* Attorney General Ashley Moody, recently noted that 21 people die every day in Florida because of opioid abuse. AG Moody also announced that Walgreens had settled with the state to the tune of $683 million over its role in contributing to the epidemic.
* Travel demand to Florida has outpaced the rest of the nation during the pandemic recovery.
* The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 14 percent of the U.S.’s crude oil production.
* The last black woman to serve on Tampa’s City Council was Gwen Miller, who left office more than a decade ago (2011).
* The evolving art museum scene includes much more than paintings and sculptures and expansion. It also involves “the experience”–from lectures to interactive ambiance. Now, in the case of St. Petersburg’s Dali Museum, director Hank Hine even sent the museum cafe’s chef, Chuck Bandel, to work on the Spanish coast near Dali’s home of Figueres so he could master the, well, art of Spanish cuisine. “The appeal of that is that it prolongs the museum experience,” explained Hine.
* Vinik crosses bay. The city of Clearwater has chosen a partnership between Tampa-based Vinik Sports Group and OVG360, a division of Los Angeles-based Oak View Group to manage and operate the $84 million Imagine Clearwater development.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it will cost his country at least $600 billion to rebuild what has been destroyed during the Russian invasion.
* Russia has been losing valuable military equipment, and replacements are hard to come by. One key reason: Sanctions that are strangling its military production lines by stopping the flow of microchips.
* The EU has plans to sanction the Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill, a Putin supporter and leading advocate of the Ukraine invasion. What would Jesus say?
* Roughly one third of the tourists arriving in Cuba last year were from Russia. The war in Ukraine deflated that boom.
*This just in: Chubby Checker is still not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The latest inductees: Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, the Eurythmics and Eminem.
Eminem but no Chubby Checker?
* Season 5 of “The Crown” is coming to Netflix in November. Major cast changes will be evident, including an older, third iteration of Queen Elizabeth (Imelda Staunton of Harry Potter fame). It will focus on the 1990s, including the melodramatics and tragedy involving Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
* “The sworn enemy of lying.”–That’s how the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show is disingenuously characterized by *ucker Carlson.
* RuTube: the Russian version of YouTube.
* The stock market is beyond volatile. Reaction and over-reaction are daily occurrences. Price stability and employment are ongoing subplots. It’s enough to prompt one to empathize with President Harry Truman, who once drolly remarked in frustration that he would prefer a “one-armed economist,” one who might be precluded from saying “but on the other hand.”
* The “far right” is too close.
* Whatever else is going on—from Vlad Putin to Ron DeSantis: It’s a better day when both the Bolts and the Rays win.
* With the expiration of the federal mask mandate on planes, a new flying etiquette has dawned. Since masking is now an individual choice, it’s cause for some to celebrate, for others to double down on their anxiety. So, how does a mask-wearing passenger react to a seatmate sans mask? Having soothing music may help. As might diaphragmatic breathing and mindfulness techniques.
There’s also the cut-to-the-chase approach with a maskless seatmate. Be polite and, if possible, nuanced. Maybe, after respectfully introducing yourself, try: “I’m immuno-compromised. Would you be willing to mask up this trip?” Or offer a tissue if they sneeze. And humor can always help. As in: “I think you’re going to want me wear this mask after I ate all those garlic fries.”
Or maybe just go with: “You know, I’ll just bet you look even better in a mask—kinda like Mitch McConnell does.” But only after confirming your seat change.
* Political sticker: “VOTING is just like DRIVING. If you want to backward, choose ‘R.’ If you want to go forward, CHOOSE ‘D.’”
* The Rays recently played in front of an embarrassingly sparse crowd of 2,443. But, no, it wasn’t at the Trop. It was in Oakland, the other MLB franchise with a major facility and attendance issue.
* UCF is working on its AAC (American Athletic Conference) exit—as are Houston and Cincinnati. They are all headed to the Power Five Big 12. Meanwhile the depleted ACC, which includes USF, is considering the additions of FAU, UAB, North Texas, Rice and UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio). How ironic that at one time USF didn’t want to play UCF, because it was a step down in stature. That was then.
