Rep. Deutch Applauds FAA Plan to Alter Routes at FLL Airport to Reduce Noise in Local Communities

 

Rep. Deutch Applauds FAA Plan to Alter Routes at FLL Airport to Reduce Noise in Local Communities

(Washington) Today, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its final Environmental Assessment report on the South-Central Florida Metroplex, which includes a plan to extend airplane take-off and landing routes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). This move will alleviate frequent noise issues experienced by residents in the communities surrounding the airport. U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (FL-22), who represents the Fort Lauderdale community surrounding the airport, issued this statement: "This is a really big deal for the families around the airport who have suffered from the loud, frequent noise coming from low-flying airplanes. For years I have met with these residents and business owners, heard their concerns, and pushed the FAA to make these simple, noise-reducing changes. "This achievement is thanks to the hard work of many in the community who have spoken out and made us aware of these challenges. We're also grateful for the efforts of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport team and state and local elected officials, particularly the leadership of Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Ben Sorensen. Thank you also to the FAA for listening to our community and responding to their concerns.  "When air traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels, I'm pleased to know that the pre-pandemic noise levels will not return with it."

Oxford vaccine produces immune response

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS TODAY Oxford vaccine produces immune response The COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford produces a similar immune response in older and younger adults, and adverse responses were lower among the elderly, British drug maker AstraZeneca said on Monday. A vaccine is seen as a game-changer in the battle against the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 1.15 million people, hammered the global economy and shuttered normal life across the world. COVID-19 infections are still rising in 78 countries. Track daily COVID-19 infections and deaths data for 240 countries and territories around the world. Europe sees difficult months ahead European leaders warned of difficult months ahead as a string of countries reported record increases in COVID-19 cases. France posted more than 50,000 daily cases for the first time on Sunday, while the continent passed 250,000 deaths. Governments have been desperate to avoid the lockdowns which curbed the disease at the start of the year at the cost of shutting down entire economies. But the steady rise in new cases has forced them to ratchet up controls steadily. Despite deaths, South Korea urges flu vaccinations South Korea urged citizens to get vaccinated against influenza and reduce the chances of an outbreak that coincides with the battle against the coronavirus, as it began free inoculations for the last eligible group. Public anxiety over the safety of flu vaccines has surged after at least 48 people died this month following vaccinations. Authorities have said they found no direct link between the deaths and the flu shots and have sought to reassure South Koreans about the safety of the vaccines against flu. Pandemic gives African money transfer firms a boost Africa-focused money transfer companies are seeing a boom, despite predictions from the World Bank of a historic 20% drop to $445 billion in remittances to poorer countries this year due to a pandemic-induced global economic slump. Many migrant workers are turning to digital transfer services, often for the first time, to send money back home to African countries, according to executives in the mobile financial services industry. From Breakingviews - Corona Capital: W-shaped recovery, UK investors. New lockdowns in Italy and Spain cast fresh doubt over Europe’s economic rebound; And a startup catering to UK retail investors, PrimaryBid, gets an endorsement from the London Stock Exchange. Catch up with the latest financial insights. Reuters reporters and editors around the world are investigating the response to the coronavirus pandemic. We need your help to tell these stories. Our news organization wants to capture the full scope of what’s happening and how we got here by drawing on a wide variety of sources. Are you a government employee or contractor involved in coronavirus testing or the wider public health response? Are you a doctor, nurse or health worker caring for patients? Have you worked on similar outbreaks in the past? Has the disease known as COVID-19 personally affected you or your family? Are you aware of new problems that are about to emerge, such as critical supply shortages? We need your tips, firsthand accounts, relevant documents or expert knowledge. Please contact us at coronavirus@reuters.com.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS TODAY

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS TODAY WHO study casts doubt on remdesivir’s benefits Gilead Sciences has questioned the findings of a World Health Organization (WHO) study which concluded that its COVID-19 drug remdesivir does not help patients who have been admitted to hospital. The American company told Reuters the data appeared inconsistent, the findings were premature and that other studies had validated the drug’s benefits. In a blow to one of the few drugs being used to treat people with COVID-19, the WHO said its “Solidarity” trial had concluded that remdesivir appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or length of hospital stays among patients with the respiratory disease. U.S. cases surpass 8 million U.S. coronavirus cases crossed 8 million on Thursday, rising by 1 million in less than a month, as another surge hits the nation hard at the onset of cooler weather. The United States reported 60,000 new infections on Wednesday, the highest daily increase since Aug. 14, with rising cases in every region, especially the Midwest. According to a Reuters analysis, 25 states have so far set records for increases in new cases in October. Source Reuters

