Happy Thursday, Fellow Democrats! We hope you are staying healthy and safe. Please note that all Covid-19 resources are at the end of the newsletter this week.
A NOTE FROM THE DEC CHAIR
I want to thank you readers for generously heeding our requests to help call fellow Democrats and urge those who have not registered to vote by mail to do so. Your volunteer spirit and willingness to jump in and help is especially poignant as we work to literally save our democracy and keep people safe. Vote by mail is critical to our success in 2020 and we need to touch every Democrat with this message and get them registered. Special shout outs to our precinct captains who are taking the lead in organizing their neighborhoods, to the Data Team who identify and provide us with the lists of Democrats to call, to our Precinct Action Committee who set the strategy and activities to roll out the virtual phone bank, and to Stacey Klim, our Operations Coordinator, who keeps all of these trains running and makes sure you have the tools you need to get the work done. Finally, I want to share with you that Terrie Rizzo, the Chair of the Florida Democratic Party, called me recently and commended the Democrats of Indian River for what we have accomplished both before and during the pandemic. We have nimbly and successfully shifted our work as circumstances changed and that is notable. We are a leading county in our State. We can all be proud of the work we are accomplishing together. If you haven’t already volunteered, join us. Be part of the solution! Thank you! Adriana
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH
Larry Zick is our Volunteer of the Month for March 2020! Larry became a member of the Democratic Club and jumped in right away to volunteer. When we needed someone to take the lead on the management of our community outreach booth, Larry stepped forward and took that challenge on. He had to learn quickly the ins and outs of all the gear and logistics of the booth and did an outstanding job. Thank you Larry for being part of the solution. We hope you will be back to the booth soon!
TAKE THE POSEY SURVEY
Representative Posey would like your feedback on the battle against the coronavirus pandemic and making preparations to re-open our economy. Let your voice be heard!
https://posey.house.gov/forms/form/?ID=4231
NEW VOTE BY MAIL TOOL
If you have not registered to vote by mail, the Florida Democratic Party has created a new Vote By Mail page that is easy to use and walks you through the steps. You can access it at: fl.dems.vote/mail
If you aren’t registered to vote yet, you can register at https://registertovoteflorida.gov/home
PRECINCT ACTION COMMITTEE NEWS
The Precinct Action Committee (PAC) meets weekly via Zoom to strategize and plan the various ways we can reach out to all IRC Democrats. Encouraging Democrats to enroll with the Supervisor of Elections to VOTE BY MAIL remains our number one priority.
Since March, our voter outreach plans have taken shape to include phone calls, text messages, and letter-writing. Precinct Captains have either already sent letters to fellow Democrats in their precinct or are in the process of doing so.
The PAC has developed scripts for phone calls and texting. This week the PAC has been training the Precinct Captains via Zoom on how to do Virtual Phone Banking. Our plan is that phone calls will begin next week.
If you are interested in helping with this important work, contact the office: [email protected]
VIRTUAL PHONE BANKING VOLUNTEERS
As mentioned above, we plan to begin making phone calls next week to encourage fellow Democrats to vote by mail. Many of you have stepped up and offered to help with this monumental task. If you are interested in phone banking, please email Stacey at: [email protected]
FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKERS NEEDED FOR
PHONE BANKING
As we begin making calls to fellow Indian River County Democrats, we are in need of any foreign speaking (Korean, Creole, Spanish, etc.) volunteers who are willing to help. If you are interested, please email Stacey at [email protected]
DEMOCRATIC CLUB UPDATE
Stay Safe...Stay Connected...Stay Energized
The Club will not have a general membership meeting in May and will decide on future meetings on a month-by-month basis. If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions about meeting speakers or presentations, you can email Claudia Martino [email protected] or call her at 954-290-5661.
Club members may be contacted by their precinct captains in the next couple of weeks to share opportunities to volunteer in their neighborhoods, like virtual phone banking that can be done from home. Please keep checking Facebook and your emails for updates on events and other GOTV activities you can do from home. If you know anyone who is not receiving these emails or the weekly Democrats of Indian River newsletter, you can contact Claudia.
