The Florida Roundup - New Florida laws on July 1; extreme heat and mosquito-borne illnesses 

Episode Date: June 30, 2023

The Florida Roundup discusses a few key laws that will go into effect Saturday, including immigration reform, permitless carry and parental rights. Plus, what are local officials doing to mitigate the risks of rising temperatures?

Welcome to the Florida Roundup. I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And I'm Matthew Petty in Tampa. Immigration reform, permitless carry, parental rights, affordable housing and voting. This is just a few of the areas where there are some big changes around the corner as more than 200 new laws take

effect tomorrow, July 1st. Already there's questions about the impact of these new laws and how they'll be enforced. In the case of immigration laws, it remains to be seen how the new rules around E-Verify will affect businesses that rely heavily on undocumented labor, like agriculture, the number two part of the state economy, and construction. We'll be joined by a panel of journalists who've been covering these issues to discuss what these new laws mean for Florida and for you. Weigh in with your questions and comments. Give us a call. Send us a tweet. The number is 305-995-1800. That's

305-995-1800. You can also send us a tweet at Florida Roundup. And we'll get to calls in a few minutes, but first, Eric Friday joins us. He's the lead counsel for Florida Carry, an organization dedicated to advancing the Second Amendment rights of Floridians. Eric, thanks so much for being here. Thanks for having me, guys. So Eric, just to get started, can you remind us what this new permitless carry law that goes into effect tomorrow does and does not allow? Because it's not open carry, but what do gun owners need to be aware of with this? Well, the first thing it does is you no longer have to get a concealed weapons firearms license also called a concealed carry permit you no longer have to get one prior to being able to exercise your constitutional right to bear arms outside the home um you know unfortunately we this licensing law was originally

put in place in 1892 specifically to prevent minorities from carrying. And that's what this law has done for years. It's prevented those that didn't have enough money to afford the permit from carrying. It's prevented those who didn't know how to navigate the process. It really was a law that needed to go away. Now everybody has the same rights they do without having to get state permission first. And I have, I will say, looked at the the state database of prosecutions and, you know, hundreds of Floridians have been prosecuted under the the law that's, you know, not caring for caring without a permit and with with not facing any other charges. without a permit and with not facing any other charges. I do want to ask you, the Florida Sheriffs Association supports this new law, but not all sheriffs agree. The Orange County Sheriff John Mina says it'll make communities more dangerous.

Do you worry that with this permitless carry going into effect that people are not going to take the safety trainings that they are currently doing in order to carry concealed? Well, so first of all, there was a training requirement to obtain a concealed carry license in the past. But that training requirement included taking a hunter safety course in another state it didn't necessarily require any proficiency with the farm it didn't include a a lot of things that some people might think should be required for firearms training but here's the problem we don't require training before you exercise your first amendment rights and we shouldn't require training before you exercise your second amendment rights that is an individual responsibility for people who are responsible to go get the training they think they need based on their circumstances it is not the government's to

mandate what training i must get prior to exercising a constitutional right the that it's as the supreme court said the enshrinement of that right in the Constitution takes away from the second branch, first branch or the third branch, the ability to decide whether it's really worth insisting on. And that's that's absolutely right. The training. It's, you know, it's not going to be required now. But nevertheless, I mean, we have police departments, the city of Miami Police Department, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. They're focused on educating the public about this new law, seemingly to avoid dangerous situations in the streets since more people are going to be carrying who do not have that training. So, well, I mean, would you discourage people from getting that training?

No, I would never discourage anybody from getting training. But, you know, to people like Sheriff Mina, who unfortunately has a history of not respecting the civil rights of his citizens, I would say, you know, if he really thinks it's that big a deal, he can do like some of his fellow sheriffs do, and he can offer training classes for free to those in his county that want training instead of making them pay however much a private trainer costs. So there are some sheriffs that offer offered the concealed carry class to their citizens for free. Sheriff Mina was never one of them, obviously, but that is a route he can go down if he really thinks training is that important.

I don't think you'll find it that important when it comes out of his budget, though. I don't think he'll find it that important when it comes out of his budget, though. So let me ask you, Eric, about some data from the FDLE. According to the latest report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, crime statewide is at a 50-year low, and that includes violent crime. So I'm just kind of wondering about the rationale for relaxing gun restrictions outside of your points about the Second Amendment rights of Floridians. outside of your points about the Second Amendment rights of Floridians? Well, I would say that it's possible that the crime rates are down because more people are carrying, more people are preventing crimes from occurring. Is that just a feeling you have, or is there some data to back that up?

