Florida State Wide
MARATHON, Fla. – Today, (September 13, 2017) Governor Rick Scott joined Florida National Guard members, FWC officers, and Florida Highway Patrol officers to tour impacts of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys. Over the past two days, the Governor also toured damage caused by Hurricane Irma in Clay and Lee Counties.
Before Monday morning, Braden and Kimberlie Dando had never heard of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Today, they say they owe their lives to the FWC officers who have been deployed to the Houston area to help rescue flood victims.
“If they didn’t show up I don’t what we would have done because we did not have a way to get out. I just want to thank them for what they did,” Braden, 25, said during a telephone interview from his mother-in-law’s house in Highlands, Texas.
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The Dandos two boys–Paxton, 3, who is autistic, and Nixon, 15 months old–were also inside the apartment. Their parents concern grew as the flood waters began to cover Nixon’s crib.
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“We had to swim with our kids,” Kimberlie recalled. “We literally had to drag our 3-year-old, while he was screaming, out of the house.” Continue reading
More Than 400 Florida Volunteers Deployed to Texas and Louisiana
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers are continuing to actively assist with disaster response efforts in the Houston area. FWC officers have rescued more than 500 Texans since arriving in the area after being deployed by Governor Scott in response to Texas’ request for emergency assistance. Additionally, more than 400 Florida volunteers have been deployed to Texas and Louisiana as Volunteer Florida continues to coordinate the activities of 11 disaster relief organizations.
FWC Response Efforts:
- More than 500 Texans rescued by FWC officers since arriving in the area after being deployed by Governor Scott in response to Texas’ request for emergency assistance.
- Nearly 125 FWC officers are supporting ongoing search and rescue and disaster response efforts.
- FWC resources deployed to Texas include more than 40 boats, 17 high water vehicles, two Mobile Command Centers, and eight shallow draft vessels.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers are continuing to actively assist with disaster response efforts in the Houston area. FWC officers have rescued more than 200 Texans since arriving in the area after being deployed by Governor Scott in response to Texas’ request for emergency assistance. Nearly 125 FWC officers, more than 40 boats, 17 high water vehicles, two Mobile Command Centers, and eight shallow draft vessels are currently in Texas to support ongoing search and rescue and disaster response efforts.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced he is deploying additional Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers and resources to Houston in response to additional requests from Texas for continued emergency assistance following Hurricane Harvey. These officers and resources will be assisting with ongoing search and rescue and disaster response efforts. Governor Scott spoke with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and reached out to FWC Major Andy Krause, who will be leading the response, this morning. Continue reading
Please see the information below regarding Governor Rick Scott’s lunch with President Donald Trump.
“Governor Scott had lunch today with President Trump following an invitation from the White House last week. Governor Scott was solely there to promote Florida. They discussed a wide range of topics including the President’s commitment to partner with Florida on needed repairs to the federally-operated Herbert Hoover Dike at Lake Okeechobee. Governor Scott wants to do all he can to protect Florida’s environment and President Trump is very supportive to help. Additionally, they discussed the terror attack in Barcelona and the efforts President Trump is taking to keep America safe.”
Florida Sets All-Time Tourism Record in First Half of 2017
TAMPA, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced that Florida set another record by welcoming the highest number of visitors of any six months in the state’s history with 60.7 million visitors, according to VISIT FLORIDA. This represents a 4.1 percent increase over the same period in 2016, and includes 53.2 million domestic visitors, 5.3 million overseas visitors and 2.2 million Canadian visitors.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce today that Florida has continued its record breaking success by welcoming more than 60 million visitors to our state over the first half of 2017- the highest number of visitors of any six months in our state’s history. This means back-to-back record quarters for our state. Now, with the investments made in VISIT FLORIDA during this year’s Special Legislative Session, we can continue to break records and work toward our goal of 120 million visitors this year. Florida’s booming tourism industry supports 1.4 million jobs across the state, and I know that VISIT FLORIDA and their many local partners are continuing to focus on breaking more records in order to help create even more opportunities for our families.” Continue reading
This is a short summer for the legislature as we will already be starting Committee Meetings next month. Already we are starting to look at new legislation and beginning to plan delegation meetings so we may hear from our constituents on their issues and ideas. Marion County will be having their Legislative Delegation Meeting on October 19th.
I have traveled a lot this summer and attended many conferences from Miami to Boston. I attended the National Conference of State Legislatures in Boston and was able to hear from Frank Luntz, one of the nation’s foremost political commentators and pollsters, about how many American’s trust their local and state officials much more than their federal counterparts. My office is always open and available to constituents for help or comment. Please do not hesitate to reach out. Continue reading
Executive Orders 17-188 and 17-189:
Regarding State Attorney Reassignment
Please see Executive Order 17-188 and Executive Order 17-189 which reassign to State Attorney Brad King the investigation, presentation to the grand jury, and all matters related to criminal charges referenced in the Executive Orders against Callene Marcia Barton and Lakesha Chantell Lewis.
On July 7, 2017, Callene Marcia Barton and Lakesha Chantell Lewis were arrested for First-degree Felony Murder and Aggravated Child Abuse after inflicting fatal injuries upon a three-year-old victim. As reported in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit, Lewis attacked the three-year-old with a plastic rod, repeatedly striking the child until the rod broke apart. The victim’s mother attempted to intervene and removed the child to another room, but Barton pursued them and grabbed the child by an arm and a leg, throwing him down a hallway, the impact of which caused his neck to turn and his body began convulsing. Barton prevented the victim’s mother from calling the police, but the woman fled from the residence and called the authorities from a neighbor’s phone. The minor victim was transported to a hospital, but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead several hours later. The arrest affidavit notes the child had other bruising on his body that had begun to heal, consistent with evidence of prior physical abuse.
