The Florida Roundup - What Texas can learn from Florida’s voucher program, condo owners vs board members, weekly news briefing.

Episode Date: August 15, 2025

This week on The Florida Roundup, we connected with colleagues at Houston Public Media to talk about Texas’ foray into universal school vouchers, following Florida’s lead (03:28). But first, we checked in with Your Florida state government team reporter Douglas Soule for a look at how Florida’s voucher program is going (00:00). Then, we explored the mounting tensions between condo owners and condo board associations in the wake of condo reforms with Your Florida state government team reporter Meghan Bowman and Julio Robaina, former Republican member of the Florida House (20:28). Plus, Glenna Milberg, reporter for Local 10 News in South Florida, joins for an update on the environmental hearing on ‘Alligator Alcatraz' (37:32). And later, Florida has a new Lieutenant Governor and other news from across the state (40:52).

The Florida Roundup is sponsored by Covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813 or coveringflora.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Great to have you along. A half million Florida school students started the school year this year in private schools but using public tax dollars. They use school vouchers. to pay some or all of their private school tuition. Florida has been a pioneer in allowing parents to port over public tax dollars

from traditional public schools to private schools. And Texas is following Florida's lead. That's why we will be connecting with colleagues in Houston to hear about their state's embrace of school vouchers in just a few minutes. So what would you like Texans to know about Florida's school choice efforts? Have you used state vouchers for education? Call us now 305-995-1800. 305-995-1800. First, Douglas Soll is with us, reporter for the Your Florida Project, state government

reporter. Douglas, how much is a Florida school voucher worth these days? Well, first, thanks so much for having me on. Always nice to talk with you, Tom. For the state, vouchers are costing billions of dollars every year nowadays. For how much parents are getting, the amount can vary. The most popular voucher option is called the Florida. It's called the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options. The average scholarship amount for that is around eight grand. Depending on the case-by-case circumstances, those who use an option like the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with unique abilities, on average gets a couple thousand dollars more. That's for students with disabilities. Among the parents using these scholarships is Darcy Dahlia in Palm Bay. You

spoke with her and she sends her autistic son to a private school that she says best suits him. He is supported there and he feels supported there. He's happy to go every day. These people become like his family. So who are the parents and the children using these vouchers? Well, according to Governor Ron DeSantis, earlier this year, more than a half million students are taking advantage. Delia is one of the parents who applied for the money. Of course, her son Gavin did go to public school earlier in life. That used to be a voucher requirement, but he didn't thrive there. Without the requirement, a huge chunk of the students who are now benefiting from these vouchers never went to public schools.

They've either always been homeschooled since homeschooled since homeschooled children can also receive the funds or gone to private school. Yeah. Are there restrictions on which students can use the state education money and for what? Um, so there are certainly a lot fewer restrictions than there used to be. There's no public school attendance requirement for students anymore, as stated. And recently state leaders also removed the income cap to receive state funds. So there's currently incredibly broad access to vouchers in Florida. Experts tell me the state leads the nation in that way. Of course, that's also come with a good bit of controversy. Yeah, indeed. Douglas Soll reporter for the your

Florida reporting project here on Florida Public Radio. Douglas, thanks for sharing your reporting with us. No, thanks for having me on. We are talking about public school vouchers in Florida and in Texas. So Floridians, Florida Roundup audience, folks, what do you want Texans to know about your experience with school choice here in the Sunshine State? 305-995-1800. Because you see, this spring, Texas became the largest state to approve taxpayer-paid school vouchers. The program begins next year and it becomes the biggest state to allow parents to use tax dollars for private schools something florida has allowed for a few years now which is why we're joining houston public media to connect live with texans and floridians on this friday to talk about

school vouchers and we are very excited to welcome w lrn senior economics editor and special correspondent Tom Hudson, Tom, welcome to Hello Houston. Great to be with you. Celestea S. Sherman is there with us in Houston and Ernie Mniews with Hello Houston here on the Florida. Welcome to the Sunshine State, Ernie and Celeste. Great to have you as well. You know, we got a bit of sunshine here too. Don't just hoard all the sunshine. You can keep all the humidity you can handle Houston, all right? Yes. The interesting thing, as we've been talking about already, is that you folks are already in the midst of what we are about to embark. Mark on. And you were kind enough to say, let's share our experience with Houston and see what you can learn from us too along the way. But I think we can learn more from you in this particular situation. Perhaps because we're further along the line experimenting with school vouchers in a big way in Florida compared to just starting in Texas. But also to hear about the Texas experience about what has led Texans in the Texas legislature to approve school vouchers with a very kind of Florida flavor to it.

