Happy Thursday Democrats!
FEDERAL
45 Senators voted to dismiss impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, but they were unsuccessful. The Impeachment Trial will begin next Tuesday, February 9th. If you would like to write to those Senators who voted against impeachment, and encourage them to find Donald Trump guilty, their names and contact information are below.
Note – you have to write to each individually, there is no way to do it as a group unfortunately.
Barrasso Contact Form - United States Senator John Barrasso (senate.gov)
Blackburn Email Me - U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee (senate.gov)
Blunt Contact Roy | U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri (senate.gov)
Boozman E-Mail Me - Senator John Boozman (senate.gov)
Braun Contact Mike | Senator Mike Braun (senate.gov)
Burr Comment on Legislation | Contact | U.S. Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina (senate.gov)
Capito Share Your Opinion | Senator Shelley Capito (senate.gov)
Cassidy Contact | U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana (senate.gov)
Cornyn Discuss an Issue | United States Senator John Cornyn, Texas (senate.gov)
Cotton Contact Tom | Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas (senate.gov)
Cramer Contact Kevin | Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota (senate.gov)
Crapo Email Me | Contact | U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho (senate.gov)
Cruz Ted Cruz | U.S. Senator for Texas (senate.gov)
Daines Email Steve | Connect | U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana (senate.gov)
Ernst Email Joni - Senator Joni Ernst (senate.gov)
Fischer Email Deb - United States Senator Deb Fischer for Nebraska (senate.gov)
Graham Contact Form - United States Senator Lindsey Graham (senate.gov)
Grassley Send Grassley Questions & Comments | Chuck Grassley (senate.gov)
Hagerty Home » Senator Bill Hagerty (senate.gov)
Hawley Contact Senator Hawley | Senator Josh Hawley (senate.gov)
Hoeven E mail the Senator | Contact | U.S. Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota (senate.gov)
Hyde-Smith Contact Cindy | Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (senate.gov)
Inhofe Email Jim (senate.gov)
Johnson Email Ron - Ron Johnson (senate.gov)
Kennedy Submit a legislative opinion - U.S. Senator John Kennedy (senate.gov)
Lankford Contact - James Lankford
Lee Contact - United States Senator Mike Lee (senate.gov)
Lummis Home » Senator Cynthia Lummis (senate.gov)
Marshall Home » Senator Roger Marshall (senate.gov)
McConnell Contact Form - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (senate.gov)
Moran E-mail Jerry - U.S. Senator for Kansas, Jerry Moran (senate.gov)
Paul Email Rand | Senator Rand Paul (senate.gov)
Portman Email Rob | Senator Rob Portman (senate.gov)
Risch E-mail - James E Risch, U.S. Senator for Idaho (senate.gov)
Rounds Email Mike | Contact | U.S. Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota (senate.gov)
Rubio Contact Info - U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio (senate.gov)
Scott (FL) Contact Rick | SENATOR RICK SCOTT (senate.gov)
Scott (SC) Email Me | Contact | U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina (senate.gov)
Shelby E-mail Senator Shelby - United States Senator Richard Shelby (senate.gov)
Sullivan Email Dan | Contact | U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska (senate.gov)
Thune Contact - U.S. Senator John Thune (senate.gov)
Tillis Thom Tillis, U.S. Senator for North Carolina (senate.gov)
Tuberville Home » Senator Tommy Tuberville (senate.gov)
Wicker Contact - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (senate.gov)
Young Email Todd | Contact | U.S. Senator Todd Young of Indiana (senate.gov)
STATE
"Florida Leads" Budget Proposal
Governor Ron DeSantis has announced his "Florida Leads" budget proposal for the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year. The total recommendation for the FY 2021-2022 budget is $96.6 billion.
The budget recommends over $1 billion in savings – including over $400 million in administrative and operational efficiencies. The budget places $6.6 billion in total reserves.
The Governor’s recommended budget also includes $65 million in tax relief for Florida families, including a $56 million 8-day Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday and a $9 million 10-day Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.
The budget recommends allocating more than $625 million for the environment. This includes over $473 million for Everglades restoration, $50 million for Springs restoration, $145 million for targeted water quality improvements, $40 million for alternative water supply and $25 million to combat harmful algal blooms and red tide.
