May 2, 2022 

COUNTIES 

FloridaPolitics.com  

Gov. DeSantis appoints Jim Scholl to Monroe County Commission 

He’ll serve through November 2024. Two-time Key West City Manager Jim Scholl, a former commander of Naval Air Station Key West, is Monroe County’s newest Commissioner. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Scholl to the role. Scholl will finish out the term of Eddie Martinez, who resigned in December after his arrest in Hialeah on domestic battery charges. 

 

Pensacola News Journal  

‘We can’t hire people:’ Santa Rosa raises wages to fill vacancies, retain employees 

County employees in Santa Rosa can expect to see a positive change in their paychecks starting next month, after county officials agreed to increase wages by $1 per hour starting May 16 as a way to attract and retain employees. “We can’t hire people. We’re losing people. I mean, it’s only fair that people who work for the county government get paid somewhat equivalent to what’s out there in the public,” said Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Bob Cole.  

 

Highlands News Sun 

County still challenged to get, keep employees 

SEBRING — Highlands County has at least 20 career positions advertised online right now, with approximately 58 total vacancies throughout them. At the last county commission meeting, County Administrator Randy Vosburg announced the county had hired nine people, but they had lost 10 to resignations, retirement or recruitment by other organizations and businesses. 

 

Tampa Bay Times 

Pasco mulls moratorium as aviation groups push for stronger development rules 

DADE CITY — Earlier this month, Mark Twaalfhoven urged Pasco County commissioners to enact tighter development regulations about Pasco’s general aviation airports. The pitch was a familiar one. Twaalfhoven and his neighbors, who live around the Pilot Country Airport north of State Road 52 in central Pasco, made the same arguments in October 2020.  

 

Lakeland Ledger 

County officials come face to face with Polk growing pains 

WINTER HAVEN — If local government officials and leaders had to summarize the state of Polk County, it would likely come down to one word: growth. Coming off of two years managing COVID-19, Polk County has experienced unprecedented amounts of growth. It’s the fastest-growing county in Florida and the seventh-fastest growing in the nation.  

 

WFTV9 

Seminole County wins best-tasting drinking water competition 

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Believe it or not, a lot of work goes into one drop of clean water Factors like temperature and how the wells are doing on any particular day can have a big impact on clean drinking water. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes in treatment plants to make sure they are pumping out clean drinking water on a daily basis. 

 

KeysNews.com 

Editorial: Local political control 

Is it any wonder folks up the Keys occasionally (OK, a lot) wish Key West weren’t so arrogantly dismissive of and willfully ignorant of the 21st century challenges they face? For 200 years, Key West was the legendary alpha dog for which local political control meant one thing: Key West decided. 

 

FEDERAL 

Route-Fifty.com  

Biden Wants to Move Faster Sending Disaster Aid to States 

It can take upwards of a year to make funding available under a Department of Housing and Urban Development grant program that the president wants to rework. There’s at least some bipartisan support for reforms in Congress. President Biden is proposing changes to speed up the delivery of money to states under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program that funnels billions of dollars to devastated communities after natural disasters, like floods, hurricanes and wildfires. 

 

HURRICANES 

Florida Today 

‘Cat 6’ hurricane simulator with 200 mph winds, 20-foot storm surge under design at FIU 

The Category 6 hurricane’s howling winds accelerate to a startling 200 mph in Miami, mercilessly pummeling a two-story wood-frame house until the roof tears off and the rattling windows explode.  And a towering 20-foot storm surge spawns battering waves, swamping the structure and shoving it off its foundation like a doomed dollhouse. 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA
Governing.com 

Twitter Is Changing. Here’s What Government Needs to Know. 

Following an announcement from Twitter that the long awaited “edit” feature is currently in the testing process, and news about Elon Musk taking on ownership, what do government social media managers need to know? Twitter recently announced that a feature that would enable users to edit published tweets is currently in the testing phase.  

 

AROUND THE COUNTRY 

Route-Fifty.com 

A City Government Begins Mining for Bitcoin 

Fort Worth, Texas, has installed three bitcoin mining machines in its data center as part of a six-month pilot to assess the implications and opportunities of minting cryptocurrency. Fort Worth, Texas, has installed bitcoin mining machines in city hall. Mayor Mattie Parker turned on three Bitmain Antminer S9s bitcoin mining machines in the Information Technology Solutions Department’s data center. 

 

Route-Fifty.com  

States and Cities are Moving to Make Virtual Hearings Permanent 

In the nation’s statehouses and city halls, officials want remote meetings to outlast the Covid-19 crisis. Disability advocates are among those who support the idea. Others worry about the loss of in-person interactions and diminished oversight. Attorney Kathy Flaherty has long been a fixture at the Connecticut state Capitol, but the lobbyist for people living with mental illness hasn’t spent too much time there lately.  

 

Route-Fifty.com 

What To Know About NYC’s B-HEARD Mental Health Crisis Response Teams 

B-HEARD provides a way for 911 mental health calls to be routed to teams made up of one mental health professional and two EMTs. There’s not much that former police officer and New York City Mayor Eric Adams could say to make socialist Public Advocate Jumaane Williams get to his feet in applause. But announcing a new investment in the city’s mental health crisis response teams accomplished just that earlier this week during Adams’ executive budget address.