So for a Florida audience, the phone number is the same. 305-995-1800. 305-9-9-5-1800. And you can also email the Florida program here. Our email address is Radio at the Florida Roundup.org. And here in Houston, for our listeners, our phone number is 713-440-8870. Again, 713-4-40-8870.

You can call or text that number as well as Send us an email at talk at hello houston.org. You know, I would say that a place to begin with this is how we both got to this place. And when it comes to Texas, we got here in an interesting way. It's kind of part of that conservative momentum that's sweeping the country. And it was also an election strategy very much pushed by our Republican governor, Governor Abbott. I'm curious how you folks found yourself in this situation and how it came to become reality. Yeah, I think it was a much slower burn.

that frankly could date back to maybe the 1990s and the Governor Bush, Governor Jeb Bush, who really began education, public education reform in the late 1990s, which has led to specialized school vouchers. They call them scholarships here in Florida, but it led to specialized school vouchers for students with unique abilities and other kinds of real tailored programs. But then in 2023, the legislature here in Florida passed a law that kind of removed all of the restrictions, removed the ceiling. And now you have the ability of really any parents of a school-age child in Florida to access what would be the public funds that would go to the traditional public schools and instead redirect those to private school tuition and parochial schools. Now, Tom, I understand, you know, we're calling it school vouchers, but they're in Florida. as you were saying, there are two main different types of programs.

And there is the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship that originally launched. What can you tell us about that? And then why was there a need to expand on it into the Florida Empowerment Scholarship for Education Options? And the Florida Empowerment Scholarship is the one that really has expanded considerably. And these two scholarship programs together, this school year, Celeste and Nernie, we're talking about a half million students. students in Florida taking advantage. That's one out of every six school student in the state of Florida. And frankly, by the end of this decade, it's expected to be one of every five taking

advantage of one of these programs. One of them was more specifically tailored for school choice and transportation needs and some other things. The school empowerment or the family empowerment scholarship really removed a lot of those restrictions. And essentially was kind of from the philosophy of here are the public dollars per child that the state spends on public education, let's give it to the parent, quote unquote, the parent,

as a school choice and allow them the parent to make the best decision about where they think their child is going to get the best education, be it in a traditional public school, charter school, a private school, a parochial school, or perhaps a school that can address a child's special needs if he or she may have them. And, you know, I think that's one of the biggest concerns

that a lot of Texas parents are having right now. When we look at specifically public education, And we're looking at, you know, our school vouchers that are basically, they're called an education savings account, ESAs, that right now, Texas will essentially give about $10,000 to pay for their kids' private schooling. That's more than the average in Florida, by the way, by about two grand. Well, you know, everything is bigger in Texas, Tom. And our governor has touted that our school voucher program will be the biggest in the nation. And I think that when we look to Florida as Texans and we see that already there was a scholarship and then it was expanded on in 2023, I think that's the concern a lot of parents have going into this. Well, I think Texas kind of, my understanding is you kind of skipped a lot of the buildup that Florida has done with more narrowly defined scholarships through the years to this kind of,

essentially unrestricted dollars funneled through the parents to the education system. Well, you've given us this wonderful opportunity to be able to hear from you and from your listeners about the experiences you've had. And we've opened up our phone lines also to have questions come in from our audience. It's 713-440-8870. So let's get our first call on the line. Jacob from Spring is calling. And Jacob, what's on your mind?

Good morning. I had a question just in general if Florida could quantify how much, money has left the public school system as a result of this policy. And I guess a follow-up on that is there, if I understood what was said earlier, you've looked at kind of a workaround for what I understand is the Robin Hood. Good parents then just elect for their funds to go to their designated public school. Is that an option? Jacob, thank you for your question. I guess it does open a big question here is about what this does financially to public schools and does the money get drained from there? Who is it actually helping? Jacob is going right to the heart of the

matter and the heart of the debate, right? I mean, it's all about the dollars and how is it affecting the traditional public school system. Well, in Florida, Jacob, you know, it is moving hundreds of millions of dollars out of traditional public schools into other types of schools, public or rather private and parochial schools. Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of Florida the school district there

says it's costing $45 million dollars it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars in Miami-Dade County and Broward County Hillsborough County we're talking about Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Tampa areas

so these are public dollars that normally would go to a traditional public school with the children that are going there but as the children or their parents are moving to other educational opportunities those dollars are following the children now.

But just a quick follow-up on this, I'm curious. Some evidence is showing that there's a higher rate of college enrollment and bachelor degrees attainment for students in Florida with this program in place. Do we find that that is actually true? Well, it's still early days. The full expansion of this program wasn't until 2023, so it's early data, and it says what it says, right, Ernie? but I think that both the proponents as well as the opponents would like are going to be looking very clearly at results ultimately.