The proposed budget calls for the establishment of the Resilient Florida program which will provide $1 billion over four years to provide grants to state and local government entities. It also includes $82 million to protect Florida’s waterbodies. This includes $50 million for the Florida Forever Program and $32 million for infrastructure improvements and resource management at state parks.
View the entire breakdown of the proposal, which includes education, economic development, and public safety priorities here https://www.flgov.com/2021/01/28/governor-ron-desantis-announces-his-florida-leads-budget-proposal-for-fy-2021-2022/. Over the course of the upcoming Legislative Session, the Senate will take these recommendations into consideration and work with the House of Representatives and Governor DeSantis to pass a balanced budget while funding our state’s critical needs and continuing to keep taxes low.
Florida State Legislature
The deadline for bills in the State Legislature was last week. Many bills have been filed this session. If you would like to look at the list of bills, you can do that here: https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/bills.aspx
LOCAL
Socks For Shelters
“The number one requested items at shelters are socks,” Mr. Barry Shapiro told Hometown News. “So simple and yet the need is enormous. We can do something about this. That's why we don't ask for money, just socks, which are inexpensive yet go a long way to helping people in need. Socks are very important, particularly with older people, or people who have health issues.”
Men's, women's, and children's socks are needed. While all new, packaged socks are welcome, white crew socks are preferred. Mr. Shapiro said that the multi-packs you find in stores are perfect, and they only cost a few dollars. There is a special need for women’s and children’s socks this year.
Socks are being collected at 13 locations. Drop boxes for socks are located at:
By the River –11085 Ganga Way, Sebastian (On Roseland Rd. next to Kashi)
In Vero Beach:
Alexander Insurance, 4616 20th Ave.
The Purple Plum Boutique, 3243 Ocean Dr.
Waldo’s, 3150 Ocean Dr.
The Center for Spiritual Care, 1550 24th St.
Sean Ryan Pub, 2019 14th Ave.
Dale Sorensen Real Estate, 1961 14th Ave. and 3206 Cardinal Dr.
Gifford Middle School, 4530 28th Court
Grace Lutheran Church, 1150 41st Ave.
Mr. Smokes, 1014 20th Pl.
Studio on 60, 1422 20th St.
Coffee House 1420, 2001 14th Ave.
Botanica, 23 Royal Palm Pointe.
Donations are given to the following charities:
The Source
The Samaritan Center
The Hope For Families Center
Our Father's Soup Kitchen
Gifford Youth Activities Center
New York City Relief for the Homeless
Livingston Philanthropies
DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER
The Democratic Club of Indian River
February Dem Club Speaker
The next meeting of the Democratic Club will feature Dr. David Moore, Superintendent of the School District of Indian River County. Please join us on Wednesday, February 10th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. The link will be emailed closer to the meeting date. Also, the first ever Club elections will be held Wednesday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information about the election, please email [email protected].
Florida Seniors New Facebook Page
The Florida Seniors For Biden campaign page has been converted to "Florida Seniors Blue '22". The Facebook page is focused on preparing to take back the Governor's mansion and Marco Rubio's seat. The page will include discussion of senior issues such as social security, Medicare, housing, the pandemic and much more.
If you were a member of the Florida Seniors For Biden page, you will automatically remain on this page. Anyone else interested in joining the page can sign up at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/flseniorsblue22
The page has 2,200 members and the goal is to build this community to at least 6,000 by summer. You will be hearing in the near future from Jon Bauman and Yolanda Russell on some of our future plans and zoom meetings.
Democratic Women’s Club of Indian River
The next DWC Virtual Luncheon will be on Saturday, February 13th at noon. The topic will be the importance of Stormwater Management and its impact on the Indian River Lagoon. Planned speakers will be Jean Catchpole, interim chair of the Indian River Neighborhood Association and Judy Orcutt, Vice President of the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County. Please plan to attend.
The next meeting of the DWC Book Group will be Friday, February 26 at 2:00 p.m. Six books will be discussed, three on President Biden and three on Vice President Harris. Each member will read one of the six selections and will give a brief presentation of their chosen book at the meeting. If you are not a Book Group member and are interested in learning more, contact Rita Milelli at [email protected].