Well, I would say that as we have had a stronger stand- ground law and a stronger self-defense law in Florida, we've seen that's the time period which we've seen crime rates go down. The research of criminologist Gary Kleck at FSU for decades has shown that liberalization of concealed carry laws, more people lawfully arming themselves against crime has resulted in numerous instances of lawful self-defense with firearms. And I think it is a reasonable conclusion that the more criminals are, well, back up. The FBI's own data from years ago, they interviewed prisoners about what scared them the most. It wasn't encountering a police officer. It was encountering a lawfully armed citizen. encountering a police officer, it was encountering a lawfully armed citizen. Let me just get a call in here. Joe is calling in from Lakeland. Joe, you're on the air. Hey, guys. Good afternoon. Thank you for having me on. Yeah, you know, we've seen a national increase in gun violence across the board. A lady turning around in the driveway got shot. violence on the board. A lady turning around in the driveway got shot. A guy shoots the kid through a door. It's just, I can go on and on. And this has been on the uptick.

Now let's get to Florida. There's already cases of road raids on Interstate 4. Very, very crowded road. There's already been incidents of road rage with gun violence. And now you add this to the mix. And the law is designed where I think there's like a $25 fine if somebody, if your gun is seen. So it's really designed to arm everyone. I mean, so what do we want in society? So, you know, everyone's got a gun on them walking around. I mean, what are we doing, man? This is not, that's not safety to me. Joe, thanks for your call. I'm a gun owner, and I'm not for this. Joe, I appreciate your call. Eric, before we let you go, just wondering if you could weigh on that, your thoughts. Will this make

Florida more dangerous? I seriously doubt it will make florida more dangerous no state uh we're we're behind the curve here no state that has gone to permitless carry has seen some mass increase in uh criminal use of firearms it just hasn't happened uh we've most states have been permitless carry of some type for years so if we were going to see a problem you know we've had law enforcement like sheriff mina predicting blood in the streets every time we've liberalized florida's gun laws we've seen the same predictions in other states they just don't come true these people are using fear to make up things that they think will happen and it never happens in any of the 20 some odd other other states that have done the same thing.

So I think the time for the hysteria has passed and it's time to be honest about it. And the Eric, one one last question here. Florida does remain one of only five states that is not an open carry state. So while a lot of people have raised alarm about this permitless carry law that's about to go into effect, a lot of people criticize it because it didn't go far enough. It's not open carry. Moving forward here, I mean, what's your take on what the future law of the land in Florida will be? Are we going to be open carry? Is that your hope? Well, there are active lawsuits for just that reason, to get open carry in Florida.

We're actually one of only four states now, because South Carolina now allows open carry. That just happened. Thank you. Yeah. So, yes, we're going to continue. Florida Carry is going to continue this fight. We are going to get the right to open carry,

because currently there is no right to carry a shotgun or a rifle in the state of Florida outside of your home if you're not hunting, basically. And that is unconstitutional deprivation of that right. The Heller decision in 2008 said you cannot say it's enough that we let one class of arms be carried or owned, therefore we can ban another class. In that case, they allowed rifles and shotguns, but not pistols. So no more than D.C. could ban one in the home, can Florida ban one class of firearms outside the home just because it allows for pistols? And I think that law is going to go down the same way. We'll be speaking with Eric Friday, lead counsel for Florida Carry. Eric, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you. And let's bring in our panel of journalists for more on this. We welcome to the show Mary Allen Klass, Capital Bureau Chief for the Miami Herald. Mary Allen, thanks for being here.

Good to be here. Valerie Crowder, reporter for WFSU News in Tallahassee. Valerie, thank you. Thanks for having me. And Tim Gibbons, Editor-in-Chief of the Jacksonville Business Journal. And Tim, thank you as well. Good to be here. Thanks for having me. March as this permitless carry bill was making its way through the legislature. And we had a little bit of a sense from our conversation with Eric just now about some of the back and forth around gun ownership and relaxation of laws. But what sense did you get about the support or opposition to open carry from those conversations you had? Yeah, definitely.

