MickNuggets: 01.14-18.19

01.14.19- GLASS CEILING-BROKEN

 

Maybe you didn’t see her.  Maybe you didn’t notice her at all.  In fact, that’s what some folks believe is a sign of success in her business.  But Sarah Thomas broke a glass ceiling this weekend.  And if you didn’t notice, maybe it’s just as well.

 

You see, Sarah is the NFL’s first full-time female official.  Yes, she’s an on field official of the game that is (sadly for us baseball guys) America’s pastime.

 

As she broke this new ground there was no skepticism, just an occasional note that she was there.  Thomas had already established herself as a quality official.

 

It’s not an easy path to officiating the NFL or any other professional sport.  In addition to every fan believing they know more about your job and believing they could perform the job better, there are hundreds of officials hoping to take your place.  You earn your way into these jobs.

 

Congratulations, Sarah Taylor. You’ve earned it and done justice to your craft.  We can’t ask for anything more.

 

 

 

01.15.19- Local News- costly or invaluable?

 

A mid-week report states there is a potential buyer for Gannett, the parent company of USA Today and Florida Today.  It also states the would-be buyer is notorious for coming in and making severe cuts, even at the expense of the final product.

 

The print industry has gone through drastic changes as the internet and the development of technology makes news delivery smarter and faster than a newspaper delivered to your driveway each morning.

 

It took newspapers a while to catch on and monetize the internet publication of their product.  Now that they have managed that to a large extent, news like this is worrisome.

 

Cuts in staff would inevitably mean a reduction in local news coverage and a limitation on available information of government and events around us.

 

It takes people to make news work; investment companies just don’t care enough to get that.  Let’s hope local news remains a focus no matter what happens.

 

 

 

01.16.19- Law Enforcement Triage- 2nd Guessing is a Bad Idea

 

When it comes to police responses an after action report is one thing.  A politically popular review is quite another.

 

It’s a shame school boards have not taken the safety of their facilities more seriously.  The Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act has put most state schools just where the Parkland high school was on the day of the tragic event.

 

The Volusia County Sheriff has moved a deputy out of his school duties because of a decision a deputy had to make on which incident to prioritize.

 

While the deputy was dealing with a student in mental crisis that was being committed, a call was issued to investigate a possible gun on campus.  There was no attached brandishing or threat associated.  Tough call.

 

The deputy called for an outside deputy to come search for the possible gun.  Good call.  The mentally disturbed student was the most present and real of threats.  The present verses the potential.  It makes sense…until the politics come into play.

 

Sheriff Chitwood should be commending this deputy, not reassigning him.

 

 

 

01.17.19- Reality: There is no nonpartisan election

 

The Brevard Legislative Delegation collectively failed the community when they turned back the idea of partisan labels on elections that are currently considered, but are not actually, nonpartisan. 

 

The vote was split 3-3 on the proposal by Representative Randy Fine.  This was a law that would only impact Brevard, though I would have preferred it for the whole state.  It would also have left alone judicial races as we continue to present that lawyers who want to be judges are somehow immune to political leanings and activism.

 

That said, the step would have been a good one as both major parties are not shy about informing voters who their candidates are in these races.  It may be the most positive action of the parties in election season.

 

Fine and Representatives Tyler Sirois and Thad Altman supported the measure.   The out of county contingent of Senators Debbie Mayfield and Tom Wright and Representative Rene Plasencia stopped the idea from going forward.

 

It may be time to get rid of the rule the delegation has to pass it if the issue is an in-county one!

 

 

 

01.18.19- DeSantis: if you’ve got ‘em, smoke ‘em!

 

Late this week Governor Ron DeSantis urged the Florida Legislature to rewrite the state’s medical marijuana law to allow for patients ingesting the drug by smoking.

 

While it’s funny that lawyer John Morgan spent millions of his own dollars to pass the amendment, he was not specific in the wording to be certain smoking was an option.

 

The legislature, not being particularly fond of the amendment in the first place, saw the flaw and exploited it by banning smoking as a delivery method.  That prompted Morgan to sue.

 

While I caution against the coming amendment to legalize recreational marijuana, I’ll concede that as long as it’s actually medical, the delivery system that is best for the patient should be the doctor’s choice.

 

Legislative gamesmanship is unbecoming.  Correct this one, save us the money and the hassle and live to fight another day.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content