- This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St.

Petersburg, Sarasota.

[music] - Coming up, will spending on Florida's immigration enforcement see cuts?

State legislators are now moving to block new funds.

This as details on expenditures at Alligator Alcatraz come to light, and more questions regarding reimbursement from the federal government.

We look at the rare alignment of Republicans and Democrats against Governor Ron DeSantis.

Plus, Florida now ranks third for most cases of measles in the U.S.

Is the State Department of Health doing enough to report infections in real time?

How does Florida's advice differ from other states?

Also topping the infections list and USF Sarasota-Manatee campus could be under new ownership.

State lawmakers moved to hand it over to New College of Florida.

What this means for students and the existing debt at New College.

And finally, we continue our thought leadership series with a voice in the forefront of cybersecurity.

Meet Courtney Jackson, Navy veteran, entrepreneur, CEO.

[music] Welcome back everybody.

I'm Lissette Campos.

Joining our panel on Florida This Week is Victor Dimaio, president of the Hillsborough County Democratic Hispanic Caucus.

Camille Knox, who is a journalist, author and the owner of Write Knox Press.

And Travis Horne, president and CEO of Bullhorn Communications and also a Republican.

Florida's multibillion dollar emergency fund is at the center of an intensifying debate in Tallahassee.

Lawmakers are asking how state emergency powers and tax dollars are used for immigration enforcement.

A review by the Miami Herald found the DeSantis administration spent roughly $573 million over three years on immigration enforcement.

That includes detention centers like the so-called, "Alligator Alcatraz and Deportation Depot," in Baker County.

That report follows a January court ruling in a public records case.

In that case, the judge ordered the Florida Division of Emergency Management release records showing how more than $405 million were spent in just six months on immigration related costs.

Now, in response to that, the state House lawmakers proposed limiting the emergency fund to only use during natural disasters.

But that provision was stripped this week after pushback from the DeSantis administration and its allies.

At one point, the State Attorney, James Uthmeier, calling it a moronic idea.

Victor, I'd like to start with you.

How do you see the back and forth?

One day they had unanimous approval in the House by Republicans and Democrats, and then the next day they took that the teeth out of that bill.

They took it out.

- Well, you know, in Tallahassee, um, you know, it's like it's it's it's like making sausage and meat.

It's just it's a mess up there.

And I, as someone who worked in the legislature, worked in the governor's office and also worked as a lobbyist, and I still do, um, it's a very difficult process.

There's a lot of horse trading going on.

So the horse trading that went on it got all the Democrats on board was, was the provision that said, hey, by the way, we'll do this.

It's great for natural disasters, but this boondoggle, half billion dollars that they spent on the Alligator Alcatraz has been a disaster because frankly, we haven't really figured out exactly who's going to pay that half billion dollars.

You know, they lied to a federal judge when they went in and said when they did, when they tried to stop it based on the environmental impact.

And, uh, the hook was that they said, well, no, no, no, it was it was really, uh, we're not going to go after federal funds.

Well, they knew damn well that they were going to go after federal funds, because that was that's how they sold it.

- And and the federal lawsuit that you're referring to was submitted, filed in June, right after James Uthmeier announced the establishment of Alligator Alcatraz as a detention center.

Uh, the Miccosukee Tribe, the friends of the Everglades.

They filed the federal lawsuit asking for information to make sure that the environmental studies were done as required by the by the National Preservation Policy Act.

Right.

And so all of the information in that case, um, really revealed a lot of the things that we're seeing now.

But one one interesting point was that the state representative said that that Federal Policy Act did not apply because no federal funds were being used for this.

Um, we have looked over the numbers.

Travis, I'd like to ask you, um, you know, as a fiscal conservative, what are your concerns when you see the amounts that have been spent on the establishing and operating of Alligator Alcatraz.

- Always fiscal concerns, whether it's my party making sausage up there or the former party that was making sausage up there before us.

Um, you know, I'm not sure who argued that case before the federal court.

Was that Uthmeier?

Because, you know, you would think that you would think that the AG would know that then they were going to change the tune about whether there was going to be an environmental study done.

So I'm not entirely certain about that, but I can tell you that, look, ultimately the goal is safe streets, right?