What does this mean for the students that are moving out of traditional public schools into these other private schools? What kind of performance are we talking about and what kind of college admissions and then ultimately following them through into early careerhood? Let's hear from Sam has been listening to this conversation in Tampa, Florida. Sam, welcome to the program. Thanks for waiting. You're on the radio. Hi, thank you. I just called in to kind of share my own experience, and I've been a public school advocate for several years, and I really just think we need more oversight of this program. I have three children. One is now in college. They all went through the public school system, and last year, we moved one to private school, and I watched this voucher being used by professional

athletes. It's barely a quarter, what it covers, barely a quarter of our tuition. So it's not helping the people that really need it. You're not going to go to private school with the voucher from Florida, at least in Tampa. You're not going to be able to pay for tuition with that voucher. So it's really helping middle upper class, upper class, and it's just so much is being taken from the public school system that really, really needs it. I feel like there should be some type of income requirements. Possibly it used to be if the kid was bullied. Because I'm certain that there are families deserving of having financial assistance to attend private school um but i just it just makes me think how much money is being taken from the public school

system yeah for for private school sam did i hear you right when you said that you moved a student to private school we did and what was what led to that choice why did you decide to do that and try that and then did they stay in private school or did you move them back to public so she had ADHD. The school that we are zoned for is very, very large, and I was very anxious that she might fall into the wrong crowd, that we wouldn't have as much teacher oversight as she needs. So we did move her to private school, and she's not happy. But we are trying to navigate it the best we can.

I just feel like she needed smaller. That was the main goal was we needed smaller. And right now, it's hard because it's a lot of money, and I'd rather spend it on their college than on her high school. But we're sticking with it for now because the alternative are a little too scary for me. With my second one, excuse me, my third one, she had a couple years before we have to decide about high school, and I don't know what we're going to do yet.

with her, but it's looking like we'll probably stick with public school. And the voucher, you know, really has no bearing on what we're going to do because we don't want to take that away from public school. Yeah. Yeah, you see it from both sides there, Sam, in your own household. So best of luck with the new school year just underway. And the early wake-up calls, I suspect, in your household is, is the case in mine, at least. You know, Sam brought up an interesting point, right? She was saying how she herself also saw the misuse of, let's say people that could very easily afford this. And I think that's one of the reasons why there was so much pushback here in Texas from

rural Republicans who were against essentially school vouchers or here in Texas education saving accounts. And it was almost the opposite situation where they were against it because there was a lack of options in school choice. Interesting. And it really left them out in the cold. You know, as we've gone further along this experiment here in Florida, that critique of the lack of restrictions or very loose restrictions on how parents can use this money is a very common

refrain. We heard from Katie in Duval County, which is where Jacksonville is. Hi, this is Katie, and I am a frustrated public school parent in Duval County. Our public schools are the heartbeat of our communities, but lawmakers keep chipping away at them, pushing culture wars, unfunded mandates, and, yeah, funneling our tax dollars into unaccountable vouchers. And parents are sick of it public education isn't a personal bank account it is a shared investment that lives every community while teachers are constantly being asked to do more with less and we rank last in the nation and teacher pay so lawmakers they need to get back to work and put caps on these vouchers and prioritize the public schools to educate the vast majority of florida's kids and you know katie

thank you katie for sending us a voicemail here in florida she pointed out uh earning Celeste, that Florida voucher money can be used for homeschooled students to visit Disney and Universal, theme parks, for instance. Oh, then I'm in favor of it for myself. But, Ernie, if you do it, you have to file an education benefit form that has one question, and it asks, what is the educational benefit of this item? Fun. So there you go.

John has been patient here in Florida in St. John's County, just outside of Duval and Jacksonville. John, you're on the radio. Go ahead. Yeah, good afternoon. Similar comment to what they're saying, you know, they say it's a choice between private and public schools, but these charter vouchers come out of the public schools. So by doing charter, you degrade public schools, so there's not really a choice there.

If they would put that money back in so that they remained equal, that would be fine. but they never seem to be able to find money for public schools, but as education becomes a profit institution, then they have lots of money. John, I'm going to let you go. I'm going to cut in because we're short on time, but thank you for calling from St. John's County in Florida. Tom, a quick question here before we have to go.

