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Office News

Just a reminder that our office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

FEDERAL

U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, visits Wisconsin on a "Return-to-School Road Trip"

U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, recently barnstormed across Wisconsin as part of his "Return-to-School Road Trip," talking up the Biden administration's efforts to help children return safely to desks and hopscotch grids many haven't touched in more than a year.

NPR joined Cardona for a visit to an elementary school in Eau Claire, Wis., where he held a pep rally with students in the parking lot and played cowbell along with the local high school marching band. The point of all this choreographed fun: to reassure anxious students, families and educators that classrooms are once again safe — and to celebrate schools that have embraced the secretary's message of universal masking and vaccines for everyone who is eligible. Because beneath this ebullient surface is a strong undertow, fueled by the delta variant.

In a sit-down interview later that day, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cardona got serious, responding to the politicians and parents who say choices around child masking and vaccination are personal, and should not be forced on anyone.

"Schools are communities,” Cardona said. “What an important lesson we need to teach our kids: My actions affect someone else. And unfortunately, it's not the kids that have a hard time with it. It's the adults. The kids are fine."

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/23/1040222901/education-secretary-miguel-cardona-safe-in-person-school-covid-delta?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20210926&utm_term=5801440&utm_campaign=ed&utm_id=28772750&orgid=587&utm_att1=

Source: NPR

Marco Rubio Caught Running Out of Vote to Fund the Government to Attend a Political Fundraiser

Marco Rubio was caught on the Senate floor rushing to vote against a critical bill that would prevent a devastating debt default and fund vital programs Floridians rely on. What was Rubio more concerned with than funding the government? Making sure he could get to his political fundraiser for the Virginia governor’s race.

“Marco Rubio rushed to vote against the best interests of Floridians and bring the U.S. closer to a debt default that would cost millions of jobs, and his only concern was getting to his political fundraiser,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Grant Fox.

Rubio was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin shortly after voting began. As other Senators started voting, Rubio was seen desperately trying to cast his vote against the bill as soon as possible and then sprinting out of the Senate chamber.

STATE

Committee Week in Tallahassee

Here we go folks. It’s not looking good for Floridians.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2021/09/24/committee-week-in-floridas-capitol-welcome-to-the-festival-of-ignorance/

Education Department to Reimburse Florida School District That Had Funds Withheld Over Mask Mandate

Governor DeSantis has withheld the salary of the School Board members in Alachua County who voted for a mask mandate for two months now. The federal government is now stepping in to repay them. Read more here:

https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-school-live-updates/2021/09/23/1040212371/education-dept-will-reimburse-florida-district-that-had-funds-held-over-mask-man?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20210926&utm_term=5801440&utm_campaign=ed&utm_id=28772750&orgid=587&utm_att1=

Florida GOP and DeSantis Antics – Statement by Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz

The Florida GOP continues to embarrass our state with mismanagement and malice. Just last week, the Florida Department of Education confirmed that at least fifty physical bonus checks issued to Florida educators drawing on funds from the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan were “impacted” by a banking error that caused some teacher’s checks to be returned for insufficient funds.

When the Florida Legislature decided on a bipartisan basis to send out $400 million in pandemic relief dollars to teachers and first responders in the form of one-time bonuses, DeSantis, like his mentor Donald Trump, saw an opportunity to use public funds to promote his own personal political interests. Instead of channeling the money directly to local governments so they could distribute them to their employees at no cost to taxpayers, DeSantis wasted $3.6 million of our dollars sending out paper checks just so he could put his signature on them. As if that wasn’t infuriating enough, the bonuses are coming from the American Rescue Plan, a bill that neither Marco Rubio nor a single Republican in Congress supported.

In addition to the blatant incompetence on display, Florida GOP leaders like DeSantis and Rubio continue to push draconian, unpopular policies that will do harm to Floridians. For instance, on Wednesday of last week, Florida GOP State Representative Webster Barnaby introduced a Texas-style abortion ban that would prohibit abortions in Florida after a fetus’ heartbeat has been detected. That very same day, DeSantis’ new handpicked Surgeon General issued dangerous new COVID guidance for school systems, allowing asymptomatic students who have been exposed to someone with the disease to participate in school and extracurricular activities without being tested.

Not only has the GOP failed to provide solutions to handling COVID; DeSantis and others are actively making the situation worse by failing to counter conspiracy theories about vaccines and discouraging masking. In addition to the heartbreaking loss of life this has caused, it also has actively hampered our economic recovery. Luckily, thanks to effective Democratic leadership at the national level, there is still hope on the horizon. You can read my recent Miami Herald op-ed about President Biden's new plan and how GOP incompetence has led us to where we are at here: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article254570057.html

All of the GOP-led failures and pain Florida has experienced this year remind us why the work we are doing on a daily basis is so critical. We are building the largest and most active voter registration and field program the Florida Democratic Party has ever had.
Key Quotes from Chair Diaz’s article:

“Republicans have been busy undermining any policy that will help our health and economic recovery. And the effects of their sabotage have been evident with the current delta variant surge we have seen across Florida, a ferocious spike that made August our deadliest month since the beginning of the pandemic and is now causing over 300 deaths per day based on our current seven-day average.”