And we all agree on that.

Um, the spending I don't want out of control spending for theatrics.

I really don't I don't think anyone does.

Republican or Democrat wants to see that.

So I thought it was a great idea that the state was helping out the feds.

And I also don't want if they promised, if the federal government promises to help us on the price tag.

I don't want to be on the hook for it either.

If we're if we're taking in illegals and we're, you know, taking on this big cost, I want I want Floridians to be reimbursed.

So there's there's a lot to it.

Some of the numbers do seem exorbitant for the numbers of people who were detained and housed in those facilities.

Um, and so, yeah, that's that's concerning for me as a conservative Republican.

Yes.

- But the thing is, is enforcement is a federal responsibility.

Why are we why are we spending half $1 billion of, of Florida taxpayer money that could go for schools?

- I do like to see local and state authorities participating.

And when it comes time to incarceration for illegals.

- The federal government right now is looking at buying these massive warehouses around the country and spending billions of dollars to do it, to house the immigration detainees.

This is all about about.

- For us by Democrats.

- Well, what about Ron DeSantis running for president.

He wanted to be a big show horse about it.

So I looked at me, I got an Alligator Alcatraz, and it made national news.

- As we as we look.

- Made for a great t shirt.

- As we look at what's happening in the legislature during this regular session on this topic.

You know, the whole question about transparency comes in, Camille, where do you see this going in terms of transparency on this?

- Well, you know, I'll say as a journalist, I think it's important in our roles and for the people in the state of Florida to be transparent about what's going on here.

There's a lot of numbers that are getting thrown around.

There's a lot of information.

And I think that people are confused as to sort of what the next steps are going to be and what it means for their wallets, especially during a time where a lot of people have lost their jobs.

And sort of to your point, with schools and that sort of thing, could use some of the money that is being sort of pushed into different directions at some of these detention centers that might be built around the country.

So there will be a lot of discussions about what are some of the best ways to use this money and what this means for the average taxpayer.

- All right.

So we're going to move on to our next topic for today.

And that's measles.

Measles was once considered eliminated in our country and now it's making a comeback.

Florida is dealing with multiple outbreaks as the number of confirmed cases is growing.

Some are questioning if our state health officials are doing enough to report and prevent the spread of measles.

Take a look.

Measles isn't just contagious.

It's exceptionally contagious.

Epidemiologists measure the spread of disease with something called r-naught.

That's the average number of people that one infected person can pass a virus to.

For measles, that number can be as high as 18, far higher than many other viruses.

For comparison, seasonal flu typically has an R-Naught of 1 or 2 across the state of Florida.

Outbreaks have emerged on school campuses, including a handful in Tampa Bay.

More than 40 cases have been confirmed at Ave Maria Catholic University outside of Fort Myers.

- When we think about risks for outbreaks, we think about lots of people that are close together.

So dorms, barracks, prisons, nursing homes are all high risk for things like outbreaks.

And measles is super contagious.

- Tracking the spread has been complicated by reporting delays from the Florida Department of Health.

The agency updates on statewide measles data sometimes take more than a week after cases are identified.

Public health experts warn that lag can make it harder for families and pediatricians to assess risks in real time.

- Measles is super, super, super, super contagious.

However, the vaccine is super effective, so like one dose is 93%, two dose is like 97% effective in preventing illness, which is awesome.

- Nationally, the resurgence of measles prompted renewed calls for vaccination.

- Take the vaccine, please.

We have a solution for a problem.

Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses.

But measles is one you should get your vaccine.

- Dr.

Mehmet Oz oversees federal health programs.

His public urging for vaccinations stood out amid a broader political climate, where vaccine mandates have faced strong opposition from the secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nationwide, supporters of the movement known as Make America Healthy Again have sharply criticized vaccine requirements and questioned the authority of federal public health officials.

And Victor, were you surprised to hear that sound bite with Dr.

Oz?

- Um, a little bit.

But he's a doctor.

Uh, Kennedy's not, and we.

And the sad part is, even here in the state of Florida, doctor or surgeon general, who is an anti-vaxxer, he did a decree in this last year saying that there's a whole list of vaccines that people should not take.

