Florida
Florida Democrats sense opportunity against DeSantis over soaring housing costs
DeSantis, broadly thought of a future GOP presidential contender, has countered that Florida is a sufferer of its success below his management as a result of folks wish to “get the hell out of those dumpster fireplace states,” leading to larger demand for housing from current arrivals. When Fox host Laura Ingraham not too long ago requested the governor a few information report that declared Florida the nation’s least reasonably priced state, DeSantis stated he could not assist that so many individuals need to dwell right here.
“The demand to dwell in Florida is extra intense than it is ever been within the historical past of our state,” he instructed Ingraham. “And that is simply the truth.”
A decadeslong downside
For many of Florida’s fashionable historical past, planners have confronted issues the state was attracting extra folks than there have been locations to dwell. But yearly, folks have saved coming.
Mentions of reasonably priced housing troubles in Florida newspapers return many years. Democratic Gov. Bob Graham signed the Florida Reasonably priced Housing Act into regulation in 1986. Activity forces have been created. A blue-ribbon fee studied the issue. It remained an uphill climb.
Then in 1992, Florida enacted a small tax on actual property transactions and earmarked it for the State Housing Belief Fund. It generated a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for reasonably priced housing in its first decade, in line with a 2021 state Senate employees evaluation.
However because the dot-com bubble burst and hit Florida within the early 2000s, elected leaders began taking from the belief fund to fill different finances holes. It turned a pattern that spanned Republican administrations. Through the 20 years ending in 2021, the state collected $5 billion for the housing fund however legislators diverted $2.3 billion for different wants.
Jaimie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition, instructed CNN that when belief fund {dollars} are eradicated, the impact is multiplied, as a result of these {dollars} would have been utilized by native governments to leverage personal sector funding to construct new housing.
“The cash wasn’t getting used for reasonably priced housing,” Ross stated. “It is unattainable to know what it was used for.”
“There’s been a niche between wages for the sorts of jobs we produce right here in Florida — lower-wage service jobs — and housing prices for years,” stated Anne Ray, the supervisor of the Florida Housing Knowledge Clearinghouse on the College of Florida’s Shimberg Middle for Housing Research. “It has gotten extra excessive.”
“These giant hire will increase are what is going on to push folks into doubling up (bringing a number of households below one roof) or homelessness,” Ray stated.
Democrats say extra must be performed. In December, dozens of state Democratic lawmakers signed on to a letter asking DeSantis to declare a state of emergency and provides the legal professional common the authority to go after landlords for worth gouging in the event that they enhance rents by greater than 10%. Up to now, DeSantis hasn’t taken these steps.
Bryan Griffin, spokesman for the governor, identified that more cash was swept from the housing belief funds throughout previous administrations, together with the 4 years Crist was in workplace, than within the budgets handed throughout DeSantis’ first time period.
“Those that are fast to insist on a ‘state of emergency’ to deal with reasonably priced housing are those that imagine that the federal government can and will resolve each downside with the heaviest hand,” Griffin stated. “Rising authorities intervention into markets can not resolve advanced issues like this — actually, it tends to make these issues worse.”
DeSantis has pinned Florida’s housing issues on the Biden administration, insisting that dwelling costs and rents, like the remainder of the economic system, have been hit by inflation. He does not anticipate the issue to rapidly reverse as a result of the price of development supplies and staff goes to make it costlier to construct new houses and rental models within the close to future.
Although political debates typically give attention to the state housing belief fund, Ross believes Florida would have an reasonably priced housing downside even when lawmakers hadn’t reneged on their dedication. It definitely aggravated the difficulty, she stated, however she additionally helps officers eradicating land from the speculative marketplace for reasonably priced housing and enacting legal guidelines that require these models stay accessible to lower-income earners, not bought to buyers who jack up the costs.
“Land and housing are priced at regardless of the market will bear. People and company buyers with money to spend are driving up the costs,” she stated. “Florida is a lovely state — surrounded by water and good climate. Attracting buyers and pricing out the Florida workforce is a big a part of the issue.”
A motive to vote in November?
There are indicators throughout the state that some Floridians are reaching a breaking level.
Dwight Bullard, a political adviser at Florida Rising, an advocacy group, stated he believes the housing disaster has reached a brand new class of individuals, and he expects it to encourage how they vote in November.