All the talk was that this would lead to improvement of public schools because there would be competition. Have we seen that starting to develop? Well, we're seeing, you know, certainly big concerns around the finance. of public schools, as you heard, from our listeners here in Florida. Houston, great to be with you. Thanks for your time. Thank you very much. What a great opportunity there to speak across state lines,

different experiences from different folks. We're going to continue to do that here on the Florida Roundup. And send us your thoughts, radio at the Florida Roundup.org. Radio at the Florida Roundup.org. And we'll be sure to crack open that inbox in weeks ahead. Still to come, the contentious relationship between condo owner and condo board. We want to hear from you 305-995-1800. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by Covering Florida Navigator Program, providing confidential

assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813-9191-15 or coveringflora.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. Great to have you along. Next week on our program, Florida is on the front lines of the fight for food between climate and culture. The Sunshine State's orange crop is a small fraction of what it was just a few decades ago, and the state was the first to ban lab-grown meat. Like Florida, the world's population is growing and the planet is warming. So what does this mean for the race to feed ourselves?

Next week, we'll speak with journalist Mike Grunwald about his new book, We Are Eating the Earth, the race to fix our food system and save our climate. Have you changed your diet because of the climate? Like buying local produce only? How do you think about carbohydrates and a carbon footprint? Let us know by emailing radio at the Florida roundup.org. Radio at the Florida roundup.org.

That's next week. Now, after a condo building collapsed in Surfside in 2021, killing 98 people, state lawmakers hurried to pass protections to prevent it from happening. again. The reforms left many condominium owners dealing with high fees and special assessments and condominium boards scrambling to get enough money to fill reserves. Condo owners and board members, what's your level of trust between each other? How have you handled the higher costs and questions because of condominium reforms? 305-995-1800 is our phone number. The lines are open now. 305-995-1800 or radio at the Florida Roundup.org.

Reporter Megan Bowman takes us to one condo complex in Broward County now with tense relations between some owners and board members. Before the state's condominium reforms, it was common for condo boards to not have much money in their savings account. The priority was on keeping cost low over anticipating future repairs. Also, boards were not required to disclose much information, making it hard for owners to get access to financial records or board meeting minutes. These issues contributed to a breakdown of trust in communities, like at Environment Towers and Lauder Hill. On a hot and muggy August day, chirping birds are drowned out by constant jackhammering. Crews are replacing worn-out stucco on two eight-story buildings at the complex.

Owner Ted Beaver points out black spray-painted boxes to direct contractors to damage stucco. What I see is one little spot in the whole thing. That's good. Sometimes you get bang, bang, bang, bang, big. Inside Tower 1, three owners meet in the downstairs conference room with fresh fruit and notes. The constant drilling outside leaks into the room, which has a small kitchen, multicolored chairs, and sea green tables. Beaver is one of the owners at the meeting. He bought his condo and Environ a month before the surfside collapse.

I kind of like just went along with the program to start with. then when I started seeing them work, then I started having some questions of what was actually transpiring. Two years ago, the board started doing its 40-year inspection. It's a requirement in Broward County for condo boards to look into a building structural and electrical systems when it reaches that age. Board President Michael McNeil says the engineering company found Envirant needed to get its electrical and elevators up to code. The inspection also discovered rusted tension cables and rebar throughout the buildings, which are essential for their structural integrity. McNeil lives in Ottawa, Canada for half the year. He took over his board president in March, inheriting the inspection results and more.

I certainly don't want to be hired on the board that was before us because they were doing what they thought was right. However, there were some transparency issues in the sense that people were unaware of what was going on. for most of the time and and the kinds of work that was necessary to be done. In his new role, he says he wanted to ensure documents were easily accessible and to provide owners with as much information as possible. McNeil also started a monthly newsletter called Towers Talk, providing a complete overview of the condos business. But McNeil found his efforts at more transparency weren't enough to overcome years of mistrust that had built up among owners. No matter how many issues of Towers Talk we put out, no matter.

how many letters I put out as a blast email to all of the owners, they just don't understand. They would rather believe what they hear from their neighbor, who may be a disruptor. For owner Virginia Jackson, the previous board's lack of transparency was a significant issue, and it led to a deep distrust of the current board's actions. She requested an audit of the condo's finances. We're paying the HOA, and we're paying our assessments, and we collected money for the reserves, where's all the money? Either you're stealing it, mismanagement, misplacing it is missing. We need to know where it is. It has gotten more expensive to own a condo at Environ. In the past few

years, owners were hit with assessments to comply with the post-Surfside state laws. This year, they were charged about $8,000 each in special assessments. Also, the condominium recently changed management companies. Jackson was initially happy, but then she found out the new management firm had acquired the old one. Emails between her and the current board eventually got nasty over money decisions. Relationships between boards and condo owners in Florida have long been contentious. New condo reform laws that took effect last month aimed to improve transparency and require more training for board members. The law also hopes to ease financial burdens on condo owners while keeping safety in mind. I'm single. I got one check. I pay a mortgage. I don't have

have enough. I don't even have money to buy groceries with. 305-995-1800 is our phone number live on this Friday to talk about relationships between condominium owners and condominium board associations. What is your level of trust if you live in a condominium with your board or if you're on that board? How are you communicating some of these reform efforts put in after Surfside and the collapse in 2021? 305-995-1800. Reporter Megan Bowman is with us live here. in Miami on this Friday. So how much are the monthly fees at this complex? Yeah, hi, Tom. So the condo board president, Michael McNeil, says those fees at Environ Towers range from about $750 to $900 each month. And that's for 132 owners.