And on a federal level, you got a group within the MAGA movement.

The Maha movement is also very anti-vaxxer, and they had the entire vaccine panel federally that was completely stripped of all the all the institutional knowledge that was there.

The doctors and all those people were replaced with a whole stream of anti-vax, you know, people that were sympathetic to Kennedy.

So there's mass confusion, sadly, in amongst the public.

If I if I had kids, I wouldn't they'd say, go see your doctor.

Well, you don't have time to.

Every single parent cannot go to the doctor and sit down with a list.

Oh, hey, doc, what can I take?

And if the federal government doesn't say it's a good vaccine to take, that affects the insurance reimbursement.

So a vaccine that may be free is now going to be costing parents hundreds of dollars.

And that's not right either.

So it's right now.

And even the CDC in Atlanta was decimated by the Elon Musk DOGE.

- Uh, Travis, would you say that that's a fair assessment?

- Not entirely.

I'm.

Look, I'm I'm glad that my child got the MMR measles, mumps, rubella.

Right.

Recently within the last few years, I got it, I know that I got it, I got lots of shots in in the Army as well.

I believe in vaccines.

I'm glad there's scrutiny, on the other hand, of what's going into some of the vaccines, especially the mediums, and whether they're using mercury and things and doing things that are cost cutting, perhaps because they, you know, these are mass vaccinations, right?

So I'm glad there's added scrutiny to it.

But what's notable is that several of these cases recently here in Florida, they had the vaccine.

So they've had the vaccine that asked me, I'm not a scientist, but it does beg the question of, is this a different sort of strain?

Is this a new super measles?

What is it?

I think that ought to be disconcerting to again, everyone across the board, irrespective of politics.

- Will the outbreaks have happened that have.

- Happened have been a result of groups of people, whether it's religious?

Uh, and maybe there were people who took it who but that you heard the lady just now on TV say, if you take the vaccine, it's 97 up to 97.

- And this is a this is a local doctor who has millions of.

- Followers, um, looking at her reels and she's explaining different things on, you know, different issues that are affecting children that she sees in her office.

And so that's why we thought that her interview was especially appropriate for this segment on the measles.

When you look at the cases, you know, Florida's number three with 63 cases, but South Carolina is number one with 616 confirmed cases, according to the CDC.

Utah came in number two with 96 cases.

Um, it's it's interesting to see the rise in the cases.

Uh, Camille, I'd like to ask you specifically about what makes the population in Florida especially worrisome when it comes to these, uh, our numbers 63 doesn't seem like a lot compared to South Carolina and Utah, but what is the the concern with our population being different from those.

- With our population?

Obviously, we have a higher amount of people who are over the age of 65.

A lot of people move down here, whether they're snowbirds or permanent residents.

And so we have a lot of people here who are in that age range.

And we also have a lot of small kids here.

So considering the fact that it's so contagious, that's sort of something that I think needs to continue this conversation about communication between the CDC and the Department of Health so that people are aware how contagious it is, how you can get it, and how you can prevent it.

- Well, now, one of the things that we've talked about was the changes in the Trump administration, under under Kennedy during in the Health and Human Services.

And I just want to clarify, in January of 2026, the administration dropped some of the vaccine recommendations for kids.

Um, it changed the traditional vaccine schedule from the Department of HHS.

Um, that was after the Trump administration asked the HHS to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations.

So that's something that supporters of that review point to as as a reason to support that effort.

States, not the federal government, now have the legal authority to require vaccinations for school kids.

Federal requirements can influence state regulations, but not mandate that.

Um, and so that is something that, uh, that folks who support the changes point to.

Um, and yet you have the critics who say that this is a dangerous move.

Um, the it's interesting to note, uh, in the 80s, how many vaccinations were required.

I looked up leading up to this segment, and in the 1980s, the CDC recommended 23 vaccines, 23.

And in 2024, when they did an upgrade to the whole process, they raised that from 23 to 84 vaccines.

So, um, you know, it's worth looking at and really, um, making sure that we continue to talk about this issue of measles and vaccines and everything that comes with it.

- Absolutely.

Well, there's also a move since the federal government has abdicated the responsibility of doing the testing.

A lot of this of vaccine.

