Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down in the Sunshine State?
Luck is in the air in Neptune Beach! Indeed, $1.58 billion worth of it. As the USA TODAY Network-Florida reported, “someone finally won the massive Mega Millions jackpot last night, and that person or group is now the biggest winner in Florida lottery history.” According to the Florida Lottery, the winning ticket “was sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach” and “it was a quick pick. Check your numbers!” And kudos to Publix, which gets a “$100,000 bonus commission for selling the jackpot-winning ticket,” according to the Lottery. Where shopping is truly a pleasure.
Jane Castor -
Once a cop, always a cop. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, formerly the city’s police chief, had a hell of a catch while on a family fishing trip in the Keys: 70 pounds of cocaine, worth $1 million. She noted that “the drug bale appeared to have been floating in the water for a while,” CBS News reported. Sure, this was sheer happenstance, but still, a million bucks of cocaine is off the streets – er, out of the sea.
Olli-Pekka Heinonen & Rod Smith -
With school districts across Florida dropping AP psychology classes, they are pushing students to alternatives offered by the IB and Cambridge programs. International Baccalaureate Director General Olli-Pekka Heinonen and Cambridge International Group Managing Director Rod Smith are directly benefiting, as they have been working to expand use in the state for the last several years. Their courses can be taught by excluding parts of their curriculum in Florida classrooms.
Francis Suarez -
You might question his tactics, but you can’t argue with the results. Miami’s mayor crossed the 40,000-donor threshold he needs to land a coveted spot on the Republican presidential debate stage, which would boost his profile and fulfill a likely goal for him entering the race as a long-shot contender in the first place. The next step? Getting at least 1% support in several presidential polls in order to fully qualify for the debate.
Shlomo Danzinger -
Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger made a brazenly bigoted comment about Commissioner Nelly Velasquez, suggesting his fellow American-born elected official doesn’t understand English. After asking Velasquez to stop interrupting him during a debate over extending term limits, he went on, “Does anybody know how to speak Spanish to tell it to her?” He offered a half-hearted apology, though not directly to Velasquez, who called the remark racist. A city with a 44% Hispanic population will likely remember his comments come reelection time – term limits or no.
Generra Peck -
If you’re a campaign manager, then you get moved to “chief strategist” of same campaign … we can’t even finish this sentence, we’re so confused. Suffice to say, Generra Peck’s ability to conjure a nearly 20-point reelection for Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida hasn’t translated to the national stage. We guess we’ll be hearing that she quietly left the campaign altogether “to seek new opportunities.” Best wishes to her.
Monique Worrell -
The suspended Florida state attorney club just grew by 100%. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell joins Hillsborough’s Andrew Warren, another Democrat yanked from office, as the list of public officials suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to grow. In Worrell’s case, she was blamed for “her handling of three cases and a low overall incarceration rate,” the New York Times reported. If only these Democratic elected prosecutors could lock ‘em up and toss the key, we suppose.