Early vote shows signs of Black voters’ shift to mail voting

 

Early vote shows signs of Black voters’ shift to mail voting by Associated Press Shirley Dixon-Mosley had never sent a ballot through the mail. She always treasured casting her ballot in person. But for November’s election, she voted early and by mail because she didn’t want to take any chances. “I want to make sure my vote got in and it counted,” said the 75-year-old retired teacher’s aide in Charlotte, North Carolina. Black voters are among the least likely to vote by mail nationally, but there are early signs they are changing their behavior as the shadow of the coronavirus hangs over the presidential race. The evidence is clearest in North Carolina, the first state in the nation to send out mail-in ballots and where voting has been underway for almost three weeks. But there are hints in other battleground states like Georgia and Pennsylvania. The signal are good news for Democrats, who will need a robust turnout by Black voters in these states to win both the White House and control of the U.S. Senate. With coronavirus increasing the risk of in-person voting, African American mail voting rates are one indicator of whether that key part of the Democratic coalition will participate at its regular clip. In North Carolina, Black voters cast 16.7% of the more than 173,000 ballots returned so far, a jump from the 9% of mail votes cast by Black voters in 2016. They are 21% of North Carolina’s registered voters. “They’re changing their dynamics,” said Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College in North Carolina who tracks state elections. “It seems like there’s a shift going on which will certainly help Democrats.” But the numbers also come with a warning sign. North Carolina’s Black voters are four times more likely than whites to have their ballots not yet accepted due to missing witness information. Just under 5% of absentee ballots returned by Black voters either still have missing witness information or are in the process of having ballot requirements corrected, compared with just 1.3% of ballots returned by white voters. It is, of course, very early — the votes so far in North Carolina translate to only about 5% of those cast in the entire 2016 presidential election. It’s unclear how much Black voters’ early embrace of the new method will increase overall turnout and whether issues will persist as more votes roll in. Alarmed by the not-accepted figures, Democratic-leaning groups are already shifting their messaging to help Black voters resolve the witness requirements. North Carolina made this process easier on Tuesday, settling a lawsuit from the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans seeking to ease absentee guidelines on the state’s witness component. County boards of elections now mail an affidavit for a voter to return to resolve ballot problems. Both Republicans on the state’s five-person Board of Elections resigned after the settlement. “There’s been a big push to get Black voters to use the option of vote-by-mail,” said Adrianne Shropshire of VoteBlackPac, one of several groups trying to boost the use of mail-in ballots among Black voters. The group sent absentee ballot applications to 400,000 North Carolina voters. “The problems that people are having is related to the fact that this is new to people.” Jeffrey Brooks, a 49-year-old Democrat from Durham, said he’s previously voted in person. But when he sent in his mail-in ballot earlier this month, he failed to have a family member sign it as a witness. “I didn’t know that,” Brooks said. “I thought it was just for young people. I didn’t get them to sign it because I did it at home. I didn’t know you had to have a witness.” Voters like Brooks have until Nov. 12 to correct their ballots and get them received by their local county elections board. The North Carolina Democratic Party and Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign have established hotlines for confused voters. Both groups also have volunteers working on the ground to help people remedy witness issues. Tonya Foreman, an activist whose group CAREE has been registering people to vote in barbershops and a pop-up registration tent in the eastern part of the state, worries that some of these Black voters, already deeply suspicious of a system they see as rigged against them, “will just decide ‘I knew it’ and not fix their ballots.” Foreman has seen shifts in Black voters’ interest and trust in voting by mail, saying it seemed high last spring but then tapered off after controversy over mail delays due to changes at the United States Postal Service. Black voters have traditionally preferred to vote in-person and see their ballot being accepted, a certainty sought after generations of voter suppression, discrimination and fighting to win the right to vote. In 2018, only 11% of African American voters cast their ballots by mail compared with 24% of white voters, according to the U.S. Census. But Black people have been disproportionately killed by the coronavirus, and many older Black Americans are now trying to balance safety with their rights, said Marcus Bass, an activist with the group Advance Carolina. “The most faithful bloc of voters are older Black voters,” Bass said. Still, Bass’ group has acquired 250,000 pieces of protective gear because he thinks many Black voters will want to vote in-person again. There are hints of the shift in other data on mail voting. In Georgia, about one-third of all absentee ballot requests so far have come from African Americans, slightly higher than their share of registered voters, said Tom Bonier, a Democratic data analyst. In Pennsylvania, 7.38% have — which is also precisely the Black share of that state’s electorate. Bonier said the early data suggests that Democratic investments in educating Black voters about mail-in ballots may be paying off. The rates, he added, are also “an early indicator of very high engagement by Black voters.” Dixon-Mosley is one of those engaged voters. She was happy to have the option to vote by mail, but she added she would cast her ballot in person if she had to. “Our parents and forefathers fought too hard to get the vote,” she said. “To not do it is to dishonor them.” _____ Republished with permission from the Associated Press.