I spoke with several gun rights advocates who expressed support for open carry and actually at first felt let down by Governor Ron DeSantis and Republicans in the legislature because when the legislation was first rolled out it was labeled a constitutional carry bill and many interpreted that to mean open permitless carry. Now DeSantis did tell one gun rights advocate permitless carry. Now, DeSantis did tell one gun rights advocate sort of later on in the legislative process before the bill passed that he would support open carry if the legislature would pass it. So that does signal that at least DeSantis is open to open carry. And House Speaker Paul Renner also later expressed that he might be open to open carry legislation. Opposition to the open carry proposal, and there was an amendment that was filed that ended up failing, or actually not

even getting taken up, but the opposition to the open carry really stemmed from the law enforcement community in Florida, the State Sheriffs Association, the Association of Police Chiefs, and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. They all came out against it. And that's really where the opposition from legislative leaders came from, or at least their unwillingness to pass an open carry bill. In the case of Senate President Kathleen Pasadena, she also said that she wasn't in favor of open carry just because of the law enforcement community stance on that issue. And Tim, I want to bring you into this. Is this permitless carry law, is that expected to have any impact on business in Florida? It's somewhat unclear. So businesses can't prohibit workers from keeping guns in their cars.

They can't stop workers from bringing guns into private property. One of the things that some business owners we've talked to seem concerned about is the idea of trying to stop customers from coming in. So, you know, if you're a bar, for example, you're not allowed to carry in a bar, you can carry in a restaurant. I don't think I would want to be the bouncer having the conversation with somebody of no, you can't bring a gun in because they have a gun, which makes that situation obviously kind of fraught. I'm reminded in some ways of talking to retailers during the depths of the pandemic when we talked to businesses who wanted a state mandate requiring

masks because it took the enforcement of it off their hands. It became a, ah, state law, your fight's not with us. Businesses don't like it when they have to be the one who is us. Businesses don't like it when they have to be the one who is stepping up and getting in a customer's face. And so there's some concerns that those situations could occur, and that's not something a business wants to deal with. Well, of course, the permitless carry law is one of many that are kicking in this weekend. Let's turn now to the new immigration law. Among other things, Senate Bill 1718 requires businesses with more than 25 employees to use the federal e-verify system to check the eligibility of new hires, and people who transport undocumented immigrants into Florida could be charged with a felony. The bill signing back in May,

DeSantis touted the law as the strongest legislation against illegal immigration anywhere in the country, but others aren't so sure. Here's former Republican state senator Jeff Brandes talking with WUSF this week about the new law. I don't know that it's enforceable in Florida at scale. Where is the first arrest on the enforcement side? I think it's policy in name only. I don't think that they have really any desire to enforce that at scale, Because if they would force that at scale, you would see most building projects in the state of Florida stop. You would see agriculture in the state of Florida stop. You would see a variety of other challenges that occur across the state.

So that's Jeff Brandes there. It's estimated there are more than 770,000 undocumented immigrants here in Florida. The laws spark protests from immigration rights, immigrant rights advocates rather. There are also reports of migrants fleeing the state out of fear they could be deported or lose their jobs. Mary Ellen Klaas, let me bring you into this conversation. I mean, I wonder what kind of conversations lawmakers are having about this new law, about efforts to expand temporary worker programs and enforceability. programs and enforceability? Yeah, you know, it's very interesting because I think that former Senator Brandis definitely underscored the big question here, and that is, what is enforcement going to look like? There's two things that are happening. There is

evidence that some undocumented workers are increasingly leaving the state. There are industries that are very concerned, especially the ag industry, as they reach the harvest season. What will it look like? Right now, the law applies to new hires, so they're very concerned about that. And then the other thing is lawmakers are basically also saying that, you know, this law is written very carefully. For example, it requires that hospitals report undocumented workers, you know, undocumented migrants that arrive in their emergency rooms for care. But you don't, if you are asked that question on a questionnaire, lawmakers are saying, it's voluntary. You don't have to respond. So at the same time, we've got Republican lawmakers who push this bill through. They are also emphasizing the loopholes in it. And I find that very interesting. I had one of the lawmakers was emphasizing that, you know, a lot of companies are below 25 permanent workers. And so then they don't have to apply by the

requirements to have the E-Verify. So I think we will see whether this is indeed aggressively enforced or not. Let me just bring Tim Gibbons into this conversation. Do you see a business impact from this, Tim, and what are you expecting? Yeah, the people we've spoken to who are very concerned about this is the construction industry. Obviously, there's the agricultural impact, but covering covering north florida we don't have uh we don't have that huge agricultural workforce here but you know construction is huge in the state um number of people who are moving here a number of houses that need to be built and um we've talked to companies who basically say that workers are either leaving the state or if they're already

