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MLK Day Parade


MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023

*This is your opportunity to help represent the Democrats of Indian River in the Martin Luther King Day Parade!

Parade Line-up Location: Vehicles – Route will start at 37th and 18th Place to Old Dixie Highway and continue on to 45th St, commencing at Gifford Park (Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex).
Walkers Only – Meet in the Occulina Bank Parking lot across from
MLK Plaza (45th Street).
Parade Line-up time is 8:00 a.m. ; Parade will start promptly at 10:00 a.m.

The 2023 MLK Day Parade Participation Entry Form must be received by a committee member or volunteer no later than January 6, 2023.
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2023 MLK PARADE ENTRY FORM - Available for Download!
[link removed]
2023_mlk_particpant_entry_form_official.pdf
Download File ([link removed])


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Annual Scholarship Banquet

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2023 - 6:00 PM

Ticket Cost: $35

Location: Gifford Youth Activity Center -
4875 43rd Avenue - Gifford, FL
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Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased on the MLK Committee website.

The Martin Luther King Committee of Indian River County holds this annual scholarship banquet to raise money to provide scholarships for graduating seniors.

Please join us for this upcoming event. For more information and to reserve your seat at the Democrats' table, please contact Sharon Kolor
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])



CALENDAR

Wednesday, December 28, 2022


[link removed] ([link removed])





** Interested in Serving on a Board or Commission?
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The Board of County Commissioners is seeking volunteers to serve on a number of unique advisory boards and commissions that help to advise the Board of County Commissioners and staff with respect to specific governmental action by making decisions on the disposition of certain matters coming before the Board or Commission.
* Learn more about Commissions and Boards ([link removed])
* Commissions and Boards Vacancies ([link removed])
* Commission and Boards Application ([link removed])

For more information please go to: [link removed]


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Democrats of Indian River


SAVE THE DATES:

Democratic Club of Indian River and the DWC
will join in the MLK Day Parade on Monday, January 16,2023. Please register online or get a form in the Democrats office to walk in the parade or register your vehicle. Please wear a Democrats of Indian River t-shirt if you have one and bring signs to carry. We have banners and flags. Vehicles will be available for those who cannot walk the entire parade route.

Democratic Women’s Club

Saturday, January 14, 2023 - 11:30 a.m.
The Democratic Women’s Club Luncheon at Bent Pine Country Club. The speaker will be RABBI MICHAEL BIRNHOLZ.

Friday, January 27, 2023 - 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
The Book Group will meet at the Brackett Library on the IRSC Mueller campus and discuss “The Flag, The Cross & The Station Wagon:
A Graying American Looks Back At His Suburban Boyhood & Wonders What The
Hell Happened” by Author: Bill McKibbin.



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Traffic-clogging lane reductions not needed downtown

Reading Laurence Reisman's column concerning one councilman's idea for reducing roadway lanes, I agree with the columnist's perception. To reduce the number of traffic lanes Is utterly ridiculous.

This action would lead to more traffic congestion and accidents, unsafe pedestrian crossings, and deter our police and fire departments' responses.

City fathers should drive out State Road 60 west and U.S. 1 north. All these new housing projects will produce additional traffic downtown. Folks move to this area to enjoy our small-town environment. Let’s not disappoint their expectations.

Lebron Shields, Vero Beach

No problem with Twin Pairs as they are, but ...

As an 87-year-old man who enjoys the smooth and quick driving on the Twin Pairs, I am against the narrowing of that roadway. A comparison of what could happen can be made by taking a ride along State Road 60 around 43rd Avenue. The feeling of congestion makes that ride feel a little uneasy.

I enjoy the restaurants, art galleries and stores of downtown Vero Beach and have no difficulty crossing three lanes to get from one side to the other. There are plenty of no-driving intervals to allow safe crossing those roadways.

Although there is some vertical parking on 14th Avenue, it is easy to back out of a parking spot because of the slow-moving traffic. I would hate to back out of a spot on State Road 60 while confronting fast-moving traffic.

Best regards,

Spike Vrusho, Vero Beach

'Bold' idea to handle everyone's interest in downtown Vero Beach traffic

If columnist Laurence Reisman is really** looking for "bold" in his column about State Road 60 ([link removed])
through downtown Vero Beach, here it is:

Build twin "fly-over" bridges over the Twin Pairs for about four blocks through traffic on 60. Convert the current paved Twin Pair under the fly-over bridges to pedestrian-friendly, shaded walkways and small intersection parks like those all over Savannah, Georgia. Provide for scattered small parking pods for the shops and stores that would flourish in the shade of the twin bridges. Walking and shopping could also be facilitated for the elderly with contractor-operated three-wheel bicycle rickshaws or rented battery powered wheelchairs.

Such bridges would not consume any existing real estate because the bridge supports would anchor on the existing Twin Pairs right of ways.

As Reisman's column in the Dec. 11 newspaper clearly pointed out to me (in my words), "mediocre" has chipped away at the downtown’s potential long enough.

