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(serious music) - [Rob] Coming up next, the fight over redistricting gets underway in Tallahassee.

The Governor appoints a new Secretary of Health who downplays the need for quarantines and mask mandates to fight COVID.

What's in the congressional infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills for seniors.

And the death of a North Port woman focuses again on the need to protect against domestic abuse.

All this and more next on "Florida This Week".

(serious music) Welcome back.

Florida got a new surgeon general this week selected by Governor Ron DeSantis.

He is Dr. Joseph Ladapo, a Harvard trained doctor and a UCLA researcher who has expressed skepticism that vaccines could help end the pandemic.

This week, Ladapo immediately issued new rules, loosening COVID quarantines when a student has been exposed to someone who has COVID-19.

The old rules followed the CDC guidelines requiring students to quarantine if they had been exposed to someone who has the virus.

The new rules make it voluntary and up to the parents to decide as long as the student is asymptomatic.

Like DeSantis, Ladapo has said he does not believe in school closures, lockdowns, or vaccine mandates.

To fight the virus, he said, the state should be supporting many measures for good health, including vaccinations, losing weight, exercising more, and eating more fruits and vegetables.

Both men agreed this week that natural immunity would hopefully lead to an end to the pandemic.

- You can't tell noble lies to try to get them to behave in a way that you think you want them to behave in.

And so we see that time and time again on this issue of natural immunity.

- There's tremendous, tremendous data that supports the fact that the natural immunity protects people from getting very ill. Also protects people from being infected again.

- [Rob] The Governor was upbeat about the current state of the COVID pandemic in Florida, saying that the number of overall cases in Florida has declined since the start of the school year.

While cases are down, deaths are up for the entire month of September, averaging more than 300 COVID victims over every seven day periods since the start of the month.

That's the highest rates since the beginning of the pandemic 18 months ago.

From 2012 to 2016, the Florida legislature spent millions of tax dollars to defend district maps that Senate leaders later admitted had been drawn illegally.

They violated the Fair District Amendments that were approved by voters in 2010.

Newly drawing court order maps compliant with the Florida constitution were put in place just five years ago.

In Tallahassee, lawmakers are now redrawing those maps after the 2020 census, and some wanna start with a blank slate.

Retired Justice Peggy Quince served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1998 to 2019 and was part of the court majority that threw out the illegal maps in 2016.

From 2008 to 2010, she was the first African-American woman to serve as the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

And Justice Quince, welcome to "Florida This Week".

- Thank you.

It's my pleasure to be here.

- Let's start with the opening discussions this week in Tallahassee about redistricting.

How do you think the process is going so far?

- Well, I'm very hopeful.

The leaders acknowledged that the previous efforts by the legislature really had been done improperly.

They said that they would, in fact, follow the Fair Districts Amendment, so that they're starting off in a somewhat better position.

I am a little concerned, however, with the fact that they have not made a decision about having a public hearings, and I think it's essential to this process that the public be involved in every step of this redistricting process.

- Why is transparency so important?

- Well, that's what got us into trouble last time.

There was no transparency.

Maps were drawn by political operatives, and then presented to the public as maps drawn by the legislators.

Well, if this open, we can see them drawing the maps, we can have input in the maps, and we will feel much better.

Our confidence in this process would then be restored.

- In an op-ed in The Tampa Bay Times this week, you said that the legislators should start with the maps we already have, and not with a blank slate.

Apparently, the Republican leadership in Tallahassee wants to start with a blank slate.

Why is it important to start with the maps we already have as the basis for the new maps?

- Well, the maps that we already have have been proven to be compliant with the Fair Districts Amendments.

We don't want to have to start over, or go through years of litigation as we had to do before, because that disenfranchises people.

We have only done five years of the maps that were drawn before.

During those other five years, people's rights were not protected, and so if we start with maps that are compliant and make the proper adjustments for the decrease in some areas, there were decreases in populations, in other areas there are increases, make those adjustments.

A number of districts may not even have to be adjusted, and so we'd start with those, and add and subtract where we need to, keeping in mind all of those principles that are embodied in the Fair Districts Amendments.

- Justice Quince, some people, the skeptics, say the process is fixed.

That the Republicans control the committees in Tallahassee, the Republicans have a majority of appointments, or all the appointments, to the Florida Supreme Court.

They control the Court of Appeals in Atlanta where any decision by a federal judge here in Florida would go first.