Those fees include water, parking, cable, internet, and pretty much all maintenance in common areas. He says those have increased over the past few years, but they're pretty much on par with inflation. Now, you know, Ted, Virginia, we heard from them. They think those numbers have gone a little bit higher than needed. In the past year, those fees for them went up about 26%. That's not nothing, right? And I would suspect another big chunk of that monthly fee is going toward common insurance as well, which is a big contributor to the increase in the monthly fees for condominiums.

Yeah. What about that $8,000 special assessment that was mentioned by the owners? Right. So that was split into two assessments. totaling about $8,000. One of them was due in April. The other was due in June. Those two assessments were for the reconstruction of the buildings, in particular, the post-tension cables, rebar, stucco, and the cement block behind the stucco.

Michael did point out while those assessments are significant, that's a lot of money. And, you know, understandably difficult for folks on a fixed income to come up with, they are lower than others we've seen across the state. Oh, we've heard some in the five-figure range, even some in the six-figure range for special assessments to get buildings up to par as well as to build up their financial reserves. 305-9-9-5-1800 is our phone number. Julio Rabina is with us now, former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives who now specializes in condominium law, as he did when he served in Tallahassee. Julio, welcome back to our program. Nice to see you again. Thank you, Tom, for having me.

Thank you, Megan. We've got a lot of folks calling in here, and we'll get to you in just a moment. but how have the reforms, the condominium reforms, changed what is required by condominium board members? Well, they've changed drastically. I've been at this since 2002, writing laws to create transparency and to have, more importantly, accountability in these associations. But it's still a big problem these days, even with all these changes. Lots of laws. But I've always said, you can create all the laws in the world, but you need enforcement. And there's a problem, and accountability. And that's the problem that we're having in Florida. Great ideas. I give kudos to Senator Bradley, Vicki Lopez,

our state representative doing a great job running with this. But again, lots of laws, lack of enforcement. What's required of condominium board members today that perhaps would not have been required under Florida law before the surreth side tragedy? Well, a lot of things. Most importantly, these are volunteers, as we all know. So now it's mandatory that you must take a course and understand what you're doing because before it was as if the proverbial saying you know the tail was wagging the dog what had you had people that were volunteers got on it was more of a voluntary type deal to take a course so who was controlling the association a lot of times it was the property management companies and the attorneys so now this is a very big step forward again kudos to the

legislature for making it mandatory if you're a board member so the training mandatory what about the transparency and we hear that from a lot of condominium owners and we're going to hear it from a couple of callers here about, you know, why didn't I know this? What's been the communication to me? And you heard from the board president that Megan interviewed, he's been sending emails out and he sends a regular newsletter out, but yet still there is the lack of understanding on the part of some owners. Well, Tom, the problem always been his lack of transparency is because let's face it, if there's something shady going on, people had a, heck of a time getting access to records right you can't get records in florida now they've made it

really strong they're now putting instead of a slap and a fine now you're talking at mr meaner and felony convictions for not turning over documents so what's required by board if a condominium owner today called up their board president said i want to get a copy of our 2024 audited financial reports what i would do they're required to do that they are but i tell you don't do it that way i wrote this law back in 2008. It was House Bill 995. When you ask for documents, since you don't trust anybody these days, unfortunately, and some of these board members are really honest people that are trying to get to the core, what you need to do is you need to request it in a written form and send a certified return receipt letter to make sure that they got it. So there's proof

that somebody received it, whether it was the management company. Why? Because, listen, we're from South Florida here, and we know how it is, you've got to put it in a written form. Megan, that is a trust and verify kind of operation there for something like that. Hulia-Rabina is with us, a former Republican member of the Florida House specializing in condominium law. Megan Bowman, a reporter for your Florida is with us talking about condominium board management, and Elizabeth has been listening in Newberry. Elizabeth, go ahead. You are on the radio. Thanks for calling. Yes, hi. I'm an owner in a condominium community in Orlando, and what we are seeing in our

community and other communities in the area is something much more insidious, and that is investors buying into the complex, getting themselves elected onto the board, and then using the surfside tragedy and some of those laws to assess enormous fees and assessments against the homeowners, failing to make necessary repairs, driving owners into foreclosure in some instances and then buying those condominiums at below market rate and selling them to bulk investors and or developers for conversion back into apartment. Or even going to the decertific, sorry, Elizabeth, even going to the decertification route, which is to buy it up, tear the building down, and build something else.

Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. I am living this, even as we speak, yesterday I filed on behalf of our other homeowners a complaint with the DBPR. We have 30 owners signing on because, of course, we don't have access to the full roster of owners, so we can't notify everybody. We have 350 units.

So we have 30 owners that signed on to this complaint, and we desperately need more coverage of this. We desperately need, in some cases, I mean, there are criminal issues involved in this particular situation. Elizabeth, let me just remind folks real quick that you are listening to the Florida Ronda from your Florida Public Radio Station. All right, Julio, a lot there to unpack. Absolutely. And she's hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I call it a conspiracy. Even board members are in on this a lot of times with these developers that know that they can't afford a special assessment. They can't afford banks are not loaning. We have something we'll talk about later to be able to fund these to save these buildings. But developers know that. And they are getting on these boards. They're cutting deals trying to take control of these buildings. So first I want to take the special assessments though might be real. These, you know, these older buildings have. have fallen into disrepair, the financial reserves of many of these older buildings, non-existent or very, very small, Megan, as you saw when you looked at some financials of some buildings. So that's a real issue. Absolutely. Opportunistic would be a polite way to call

what Elizabeth is talking about. Some others may call it vultures. Well, the thing is that, remember, land in Florida has been up some. We're not making any more of it. We're not making any more of it where an old building sat in this they're targeting a lot of these older buildings 40 50 60 year old buildings they can knock it down give you 50 cents or penny on the dollar and they're going to build something that they're going to make a big return on their investment so an owner like elizabeth that she is describing her situation in Orlando uh while not giving legal advice here counselor we're not robina but what what kind of direction would you give her it was somebody who cares about her community, it seems like, and wants to try to remain a member of that condominium

community. Well, the first thing I think me and Megan were having this conversation earlier is you guys got to get involved. People have to go to these meetings. They have to be involved. Do not allow your board to make decisions for you because I tell everybody, you trust them with your checkbook. Are you going to trust them with the roof over your head? You're not. You need to get involved. You need to find out. But more importantly, what you need to do is put the time, effort. and if you can find the funding, again, there are ways to do it. You need to be able to save those buildings so that you don't fall prey to a developer who's going to make a very nice deal.

We do have an investor listening in here. Steve in Jacksonville. Steve, thanks for your patience. You're on the radio. Go ahead. Well, he just said what I wanted to say. I bought three of these units a while back, and I have friends that own other units, and they want to complain to me about the price.

price of the fees, and it's like, well, come join us in the meeting, at least listen to what we have to say. The only reason I got on the board was because I was like, where is all this money going? I've been on this board for two years. I don't see a dime of it being wasted. Megan, that's what you heard from a lot of owners, too. Yes. Yes. I mean, that's pretty much exactly what happened at Environ. You know, Michael talked about how the previous board, nothing on them, but there were some transparency issues, and he said, hey, I got to get in there, see what's going on. Steve, I think you're still with us. Let me ask you, now that you're on the board and you're able to follow the money, are you satisfied? I'm not happy. I mean, it's a lot of money.

Well, yeah, happy is one thing, but satisfied that it is real and is doing what it needs to be done. Yeah, and I would say the only thing that still irritates me to this day is when someone complains, and I've never seen him at a board me. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, fair weather fans, perhaps. Steve and Jacksonville, thank you for your thoughts here. Julio, we have just a couple of moments. moments left here, but I do want to talk about just real quick some of the financing options that owners like Elizabeth owners that Megan spoke to up in Broward County have when facing special assessments. The reforms have kind of allowed new financing mechanisms. It has, and now boards have a responsibility and an option, because remember, you got pretty much three options.

One is you can specially assess people, but people can't afford these big lumps of money that they're requested. Second is banks. Banks are not loaning, pretty much. They don't. So, I will, with your permission before we end, I'll give out my website and my number, which half a Florida has anyway, my cell phone. Go ahead real quick. Yeah, my cell number is 305, 343-0776, and my website is JAG-FL.C-O, but there's an option because you've got to get these jobs done, this repair work done in this buildings. Just to be clear, you're not a lender here.

I am not a lender. I'm just, I'm proposing another alternative that might save these buildings. All right, we're going to continue to come back to this topic. It is awfully important. Hulia, a former Florida legislative member. Thank you, Julio. Nice to see you again. Megan Bowman, thank you for reporting in South Florida this week.