based outside of the state don't want to come here um it's not necessarily if they're already based outside of the state, don't want to come here. It's not necessarily that they're undocumented. It might be that they have family members who are undocumented. And in some cases, they just don't want to deal with the hassle. So imagine you're a roofing subcontractor from Georgia and you're sending a crew of people to Florida. Now you have to contend with the idea of somebody is undocumented, that could be a felony. And if you're the worker, you just might say you don't want to be hassled. You can go to North Carolina. You can go to South Carolina. You can work in Georgia. Florida is not the only state that's growing. And the workers are saying they just don't want to deal with it. Right. A lot going on with the new immigration law about to go into effect. On the Florida Roundup

here this Friday, we're discussing some of more than 200 new laws which take effect this Saturday. And we will continue this conversation after the break with our guests, Mary Ellen Kloss of the Miami Herald, WFSU's Valerie Crowder, and Tim Gibbons of the Jacksonville Business Journal. We'll be back in just a few minutes. and the team of meteorologists from the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network keep you informed around the clock. All year long, we're committed to providing in-depth weather coverage,

both over the radio and on the mobile app, Florida Storms. The Florida Public Radio Emergency Network is supported by this station and Citizens Property Insurance, online at citizensfla.com. Smoke from wildfires in Canada has large parts of the U.S. under air quality warnings. Meanwhile, in Texas, there's record-breaking heat. It's so hot right now, when you walk out the door, you can feel the heat engulf your entire body. And you just start to sweat. And we're just over a week into summer.

Ahead on Today Explained, coping with extreme heat. Tonight at 6.30 on WJCT News 89.9. Today, pop music is way more varied. And yet, Hollywood can't seem to let go of these 2,000 stars and the way we treated them. Why do we keep going back to that moment in pop history where women didn't get to express themselves in their music when they arguably do now? Next time on It's Been a Minute from NPR. Tomorrow at noon on WJCT News 89.9. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Matthew Petty in Tampa.

And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And we're continuing our conversation about the new laws that are about to take effect in Florida over this weekend with our panel, Valerie Crowder with WFSU News, Tim Gibbons, Editor-in-Chief of the Jacksonville Business Journal, and Mary Ellen Kloss, Capital Bureau Chief for the Miami Herald. Before we go back to our panel, though, a new union law is going to affect on Saturday. It's SB 256. That law is going to have an impact on most public employee unions in the state. Our co-host, Danny Rivera, spent time with the unions that are in a panic about this new law Danny real quick what can you tell us about it right there's two core parts of this new law for public sector unions one of them is that local governments aren't going to be able to take dues out of paychecks which

is a system that's been in place for decades there the unions are going to be able to take dues out of paychecks, which is a system that's been in place for decades. The unions are going to have to come up with a new payment system. And while the payment system for dues is changing, at least 60% of people in these collective bargaining units are going to have to start paying dues. So it's kind of a double whammy there, changing the system and more people need to take part. And I spent time with a couple unions that are basically on a 9-1-1 mode about this. If they don't get to that 60% threshold by October, they're going to be decertified. And out of the 67 counties in Florida, for example, only 22 countywide teachers unions as of last year were past that 60 percent threshold. So a lot of teacher unions could be decertified. I did talk to Carla Hernandez-Matz, the president of the United Teachers of Dade here in Dade County.

Let's listen to a bite from her. Every day we're getting new members. Every day people are transferring listen to a bite from her. Every day we're getting new members. Every day people are transferring over to a new platform. I'll tell you that, you know, at this point, we're probably close to 55% density already. So it's increased in the last couple of months. Not only is this making our educators angry and upset at the attacks that they're receiving, but it's also mobilizing people. So there you have, they're at about 55% now. They need to fight what Hernandez-Matz told me is an uphill battle to get to 60%, or the union could be dissolved. That's what's about to play

out in the state of Florida. So we'll definitely be watching to see how it plays out. out in the state of Florida. So we'll definitely be watching to see how it plays out. 305-995-1800 is the number to call. You can also send us a tweet about the slate of new laws set to take effect. You can tweet us. We're at Florida Roundup. Let's talk a little bit about DEI. And Danny, some new laws taking effect, I guess, around culture war issues this weekend. That's right. There's a new law going into effect. We have Valerie Crowder with WFSU on the line. Valerie, can you tell us about what this new law limiting the diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, what that'll actually look like here in the state of Florida when it goes into effect?