There's a there's a private group out there that just came up in the last couple of weeks of doing their own testing to try to make recommendations to the public of some doctors who have gotten together from different universities and say, we're going to do our own testing now and try to inform the public, the public, since there's so much mass confusion.

And the sad part is, you know, you said in a previous segment it only takes one person infected to infect 15 others, 18 or 18 others.

So so that's how you know.

And the sad part is we have again, doctor in Florida, a big anti-vaxxer.

If you can come from Florida and we're a very mobile society, you can hop on a plane, carry it to another state that have protected themselves, and then you can now you're infecting other people that have taken the.

- So I'm glad to see the public private sector stepping up.

Then they're stepping up and well, it's definitely filling the void.

- Definitely a story that we'll continue to follow and see what they find in their studies.

We're going to move on now to our third story of of the episode The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus.

It could be taken over by nearby New College of Florida.

House lawmakers worked the transfer plan into their overall budget proposal.

The move would shift the campus's buildings, the equipment, as well as its $53 million debt, while USF students there finish their degrees.

Critics are warning the change could disrupt programs and raise the costs.

The USF trustees are against the move.

They've come out and said that it threatens their ability to support students and the staff there.

Lawmakers supporting the move say that this is necessary to support the regional needs of New College.

Camille, I'd like to start with you.

What is the next step in this process?

- Sure.

So if the proposal becomes law, new college could sort of expand its footprint in student services in Sarasota, which is something that some people are, you know, in favor of.

But opponents have organized a forum scheduled for February the 25th.

And at the forum, they're going to talk about saving the USF, SM campus.

So there's sort of a both sides here of sort of chimed in on the issue.

- Um, Victor, um, you you were saying that there's been unseasonably meddling from the administration into the selection and the operations of universities?

Well, yeah.

- Because, you know, in the sausage capital of Tallahassee during the during the session.

And the president of New College of Sarasota is the former Speaker of the House, Richard Corcoran, very, very, very powerful individual in his own right.

Uh, he did a lot of political campaigns in his prior life.

Um, he's also the highest paid university president in the in the state.

I was looking up before the show, and he makes $1.3 million a year, and they only serve like 700 and some students.

And it brings the cost per degree of $494,000 when the tuition is only $6,000.

So there's a big there's a big disconnect there.

So as far as so yes, I think at the end of the day, Mr.

Corcoran will get his way because he'll add what I think.

I heard 63 more students from USF that are going to go to.

- Look, this is this is the problem too, though.

This really shouldn't be an us against them.

This is just going to sort of make it feel like it's our community against theirs.

If you had the exact same thing happening up here and you had new college, had a campus across the street from USF, you wouldn't like that either.

So and it doesn't make sense.

It doesn't make sense for Floridians.

It doesn't make sense for the students.

You've only got about I think it's 33 students on that campus living on that campus down there in Sarasota, Manatee.

- USF, Sarasota.

- Yes.

And they say it serves a couple thousand.

And I'm sure those couple thousand and those professors do not want to change the status quo.

But I'm also not sure that everyone up here on the board of trustees is really singing from the same hymnal.

When it comes to opposition, what are some of.

- The insights that you have?

- Well, you know, I'm hearing that, really.

I mean, USF is glad to get rid of the campus because they want they've got a two.

Two plus billion dollar facility they're trying to build, including the stadium and the surrounding facilities.

Right.

It's not easy to do.

So maybe they need a better bond rating.

Maybe there's other things that are being considered here.

And I think it's hey, maybe, maybe USF should maybe we should send a thank you letter to to New College for taking on that debt and taking on those facilities.

- 3 million is a lot.

A far cry from 2 billion for a new football stadium at USF.

- Very expensive stadium.

- Yeah, but the problem really, we have an issue here.

It's just this is just like alligator Alcatraz.

If you're connecting, you got the money.

Let's, you know, let's spend it and blow it and and make and make make some show out of it.

USF campus is so small in Sarasota.

Look, FSU has had a.

- Costing a lot of money.

And look, I see this as wildly different.

I'm a UF grad, I love UF.

- UF has a pretty high per dollar graduate rate too.

Maybe not as high as 100,000 from what you've looked up.