Broward County Commissioners have given final approval to the proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget after the second and final of two public budget hearings as required by law.

Broward County Commissioners have given final approval to the proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget after the second and final of two public budget hearings as required by law. 

 

The recommended total budget for FY21 is $5.3 billion, which reflects a decrease in the operating budget of $123.9 million and a decrease in the capital budget of $235.1 million. The proposed FY21 budget is cumulative $482.4 million less than FY20.

 

The proposed total millage (property tax) rate will remain the same as fiscal year 2020. The combined millage rate for FY21 is 5.6690 per thousand dollars of taxable value. The certified tax roll increases by 5.3 percent when compared to the tax roll used for the adopted FY20 budget.  More…

Trump And Biden Tied In Florida

 

Recent state polls show President Donald Trump neck and neck with former Vice President Joe Biden, but are those statewide polls deceptively more than the sum of their parts?

Rather does an examination of at least ten recent polls in down-ballot contests tell us more about the true state of the Trump vs. Biden contest in Florida.

Biden is polling better than Trump — or better than Hillary Clinton fared in 2016 — in several areas.

In Florida’s 13th Congressional District in Pinellas County, Clinton finished ahead by three points but Biden is polling +14. In Florida House District 69, which has significant crossover with CD 13, Biden is up eight points even though the district has a slight Republican edge.

Just to the south in Florida’s 16th Congressional District in the Sarasota area, Biden is down only a half point even though Trump carried that district by 11 points in 2016. This should be sounding alarm bells to Susie Wiles and Co.

In Pasco County, Trump is under-performing compared to his 2016 results. He carried the conservative county by 22 points in 2016, but leads by 18 points in a recent St. Pete Polls survey. Further, Biden is performing better than Clinton did four years ago with 39% compared to Clinton’s 37% in 2016.

Even in northeast Florida's CD 4, where Trump overwhelmingly stomped Clinton in 2016, he’s lost some ground. He was +28 four years ago, but is polling four points lower this year.

In surprisingly competitive SD 3, Biden is up ten points despite Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis having a +4 approval rating in the district, among other positive indicators for the GOP.

Looking at Central Florida, Senate District 9 is a +3 or +4 district for Republicans, yet Biden holds a five point lead over Trump in the Seminole County seat.

There is a lot to read into these trends, but one thing is clear. If Trump continues to under-perform in conservative areas while Biden over-performs in Democratic-leaning districts, Trump has a lot of ground to gain in South Florida.

It’s a strategy that is no secret.

South Florida, save for a few pockets here and there and a Cuban population that votes Republican, is a reliably Democratic region that makes or breaks statewide elections for Democrats. Trump’s Florida campaign probably doesn’t expect to carry South Florida, but they are trying to lower the margin, particularly among Hispanic voters, to put a dent in Biden’s overall statewide vote.

Given the trends in other regions, district-specific polls show a mixed bag for the Trump campaign.

Trump carried Florida’s 18th Congressional District by nine points in 2016. Now Biden is up one point.

There’s more bad news in Florida House District 89, a district which includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. There, Biden leads 52% to 44%.

Reviewing the down-ballot races, Miami-Dade is obviously the place Trump can close the gap with Biden.

Consider Senate District 39, which covers parts of South Florida including Miami and the Florida Keys. There, the most recent poll has the district +9 for Republicans, up from just +1 in July.

This analysis is based on a series of both public and private polls. Most are linked to, but some, which are either entirely or partly private, are not.

