DeSantis gets Koch backing — Trump wants more foreign workers — SurveyMonkey poll: Scott up 3 — Graham’s health care plan Presented by Facebook

By Marc Caputo ([email protected]; @MarcACaputo) and Matt Dixon ([email protected]; @Mdixon55), with Emily Goldberg ([email protected]; @ejgold94) and the staff of POLITICO Florida

Happy Wednesday morning. The Koch Brothers are officially putting cash and infrastructure behind Ron DeSantis’ bid for Florida governor. Most knew the Koch network would eventually get behind DeSantis, who is seen as driving in the race’s conservative lane, but the timing was in question. Now a primary-defining question remains: How much national cash will the new endorsement bring in the next seven weeks?

…TRUMP TO THE TRAIL…

ANOTHER BOOST — “DeSantis officially gets Koch support as momentum continues to turn,” by POLITICO Florida’s Matt Dixon: Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam has long been the GOP front-runner in the fight for Florida’s governor’s mansion, but Rep. Ron DeSantis got another momentum boost Tuesday when Freedom Partner’s Action Fund, a Koch Brothers-backed group, endorsed the GOP congressman. The Fund's backing could provide both financial and infrastructure help to DeSantis, who recently racked up his second Twitter endorsement from President Donald Trump and survived an initially unanswered $15 million TV ad onslaught from Putnam. “That’s the trigger for national money,” one veteran Florida GOP consultant said of the endorsement. Read more

MIXED MESSSAGE — “Trump asks for permission to hire 78 foreign workers at Mar-a-Lago,” by Palm Beach Post’s Jeff Ostrowski: “President Donald Trump wants to hire more foreign workers to staff his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach this winter. Trump has asked his Labor Department for visas for 78 workers for the 2018-19 season,up from 70 last year. He wants permission to temporarily hire 40 waiters and waitresses,21 cooks and 17 housekeepers. Like many other Palm Beach County employers that get a bump in business during the tourist season, Trump routinely applies for H-2B visas, the temporary work permits for low-wage workers.” Read more

REWARD? — “Trump works to thank Guatemala for moving embassy by weakening anti-corruption panel,” by Franco Ordoñez in the Miami Herald: “After Guatemala joined the United States in moving its embassy to Jerusalem, the Trump administration has been working to weaken an international commission on corruption that is targeting the Guatemalan president, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The Trump administration is still debating what specific changes it wants to pursue, but talks between agencies have alarmed supporters in Guatemala and Washington who feel the changes could undercut the role the United Nations-backed body plays in combating official corruption and other root causes of illegal immigration.” Read more

COMING TO TOWN — “HUD Secretary Ben Carson visiting Sarasota Thursday,” by Herald-Tribune’s Zac Anderson: “U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will visit Sarasota Thursday to take part in a book giveaway for children in subsidized housing. ‘It’s something that’s very important to the secretary because of his personal experience with books,’ said HUD spokesman Raffi Williams. ‘That’s how he was able to explore the world, even though he was a poor kid in Detroit.’ Carson is a former neurosurgeon and best-selling author who ran for president in 2016.” Read more

POLICY PUSH — “Gwen Graham’s health care plan includes Medicaid expansion and eliminating wait lists for seniors,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Lawrence Mower:“Gwen Graham is out with her health care plan, and while she doesn’t call for ‘Medicare for all’ like one of her opponents, it’s the first detailed look at what the Democrat would push for if elected governor.” Read more

NEW NUMBERS — “New Axios poll in Florida: Rick Scott 49%, Bill Nelson 46%,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet: “An online poll in Florida's U.S. Senate race again underscores a close contest in the nation's biggest battleground state. The Axios/SurveyMonkey poll has Republican Gov. Rick Scott with a 3-point edge over Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, 49-46 percent, with 5 percent giving no answer. The pollster surveyed 1,080 voters from June 11 to July 2, with a margin of error of 5 percentage points.” Read more

ANIMAL CASH — “Animal-rights groups contribute $200K to ban greyhound racing,” by News Service of Florida: “Two animal-rights groups have started putting their money behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban greyhound racing in Florida. The Humane Society of the United States and Grey2K USA Worldwide each contributed $100,000 in June to the Committee to Protect Dogs, a political committee backing Amendment 13 on the November ballot, according to a newly filed finance report.” Read more