Yeah, well, there were really two pieces of legislation that in a way dealt with DEI in higher education. There's the bill that actually prohibits colleges and universities from providing state and federal funds to programs that, quote, advocate for diversity, equality and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism. So as you can tell there, they did tweak the language of the of the legislation a little

bit but the funding prohibition actually does not apply to federally required programs or programs that are required for accreditation reasons or even those that support military veterans. And then there was another DEI-related measure that basically bars colleges and universities from requiring diversity statements from faculty as part of their application, which is a really common practice in academia. And just kind of looking, you know, at what other states are doing on this issue, there were several attempts made across the U.S. to restrict funding for DEI-related programs and initiatives on college and university campuses. Texas Governor Greg Abbott did sign a measure into law this year that was similar to Florida's legislation,

banning funding for these programs. But again, like I said, that policy did fail in a lot of other states where lawmakers tried to pass it this year. Mary Ellen Klass, previous iterations of DeSantis' anti-woke laws, so to speak, hit some roadblocks in court, right? And you did a lot of reporting on that last year. I wonder how you see this set of laws playing out in real life or in the courts. Well, the legal setbacks continue. There were three different courts that ruled against the DeSantis administration on their efforts to kind of impose limitations on LGBTQ rights, for example. One judge blocked the access to gender-affirming care for transgender adults.

Another court blocked care for transgender children. Then, you know, there's just there's been a whole slew of these things. And it doesn't seem to really have had much effect, however, on the governor, as he's running for president, is continuing to use this as an appeal to his base. And for example, this week he just sent out a bunch of emails, fundraising emails, to encourage people to contribute to his effort to try and pursue these woke, these kind of culture war issues. Lots going on. Of course, we can't forget about the Supreme Court decision, too.

They're interesting to reflect on what kind of impact, essentially gutting the affirmative action laws that have been in place for college admissions, what sort of spinoff effect that may have here in the state of Florida, not just in academia as well. Let's talk about voting next. And there's some new regulations around mail-in ballots, an amendment to Florida's resign to run laws. Valerie Crowder, you covered a federal court hearing this week around this new bill. Tell us a little more about that case and how it played out. Sure. So the big issue with SB 7050 from those who are opposed to it is really about the new restrictions placed on voter registration groups. And that's what this case is about right now, ongoing in federal court. And it involves voter registration groups that primarily serve Latino and Hispanic communities, along with several people who work for voter registration organizations. And it really centers on a provision of the new law that

bars people who are not U.S. citizens from, quote, handling or collecting voter registration forms on behalf of an organization. And groups could face a $50,000 fine for each non-citizen employee or volunteer that they have helping with their voter registration efforts. And they're suing in federal court, and they claim that the law violates the First Amendment and discriminates against people based on their citizenship status. And the hearing this week was really regarding a motion to temporarily block the law. And they were hoping the plaintiffs were hoping to get that before the law takes effect on Saturday. But U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said that he needed more time to work on this before issuing an order on the matter. So it's still uncertain whether or not this law will be temporarily blocked until there is a trial to determine whether or not this law will be struck down completely, or these provisions of the law will be struck down

completely. But it's definitely a really interesting case. And it's also interesting to see how much this new legislation is expected to affect voter registration groups. And Mary Ellen, I want to bring you into this part of it with respect to voting laws and whatnot. Governor DeSantis touted Florida's elections as a model for other states pretty famously at this point after the 2020 election. But since then, he's kind of encouraged Florida lawmakers to consistently overhaul Florida election laws. What were the other provisions of SB 7050 beyond the citizenship status of people who, you know, collect signatures and whatnot? Well, the governor has pretty much just continued down the path of what Republican leaders have been doing for the last decade in Florida, and that is restricting, you know, restricting what already have been voting access. So some of the things they did is using the

argument that there was, there has been some fraud in mail-in ballots. They've increased the limitations on how mail-in ballots and mail-in ballot turn-ins, you know, they've limited who can be allowed to return a mail-in ballot. They've added some, in addition to the third-party registration, they've added some other restrictions as it relates to voter access, you know, and people who are petitioning voters to get, you know, sign up and register. But that is really not all that new. It's just kind of continuing what Republicans have been doing for a while. And it's even though Republicans two decades ago used mail-in ballots really to their advantage, they watched as Democrats have been able to take advantage of that. So they've decided that they have to restrict it. It's just kind of

how election laws are constantly being politicized everywhere. It's not just unique to Republicans. Lots to talk about. You can give us a call 305-995-1800. That's 305-995-1800. You can also send us a tweet. We are at Florida Roundup. And let's go to Reid, I believe. Reid, you're on the air. What's your question? Hello, and thank you.

I'm a member of WFSU and a big fan of Valerie and the gang. Sure. Thanks. I want to say real quickly, I think Eric was probably mistaken when he talked about how License to Carry has reduced road rage incidents. license to carry has reduced road rage incidents. According to a story on NPR this morning, in the states that have license to carry, road rage incidents involving guns have increased.