David Lutz, Vero Beach

To submit your letters to the Editor, go to:

** [link removed] ([link removed])


LOCAL

New hotels for Indian River County


There's plenty of reasons to visit Vero Beach, Sebastian and other parts of Indian River County.

It's just a matter of where to stay.

Tourism and county leaders said they're looking forward to the addition of Home2 Suites by Hilton, a hotel opening up by year's end on the Interstate 95 corridor on State Road 60.

And in Sebastian, a new hotel is in development on the riverfront on the south end of Indian River Drive, said Kirk Funnell, tourism director for the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce. Paperwork filed with the county doesn't indicate the hotel brand name, but details show the inn will be a three-story, 98-room property, Funnell said, considered an "eco-lodge."

"There's a lot of vacation-type resort hotels in the Sebastian area, but sometimes a standard hotel room is what people need," said County Commissioner Joe Flescher, who also sits on the county's Tourism Development Council.

Lamaur Stancil
Treasure Coast Newspapers

STATE

DeSantis elevates Florida judge who lost reelection after blocking teen’s abortion


** Jared Smith ([link removed])
, the Hillsborough circuit judge whom voters ousted in August after his controversial ruling in an abortion case, won’t have to hang up his judicial robe after all.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Smith to fill one of the three vacancies Tuesday on the newly created 6th District Court of Appeal, which will be based in Lakeland. Smith’s appointment will take effect Jan. 1.

Smith lost the August election for his judicial seat to ** Tampa attorney Nancy Jacobs ([link removed])
. The unusually contentious race saw abortion loom as a key issue.

Smith became a target of criticism from reproductive rights advocates after an appeals court overturned his decision in a case involving a 17-year-old girl who sought a judicial waiver to obtain an abortion without her parents’ consent.

He concluded that the girl did not demonstrate the maturity, intelligence and other qualities necessary to make the decision. In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel found that Smith abused his judicial discretion.

Although judicial races are non-partisan, the race between Smith and Jacobs carried an air of partisanship. Reproductive rights advocates backed Jacobs, a criminal defense and family law attorney. She had twice before campaigned for judicial vacancies.

Smith, an evangelical Christian, became the target of further criticism when a video surfaced of his wife speaking about Jacobs during a campaign appearance in a local church. In the video, Suzette Smith was heard saying that Jacobs, who is Jewish, “needs Jesus,” among other comments.

The comments sparked ** accusations of antisemitism. ([link removed])

Jacobs called her comments “troubling.”

Smith’s wife later posted a message to her husband′s campaign Facebook page denying antisemitism and professing that her husband has Jewish relatives and respects the Jewish people.

Jacobs defeated Smith 52-48 percent in the election. It is rare for a sitting judge to lose reelection.

Shortly after his loss, Smith applied through a Judicial Nominating Commission to be on the new appeals court. The state Legislature ** created the new 6th District Court of Appeal ([link removed])
in June. Based in Polk County, it will include nine judges who will hear appeals from the trial courts in 10 counties in central and southwest Florida, but not Hillsborough.

Smith was one of 33 applicants and 18 finalists, which also included Republican State Rep. Mike Beltran.

But before the selection was announced, State Rep. Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat, ** filed a challenge in the Florida Supreme Court ([link removed])
. She claimed that Smith, Beltran and two other nominees were ineligible to serve on the Lakeland-based court because they did not live within the geographical boundaries of the new district.

The court ** rejected Thompson’s arguments last week ([link removed])
.

A news release from the governor’s office announcing Smith’s appointment Tuesday states that he’s a resident of Lakeland. He previously resided in Lutz.

Smith was appointed as a Hillsborough County judge by former Gov. Rick Scott in 2017. DeSantis elevated him to the circuit level in 2019.

Before becoming a judge, Smith was a partner in the firm of Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force. He obtained his law degree from Washburn University and holds a bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University.

DeSantis appointed Judges Joshua Mize and Keith White of the Orlando-based 9th Judicial Circuit to fill the other two appeals court vacancies.

Dan Sullivan, Miami Herald

FEDERAL

Donald Trump is losing ground to Ron DeSantis ahead of 2024



America’s next presidential election is still almost two years away. But the ** Republican rivalry ([link removed])
that is expected to play out between Donald Trump, the former president, and Ron DeSantis, Florida’s ultra-conservative governor, is already making headlines. Perhaps that is because of the party’s unexpectedly poor showing in the midterm elections in November. Or maybe it is due to the lacklustre performance of candidates endorsed by Donald Trump, who has said he will run again in 2024. (Mr DeSantis has yet to declare.) The Economist’s ** analysis ([link removed])
of the results of races for the House of Representatives, for example, suggests that Mr Trump’s endorsees fell short of their predicted vote margin by five percentage points relative to other Republican candidates. Such a penalty has cast doubt on Mr Trump’s electability.
THE ECONOMIST TODAY



VIDEO of the WEEK

Insurrection lawyer says Trump did not know his actions were wrong.

** [link removed] ([link removed])




Office Hours

Monday through Friday 10am to 3pm

2345 14^th Ave. Suite 7
Vero Beach 32960

(772) 226-5267

[email protected]


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