Thanks, Tom. It was fun. It is an issue for all of Florida in terms of the condominium and, of course, the promise of a Florida condominium and what that has meant for so many years. Keep the emails coming, radio at the Florida Roundup.org. More to come. The Florida Roundup is sponsored by covering Florida Navigator Program,

providing confidential assistance. with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813-915 or covering Florida.org. This is the Florida Roundup. I'm Tom Hudson. A federal judge in Miami said she would decide the fate of alligator alcatraz by Thursday next week. In the meantime, Governor And DeSantis announced plans to move forward with a second detention facility, this one at the Baker County Correctional Institute in Sanderson. It starts from a much different though, than the airstrip in the Everglades that has been turned into a detention center.

So this, you talk about ready-made infrastructure. This was something that was very appealing from that perspective because it would require us to do a lot less in standing up than we would at blending and far less than we had to do at Alligator Alcatraz. It's that lack of infrastructure and the quick construction of tents, toilets, and other buildings that is at the heart of one federal lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in my is considering whether or not alligator alcatraz violates environmental rules. She already has stopped the state of Florida from expanding the facility through Thursday. This case is just one of the developments this week for the Immigration Holding Center in the middle of the Everglades.

Glenna Milberg is a reporter at Local 10 News in South Florida. Glennah, thanks for spending some time with us. What options does the judge have in her ruling? This is an environmental law case. It's one of two cases, but this one is solely centers on whether the building of what they call Alligator Alcatraz was done on federal land. It is the Big Cypress National Preserve, however, owned by Miami-Dade County, however, taken over under emergency orders by the state, all kind of very murky.

So the judge is weighing whether this particular building went through the requisite national and federal environmental legal procedures, which would entail going through, let's call National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates that anything of anything built goes through a very specific oversight, bureaucratic process, including public comment, you know, it takes time and it's a review and it's a study. This never went through that. And the government is arguing, well, it never needed to because it's the state building it. And the couple of environmental groups, including Friends of the Everglades, are saying, well, that absolutely has to go through that. There has been about as much clarity on who's in charge of Alligator Alcatraz as there is sunshine in a thick, dense mangrove in the middle of the Everglades.

Has this court case provided any sunshine about who is in control? It seems like the judge is trying. There has been no definitive word yet, but that's the very crux of what the Department of Homeland Security attorneys are arguing is that this is not our facility. Clearly, what's going on inside is federal immigration law, but also clearly the state built it in an attempt to distance itself, the federal government, is saying this is a state-built project. So what it seems like at the moment, just to answer the question in very clear terms, it seems like the facility and the operation is a state jurisdiction and the actual immigration processes inside are federal jurisdiction. Glennon Milberg, reporter at Local 10 News in South Florida. Thanks, Clint. I appreciate you sharing your reporting with us. Sure thing.

Thank you. As Governor Ronda Santis' administration continues to defend its alligator alcatraz, the governor filled out his cabinet this week. He picked Tampa area Senator Jay Collins to be his second in command, his lieutenant governor. He has delivered conservative wins and I think has been one of the most productive senators we have had in modern Florida history. Collins is a former Green Beret. He earned a number of military accolades and received a purple heart medal after losing a leg in Afghanistan. He's been a DeSantis ally since getting elected to the Senate in 2022.

The battlefield, it may change, but the mission it stays the same. We are going to protect and preserve every single thing that matters. Collins's appointment now opens up his former district for a special election. That area had been Democratic before it voted Republican and elected Collins in 2022. A few Florida wildlife items for you, despite pleas from animal rights advocates, state wildlife officials on Wednesday approved holding a bear hunt come December. In the last 13 days, it could lead to 187 bears being killed. It's the first bear hunt in more than a decade, and it will take place in four regions across the state. Hunters will use a lottery process for permits. Jason Smith supports the hunt because of the increase in bear encounters.

When I was a kid, you didn't hardly ever see bear many. bears. Now they're all over the place. They're in their yard all the time. Opponents announced plans to quickly file a lawsuit to fight the hunt, arguing the commission hasn't followed its own rules about the need to follow a science-based approach. Rachel Levy is an attorney for the group Bear Warriors United. Wildlife in Florida is under a huge threat, and we're here to help the bears speak up for them and to stop the current atrocity against Florida wildlife. The state just wrapped up its effort to reduce the population of a non-native beast, a different type of effort, a 10-day python challenge.