Now, that's not me. That's NPR. But my concern, first of all, is that being here close to the Capitol, I watched this legislature rubber stamp virtually everything the governor wanted. I think most of it was detrimental and in some cases devastating to the state, but I'm curious about the Republican-sponsored bills, some of which passed unanimously with bipartisan support, that he vetoed. Right. That's a great question, Reid. Let me ask that, or put that question, rather, to Mary Allen. What do you think about that? There were some vetoes.

He sounds wielding that veto pen quite aggressively in some cases. What are your thoughts? Yeah, it's very interesting. Among the vetoes, for example, was, you know, we talk about opportunity for, I guess, gun crime and reduction of gun crime. And legislators in a bipartisan effort included $5 million for local communities that want to reduce gun violence, and the governor vetoed that. He's also vetoed a lot of, you know, some other things that people are sort of perplexed by there was an effort to reduce the cost for state um state uh departments and their their vehicle fleet um by if they can purchase a electric vehicle that over its lifetime would save the state more money um that that that should be an option and so there was a law that was passed that recently that would have done that, and the governor vetoed that.

What has been interesting to watch is that each of these vetoes the governor has issued in the last month, he has kind of not done what traditional governors have done, and that is provide his rationale for why he's vetoing. In fact, he has a history of having provided veto letters with explanations. That gives legislators an opportunity to come back and address his concerns. Instead, he's been vetoing these things with zero explanation. And so it's almost as if they're arguing, you know, he doesn't expect them to come back and address it.

So it's there. There were a couple of vetoes in the last week that had almost unanimous approval by the legislature relating to criminal justice reform and clearing somebody's criminal record. And the governor vetoed those things, but he didn't give an answer. So he is going against the norm, and he's not giving legislators much opening to fix what he's objecting to. In future sessions, I suppose. In future sessions, exactly, which has kind of been an interesting development. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio.

Last topic, I think we're going to hit on these new laws quickly is yesterday, Governor DeSantis signed a bill that will preempt local housing ordinances, local housing laws, if you will. It's expected that HB 1417 is going to undo local renter protection laws across the state, affecting an estimated 1.5 million renters here. Tim, I want to go to you on this one. What impact is this going to have on rental markets and in metro areas across Florida, like in Jacksonville, for example? It's probably on the marketplace itself,

not so much, but it will have an impact on renters. The big question that is unanswered is what it means for those using Section 8 vouchers. Many of the local regulations that this is preempting require landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers. So the big question is, what happens to those people? I mean, look, we have an affordable housing crisis in the state, and doing things to make it harder on – to make renting less advantageous is not going to help things. harder on to make renting less advantageous is is not going to help things um there's also the broader preemption issue which this is just part of you know talking to politicians here who even conservative ones really don't like the idea that the state's coming in and saying that you can't decide how to govern your own city right and here in miami-dade county for example um the ordinance we have in place now it prohibits landlords from discriminating based on where you get your money.

So if you get money from Section 8, they can't discriminate against you. But now they might be able to if this is preempted. I want to say thank you to all of our panel members. We've been speaking with Valerie Crowder, reporter for WFSU News in Tallahassee. And also joining us was Tim Gibbons, editor-in-chief of the Jacksonville Business Journal, and Mary Ellen Kloss, the Capitol Bureau chief for the Miami Herald.

Thank you all for coming on. We really appreciate it. Have a great weekend. You too. Take care. And coming up in just a few minutes on the Florida Roundup, we're going to be talking about beating the heat as the temperatures soar across the Sunshine State in much of the U.S. and malaria cases reach Florida. Listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Republic Radio, Radio Media. For some small businesses, the summertime is slow business season.

Right now, we're still busy. We haven't slowed up one bit, which is good. I'm Kyle Rizdahl. How one Detroit frame shop is handling the heat. That's next time on Marketplace. Tonight at 6, here on WJCT News 89.9. The Supreme Court has had a busy term and it ain't over yet. The justices have already weighed in on voting rights and affirmative action.

Today, they rule on Biden's student loan forgiveness plan and a case involving LGBT couples and a Christian wedding website designer. We'll have news and analysis about those decisions on the next All Things Considered from NPR News. Starting at four on WJCT News 89.9. Is this the little girl I carried? On the next Fresh Air, we remember lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who along with composer Jerry Bach wrote the musicals Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello, and She Loves Me. Harnick died last week at the age of 99.