JOE BIDEN GEAR UPDATE
We do not currently have any Joe Biden gear at our office. However, we are working with a supplier and hope to have yard signs, bumper stickers and buttons in the near future. Stay tuned!
CANDIDATE TRAINING
STAY UP-TO-DATE ON OUR
DEMOCRATIC NEWS
Don’t forget to stay up-to-date with our Democrats of Indian River news on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/indianriverdemocraticparty/
Please be sure to both “Like” us and “Follow” us!
The Democratic Women’s Club of Indian River also has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Democratic-Womens-Club-of-Indian-River-County-168345873316234/
The Florida Young Democrats of Indian River are on Facebook, too! Their link is: https://www.facebook.com/fydirc/
Finally, you can also visit our website for calendar events and blogposts from our local Communications Committee and the Florida Democratic Party at: www.democratsofindianriver.org
FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER – AN INVITE FROM TERRIE RIZZO
As Chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, I would like to personally reach out to you regarding an invitation to our virtual reception to benefit the Florida Democratic Party's Voter Registration and Vote-by-Mail efforts on Monday, April 27th at 6:30 pm, to be conducted via Zoom.
Special guests include:
- Nikki Fried, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture
- Former Senator Bill Nelson.
FLORIDIANS WORRY ABOUT WATER QUALITY – WILLING TO PAY TO FIX IT
As of today, Governor DeSantis has yet to sign the Clean Waterways Act that was passed by the 2020 Legislature. Ideally, as outlined in the Clean Water Coalition letter to the Governor he will make the signing a true celebration by accompanying the bill with the funding necessary to fully implement and make the legislation effective.
CWC continues to advocate for the Governor to incrementally restore Water Management Districts millage rates by executive order to generate adequate funding for local governments to build water quality improvement projects. Their proposal would generate approximately $160 million a year. For the median priced home – valued at $237,000, the rate increase would only cost about $1.56 per month for homestead property.
To test public attitudes about the proposed Water Management District rate increase, the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County, together with the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition hired Florida Atlantic University (FAU) to conduct a statewide poll of Floridians views on the quality of Florida’s waterways. As identified in the Executive Summary from the FAU report, most people are prepared to pay higher fees for projects to cleanup Florida waterways. “Overall 62% of Floridians are willing to pay $2 per month to help pay for projects to clean up our waterways”.
DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS CLOSED
Our office is still officially closed to everyone. We will be checking for phone messages and mail only twice a week. If you are in need of anything, please do not come to the office. Instead you can email Stacey at [email protected]
Any and all in-person Democratic meetings that were previously scheduled are canceled.
COVID-19 RESOURCES
COVID-19 DATA TRACKER
To stay up-to-date on the cases of Covid-19 in Indian River County and the State of Florida, click on the link below. Updates are put up every day at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/96dd742462124fa0b38ddedb9b25e429
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM ALERT INDIAN RIVER
Indian River County currently has 78 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The county knows you may have questions so they have activated the Emergency Information Center. Operators are standing by to assist with your questions. Please dial 772-226-4000. The Emergency Information Center will be open from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., 7 days a week.