It rounded up 294 of the snakes. That's a record. Taylor Stanbury won the $10,000 grand prize for catching 60 pythons. She's the first woman to win the challenge, and the longest snake she caught was five feet five inches long, or six inches longer than she is tall. In the waters off, Pascoe County, season has been temporarily closed again thanks to a toxic algae bloom. Lily Belcher has more from our partner station WUSF in Tampa. As scallops in the affected area filter water, they are sucking up an algae that produces neurotoxins. Those scallops are then dangerous to eat because of the high concentration of the toxin. Captain Jason Cochran says for now he's unable to take out his popular scalloping charters. Scalloping, Cochran says, definitely brings back more business in the long run too when

it comes to bringing in fishermen. It's the second year in a row, the algae has forced a temporary closure. I'm Lily Belcher in Tampa. While scallop season is closed for now, folks will be able to grab a different bivalve mollusk from Florida waters soon. State wildlife officials this week gave preliminary okay to allow oyster harvesting in part of Northwest Florida's Appalachicola Bay. Fisheries there collapsed more than a decade ago and have continued to struggle.

State biologists think some oyster reefs in the bay, though, have recovered enough to support limited commercial and recreational harvest beginning in January. Biological administrator Devin Rescoe says what Appalachicola Bay has experienced is not unique to the Sunshine State. This is not an Appalachia Bay issue. This is not a Florida issue, a Gulf issue, or either a United States issue, but this is a global issue of dramatically declining oyster populations. Now, this area in Florida, Appalachicola Bay, once supplied more than 90% of the state's oysters and 10% of oysters sold nationally. Wayne Williams is with the Seafood Work and Watermen's Association. The future I see for Apalachia Colbert, at least it's a hope to see,

is our resources come back and we build that industry back. We continue to have more people get into the trade. The final rules will be considered by the Wildlife Commission in November. I'm Tom Hudson. You're listening to the Florida Rondo from your Florida Public Radio Station. Finally, it was back to school this week for most public school students across the state, but for Arlene, Ruth, Mary Jo, Cheryl, and Donna, it was back to the water after 60 years. The five ladies were mermaids at Wikiwachi Springs State Park back in the 1960s. They were able to put their tails back on thanks to Wish of a Lifetime from AARP.

And reporter Sky LeBron from our partner station WUSF tagged along. How hard is it to put on the tail? I've got a messed up knee, got messed up stomach, got messed up arm. It's hard. Okay, now come over here to the ladder. I can't find the bottom. Where is it that it got to? What's on the bottom?

Up my ass. How's your tail feeling right now? It's always good until I get in the water and then it falls off. But when they got back in the water, they told me it felt like they were all. 19 years old again. It's like you never left. It's magical. It feels like you're at home again.

Was it easy to get back into the routine? Have you guys done older routines that you did before? Like, what's that all been like? No routines. We're just trying to see if we remember how to get down, how to hold our breath, how to move the self- buoyancy apparatus that we have attached to our body, so we don't float to the top.

How's it been working so far? So, so. When we were swimming, we would do three, four, five shows individually, and the whole show was like up to seven during the summer. We were little then, you know, we were tiny. So we had to fight that current and then stay down for a while. These little girls that are swimming now, they're doing an amazing job. I mean, has there been anything that you've carried through the rest of your lives because of this job and because of this experience. A lot of pride and a lot of

mermaids on our wall. I got mermaids all over my house. My husband said if I brought another mermaid home he was going to kill me. You ever just want to jump in a lake and be a mermaid again? No, I live up in the northwest in Washington State and it's too dang cold. I live in Arcadia, Florida and occasionally I throw my tail on when I'm feeling especially crazy. And I swim in around the pool and everybody comes out and takes a look and says, oh, yeah, Arlene's a mermaid. I am. Does it hit the same?

Nothing's the same when you talk about the water coming up out of the boil. There's just a texture to it. There's a feel to it. There's a lightness. And when you're at my age and at 17, there's really no comparison. But when I get back in that water, it's all there, every last bit of it. I'm weightless. I'm young.

I'm pretty. I'm having a good time. And I can live Underwater, Underwater, Underwater, Underwater That Arlene, Ruth, Mary Jo, Cheryl, and Donna, WikiWatchy Springs Mermaids who were able to be back in the water with their tails on after 60 years.

That is the Florida Roundup this week, produced by WLRN Public Media in Miami and WSF in Tampa by Bridget O'Brien and Denise Royal. all earns vice president of radio is peter merits the program's technical director is m j smith engineering help each and every week from doug peterson ernesto j and jackson harb our theme music is provided by miami jazz guitarist aaron leibos at aaronleibos dot com send us an email the inbox is always open the address is radio at the florida roundup dot org thanks for calling listening emailing and above all supporting public radio in your community i'm tom hudson have a terrific weekend

The Florida Roundup is sponsored by Covering Florida Navigator program, providing confidential assistance with health insurance enrollment through the health insurance marketplace. Assistance is available at 877-813 or coveringflora.org.