You'll hear excerpts of several of our interviews with him. Join us. Today at 1 on WJCT News 89.9. When did she get to be a beauty? Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And I'm Matthew Petty in Tampa. We're less than a month into summer, but temperatures are already soaring, and the heat and humidity is palpable. Across the state, high temperatures are reaching the 90s this week,

and it feels even warmer, with the heat index breaking triple digits in much of the state. That's right. This week, both Miami and Key West experiencing the hottest days on record. Further north, in Orlando, cooling centers are being opened to help some escape the heat. And dangerously hot and humid conditions are expected to persist across the state, with excessive heat warnings and advisories in place for several areas. Well, the extreme heat poses a threat to us humans, but it's great news for mosquitoes. For the first time in decades, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of several locally acquired cases of malaria in the United States, including Florida. So how vulnerable are we to

future outbreaks of things like malaria? What are local officials doing to help mitigate the risks of rising temperatures? Joining us now to discuss, we have Chad Nielsen, Director of Accreditation and Infection Prevention at UF Health Jacksonville. And also joining us is Joe Mario Peterson, a health reporter for WMFE in Orlando. Chad, Joe, thank you both for coming on. Thanks for having me. Yeah. And we also want to hear from you on this. How are you

staying safe and cool in these hot summer months? You can call us at 305-995-1800 or tweet us at Florida Roundup. So Chad, let's start with you. Who is most at risk when we are experiencing these extremely, extremely hot days of record-breaking heat? Well, anyone who particularly is working outside, spending a lot of time outside, or those of advanced age. So we're looking around our local areas and seeing people who work extended hours having to take extra breaks, making sure they're carrying water. But frankly, the elderly are also very at risk for a variety of health-related reasons. So those are the people we really want to try and protect at most right

now. And what are some of the symptoms of heat exhaustion that particularly elderly people, as you mentioned, should be aware of when they're feeling their own bodies? Yeah, extreme fatigue, dehydration, profuse sweating. These are all really easy signs. And then particularly when you get close to something like heat stroke, mental confusion sets in, even just listlessness. So not really paying attention or listening to what's going on. Those are all some signs that combined with being outside in the heat really cause a concern and action needs to be taken. And Joe Mario, I want to bring you into this. What are officials doing in your area in central Florida to alleviate the risk from this

heat wave? Right. So over in Volusia and Seminole County, we actually saw both those counties start activating these coolness centers, right? So they're making libraries or community centers more available. I believe in Orlando, the Christian Service Center downtown has set up an extreme heat cooling center inside for anyone to come on in. I believe, as Chad pointed out, you know, senior citizens are certainly at risk. And that's something that Seminole has taken note of. So Seminole has also started its emergency shelters. They put that in place for just in case any kind of like congregate senior living facility, assisted living facility or nursing home loses power or loses air conditioning.

You know, they have a backup for this population just in case. And how are local municipalities in the state preparing for the increased frequency of heat waves and in general hotter days? the increased frequency of heat waves and in general hotter days i mean we know that as climate change advances we're going to have more and more days hitting these thresholds that are really dangerous yeah no that's that's a great point um so to i guess to address that the national weather service has actually lowered the bar for extreme heat warnings and advisories um down in miami-dade county previously the n NWS would only do so, would only issue these advisories on smartphones when heat indexes rose to 108 degrees or above. Now that advisory will be issued at about 105 degrees since, like you said, you know, we are likely to see this kind of heat more often. The hope is that the new standards will better protect residents from the risks of heat more often. The hope is that the new standards will better protect residents from

the risks of heat. And, you know, they're really hoping that they can keep people out of the hospital by doing this. 305-995-1800. That's 305-995-1800. If you want to call and tell us about your experience of the heat wave and how you cope with it. You can also tweet us. We're at Florida Roundup. Let's get a call in here from Laurel in Sarasota. Laurel, you're on the air. Hi. Thanks for joining us.

Yeah, thank you. And I think that's such a great subject. I was inspired. I work outside. I was born in Sarasota and have done water sports and taught summer camps and done kayak tours and windsurfing, things that you're on the water and you're exposed, but then also the landscaping side of it where you're nowhere near the water and you're even more exposed.

What I found so much is that we discussed, one, I think education is the most important thing, the factor I've seen people in heat exhaustion in numerous situations that I've been in, in these venues that I just mentioned. And it's almost always because they were completely unaware to begin with that it was a problem. And the people around them were also unaware of what they were seeing or how to be behaving preemptively. So I think more so than hydration and more so than first aid, it's the hydration that we're missing is shade and cooling ourselves naturally.

