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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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.

2023 MLK PARADE ENTRY FORM - Available for Download!

2023_mlk_particpant_entry_form_official.pdf

Download File

ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP BANQUET

Saturday, January 14, 2023 - 6:00 PM

Location: Gifford Youth Activity Center -
4875 43rd Avenue - Gifford, FL

The Martin Luther King Committee of Indian River County holds this annual scholarship banquet to raise money to provide scholarships for graduating seniors.
To purchase tickets, please send checks to
P O Box 1641 Vero Beach Fl. 32960, and please select either Cornish Hen or Oxtail. Ticket Cost: $35

To reserve your seat at the Democrats' table, please RSVP to Sharon Kolor [email protected]

CALENDAR

Monday, January 9, 2023

10:00 a.m. - Centennial Celebration Committee meeting, 1225 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958. For agenda and meeting information go to
https://www.cityofsebastian.org/Calendar.aspx?

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

9:00 a.m. – Vero Beach City Council, Council Chambers, City Hall, 1053 20^th Place, Vero Beach 32960 : For agenda and meeting information go to https://covb.org/AgendaCenter You can watch here: https://www.covb.org/341/CTYVB-13---City-of-Vero-Beach-Official-T

9:00 a.m. – Indian River County Commission, County Administration Offices, Council Chambers, 1801 27^th Street, Building A, Vero Beach 32960. For agenda and meeting information go to https://ircgov.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

6:00 p.m. – Sebastian Natural Resources Board, 1225 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958. For agenda and meeting information go to
https://www.cityofsebastian.org/Calendar.aspx?

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

6:00 p.m. – Sebastian City Council, 1225 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958. For agenda and meeting information go to
https://www.cityofsebastian.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=343&month=2&year=2021&day=17&calType=0

Thursday, January 12, 2023

7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council, 22 S. Orange Street, Fellsmere, FL 32948

For agenda and meeting information go to www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil

Interested in Serving on a Board or Commission?

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.

For more information and application form please go to: http://ircgov.com

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. To register to walk in the parade or register your vehicle, you can get a form online or in the Democrats office. Please wear a Democrats of Indian River t-shirt if you have one and bring signs to carry. We will carry our banners and flags, and we will have some vehicles in the parade for those who cannot walk the entire parade route. We have small flags to give to parade watchers and you can bring child-safe candy to share along the 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

Governor’s cruel attack on teacher unions

Gov. Ron DeSantis is at it again, trying to destroy teacher unions.

He disguises it by saying teachers currently don’t have an opportunity to decide if they want to be in a union. He wants to force them to make out monthly checks to remain part of the union.

Why is he targeting only teachers? We’re not the only union in Florida. Numerous other unions in the state have dues collected through their employers’ paychecks, but he’s not attacking police, firefighters or others. If you’re in a union that’s supported him, you are not targeted, but teacher unions fight for teacher rights, and that’s not what he supports.

I know Florida is a “right to work” state and teachers aren’t allowed to strike, but if this law passes, I call on all teachers to walk out. What would DeSantis do if 100,000 teachers walk off the job? There aren’t enough teachers to fill the positions we have now, and there are not enough college students majoring in education to fill the jobs.

Teachers just want to have a union to represent them. It’s bad enough they are underpaid and are given extra work and responsibilities outside their profession. Now the governor wants to be able to decertify a teacher union if membership is below 50%.

This is just another example of DeSantis being vindictive toward an organization that opposes him. He won overwhelmingly, but that doesn’t mean he should have the ability to manipulate laws to harm his opponents. He preys on the fact that teachers will forget to pay their monthly union dues, creating bookkeeping horrors for local unions.

Teachers would probably never strike because they care too much for their students. DeSantis knows this.

Hal Krantz, Coral Springs

The writer is a long-time executive board member and steward of the Broward Teachers Union.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editor’s Note:
The latest version of this bill, HB1197, passed the House in 2022 and died in the Senate.

To submit your letters to the Editor, go to:

https://static.tcpalm.com/submit-forms

LOCAL

City of Sebastian Centennial Celebration

With the 100th anniversary of the City of Sebastian approaching in 2024, officials decided to establish a Centennial Task Force to plan the celebration.

Officially, Sebastian was founded in 1882 and named St. Sebastian. Later, “St.” was removed from the town’s name but not from the river. Sebastian was incorporated as a City on Dec. 8, 1924.

The City may have a Centennial Celebration backdrop for community events the entire year.

Centennial Task Force Committee includes Sebastian citizens to help plan the celebration.

