It’s been a long week. Here’s a short recap of some fun Florida news stories.
DeSantis appointees clear DeSantis of wrongdoing
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been cleared by the Florida Commission on Ethics over concerns related to a golf simulator donated to the Governor’s Mansion. The Commission, of which several of the appointees were made by DeSantis, also found that there was no ethical breach in DeSantis failing to report a ride taken on the private jet of real estate developer Mori Hosseini, a DeSantis mega-donor who also “donated” the golf simulator. But maybe that’s just what real friends do. Like how DeSantis was a real friend to Hosseini when his administration directed $92 million in COVID relief money to fund construction of a highway interchange that led to one of Hosseini’s housing developments. It’s just friends helping each other out—no different than having a buddy come over to help move a couch.
The Brightline Effect
Brightline has announced soaring revenues for the first half of 2024, despite major decreases to ridership. How was the company able to pull this off? Easy. By ending its monthly passes relied upon by commuters and instead prioritizing higher-priced fares to and from Orlando. Because there’s nothing more profitable than a rug-pull. Take the Boca Brightline station, for instance, which city officials imagined would be a commercial boon, bringing visitors from all over South Florida to enjoy Boca’s concerts, arts and dining scene. Now, it’s just a fancy station to look at on your way to Orlando.
For reference, Brightline had about 150,000 riders to and from stations in South Florida in the first half of 2023. For the first half of this year, that number has dropped to around 84,000. Here’s another number: Boca provided $10 million toward the construction of the station and has little more to show for that investment than a pricey ride to Disney.
Can’t put this one on Boeing…
A flight headed for Miami International Airport this week was forced to divert to Palm Beach International Airport after a passenger’s overheated phone battery began smoking. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX, made a safe landing with no injuries reported. One can only imagine the sigh of relief at Boeing over a forced landing of one of their planes being totally unrelated to the headlines the embattled manufacturer has been making all year. At least this plane didn’t lose a door. According to the FAA, there have been more than 250 battery incidents on airplanes since 2020, so suddenly the new trend of neglecting all forms of entertainment while flying doesn’t seem quite so silly.
Only in the Keys…
Hurricane Debby brought more than high winds and floods when it made landfall this week. Seventy pounds of cocaine washed upon the shores of Key West as the storm made its way north. This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, it keeps happening—to the point that the discarded smugglers’ cargo can almost be considered regular deliveries. The drugs were seized by the U.S. Border Patrol, and not a moment too soon as more and more sharks have gotten a taste for the drug. Hurricanes may be bad, but I’d wager that cocaine sharks are worse.