So the cynics say, the courts are stacked against Democrats, and if Republicans come up with unfair districts, that's gonna win the day.

- Well, I can understand that people may feel that way.

Well, when we went through all of the litigation before, certain principles were laid out.

Certain rulings were made, and even the United States Supreme Court acknowledged that we had made some outlines, we have outlined principles that were good and should be followed in redistricting.

And I am hopeful, that despite political leanings, that our independent judiciary will in fact look at all of these with an open mind.

Keeping in mind all of the items that are listed in the Fair Districts Amendment, and make sure that whatever maps are finally presented are in fact in compliance.

- Justice Quince, we just have about 20 seconds, but are there other things that the legislature should do to make sure that they are in compliance with the Fair District Amendments?

And we just have a short period of time.

- Well, if the process is open to the public and we see what they're doing, we can then say, no, that is not in compliance.

Let's do it another way.

If the public is there, if it's an open process, I think we can shortcut any items that may be in violation of the Fair Districts Amendments.

- Justice Quince, thanks for coming on "Florida This Week".

It's an honor to have you here.

- And it's been my pleasure to be here.

Thank you.

(gentle music) - The search continues for North Port resident Brian Laundri, the boyfriend of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, whose body was found last Sunday at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The couple had been traveling in a camper van and had been stopped in August by Utah police for a possible domestic violence incident.

Mindy Murphy is the president and CEO of The Spring of Tampa Bay, an organization whose mission is to prevent domestic violence and provide a safe haven and support for abused adults.

And Mindy, welcome to the program.

- Thank you, Rob.

Glad to be here.

- I wanna play a sound bite from Gabby when the police in Utah stopped her just a few days before her killing.

Let's play the sound bite now.

- I was just cleaning and straightening and begging him before, and I was apologizing to him and saying, "I'm sorry, that I'm so mean."

Because sometimes I have OCD, and sometimes I can get really frustrated.

- So, Gabby seems to be apologizing to the police for getting her boyfriend angry and accepting blame for angering her boyfriend.

When you see that, what do you think?

- You know, I mean, it's not unusual.

Survivors of domestic violence, victims of domestic violence are told repeatedly by their abuser that everything that happens is their fault, that they did something wrong.

And over time, if you're in an unhealthy relationship and there's somebody using power and control, you begin to believe the messages that they're telling you if they're repeated day after day after day.

And so, it's not unusual to see a survivor taking responsibility like Gabby did.

The other thing I will say is that when law enforcement arrives on the scene, survivors are often painfully truthful.

So if law enforcement says, did you hit him?

They're often gonna say, yes, I did.

You have to ask the follow up question, why.

Was it defensive and what happened before this altercation?

The other thing that you see is that abusers on scene are often very calm and collected, like Brian Laundrie was, and they're not taking responsibility for anything.

And that's what I saw when I saw this.

- Based on watching the video, do you think the police acted appropriately?

- You know, I think law enforcement, there were some things they did really well.

I think there were some missed opportunities.

There was a point very early on in the first few minutes when Gabby described that, I think she actually did this.

She showed how Brian had grabbed her by the face.

That would have been an opportunity to ask, "Has he'd done that before?

Has he put his hands around your neck?

Has he attempted to restrict your airflow?

Has he attempted to choke or strangle you?"

If the answers to that question is yes, it becomes very clear why she may have taken actions that she was very clear in sharing that she did take, because there's a pattern of power and control.

- What advice would you, Gabby was very young.

What advice would you give to young women who are in their teens or early 20s to recognize, and young men too, - Right.

- to recognize the signs of a potential abuser?

How does the potential abuser treat a person in the beginning stages of that relationship?

Signs that people should look out for?

- Right.

Well, you know, I always say that somebody, who on the first date, hits you is you're not probably going to have a second date.

So survivors are groomed much like a child abusers groom children.

They're groomed into that relationship.

So the relationship starts with, often with the abuser putting them on a pedestal, saying, you know, you complete me.

You're the greatest thing that I've ever seen, It's us against the world.

And you hear Brian, at one point, saying, I think his exact words were, "Me and her, we're a team."

Very much that idea of it's just the two of them.

So if you're in a relationship where someone is wanting to isolate you from your friends and family, wanting the relationship to be the entirety of your world, wanting to take you off to the other side of the country, away from friends and family, wanting to keep you apart, wanting to restrict your engagement with other people.

Those are huge warning signs.