...TALLAHASSEE BRIEF…

ON THE RISE — “Pension fund keeps positive streak alive,” by News 4 Jax’s Llyod Dunkelberger: “Florida’s $160.4 billion state pension fund showed a preliminary return of 8.99 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, marking the ninth straight year the retirement fund has shown a positive gain. Ash Williams, executive director of the State Board of Administration, which oversees the fund that pays retirement benefits for teachers, county workers, law enforcement officers, state workers and higher-education employees, said he expects the final number to be even higher. ‘Preliminary figures for the Florida Retirement System pension plan project returns for fiscal-year 2017-18 just shy of 9 percent,’ Williams said. ‘Fiscal year-end valuations for our private market assets --- real estate, private equity, etc. --- have not yet been posted, which should further improve the return.’” Read more

NEXT — “Governor appoints replacements for suspended Jacksonville City Council members,” by The Florida Times-Union’s Christopher Hong: “Governor Rick Scott named replacements Tuesday for City Council members Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown, whom he suspended last month after they were indicted on federal fraud charges. Scott appointed Ju’Coby Pittman, leader of the local nonprofit the Clara White Mission who has made three unsuccessful council runs, to replace Katrina Brown. Terrance Freeman, a former City Council staffer who lost a bid for the Florida Legislature in 2016, will fill in for Reggie Brown.” Read more

OFF HOOK — “State won’t seek charges in Rene Plasencia spy allegations,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello: “No criminal charges are expected in the case of a former campaign intern accused by state Rep. Rene Plasencia of spying for a rival GOP candidate, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Tuesday. Zane Matter, now campaign treasurer for Plasencia primary opponent George Collins, said he wants an apology from Plasencia or else he would consider a defamation lawsuit.” Read more

POLICY PUSH — “Graham pushes for public health care options in policy brief,” by POLITICO Florida’s Alexandra Glorioso: Gwen Graham wants to allow Floridians to buy in to the state Medicaid Managed Care Program and lower health insurance rates by giving companies federal subsidies for sicker patients — ideas that could help distinguish her in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary but might face a tough road in the GOP-controlled state Legislature. The former congresswoman's new four-page platform, released Tuesday, explores ways she could push to expand state-federal health coverage for Floridians and minimize costs. Her plans include “public” options expanding Medicaid and applying for experimental Medicaid programs. She also vows to improve elderly care, though gives fewer details on that proposal. Read more



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…PENINSULA AND BEYOND…

MOVING FORWARD — “White House sends Everglades reservoir to Congress,” by POLITICO Florida’s Bruce Ritchie: The White House on Tuesday approved a the Army Corps of Engineers’ request to seek approval from Congress for an Everglades reservoir that supporters say is key to diverting future Lake Okeechobee discharges, according to the office of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on Monday for seven counties for algae blooms caused by discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. In 2017, he signed FL SB10 (17R) authorizing the $1.6 billion reservoir with the cost to be split with the federal government. The Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday gave the OK for the project to be included in a Water Resource Development Act bill, S. 2800 (115), being considered in the Senate, supporters say. Read more

GONE — “Members of Parkland panel put PROMISE program behind them,” by POLITICO Florida’s Daniel Ducassi: Members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission adopted recommendations aimed at bolstering juvenile pre-arrest diversion programs, putting the controversy of one particular diversion program, known as PROMISE, behind them. Among the recommendations: Schools should be required to report their diversion program data to the Department of Juvenile Justice so officials can keep tabs on students with behavioral problems across districts; state attorneys should consult with each other to establish more consistency across the state; there should be a “hard end” to the number of times someone can participate in such programs; and law enforcement officers should retain the right to decide whether a student is referred a diversion program or arrested on criminal charges. Read more

I’LL ALLOW IT — “Judge allows Suncoast 2 construction to proceed, paving over historic site,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Craig Pittman: “A federal judge’s ruling has cleared the way for reviving construction of the controversial Suncoast 2 toll road in Citrus County, even though the road that would connect it to Interstate 75 has been put on the back burner. Work on the road had been halted last month because of a temporary injunction from a federal judge. Thanks to the new court ruling, a spokeswoman for a consultant working on the road for the Florida Department of Transportation said Tuesday that construction on the Suncoast 2 ‘will resume by the end of the week.’” Read more

ONE WAY — “St. Augustine’s Confederate monument contextualization effort gets pushback,” by the St. Augustine Record’s Sheldon Gardner: “St. Augustine commissioners voted 4-1 to move forward with the Confederate monument context committee’s recommendation to add informational plaques to the base of the monument. Mayor Nancy Shaver voted against the motion, in part because of the number of topics the plaques try to address. She described the committee’s recommendation as possibly ‘grand and overreaching.’” Read more