When I was a kid, we were told always just, we'll go in the hose. It's too hot to be outside. We'll go in the hose. Well, we didn't have asphalt and buildings and we had rain every afternoon, so it was cooling. But right now, what I found to be the most effective, wearing a hat, wearing your shirt, and wetting those garments, wetting your skin, wetting each other. You know, just, I mean, when you're in an outdoor water sports type thing, or people

who are working outdoors, to have a method to be actually keeping shirts wet. They're going to dry very quickly. But if you keep doing that, you're actually able to continue to work in a situation where you otherwise would be putting yourself in harm's way. Laurel, thank you so much. Some great points there. And just a reminder, you are listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio.

Chad, some good ideas. What are some other ways people can kind of monitor their heat levels to our coolest point, making sure that they aren't suffering those, you know, early signs of heat stroke and keep themselves cool? Yeah, I think I agree with Laurel's point there that education is a big part of it. You know, knowing what to look for, you know, the nausea, the dizziness, the loss of consciousness, those kind of things are the extreme level. But I think just in general is monitoring your body when you're outside.

And if you know you're putting yourself into a situation that maybe you can't take certain precautions, being cognizant of how you feel and removing yourself from that environmental situation so you can bring your body temperature down, get some shade and things like that. So I think it's just general awareness. We see this a lot in central Florida. As an Orlando native, at the theme parks, we'll get folks from all over the world who are not used to this kind of heat, and so you'll see heat exhaustion and strokes all the time in the theme parks.

And it's just that key of they might not understand they're heading down that pathway before it's too late. So just being aware that it can happen and those steps you can take to prevent it. And Chad, one thing we're having now is the last reported case of locally acquired malaria in the U.S. was in 2003. And now we have some new cases, some of which are in Florida. What should people be worried about this? Yeah, so it's a really interesting case of sort of the old things coming back to haunt us, right? So the last time we saw locally acquired malaria was 2003 in Palm Beach County, actually, where we had eight cases. And so a variety of factors go into why we're starting to see cases of malaria again. Malaria, yellow fever, these things used to be

common in Florida up until the 1900s when public health measures were put in place, you know, mosquito sprain started and we understood how better to protect ourselves. But I don't think there's any cause for real concern right now. That said, most Floridians are very used to those common things that you have to do to keep mosquitoes away from your house, right? Eliminating water sources like rain-filled tires or rain-filled trash can lids. We know to reduce our risk of mosquito bites. Those are the simple things that are going to work to keep these pesky mosquitoes out and therefore malaria and other types of tropical diseases. Right. And part of the concern and the reasoning, I suppose, is as the climate heats up,

the mosquitoes that carry diseases like malaria find the climate more suitable in Florida. I mean, we have had this to your point in the past, but we're getting there. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I think the big thing to note is we don't get that usual winter call of mosquitoes when the winters are warmer, right? And I know we've had exceedingly warm winters in Florida the last 10 years or so, but we used to rely on that cold snap to kill some of those mosquitoes and therefore the vectors that carry the disease. So as the state and the United States and world continue to see impacts from global climate change and warming, we're going to continue to see the spread of these types of diseases as a natural consequence.

as a natural consequence. And there are anti-malaria medications that are available. I'll just mention for anyone listening. Matt, you were going to say something? I was just going to say, yeah, should outdoor workers be getting prescriptions just in the last 20 seconds or so? Chad, what do you think? Yeah, not at this time. Anti-malarials, although very effective, they've been used in the military for years when we deploy people. They do have negative consequences in terms of how they make people feel. It makes you have upset stomachs and things like that. I don't think the risk right now to outdoor employees is worth it. We know that they can wear long sleeves that breathe and use deep-containing pest spray for themselves,

and that's going to be better protection than antimalarials. So lots of things to think about, folks in the outdoors who are out there working in the heat, and also people who are prone to or sort of worried about mosquitoes, I guess. The point is to kind of educate yourself and be aware that there are things to do. Protect yourself against the heat and against those mosquitoes. I want to thank both of our guests.

We've been speaking with Chad Nielsen, Director of Accreditation and Infection Prevention at UF Health Jacksonville, and Joe Mario-Peterson, Health Reporter for WMFE in Orlando. Thank you both. Thank you. Yeah, thanks for having us. And

that's our show for today. The Proffiler Roundup, produced by WJCT Public Media in Jacksonville and WLRN Public Media in Miami Heather Schatz and Bridget O'Brien are the producers WLRN's Vice President of Radio and our Technical Director is Peter Mayers Engineering help from Doug Peterson Charles Michaels, Jackson Harp

and Isabella Da Silva Richard Ives answers the phones Our theme music is provided by Miami Jazz Guitarist