Taken as a whole, the down ballot analysis shows exactly why both candidates are focusing so much on Florida. Both candidates see Florida wholly in play and, as with every presidential election, a must-win. But district by district, it looks like Trump’s path to Florida victory might be more challenging than Biden’s

Source: FloridaPolitics

FREE FOOD GIVEAWAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th 2020 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM FREE FOOD GIVEAWAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th 2020 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

 FREE FOOD GIVEAWAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th 2020 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM LOCATION: HOLY ANGELS CATHOLIC CHURCH 1436 NE 26TH STREET WILTON MANORS, FL More info on Facebook Facebook Twitter Link Website Copyright © 2020 Wilton Manors Entertainment Group Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you elected to be contacted by a community group that we work with or attended an event of one of the groups. If you feel this is in error please unsubscribe or reply back with unsubscribe. Our mailing address is: Wilton Manors Entertainment Group Inc 2435 N Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, Fl 33305 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp FREE FOOD GIVEAWAY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th 2020 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM LOCATION: HOLY ANGELS CATHOLIC CHURCH 1436 NE 26TH STREET WILTON MANORS, FL More info on Facebook Facebook Twitter Link Website Copyright © 2020 Wilton Manors Entertainment Group Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you elected to be contacted by a community group that we work with or attended an event of one of the groups. If you feel this is in error please unsubscribe or reply back with unsubscribe. Our mailing address is: Wilton Manors Entertainment Group Inc 2435 N Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, Fl 33305 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

Dr. Jeff Holness; Tested and Proven School Leader The District needs

Let us all remember this is about our future, our children's education, let's vote for experience and ideas instead of hate and Vengence

Dr. Jeff Holness; Tested and Proven School LeaderThe District needs someone who has a strong history of hitting the ground running from day one.

Children and families are living in unprecedented times. Electing someone with a tested and proven track record of strong school leadership experiences and who can adapt and grow quickly will be beneficial to Broward County School Board.

Identifying strong and exceptional leadership in any individual is fairly easy. It is in their history; their track record. Strong leadership-oriented people have a history of getting busy from day one in any organization and in any capacity to quickly learn, advance and adapt, creating strong growth, meaningful changes, and achieving aggressive goals.

Dr. Holness's history shows a consistent and strong upward trajectory of leadership acquired skills and accomplishments in a fairly short period of time. Within his first 7 years as a Broward Schools’ teacher, he quickly developed extensive school leadership experiences as shown below advancing rapidly as a strong school leader.

As you look across the candidates running for this office, you will see that Dr. Holness's leadership history in education began on day one. As an educator, he continued to build his leadership skills annually throughout his career. He has always been a strong leader throughout life. It’s important to him and part of his character. He has demonstrated this by building knowledge and taking on strong leadership roles as he progressed through his career year after year as you will see in his accomplishments in education, community service and business outlined below and on his website www.jeffholness.com.

As your School Board Member, Dr. Holness is the most qualified leader to represent you, one who will continue to demonstrate strong leadership for you and your family from Day One and throughout his tenure as he serves you on the Board.

Jeff Holness; Tested and Proven School Leader

Dr. Holness's School leadership experiences acquired within first 7 years as an educator for Broward Schools:

Assistant Principal Designee (Operational/Instructional)

School Advisory Council Chair/Co-Chair Several Schools

Coordinator, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Founder/Coordinator, Student Learning Communities (SLC)

Coordinator, Monarch Zone School Business Partner

Chair, Broward Middle School Diversity Awareness Committee

Coordinator, Anti-Defamation League

Coordinator, Title 1 Parent Involvement Nights – Community Partnership

Trainer, Middle School Leadership Council

Mentor/Coach, Broward School Teacher

Team Leader, Broward School Teacher (Gifted, Regular, Adult)

Member, School Base Literacy Leadership Team

Broward Schools Intern Educator, Florida Atlantic University

Also:

University Adjunct Professor (10 years)

Owner/Director, Kumon Math and Reading Center (5 years)

Visit www.jeffholness.com.. to view his detailed resume

Political Advertisement approved and paid for by Dr. Jeff Holness, Candidate for School Board of Broward County, Countywide, At Large, Seat 9

Former Florida Senator and current Vice Mayor of Broward Steve Geller Makes Large Donation to Feeding South Florida

  

Vice Mayor Steve Geller Makes Large Donation to Feeding South Florida

- Several Non-Profits Benefit -

Feeding South Florida is an organization, known for giving.  But on Tuesday, they were the recipient of a large $10,800 donation from Broward Vice Mayor Steve Geller.  According to Feeding South Florida, approximately $1 feeds nine people.     “This will really make an impact on 250,000 individuals who are struggling to put food on the table for Broward County,” said Paco Velez, President and CEO of Feeding South Florida.   “Feeding insecurity is a real problem.  Feeding South Florida is the largest supplier of food in Broward County.  I hope this donation helps those who are hungry and encourages others to donate,” said Commissioner Geller. MORE…

 

 

White House Pushing Dangerous methods of clearing a vaccine for COVID-19 before the election

 The prospect of a vaccine to shield Americans from coronavirus infection emerged as a point of contention in the White House race as President Donald Trump accused Democrats of “disparaging” for political gain a vaccine he repeatedly has said could be available before the election.