So what I'm saying is they've also had IFAS facilities around the state for years, for eons since they've got one out in eastern Hillsborough County.

They've got them all over the state for a reason, because that services the agricultural community and helps flirting in each community.

Right.

But they don't have these outposts everywhere, you know.

And so I just don't think it doesn't make sense.

- Because you're saying IFAS, which is run by University of Florida, has agricultural.

- But I only said that to acknowledge that that's been going on for a long time.

It's wildly different.

And you know the problem.

- Well, we.

- Are we are running out of time.

Thank you so much for your perspectives and for weighing in on these issues.

Thanks to our first panel of today, Victor Dimaio, Travis Horne and Camille Spencer.

Also, if you want more context on local and state issues, don't forget to check us out on YouTube channel.

There you'll find bonus interview content and extended segments.

[music] We continue our thought leadership series today with the leader in cyber security.

Meet Courtney H. Jackson, the founder and CEO of Paragon Cyber Solutions.

She's part of the Military Cyber Professionals Association and the Global Cyber Security Entrepreneur of the year in 2022.

She's a Navy veteran, a marine corps spouse, a mom, and an entrepreneur.

Welcome, Courtney.

We're so happy that you're here with us.

- Thank you.

I'm happy to be here.

- So you've been in the business of cyber security for more than 20 years, and when most people hear that word, they're thinking of corporate espionage.

They're thinking of identity theft, ransomware.

In reality, what is the busiest aspect of your role in the industry of cyber security?

- So for our company, Paragon, our role in cyber primarily falls under governance, risk and compliance.

So think security audits, security assessments and a third party company just coming in to make sure that you have the proper security checks in place to protect your information and your people.

- Right.

Right.

And so, with so many things changing in the industry, I know that training and certifications are very, very big in the industry of cybersecurity.

And so recently, your company was named one of only 97 in the world authorized to conduct something that's called CMC.

What is that?

And that sounds like a very big deal.

Why is it a big deal?

- What is it?

It's a huge deal.

So CMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification.

What it is, is a certification that companies must obtain in order to do business with the federal government.

So we're talking hundreds of thousands of companies.

Wow.

And the reason the government put that in place is to make sure that companies that are working with them are doing those security measures to protect sensitive information for our government.

- Right.

And so, your Paragon, your company is one of only 97.

Yes.

That is so incredible.

And you're based right here in Tampa Bay.

So a lot to be proud of.

When you look at the changes in artificial intelligence and specifically to your business of cybersecurity.

How is the nefarious use of AI making your job more difficult?

- Ooh.

Um, I would say phishing with AI because with AI, people are able to impersonate other people.

So my employees, they receive emails, they think it's from me.

It says it's from the CEO.

It's not.

But it's asking to go get a gift card or to go do something.

Um, in companies, someone might get an email from HR or IT.

And with AI, you're able to impersonate people a lot easier via email.

- The stats from the FBI on losses per year are in the billions of dollars.

- 12 billion last year.

- Last year alone.

Wow.

In researching our our interview today, I asked you, um, when you were a little girl, did you envision cybersecurity, you know, or did you envision something else as your career choice.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

- No, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer, but I went to the Navy right out of high school, and I got into tech then from the Navy and from the Navy.

I just stayed in the tech field.

That's why I've been in it over 20 years.

So I've been in cyber before.

It was called cyber.

[laughter] Yeah, but I love it.

It ended up being a great choice for me.

- So your husband was in the Marine.

You were in the Navy.

You have two girls?

Yes.

How did you all end up here in Tampa Bay?

- So with the military, we moved around a lot.

So my husband and I said, okay, let's put that to the side and think about where our family actually wants to plant our roots and grow old.

Right.

We said Florida.

We were tired up north in the cold.

So we wanted to come to Florida and we wanted to come somewhere we had never been.

So we planned a trip to Tampa five days.

We literally put an offer on the house before we left.

We were residents within two months of that trip.

We just loved it here.

- And we are all so much better because you are here.

- Thank you.

- Congratulations to you on all of your success.

Sadly, that's all the time that we have for today on Florida This Week.

Thank you so much for watching.

We know you have options for your news and information, and we thank you for choosing us.

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