Andy Hodges,
SEBASTIAN DAILY

STATE

The spotlight is on Florida's governor in 2023

As Ron DeSantis keeps looking stronger as a presidential candidate and Donald Trump keeps looking weaker, attention increasingly is turning to how DeSantis handles his next few months in office, which could launch his run for the White House in 2024. DeSantis had a big year in 2022, winning reelection in a blowout, but 2023 could be the year that makes or breaks his presidential aspirations.

How DeSantis navigates Trump – who already has started attacking him – and how he executes in his job as Florida’s chief executive in the face of intense national scrutiny will determine if he can maintain his momentum for a presidential bid.

Billionaires back DeSantis:DeSantis has ‘extraordinary’ billionaire support, with at least 42 backing him. Who are they?

COVID vaccines:Florida Supreme Court approves DeSantis call for coronavirus vaccine grand jury

DeSantis' culture war:What does it mean to be 'woke,' and why does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis want to stop it?

DeSantis showed recently that he intends to keep his foot on the gas, rolling out another provocative proposal that generated national headlines, this time calling for a grand jury to investigate COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

The real test for DeSantis may be in March, though, when the Florida Legislature begins its annual 60-day legislative session.

DeSantis packed a lot into those 60 days in 2022, passing a 15-week abortion ban, a bill targeting how race is taught in schools and another outlawing teaching about gender identity or sexual orientation in younger grades.

The expectations among conservatives may be even higher this year. Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser, shared on article about DeSantis’ vaccine announcement on social media and declared: “DeSantis Moves to The Right of President Trump —Notably on: The Vaxx.”

DeSantis is expected to keep driving policy proposals as governor that he can tout in a potential presidential campaign, without explicitly talking about running for president, at least until after the legislative session ends in the spring.

“I think he’s focused on doing his job and that’s what I would recommend for any incumbent, to be a candidate for the next office you need to be a good steward of your current one,” said Jamie Miller, a Republican consultant and former executive director of the Florida GOP.

Democrats are bracing for a slew of proposals geared more towards advancing the governor's political fortunes than solving real problems.

“I’m very concerned we will continue to be pawns in his political game while everyday people continue to suffer,” said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. “As the governor campaigns on these nationalized, politicized issues, real, everyday challenges will continue to be unaddressed.”

House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, said the "intensity" of DeSantis' policy proposals has increased along with his "growing ambition," and she expects that to reach a crescendo in the coming months.

“I’m very concerned about what the next legislative session will bring," she said. "It could result in a Florida that looks unrecognizable in terms of where we were as a state 10 years, or even just four years ago."

Abortion, guns and conservative education proposals top conservative agenda

DeSantis is under pressure from conservatives to pass legislation further restricting abortion from the current cutoff at 15 weeks of pregnancy, and also allow permitless carry of concealed weapons.

The governor deflected recently when asked if he support a so-called “heartbeat” bill that would move the cutoff for an abortion to roughly six weeks of pregnancy, saying only that he is "willing to sign great life legislation."

Many conservative states have tougher abortion restrictions than Florida, and with Trump having appointed conservative U.S. Supreme Court justice who overturned the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights, DeSantis could be vulnerable to criticism from conservatives that he hasn’t done enough on abortion.

“There’s a lot of pressure. It’s not going to get better than this” to pass abortion legislation, Verdugo said. “There’s a big push for the heartbeat bill now, for six weeks. I don’t know if he’s going to go that far. We’ll see.”

DeSantis also may delve back into education policy after major changes this year that included HB 1557, legislation officially known as the Parental Rights in Education Act but dubbed by critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. That law became one of his signature acts as governor, and some believe the topic is rife to be revisited.

DeSantis indicated he still is keenly interested in education policy by hosting an event in Orlando Dec. 19 that was billed as a training session for conservative school board members he endorsed. During the event, DeSantis highlighted legislation he supports targeting how teachers pay union dues.

The upcoming legislative session is “a huge opportunity,” Miller said.

“Because, while he certainly has gained the national spotlight, the light’s gotten a lot brighter,” and whatever DeSantis does this session will get considerable attention, Miller added.

Whether he was flying migrants to Martha’s Vineyard or suspending Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, DeSantis has been willing to use his executive powers aggressively.

DeSantis also can position himself for a presidential run by continuing to raise money. He ended his campaign with more than $60 million left in his political committee, and has continued to collect donations since Election Day, including an array of small-dollar contributions and $804,000 from six large donors.

The biggest long-term risk for DeSantis in the coming months may be that he goes too far in trying to win over Trump’s base and hurts his chances in a general election.

"He’s trying to walk this line of not isolating a general electorate while trying to appeal to his base," Eskamani said. "But at the end of the day, if it’s you versus Trump, you can’t play that game anymore. We’ve seen with Republican primary voters what their priorities are.”

Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

FEDERAL

New York House District Flipped by Republican Now Admitting His Lies

New York Republican Representative-elect George Santos, who was elected in November to represent parts of northern Long Island and northeast Queens, admitted to lying about graduating from college, claims that he worked for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, and that he had a family-owned real estate portfolio of 13 properties; he admitted he was not a landlord.

“My sins here are embellishing my résumé,” Mr. Santos told The New York Post in one of several interviews he gave on Monday.

Santos, the first Republican claiming to be openly gay to win a House seat as a non-incumbent, acknowledged a yearslong marriage he had never disclosed.

“I dated women in the past. I married a woman. It’s personal stuff,” he said to The Post, adding that he was “OK with my sexuality. People change.”

Santos also acknowledged that a string of financial difficulties had left him owing thousands to landlords and creditors. But he failed to fully explain how his fortunes reversed so significantly that, by 2022, he was able to lend $700,000 to his congressional campaign.

Santos also firmly denied committing a crime anywhere in the world, even though The Times had uncovered Brazilian court records showing that Santos had been charged with fraud after he was caught writing checks with a stolen checkbook.
Santos, who has repeatedly said he was religiously Catholic but has also identified as a nonobservant Jew, told The Post his grandmother had recounted how she converted from Judaism to Catholicism. Santos misled voters about his account of his Jewish ancestry, including that his maternal grandparents were born in Europe and emigrated to Brazil during the Holocaust.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Mr. Santos told The Post. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Santos claimed to have graduated from Baruch College in 2010 before working at Citigroup and, eventually, Goldman Sachs. A biography on the National Republican Congressional Committee website said he had attended both Baruch and New York University and received degrees in finance and economics. But neither the colleges nor the companies could locate records to verify his claims when contacted by The Times. Santos admitted to The Post that he had not graduated from Baruch College or any college. “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my résumé,” he said, later adding: “We do stupid things in life.”
He also admitted that he never worked directly for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup, blaming a “poor choice of words” for creating the impression that he had. Santos’s former campaign website says he “began working at Citigroup as an associate and quickly advanced to become an associate asset manager in the real asset division of the firm.” In a version of his campaign biography posted as recently as April, Santos suggested that he had started his career on Wall Street at Citigroup and that he was at Goldman Sachs briefly before his time at LinkBridge.
Santos confirmed reporting by The Times that he had worked at a call center in Queens in late 2011 and early 2012.
Yet even as Santos, whose victory helped Republicans secure a narrow majority in the next House of Representatives, admitted to some fabrication, his actions will likely not prevent him from being seated in Congress.

Democrats outgoing House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the next House Democratic minority leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York have suggested Mr. Santos is unfit to serve in Congress. Top House Republican leaders, including Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, have largely remained silent. The House can only prevent candidates from taking office if they violate the Constitution’s age, citizenship and state residency requirements. Once he has been seated, however, Santos could face ethics investigations, legal experts have said.

Of greater potential concern are questions about Santos’s financial disclosures, where he reported earning millions of dollars from his company, the Devolder Organization. Santos disclosed little about the operations of his company, and The Times could find no assets or other property tied to the firm. Santos also did not list any clients on his disclosures, despite the requirement that candidates list any compensation over $5,000 from a single source. Intentionally omitting or misrepresenting information on a congressional financial disclosure is considered a federal crime.

Santos claimed last month that a company he had worked for “lost four employees” at the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in June 2016. The Times reviewed news coverage and obituaries and found no evidence that could support the claim. On Monday, Santos shifted his account slightly, saying those four people were not yet employees but instead were in the process of being hired. “We did lose four people that were going to be coming to work for the company that I was starting up in Orlando,” he said. Santos did not name the company or provide additional information to support his statement. Public records show that Mr. Santos had a Florida driver’s license and was registered to vote in that state in 2016.

Santos also admitted that he was not, as he claimed last year, a landlord who makes significant income from 13 properties owned by him and his family.

“George Santos does not own any properties,” he told The Post, even though a financial disclosure he filed with the House in September said he owned an apartment in Rio de Janeiro.

Michael Gold and Grace Ashford
The New York Times

VIDEO of the WEEK

George Santos was "Jew-ish."
He flipped a Blue district, helped flip the U.S. House, and Republican leadership knew about his lies.

https://youtu.be/U3jqfbXfcOk

Office Hours

Monday through Friday 10am to 3pm

2345 14^th Ave. Suite 7
Vero Beach 32960

(772) 226-5267

[email protected]

STAY SAFE OUT THERE!

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