A little teeny, tiny bit of jealousy, maybe not a bad thing, but when somebody is jealous to the point where they want to know where you are at all times, when they get mad when you're not spending time with them, those are huge warning signs that we see in young relationships.

And young people are at really great risk for dangerous levels of violence.

- We just have 30 seconds, but do the police have enough training in domestic abuse to recognize when they may be looking at a very dangerous situation?

- I don't think they do.

I think training starts at the beginning of your law enforcement career, but then I think it's regular, ongoing training.

Domestic violence calls happen every day in every community in America and law enforcement needs better tools to give the best possible service to survivors.

- And you told me that after 9/11, the domestic abuse training for police was cut.

- Yeah.

So it's shrunk significantly.

It used to be 10 times, more time allocated.

And I understand the change that was necessary because of homeland security concerns, but we've got to start prioritizing domestic violence, just like we prioritize terrorism, or like we prioritize any other major public health challenge.

This is a pandemic.

Domestic violence is a global pandemic, just like every other pandemic.

- Mindy Murphy, thank you for coming on the program.

- Thank you, Rob.

Appreciate being here.

(serious music) - The US Senate this week gave overwhelming bipartisan support to President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure bill to rebuild the nations, deteriorating roads and bridges.

However, his second three and a half trillion dollar bill that includes measures, such as the expansion of Medicare and childcare subsidies is facing tough opposition by Republicans, citing it's a large expansion of the debt.

Max Richtman is president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and he joins us now.

Max, good to see you again.

- Good to see you.

Thank you for inviting me.

- Let's start first with this issue of raising the debt ceiling.

It looks like Congress is stalling a bit on that, and I wonder, what's at stake for seniors if, and I think this is a remote possibility, but if Congress decides not to raise the debt ceiling, what's at stake for seniors?

- Well, there is an awful lot at stake.

Many of the same things that are at stake for everybody if our economy goes through serious collapsed.

But in particular, what I'm concerned about is I've heard very little discussion, as I mentioned to you, about the impact on social security if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

Right now, because of high unemployment and so many people claiming social security earlier than otherwise because of the virus and the pandemic, less money has been going into the Social Security Program and payroll taxes than was anticipated, and more is being paid out.

The bottom line is the trust fund will have to be tapped to allow full benefits to be paid.

Next month, October, the commitment that's about $90 billion that the federal government will have to pay to social security beneficiaries.

Some of that will have to be used by paying off some of the bonds and redeeming some of those bonds in the trust fund.

And if the debt limit is not raised or suspended, that will not be possible.

That means there is great uncertainty as to social security beneficiaries receiving their full benefits on time.

And I think it should be concerning to our members of Congress.

I'm gonna start talking to a number of them tonight and this weekend that I'll be meeting with.

I've heard some people say, "Well, social security is delayed by a couple of weeks or a month or so.

It'll be made up later on."

That's not good enough.

90% of seniors depend on social security for most of their income and they cannot wait to decide whether to buy medicine, pay their rent, buy food, so this is a serious issue.

There's a lot more attention to that than you're hearing lately.

- I wanna also ask you about the three and a half trillion dollar budget reconciliation bill.

What's in it for seniors?

I understand that there's an expansion of Medicare.

What's in it?

- There's a tremendous amount in it for seniors, if it actually happened.

This whole issue with the reconciliation that legislation is fluid to say the least.

You mentioned 3.2 trillion.

I heard a few minutes ago, it could be about two thirds of that, maybe less.

So it's in influx.

There was a lot of moving pieces.

But what we're hoping is that what's in there now will survive the legislative process when it comes to allowing, mandating the federal government to negotiate for the best price for prescription drugs.

That makes so much sense.

Under the current law, the law that expanded the Medicare program in 2003, added a prescription drug benefit.

It's called Medicare part D. There is a specific prohibition in that 2003 law that prevents the government from negotiating to get the best price for prescription drugs for the Medicare beneficiaries.

This makes no sense.

This provision was passed in the middle of the night.

You can be sure the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare was not in the room when that deal was struck.

The pharmaceutical companies were, and they've been fighting to preserve that exemption from negotiating the best price ever since.

We are on the verge in this reconciliation bill of changing that.

If we can change that law, it would bring in close to half a billion, $500 billion.

$500 billion, what will that money be used for?

Hopefully, and this is also in the reconciliation bill, expand Medicare, add dental, vision, hearing.

So important.

Many, many Medicare beneficiaries, when they enter the program soon they have that coverage.

They're wrong.

