winners losers

KATHLEEN PASSIDOMO The Florida Senate president said she does not support a proposal to lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida—"We don't have it in the Senate. Nobody's filed it." The Florida House has moved forward with HB 1543, which would reverse part of a 2018 law that set the minimum age at 21 after a gunman killed 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Nikolas Cruz, then 19, used a semi-automatic rifle to carry out the attack. Passidomo said she has focused on issues in the law related to identifying and getting help for students who have serious mental and emotional issues to prevent such things as mass shootings.

MAREN DEWEESE The Mayor's Neighborhood Cleanups have become a fixture in Pensacola for over a decade. The program is a spin-off of cleanup efforts started by former District 3 Councilwoman Maren DeWeese, who asked volunteers to pick up trash along the bluffs on Scenic Highway. When she took office, DeWeese made "taking back the bluffs" an issue and led a volunteer work detail that cleaned up the underbrush and removed trash so that the area would have a safe, clean environment for families. Mayor Ashton Hayward picked up her program and spread it throughout the city.

FLORIDA'S ECONOMY Economists have added more than $7 billion to the state's general-revenue forecast for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year, despite concerns about housing struggles, lingering inflation and a "mild" recession. The forecast gives lawmakers more money to play with as they piece together a budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which starts in July. The economists, meeting as the state Revenue Estimating Conference, added $4.27 billion in estimated general-revenue collections to the forecast for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. They also added $2.78 billion to projected collections in the 2023-2024 year. Inflation-elevated sales tax collections primarily drove the projected increases.

MANNY DIAZ The Florida Education Commissioner has launched the Commissioner's Book of the Month initiative. To prove he is not a racist, Diaz included among the four books in the inaugural list a book that Duval County last year took off its schools' bookshelves to avoid violating new state laws on school libraries—"Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates" by Jonah Winter. Last month, the Duval County School District reinstated the elementary-level biography—just in time for the Diaz Book of the Month club. Meanwhile, Escambia County Public Schools are reviewing "When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball."

PENSACOLA HUMANE SOCIETY Will someone please stop this dumpster fire? A once beloved organization has resorted to lawsuits, finger-pointing and blaming scapegoats. An intervention is desperately needed to restore public trust and the reputation of this non-profit that has been around for 80 years. Maybe United Way, the Studer Community Institute, the University of West Florida, the United Nations or Oprah Winfrey would agree to serve as an impartial, thirdparty mediator to clear the air. The current board can't put out the fire.

OPENING DOORS OF NORTHWEST FLOR-

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With the help of Escambia County and Community Health Northwest Florida, the organization that leads the area's Continuum of Care released the preliminary numbers from the 2023 Point-intime count, which recorded 949 people as homeless in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties—the highest since 2015. Those who work with the homeless say the actual number should be much higher, blaming the federal regulations regarding the survey and Opening Doors. It may be time to reexamine how to better handle the Continuum of Care.

FLORIDA CABINET Gov. Ron DeSantis didn't like to hold cabinet meetings when Nikki Fried was the agriculture commissioner, and it appears he still doesn't see much need for them. Why share power? The March cabinet meeting has been canceled. Instead, the governor held a brief conference call to approve his insurance commissioner pick and some land-conservation deals.