has also held meetings with groups like Vamos4PR to better understand how the District 5 office could play a role in the ongoing outreach efforts.

Over 20 organizations from various fields will be represented at the summit. Topics of discussion will range from meeting employment needs to improving communications to evacuees. Before the summit, Commissioner Bonilla will hold a press conference to summarize the ideas that will be discussed with the attendees. She will also be available at the recreation center after 1:00pm for interviews with the press. A recap of the summit will be posted on Commissioner Bonilla’s newsletter, to which constituents can subscribe by sending a request to district5@ocfl.net.

Press Conference: May 14, 2018 8:30am
Puerto Rican Evacuees Assistance Summit:
May 14, 2018 9:00am
Press Interviews: 1:00pm
Orlando Magic Recreation Center
4863 N Goldenrod Rd., Winter Park, FL 32792

Don Quijote Awards

PHOTOS: The Complete 25th Don Quijote Awards Winners List

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The winners of the 2022 Don Quijote Awards. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi / Florida National News.
The winners of the 2022 Don Quijote Awards. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi / Florida National News.

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.

(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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

___________________________________________________________

Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

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Lt. Governor Nominee Karla Hernández’s ‘Latinas for Choice’ Tour Kickoff Lacks Hispanic Women Leaders

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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:

  1. Florida State Representative Daisy Morales
  2. Orange County District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe
  3. Orange County District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero
  4. Orange County District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla
  5. Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado
  6. 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”:

  1. Inflation/rising cost of living (53%)
  2. Crime/gun violence (38%)
  3. Jobs/economy (36%)
  4. Healthcare (21%)
  5. Climate/environment (16%)

Abortion, at 15%, tied with a lack of affordable housing/high rents and Social Security and Medicare.

Hispanics want to keep abortion legal, but it isn’t a top priority. Image via The Associated Press.

 

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.

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VIDEO: Morales Campaign Drops Rita Harris’s F-Bomb-Laced Tirade Targeting Bernie Sanders and Progressive Supporters

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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images. Jennifer "Rita" Harris photo: Scott Powers/Florida Politics.

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).”

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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.”

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Source: Facebook.

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Source: Facebook.

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Source: Facebook.

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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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