GET INVOLVED
The Democrats of Indian River are beginning to plan for elections in 2022. But we need your help. Below are a couple of volunteer opportunities, that can be done from home, if you have a few hours to spare each month.
Precinct Captain
As we begin to prepare for 2022 elections, we need our local Democrats to help us build a strong DEC (Democratic Executive Committee). The way to do is through Precinct Captains.
DEC members are the Precinct Captains of the Democrats of Indian River County. Precinct Captains are elected officials who work to educate, energize, and organize the registered Democrats within their geographic area (precinct). A volunteer position of Precinct Captain requires dedication. One must be willing to commit to attending monthly DEC meetings, vote on issues relevant to our local Democratic Party, lead neighborhood volunteers in canvassing, phone banking and texting, and represent the Democratic Party at community meetings and activities. A Precinct Captain must be both personally motivated, have the ability to motivate others and possess an ability to work well with others. Training and support is provided on an on-going basis. Time commitment per month is approximately 5-10 hours. At this time, all our meetings are virtual and we are not actively engaging in person with Democrats in each precinct.
If you are interested in being a precinct captain, please email Stacey at [email protected]
Communications Committee
Communicating our values and our activities to the public is critical if the Democratic Party is to be successful. Our Democratic Executive Committee is looking for a Social Media Director as part of our Communications Committee who has strong skills across a variety of platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and has been successful in placing and targeting ads on Facebook. If you feel you possess the skills we need and have the time to dedicate to this position, please email Stacey at [email protected]
CALENDAR
Tuesday, February 9, 2021:
9:00 a.m. - Indian River County Commission
For agenda and meeting information go to https://ircgov.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=31089&GUID=EC7BF96E-D862-4E37-AF5F-93195F7F6ECF&Mode=MainBody
5:00 p.m. – Democratic Executive Committee – Steering Committee
Wednesday, February 10, 2021:
6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Sebastian City Council
The link to attend the meeting virtually can be found here:
https://www.cityofsebastian.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=409&month=2&year=2021&day=3&calType=0
6:00 p.m. – Democratic Club of Indian River Monthly meeting. For Zoom link email [email protected].
Saturday, February 13, 2021:
12:00 p.m. - Democratic Women’s Club Virtual Monthly Luncheon. For Zoom link email [email protected]
COVID
The number of cases daily continue to be very high in our county. Continue to stay vigilant, take necessary precautions, wear your mask and wash your hands.
The Indian River County website https://www.ircgov.com/coronavirus.htm?v108 provides information on:
- Covid cases and relevant statistics
- Vaccination information
- Testing sites
- Governor DeSantis’ executive orders
Publix Vaccinations
Appointments for Publix vaccinations can only be made online. Once you are on the website, scroll down to the county you live in and if there are appointments available it will indicate that.
Here is a video that explains how to sign up for the vaccine at Publix:
Guide to book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at Publix - YouTube
Hint – there have been reports that the page refreshes itself when making an appointment. Don’t refresh the page yourself or you will lose your spot.
Here is the link to the sign up page:
https://www.publix.com/covid-vaccine/florida
Sharecare Statewide System
The state recently announced the launch of a statewide preregistration system to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for individuals 65 and older and frontline health care workers. Individuals can pre-register for vaccine appointments and be notified when appointments are available in their area by visiting https://myvaccine.fl.gov/.
This website will allow individuals who are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to be proactively contacted when vaccine appointments are available through your local health department. On the site, residents can select their county and submit their contact information. Once appointments are available, individuals will be contacted by phone call, text or email and will be assisted in scheduling an appointment.
Vaccine supply remains limited and appointments may not be available immediately.
Additionally, as part of the statewide registration system, each county has a designated phone number that individuals can call and pre-register if they do not have Internet access. Please find the complete list of numbers by county here: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FL-VACCINE-HOTLINES_updated-0124.pdf.
Whether a resident calls by phone or visits https://myvaccine.fl.gov/, their place in line will be reserved when using the Sharecare software.
TIDBITS
That’s all, see you next week! Stay Safe and Well!
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