“It’s so dangerous for our country, what they say, but the vaccine will be very safe and very effective,” the president pledged Monday at a White House news conference.

Trump leveled the accusation a day after Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate, said she “would not trust his word” on getting the vaccine. “I would trust the word of public health experts and scientists, but not Donald Trump,” Harris said.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden amplified Harris’ comments Monday after he was asked if he would get a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Biden said he would take a vaccine but wants to see what the scientists have to say, too.

Biden said Trump has said “so many things that aren’t true, I’m worried if we do have a really good vaccine, people are going to be reluctant to take it. So he’s undermining public confidence.”

Still, the former vice president said: “If I could get a vaccine tomorrow I’d do it, if it would cost me the election I’d do it. We need a vaccine and we need it now.”

The back-and-forth over a coronavirus vaccine played out as three of the candidates fanned out across the country on Labor Day, the traditional start of the two-month sprint to the election. Harris and Vice President Mike Pence campaigned in Wisconsin and Biden went to Pennsylvania. Trump added the news conference to a schedule that originally was blank.

Harris, a California Democrat, said in a CNN interview broadcast Sunday that she would not trust a coronavirus vaccine if one were ready at the end of the year because “there’s very little that we can trust that ... comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth.” She argued that scientists would be “muzzled” because Trump is focused on getting reelected.

Trump dismissed her comments as “reckless anti-vaccine rhetoric” designed to detract from the effort to quickly ready a vaccine for a disease that has killed about 190,000 Americans and infected more than 6 million others, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

“She’s talking about disparaging a vaccine so that people don’t think the achievement was a great achievement,” Trump said, answering reporters’ questions as he stood at a lectern placed at the front door of the White House on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the mansion.

“They’ll say anything,” he said.

Trump insisted he hasn’t said a vaccine could be ready before November, although he has said so repeatedly and as recently as Friday.

The president then proceeded to say what he had just denied ever saying.

“What I said is by the end of the year, but I think it could even be sooner that that,” he said about a vaccine. “It could be during the month of October, actually could be before November.”

Under a program Trump calls “Operation Warp Speed,” the goal is to have 300 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine in stock by January. He has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on what amounts to a huge gamble since vaccine development usually takes years.

Concerns exist about political influence over development of a vaccine, and whether one produced under this process will be safe and effective.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told CNN last week that it is unlikely but “not impossible” that a vaccine could win approval in October, instead of November or December.

Fauci added that he’s “pretty sure” a vaccine would not be approved for Americans unless it was both safe and effective.

Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, has said the agency would not cut corners as it evaluates vaccines, but would aim to expedite its work. He told the Financial Times last week that it might be “appropriate” to approve a vaccine before clinical trials were complete if the benefits outweighed the risks.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, meanwhile, has given assurances that Trump “will not in any way sacrifice safety” when it comes to a vaccine. And executives of five top pharmaceutical companies pledged that no COVID-19 vaccines or treatments will be approved, even for emergency use, without proof they are safe and effective.

Some concerns were sparked by a letter dated Aug. 27 in which Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asked governors to help government contractor McKesson Corp. make sure vaccine distribution facilities are up and running by Nov. 1.

Redfield did not say a vaccine would be ready by then.

Three COVID-19 vaccines are undergoing final-stage, or Phase 3, clinical trials in the U.S. Each study is enrolling about 30,000 people who will get two shots, three weeks apart, and then will be monitored for coronavirus infections and side effects for anywhere from a week to two years.

___

wHAT A JOKE OF THE WORST PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION IN HISTORY

 With the White House as his backdrop, Donald Trump warned last night of a dystopian future in Joe Biden’s America, while glossing over calls for racial injustice and the raging pandemic, Eric Lutz writes. One speaker at the convention finale, Rudy Giuliani, stands to potentially cash in on Trump’s reelection, reports Chris Smith, and, as one former aide put it, is “driven by a desperate need for relevance.”

Mike Pompeo’s speech earlier this week at the RNC “incensed” diplomats and veterans of Foggy Bottom in that it broke precedent—and perhaps, the law, Abigail Tracy reports. Also, Facebook ignored warnings about a self-proclaimed militia group in Kenosha prior to Tuesday’s shooting, Tarisai Ngangura writes, while Fox News’ Tucker Carlson defended the teenager suspected of killing protesters there, notes Charlotte Klein. 

SOURCE: THE RANTT