Latino

Rep. Soto Introduces First Bills of 116th Congress Focused on Environment

Published

7 years ago

January 11, 2019

Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) introduced his first bills of the 116^th Congress focusing on environmental protections policy. The six bills reintroduced include Rep. Soto’s signature Kissimmee River Bill, along with legislation to protect Florida from fracking damage, combat the pandemic of infectious diseases caused by mosquitoes, limit the sale of lionfish, and increase research of risks of sinkholes.

Stated Rep. Darren Soto: “Since my first day in Congress I’ve championed sound environmental legislation, while focusing on protecting my home state of Florida from the harms of climate change. That’s why the first priority in the 116^th Congress is making true on a promise I made to my constituents to protect and preserve our environment. As the first order of business, I’ve reintroduced my key environmental bills that received tremendous support in the last Congress. We will continue to work tirelessly to advance this critical legislation.”

Rep. Soto’s six bills reintroduced in the House this week, include:

H.R. 37 – Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Study Act – a bill to authorize a study of the Kissimmee River for inclusion into the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, a designation that grants the river critical ecological protections. This is a reintroduction of the bill that passed the House in the 115^th Congress.

H.R. 345 – SMASH Act – a bill that supports and expands programs for mosquito-borne and vector-borne disease surveillance and control. This is a reintroduction of a bill that was included in the Pandemic Bill that passed twice last year and was included in H.R. 269 of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (which passed the house Tuesday by a vote of 401-17).

H.R. 417 – Lionfish Bill – legislation that prevents new lionfish from being transported into the country, while allowing lionfish that have been caught, to be shipped across the country for human consumption. Lionfish are only consumed by Florida coastal communities and not allowed to be transported outside of the counties they’re caught in. This bill passed out of Natural Resources Committee by voice vote last congress. Original co-sponsors include: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) and Rep. Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R).

H.R. 436 – Fracking Disclosure and Safety Act – a bill that re-establishes President Obama’s federal rules governing hydraulic fracturing on a temporary basis while mandating stronger rules be established. These rules were repealed by the Trump administration last year. Specifically, this bill would codify the final rule issued March 26, 2015, entitled “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands” (80 FR 16128).

H.R. 484 – Fracking Jurisdiction Act – legislation to grant the Secretary of the Interior and the EPA Administrator jurisdiction to regulate hydraulic fracturing. Background: there was a court case in Wyoming that questioned if either BLM or EPA had the Jurisdiction to regulate fracking and overturned some fracking regulations on that basis. This would solve that issue.

Sinkhole Mapping Act of 2019 – a bill to direct the United States Geological Survey to focus on the short and long-term mechanisms that trigger sinkholes, including extreme storm events, prolonged droughts leading to shifts in water management practices, as well as ongoing aquafer depletion, and other major changes in water use. This legislation would also direct the Director of the USGS to establish and maintain a public website that displays maps that depict zones that are at greater risk of sinkhole formation and other relevant information critical for use by community planners and emergency managers. This will give community planners and first responders access to information on where sinkholes are likely to form. Original cosponsors include: Rep. Charlie Crist (D) and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D)

Don Quijote Awards

PHOTOS: The Complete 25th Don Quijote Awards Winners List

Published

3 years ago

December 11, 2022

Mellissa Thomas

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.

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.

___________________________________________________________

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

Published

4 years ago

September 8, 2022

FNN NEWS

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.

*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.

Latino

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

Published

4 years ago

August 21, 2022

FNN NEWS

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).”

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.”