Sunburn – The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics – 6.16.21

By Peter Schorsch    

Suncoast Tiger Bay Club is holding its Annual Legislative Wrap Up with the Pinellas County delegation today, and yours truly will serve as moderator.

The event will feature Sens. Jeff Brandes and Darryl Rouson as well as Reps. Ben Diamond, Traci Koster, Chris Latvala and Michele Rayner, who will discuss what went down during the 2021 Legislative Session and the Special Session that followed.

We’ll also discuss the wins, opportunities, and ongoing challenges facing each of them in Tallahassee.

The event runs from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom. Attendees will have an opportunity to submit questions and I’ll pass them on to the lawmakers.

Wrap Up tickets are free for members and $5 for nonmembers, though Suncoast Tiger Bay Club encourages those who can to chip in a $25 donation — ticket sales will be used to support continuing programming for the Young Tigers Scholarship Program.

Registration is available online.

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The Sunshine State is getting its own 24-hour news network.

The E.W. Scripps Company announced the launch of The Florida 24 Network, which will be beamed out through apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Android TV streaming devices.

The Florida 24 Network will feature coverage from Scripps’ TV stations in Miami, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee and Fort Myers markets.

The company said the network will cover the “issues most essential to Floridians,” such as tourism, wildlife, beaches, lifestyle and agriculture. And yes, politics too.

Meteorologists from each market will also contribute frequent weather updates, focusing on tropical weather during hurricane season.

“Scripps is committed to serving both longtime Florida residents and newcomers with the authentic and hyperlocal journalism we know is essential to people’s lives,” Scripps Local Media president Brian Lawlor said. “The launch of the Florida 24 Network is the evolution of our longtime commitment to our Florida audiences and advertisers. We know our local business partners are eager to reach TV consumers via OTT.”

Scripps said it will pull in staff from its stations across the country. Nicole Wolfe of WSFL in Miami has been tapped as news director, and Matt Borek of WFTS in Tampa will serve as The Florida 24 Network senior director of digital.

Statewide investigative reporter Katie LaGrone and Florida State Capitol reporter Forrest Saunders will feature prominently.

“The pandemic has taught us a lot about the ways in which our newsrooms are able to collaborate to produce high-quality news and information in a remote environment,” Lawlor said. “The Florida 24 Network captures those learnings with the same commitment to essential journalism for which Florida residents have known Scripps for many years.”

 — SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@DaveWeigel: I still feel like “GOP guy will speak out against (Donald) Trump” stories get too much attention relative to their importance in GOP politics. Remember how Paul Ryan gave a speech about moving past Trump? No, you don’t. It was last month.

—@JeremyHerb: I asked former WH chief of staff Mark Meadows if it was appropriate for him to email acting AG (Jeff) Rosen pushing election claims. “I’ll let you answer that,” he said, leaving the Senate dining room. “Obviously, I’m not going to comment on anything that may or may not have happened.”

—@nxthompson: If you’re vaccinated, the variants aren’t much of a threat. If you’re not vaccinated, you face a much more dangerous coronavirus than a year ago.