“It is also a fact that since COVID’s delta variant exploded, employment gains dropped from an average 703,000 a month to 235,000 in August. Sadly, that derives from the reckless anti-mask and anti-vaccine behavior that Republicans promote, and which leads to more infections, more deaths and, yes, a stunted economic recovery.”

“It would be one thing if this new and devolved Republican Party simply wasn’t contributing to solutions. But they have gone further than that by unpatriotically sabotaging our recovery through the promotion of remedies such as ivermectin, which the FDA warns against use for COVID treatment.”

“Just recently, DeSantis stood next to a vaccine denier who falsely claimed the vaccine changes RNA. The governor did not even flinch, much less try to correct the piece of disinformation. It has also been weeks since DeSantis, who spends his time traveling to out-of-state political events, has held an event to promote vaccinations.”

“Make no mistake, if we do not vaccinate most of our nation’s population soon as President Biden proposes, and Republicans have their way, we will be at the mercy of other variants that will continue to cause an unnecessary loss of lives and suffering. This could eventually lead to another Republican-caused economic downturn.”

LOCAL EVENTS

Land Use Visioning Workshop

Fund-A-Project in Schools

Women’s March

Trunk or Treat Benefiting Hope for Families

DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER

Democratic Women’s Club

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and Vision for the Future by David Attenborough is the next Book Group selection. The virtual meeting will start at 2:00 p.m. on October 22^nd. If you are not a Book Group member and would like to attend, please contact Rita Milelli at [email protected].

Democratic Club of Indian River

The Democratic Club of IRC will host Nikki Fried, Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Florida and a 2022 Candidate for Governor, at its October 12th meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Heritage Center, 2140 14th Ave, Downtown Vero Beach.

The event will be held in-person. Attendees will be required to be fully vaccinated and masked. Seating will be socially distanced. Due to social distancing, the number of seats will be limited to approximately 150. We have arranged for security at the event.

Seating will be available by reservation. Priority will be given to Club members. Donations will be $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Two beverage coupons will be provided at the door for wine, beer, soft drink or water. Beverages will be available prior to and after Commissioner Fried has addressed the group (beverages will not be served while Commissioner Fried is speaking).

To register for this event, email Wendy at [email protected] and indicate the number of tickets you are requesting. We will respond with directions for payment. Priority will be given to club members. Donations are to help defray the expenses related to the event.

Doors will open at 5:30 pm. Commissioner Fried will speak from 6:00-7:00 pm. Having questions in advance will be helpful, so when making your reservation, please submit any questions you may have. If times allows, Nikki will also take questions from the audience.

The bar will reopen after Commissioner Fried has spoken, so that attendees may network.

Having Nikki Fried speak at this Democratic Club event is in no way an endorsement of or support of Nikki Fried’s candidacy for Governor, but rather, offering voters of IRC the opportunity to listen, and ask questions, so the voters are able to make an informed decision when it comes time to vote in the democratic primary for governor . We hope to have the other democratic candidates speak at a future meetings.

The Club would like to thank Shane Stansel for his efforts in making the Nikki Fried event possible.

We now have a private Facebook group for the Democratic Club of Indian River. Please join us for some great discussions! On Facebook search for Indian River Democratic Club.

CALENDAR

Friday, October 1, 2021

10:00 a.m. – Democratic Women’s Club Board Meeting. If you are not a DWC member and would like to attend, please contact Pat O'Hara at [email protected]

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

8:30 a.m. - Vero Beach City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to https://covb.org/AgendaCenter

9:00 a.m. – IRC County Commission
For agenda and meeting information go to
https://ircgov.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

9:00 a.m. – Orchid Town Council
For agenda and meeting information go to
https://www.townoforchid.com/towncouncil/page/town-council-regular-meeting-12

Thursday, October 7, 2021

7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil

COVID UPDATE AND VACCINATIONS

Covid Update

Indian River County reported 330 cases in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 581 cases. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 21,676 cases. You can read more here:
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/2021/09/28/gda-covid-19-state-2021-09-27-fl-ptcn/118953406/

Statistics

A great place to check statistics for Indian River County is on Covid Act Now. You can access it here:
https://covidactnow.org/us/florida-fl/county/indian_river_county/?s=21821108

The vulnerability level in IRC continues to be high so please continue to wear your mask and take necessary precautions.

Vaccinations

Booster shots (3^rd shot) are now available from Pfizer.

You can search for vaccination locations and details by clicking here:

https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/vaccines/vaccine-locator/?utm_source=floridahealth.gov&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=covid-19&utm_term=information+covid-19+vaccine+&utm_content=011921-vaccine-locater.redirect.html_in_article_link

TIDBITS

While Senator Liz Cheney is on the other side of the aisle, this was an interesting 60 Minute interview about her views of our country right now.

https://www.newsandguts.com/video/rep-liz-cheney-i-was-wrong-to-oppose-same-sex-marriage/?fbclid=IwAR3KSisT-xSjpTeqLqhEVaAeLrL0HhINbiFuaHSut_lQUMknYnHRTaeATHU

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Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County

2345 14th Ave.

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Vero Beach, FL 32960

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