MOVE ALONG — “Broward's PROMISE program ‘irrelevant’ to Nikolas Cruz's massacre, commission says,” by Miamki Herald’s Colleen Wright: “After multiple days of testimony, questioning and follow-up, the commission created to assess what led to the school shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14 has ruled that shooter Nikolas Cruz's involvement with a school-based discipline diversion program had no effect on his ability to buy weapons. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission's discussion of the program known as PROMISE carried over from the commission's last meeting in June. It was the first item on the agenda Tuesday so that the commission could move on to discussing other topics, including behavioral threat assessments and Cruz's contact with mental health services.” Read more

ENABLER — “Parkland shooter’s mother called ‘enabler’ who allowed him to buy a gun,” by Sun Sentinel’s David Fleshler and Tonya Alanez: “Nikolas Cruz’s late mother was an “enabler” who overrode the objections of school counselors when the future Parkland shooter wanted to buy a gun, according to the chairman of the state commission investigating the massacre. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who leads the commission reviewing the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said several counselors tried to help Cruz with his behavioral and disciplinary problems.” Read more

AGAIN — “Power outages, flooding hits Puerto Rico amid storms,” by AP’s Danica Coto: “Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were hit by power outages and widespread flooding Monday as remnants of the Atlantic season’s first hurricane provided an initial test of how far they have recovered from last year’s devastating storms. More than 47,000 customers in Puerto Rico lost electricity at the peak of the bad weather, but that number had dropped to 13,000 late in the afternoon as crews rushed to restore power. Some 8,600 customers were left without water. Puerto Rico’s east coast was the most affected even as people in that region struggle to recover from Hurricane Maria.” Read more

TRAP NO MORE — “Waldo, Lawtey no longer speed traps, AAA says,” by The Gainesville Sun’s Daniel Smithson: “After nearly 23 years, the cities of Waldo and Lawtey are no longer designated ‘Traffic Traps’ by AAA. AAA announced Tuesday it had approved a request from the cities to remove the designation after they ‘made significant improvements’ to traffic enforcement, said Matt Nasworthy, AAA’s Florida public affairs director. The improvements, Nasworthy said, include increased warnings, officer training and participation in national traffic safety campaigns. ‘It was just due from how far they’ve come,’ he said. ‘They changed their practices and policies, and it’s gotten to the point where we just thought it was time to change it.’” Read more

POT INPUT — “Sarasota County wants input on recreational marijuana ban,” by Herald-Tribune’s Nicole Rodriguez: “The Sarasota County Commission will hear from area residents before imposing a ban on recreational marijuana. Tentative public hearings to gather community input on a proposed ban of the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana in the county have been scheduled for Aug. 29 and Oct. 10. The commission in May — at Commissioner Mike Moran’s urging — unanimously voted to authorize its staff to draft an amendment to current county laws to prohibit the growing, processing and sale of recreational marijuana should it ever become legal in the state.” Read more

NEW DIGITS — “Orlando to get new area code — 689,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Gray Rohrer and Marco Santana: “Central Floridians who get new telephone numbers will be assigned a new area code of 689 sometime within the next 10 months, in a sign of the region’s burgeoning population and economic growth. Members of the Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously for the new area code, which staffers said was needed because 407 numbers were projected to be exhausted by next May.” Read more

…ODDS, ENDS, AND FLORIDA MEN…

OOPS — “AR-15 owner listed gun for sale online—then was robbed by felon ‘buyer,’ cops say,” by Orlando Sentinel’s Jeff Weiner: “A man who listed a high-powered rifle for sale online instead was robbed by the felon who had offered to buy the gun, according to police in Rockledge. The would-be buyer, 25-year-old Justin Latavias Dunham, was released from state prison in February, where he’d been serving time on cocaine-trafficking charges, records show.” Read more

— “‘Excessive speed’ blamed for Daytona roller coaster accident,” by The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Eileen Zaffiro-Kean: Read more

— “New housing starts surge in Volusia, Flagler,” by The Daytona Beach News-Journal’s Clayton Park: Read more

— “Mullins to take over Brevard superintendent job in August with salary of $210,000,” by Florida Today’s Caroline Glenn: Read more

— “Prosecutors say deputy used power of 'badge and gun' to sexually assault woman,” by Sun Sentinel’s Marc Freeman: Read more

— “One Lexus, 10 fake crashes. Rogue insurance adjusters in Miami scammed GEICO, cops say,” by Miami Herald’s David Ovalle: Read more

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