On this Wednesday, April 22nd, episode of Sundial:
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez
Gov. Ron DeSantis says that Florida has flattened the curve of coronavirus cases and he wants to see the state start to reopen. As of Monday night, the Florida Department of Health reports more than 800 new cases and 44 deaths.
Miami-Dade County has the highest number of reported deaths and confirmed cases in the state. Since Monday evening, Miami-Dade saw 10 new deaths and registered 10,056 confirmed cases and 1,029 hospitalizations. The county’s death toll stands at 233. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has started a task force within the county and is speaking with leaders across South Florida about the process of reopening parts of the economy.
“Opening places up, we need to do it sooner rather than later. We can’t maintain the way we are doing things right now for a year. So we have to find a way to do it safely and that’s what our task force is all about,” says Gimenez.
We spoke with Gimenez about the county’s proposal to begin reopening parks, marinas and golfing, as well as the testing happening within the county.
Walking to Tallahassee to Protest Florida's Unemployment System
Of the 1.5 of Floridians that have filed for unemployment since the economic shutdown, only 6 percent have started receiving benefits. Beau Guyott is one of the many who hasn’t received benefits and he’s taking action.
“Are you going to run off to a restaurant as soon as the state says this area of Florida is open?” said Guyott.
He lost his job as a server at the Ben Hotel in West Palm Beach in mid-March. After numerous calls, emails and pleas for help to Tallahassee he decided he’d get the message across the old fashioned way. He’s walking 417 miles to Tallahassee, to speak with the governor, elected officials and anyone who’ll speak to him. We spoke with Beau along his journey, he left on Saturday and was near Vero Beach on Tuesday.
Getting out the Vote During a Pandemic
This November we will have a presidential election like no other if the March primary was any indication. Poll workers at voting sites wore gloves and used hand sanitizer. We heard from a number of listeners who decided not to vote out of fear. Voting rights advocates like the New Florida Majority unsuccessfully urged DeSantis to postpone the primaries. Andrea Mercado, the group’s executive director, explained the work they’re doing now to ensure the state is prepared come November and how they’re getting out the vote online.
WLRN Associate Producer Alejandra Martinez helped in the production of this episode.