It's about time that that those benefits be added.

And adding negotiating prescription drug prices will save enough money to bring those benefits into reality.

- Well, Max Richtman, thanks a lot.

I don't think Congress is talking enough about what's actually in the reconciliation package so thanks for enlightening us.

Great to see you.

- Great to see you, too.

(serious music) - Governor Ron DeSantis named Dr. Joseph Ladapo this week as the new Florida surgeon general.

The new official then issued a new rule that takes masking and quarantine decisions out of school officials hands and leaves it up to families.

Daniel Ruth is a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist, and a faculty member at The Judy Genshah Honors College at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

And he's been a writer and reporter for the Tampa Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the Tampa Bay Times.

Daniel Ruth, welcome back.

Thank you, thank you for having me.

- Wanna play a sound bite in which the Governor was talking about COVID about a week ago in Gainesville, and a city employee stood up, and the city employee is part of a lawsuit against vaccine mandates in the City of Gainesville.

And here's what the employee said while the Governor was standing by.

- It's not about the vaccine, it's about mandatory vaccination.

No one should tell you what to put in your body.

So there are people out there that choose to eat non-GMO food, or they are vegetarians, or they don't wanna eat foods that were grown with pesticide and herbicide.

No one should force those people to eat meat or vegetables that were grown with pesticide or herbicide.

The vaccine changes your RNA, so for me, that's a problem.

- Dan, the gentleman from Gainesville said that the vaccine changes your RNA, and the Governor was standing right there, but the Governor later denied hearing the remark.

What do you make of that?

- It reminds me of that old Bob and Ray routine.

Wally Ballou interviewing a cranberry farmer in the middle of Times Square while there's gunfire going off, and sirens blaring, and all kinds of mayhem is taking place behind him and he's completely oblivious to it.

The Governor certainly heard what the man had to say, and he doesn't have the political sophistication to speak up and address it.

- [Rob] How would you rate the governor's handling so far of COVID?

The Governor this week a couple of times said number of cases are down in Florida.

He said he's doing a good job.

What would you say?

- Well, I think the Delta variant, most scientists were predicting that the variant would begin to decline somewhere around this time of year.

So you can hardly take the credit for that.

He's been just an abysmal governor when it comes to handling this crisis.

We don't have time to pick it all out, but I would suggest, trying to bully school systems and to threaten the salaries of school board members and school administrators who wanna impose a vaccine or a mask mandate, certainly it was a new loaf to this governor if he could go any lower.

- In other news, a Florida Republican lawmakers filed a bill that would ban abortions after six to eight weeks, and allow members of the community to sue doctors for terminating pregnancies.

It's essentially a mirror of the Texas Law, and that's gonna be - Yeah.

- presented in Tallahassee at the beginning of the session next year.

What do you make of that?

- I think there should be some companion legislation.

The State of Florida is gonna get between a woman and her uterus, then the State of Florida should be responsible for helping to raise that child with a lifetime medical care, educational expenses, a guaranteed annual income, since the state has decided to become the de facto co-parent of that child.

I mean, as Texas goes, so go all the rest of the goobers states in this country.

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.

I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, and it was only a matter of time before Florida introduced this sort of legislation because the State of Florida will not be outgoobered by the State of Texas.

- In other news, the Sarasota-based group, the Cyber Ninjas, have revealed the results of their audit in Arizona of the presidential vote.

And they find out that Joe Biden actually had more votes in Arizona than previously thought.

What do you make of the outcome of the audit?

- Well, you and I could have told them that and save everybody a lot of money.

This was a debacle from the get-go.

The people that were doing that audit had zero expertise.

It was just a monumental waste of time and especially money.

And the Republicans Party of Arizona, it should reimburse the state for those expenses.

- One last question, getting back to the Governor.

Is he taking an attitude of survival the fittest here in Florida when it comes to COVID?

- It's sort of seems that way.

You know, the new surgeon general that he appointed to the State basically says, oh yeah, vaccines were okay as far as they go, but everybody should simply eat more asparagus and pears in their diet, and exercise a little bit more.

Well, you know, we're all clear with exercise and healthy diets, but to basically downplay the importance of vaccine, to me is medically irresponsible.

And I don't care if he went to Harvard Medical School, it still is grotesquely irresponsible.

- Daniel Ruth, as always, thanks for coming on the program.

- Thank you.

(serious music) - Thanks for watching.

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And from all of us here at WEDU, have a great weekend.

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