Conexion Miami / Glug, glug, glug…we’ll drown!

Marco Rubio doesn’t believe in global warming. Florida Governor Scott just brushes it off: “I am not a scientist,” he says. New studies released last week show that a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may have begun a slow but “unstoppable” collapse. Senator, Governor, this means we may need to prepare for larger amounts of long-term sea level rise than previously thought, say the scientists. Florida is the most at-risk state, with 2,120 square miles of land sitting at less than three feet above the high tide line. A 10-foot increase in sea level would essentially render all of South Florida, from Naples on the west coast to Ft. Lauderdale in the east, under water. This includes almost all of Miami.

New voters don’t like Ds or Rs

It seems that new registered voters in Florida are opting for neither the Republicans nor the Democrats. The shift has been the sharpest around Orlando, Miami and West Palm Beach, according to an Orlando Sentinel, and is being driven by young voters and Hispanics. Democrats still outnumber Republicans in terms of raw voters, 4.6 million to nearly 4.2 million. But GOP registration is down from 36 percent to 35 percent since 2010, while Democratic registration has dipped from 41.3 percent to 38.8 percent. The beneficiaries are a category of third-party and no-party-affiliation voters that has climbed from 22.7 percent to 26.2 percent.

Miami’s signature bridge

The Florida Department of Transportation has narrowed the design of a $600 million signature bridge in Downtown Miami to two final options,according to Miami Today. They are the Wishbone design and the Lotus design. A preliminary design will be finalized by January 2015. The bridge is fully funded and will begin construction in 2018.

Women not getting fair share

The National Women’s Law Center has released a comprehensive analysis that uncovers the gender wage gap in earnings for African American women and Latinas working full time, as compared to white, non-Hispanic men in all 50 states and D.C. Based on these wage gaps, the difference in typical lifetime earnings between African American women and white, non-Hispanic men over a 40-year career would be more than $1 million in five states and D.C. For Latinas, it would be more than $1 million in 21 states and D.C. Latinas typically make less than half of what white, non-Hispanic men make in 17 states and D.C.

Priorities

Americans continue to focus on their perennial fears. When asked what they think is the most important problem facing the United States at the moment, respondents told Gallup for its October poll: the economy (17 percent), dissatisfaction with government (16 percent), jobs (10 percent), and health care (8 percent). Much further down the list are: Ebola (5 percent) and terrorism (3 percent). And yet it seems that these last two issues dominate the headlines, the TV news, and the blogosphere.

Legal cannabis: Big biz

A Greenwave Advisors report projects that legal cannabis could be an industry with revenues of $35 billion by 2020 if marijuana is legalized at the federal level. They note that this is a floor representing revenues in the first year of countrywide legalization. To put that figure in perspective, $35 billion represents more annual revenue than the NFL (currently $10 billion), and is roughly on par with current revenues for the newspaper publishing industry ($38 billion) and the confectionary industry ($34 billion).

Getting out Hispanic voters

The National Council of La Raza Action Fund (NCLRAF) has ramped up its efforts to increase Hispanic voter turnout in Florida. The non-partisan GOTV effort includes thousands of phone calls, mail pieces, and door knocks to potential Latino voters throughout South and Central Florida.  As the fastest growing segment of the state’s electorate, Hispanics make up 18% of the state’s voters – a number that is predicted to increase steadily. If you want to help call Camila Gallardo at (305) 215-4259 or email her: mailto:cgallardo@nclr.org.

Bush watch continues

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush continues to play coy with his plans to run or not for the presidency in 2016. But the News-Press reportedthat George P. Bush, Bush’s oldest son, told Politico this week he expects his father to decide “very shortly,” although that means after the Nov. 4 elections. “I think he’s assessing in his heart of hearts whether or not he can offer something to the Republican ticket,” George P. Bush told Politico. Incidentally, GPB is running for state land commissioner in Texas.

The $100 million governor’s race

As predicted, the Florida governor’s is approaching the $100 million mark in advertising expenditures. Ad trackers say Scott supporters will have spent $61.3 million on television while the Crist campaign will have put up $29.7 million in ads by the time you read this. It makes Florida the costliest governor’s race in the country. And it should only get costlier and nastier during the final days.

FIU Latin American and Caribbean art

A reception was recently held at the Florida International University Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum in honor of Dr. Carol Damian celebrating her leadership and contributions as she steps down as director and chief curator. The event also served as the launch of the Frost’s new endowment for Latin American and Caribbean art. The new Latin American & Caribbean Program (LA&C) at the Frost will create the nation’s preeminent university-based resource for Latin American and Caribbean art studies by combining academics, enhanced research and diverse interpretive techniques.

Blindsided by violence against women

Rep. Steve Southerland, the Florida Republican who gained infamy with his men-only fundraising is still doing a bad job of explaining his record. In particular, we feel, was his vote against the Violence Against Women Act. His reason for voting against it? He was blindsided by it, he said. We dare ask: What is so difficult to understand in VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN? Are you for it or against it, Mr. Southerland?

FLIC scholarships

The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC) is a statewide coalition of organizations whose mission is to empower new immigrant communities. In a few weeks they will be meeting for their annual congress. But they need help in providing scholarships for movement leaders, youth leaders, farm workers, and other community leaders. If you’d like to help by funding a scholarship or a partial one, click here, please.

Expect a little more from Social Security

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 64 million Americans will increase 1.7 percent in 2015, the Social Security Administration announced. The 1.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that more than 58 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2015. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2014.

Danger! Biking in Florida

In 2012, 120 bicycle riders were killed in traffic accidents across Florida. That is as many as were killed in Britain in the same year – a country with three times as many people as Florida and a lot more cyclists. Florida’s death rate for cyclists is three times higher than the national rate. The rate for pedestrians is twice the national rate: 476 pedestrians were also killed in 2012. The state’s four biggest cities – Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa-St Petersburg and Orlando – are the four most dangerous places to be a pedestrian in America.