* “After he was elected, one of the first actions Donald Trump took was illegally using his own inauguration to enrich his family.”–D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, after The Trump Organization and Trump’s inaugural committee agree to pay D.C. $750,000 to settle a lawsuit over the misuse of non-profit funds.
* “(Trump’s) presidency brought in, or taught, a whole generation of young Republicans to treat Twitter—and cable TV—not merely as if it matters more than governing, but that it is governing.”–Jonah Goldberg, Tribune Content Agency.
* After *ucker Carlson became the host of the highest-rated cable news show in history, his public profile and Trump-base impact and influence soared. And now—outside Fox, where he is the face and presumed future of the network—his name is being bandied about as a potential candidate for president. Seriously. It’s a sobering reminder that if Sarah Palin and Donald Trump could ascend to presidential tickets, why not an intense, prevaricating wise guy like Carlson, who is smarter than Palin and Trump?
* Former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper on whether he would vote for Trump if he runs in 2024: “No.”
* Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Insurrectionist, is officially eligible for re-election. Now it’s up to Georgia voters to preempt further outrage and embarrassment by doing their jobs for democracy.
* “Never again? Try telling Ukraine that.”–Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
* “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not (the term ‘genocide’) qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”–President Joe Biden.
* “The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put a premium on energy security, and one of the huge advantages of nuclear is that it is, very largely, home grown.”–UK Energy Minister Greg Hands.
* “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”–U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, in his draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
* “(A) singular and egregious (breach of trust).”–Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the leak of Justice Alito’s Roe v. Wade draft opinion.
* “Abortion attitudes are polarized by party identity.”–Julie A. Wronski, associate professor of policitcal science at the University of Mississippi.
* “If the next group of justices can overturn settled law that is widely popular and accepted even by judges as ‘the law of the land,’ what is the point of the Supreme Court?’”–S.E. Cupp, CNN.
* “There is no clear path toward a legislative restoration of abortion rights, no politician who can be the white knight, and solutions like court packing and abolishing the filibuster seem impossible. That’s precisely why people need to take to the streets.”--Jay Caspian Kang, author of “The Loneliest Americans.”
* “The culture wars are a response to the conflict between the secularization of society and the values many Americans still adhere to.”–Lynn Schmidt, STLtoday.com.
* “The Republican Party’s ‘outrage machine’ is more interested in ‘canceling’ leftist views, stoking controversy and scoring political points than in protecting free speech and academic freedom.”–William F. Felice, professor-emeritus of political science at Eckerd College.
* “The labor market is still very much a job seeker’s market. Something dramatic will have to happen for this to change anytime soon.”–Nick Bunker, director of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab.
* “Anytime prayer is compulsory or coercive in a public context, it can violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which forbids the state from favoring one faith over another (or no faith at all). But it also violates the spirit of prayer itself.”–Randall Balmer, author of “Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life.”
* “We see a decade where between 50,000 and 100,000 satellites are going to be launched by 2030. And, we want to try to capture a lion’s share of those out of Florida.”–Space Florida President and CEO Frank DiBello.
* “For many people, philanthropy becomes the center of their social lives. It creates a community and gives donors a sense of belonging.”–Teri Hansen, president of the Barancik Foundation, which has given away $100 million to local art institutions in the Sarasota area.
Ron DeSantis remains relentless and keeps checking the Trump-base boxes: from de facto voter- suppression and (newly “woke”) Disney denigration to school board bullying over mask mandates and textbook censorship. And more. Now he’s doubled down on his faux-freedom brand by appealing to every Trumpster’s favorite Amendment, the Second. The one that references “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Who cares if the context is a “well-regulated militia” in an era of muskets?
DeSantis has promised to push for a bill allowing Floridians to publicly carry firearms—even if they haven’t got a permit or haven’t taken a training course. It’s euphemistically labeled “constitutional carry.” But there’s nothing euphemistic in “Gunshine State,” and there’s nothing constitutional or common sensical about permit-less carry in a state notorious for gun violence.