- Any small business concern that meets SBA’s size standards (either the industry based sized standard or the alternative size standard)
- Any business, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, 501(c)(19) veterans organization, or Tribal business concern (sec. 31(b)(2)(C) of the Small Business Act) with the greater of:
- 500 employees, or
- That meets the SBA industry size standard if more than 500
- Any business with a NAICS Code that begins with 72 (Accommodations and Food Services) that has more than one physical location and employs less than 500 per location
- Sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed persons
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp
PPP INTERIM FINAL RULE - ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN PLEDGES OF LOANS (Effective April 14, 2020)
https://www.sba.gov/document/policy-guidance--ppp-interim-final-rule-additional-eligibility-criteria-requirements-certain-pledges-loans
RE-EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
FloridaJobs.org
PRICE-GOUGING HOTLINE
MyFloridaLegal.com
CORONAVIRUS TAX RELIEF
Irs.gov/coronavirus
SCHOOL CLOSURES UPDATE & EDUCATION RESOURCES
Fldoe.org/em-response/
FREE MEALS FOR KIDS & TEENS
Summerbreakspot.freshfromflorida.com
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH COVID-19 DATA DASHBOARD
www.tinyurl.com/COVID-19-Florida-Data
GOVERNOR’S EXECUTIVE ORDERS
FLGov.com/2020-executive-orders
REBATE CHECKS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm967
REBATE CHECK FAQ’S FROM IRS
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payments-what-you-need-to-know
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS INFORMATION
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/paycheck-protection-program-ppp#section-header-4
FLORIDA REEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) recently announced a new, mobile-friendly online application for Reemployment Assistance available at FloridaJobs.org/RAApplication.
“The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is committed to ensuring Floridians are able to receive the benefits owed to them during this global pandemic,” said Ken Lawson, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “The team is working around the clock to make the process for applying for Reemployment Assistance as easy as possible for Floridians.”
Those who have not filed a Reemployment Assistance claim should complete their application online or submit a paper application which is available for download here. All applicants will need to complete the following steps:
Step 1: Collect the following documents & information:
Social Security number
Driver’s License or State ID number
Employment information for the last 18 months for each employer
Employer ID - FEIN number (this is found on your W2 or 1099 tax form)
Employer name (name on pay stub), address, and phone number
First and last day of work
Gross earnings (before taxes are taken out) covering the last 18 months
Reason for separation
Step 2: Submit your Reemployment Assistance application online or by mail. CareerSource locations are available to assist with completing and submitting online applications. They are also providing paper applications at all CareerSource Centers. FedEx locations are also offering the option to print and mail applications for Reemployment Assistance free of charge.
Step 3: Receive your Reemployment Assistance application confirmation. If you mail your Reemployment Assistance application to DEO, a representative will contact you after your application is processed. A written determination will be provided electronically and/or by mail to explain if you are monetarily eligible, and if you are, what your weekly benefit amount will be.
CLEVELAND CLINIC COVID-19 UPDATE
Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital continues to perform drive-through testing for COVID-19, by appointment only. To receive an appointment, individuals who believe they may have symptoms of COVID-19 must first call (772) 226-4846.
Drive-through testing is located in the employee parking lot on the northwest side of Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital has been designated for drive-through testing and entrances from 36th Street and Dr. Hugh McCrystal Drive are clearly marked. Testing is taking place from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.
While the Cleveland Clinic has adequate supplies and medical equipment, they are asking for the community to help source the following supplies to be even better prepared for any potential surge in patients:
N95 Masks
Surgical masks
Isolation gowns
Eye protection
Face shields
Gloves (NO latex)
Hand sanitizer
Disinfecting wipes
Donations may be dropped off curb-side at Cleveland Clinic Indian River 1000 36th Street, Vero Beach.
SALVATION ARMY SENIOR RESOURCE
In response to Covid-19, the Salvation Army will offer additional food services for seniors and high risk individuals.
Individuals can call the Salvation Army at 772-978-0265 Ext. 101 during Food Pantry hours (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9-12 & 1-3) and request a “No Contact Pick Up.” Callers can provide their information over the phone and the Salvation Army will load their car without the recipient getting out.
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
The Covid-19 Virus outbreak is stressful for so many of us. If you need some resources to manage that stress, here are a couple of options:
The CDC has a website:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
Locally, the Mental Health Association Walk-In & Counseling Center continues to remain open during normal business hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. for same-day mental health screenings, crisis intervention, emergency visits, and new patient evaluations. They have adopted using telehealth for follow-up therapy for current patients and psychiatric medication refills. They will also be available by phone at 772-569-9788 for triages. Current patients who are sick or have a fever need to stay home and MHA will treat them via the telehealth services described above.
That’s all folks! Stay healthy! Stay home!
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