“Individuals come as much as me who’re historically apolitical and say, ‘What are we going to do about reasonably priced housing?’” Bullard stated. “These are of us who’ve means, who weren’t complaining about this earlier than, however when confronted with a $600 enhance in hire, they’re saying, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, who’s controlling the levers? Who do I would like to speak to about why that is occurring?”
Fried and Crist, the main Democratic candidates for governor, have every launched a coverage framework to deal with what Democrats and lots of housing advocates are calling a disaster. Each have vowed to cease future raids on the housing belief fund. Fried has additionally stated she would name for a state of emergency and lengthen property tax exemptions for owners. Crist has promised a down fee help program for veteran, young-family and first-generation homebuyers, and a brand new housing czar.
“They’re reminded of that each day on the pump and on the grocery retailer,” Piccolo stated.
Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla, a Democrat, stated she does not suppose voters will reply until Democratic candidates supply extra daring proposals. Bonilla has pushed her county to think about what can be the state’s first hire management measures. State regulation prohibits native governments from interfering in rental markets, besides throughout an “current housing emergency which is so grave as to represent a critical menace to most people.” Although it hasn’t been carried out earlier than, Bonilla believes the present scenario qualifies.
“You hear from individuals who you’d suppose can be towards this, making statements that their children cannot afford to depart their houses,” Bonilla stated. “It is a distinctive scenario. It is folks of all revenue ranges being affected by this. And it does not matter if you happen to’re a minority, if you happen to’re White, younger, outdated or what political celebration you are in, they’re all being affected.”
However Bonilla does not anticipate different Democrats to get behind her push for hire management. Fried in an announcement stated the Republican-led legislature is unlikely to repeal the state ban on hire management and she or he would as an alternative direct the legal professional common to analyze worth gouging. Crist spokesperson Samantha Ramirez stated his proposed housing czar would work with native governments to search out options, including, “Localities want the pliability to discover choices to maintain rents reasonably priced.”
Whereas Democrats differ of their options, they’re united of their intent to maintain the difficulty on the entrance burner by means of the election.
“We obtained right here due to a failure of Republican motion, we’ll keep right here due to a failure of Republican motion,” state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, stated throughout an April occasion on reasonably priced housing. “We’ll proceed to beat this drum each day for Floridians.”
CNN researcher Mary Rose Fox contributed to this report.
With Florida fans chanting for his firing amid a blowout loss, head coach Billy Napier wasn’t about to find any sympathy from predecessor Dan Mullen.
Mullen, a college football analyst, recirculated a post on X from his ESPN colleague Matt Barrie that read, “The Florida coach that got fired went to three consecutive new years six games in his first three years. And was let go in his 4th season.”
The facts check out that Mullen posted a 29-9 record with appearances in the Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl (2-1 bowl record) over his first three seasons — climbing as high as No. 4 in the polls — before he was fired for going 5-6 in 2021.
His reluctance to fire defensive coordinator Todd Grantham until it was too late in powerbrokers’ eyes was a major contributor.
With one retweet on Saturday, Mullen suggested he’s still not over it.
Time seems to be ticking on Napier, whose tenure has been a disaster so far.
He was 11-14 through his first two seasons, including a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl, and he opened Year 3 with Saturday’s 41-17 loss at home to rival Miami.
Chants of “Fire Billy” and “Billy, you suck” reportedly rang out from the stands during the second half.
Napier was a hot Power Five coaching candidate after he went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana, but the success hasn’t carried over in the SEC.
To add insult to injury, Miami quarterback Cam Ward — a Washington State transfer — took a shot at Gators fans and the renowned atmosphere at the “Swamp.”
“I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, but it was louder than this,” Ward said. “I played at Oregon and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 is misspoken for. That’s where I believe real football is played. Coming from Washington (State), Washington is one of the loudest environments I’ve played.
“Some advice to the fans: I would say if you’re going to be loud, be loud when we’re huddling. You can’t just be loud when we break the huddle. By that time, there’s no point. We hear the play and we communicated already. But it was a good atmosphere to play in, and I was just excited that we were able to get a victory.”
What figures to get louder is the sound of the pressure on Napier.
College football is back in full swing as the majority of FBS teams took the field for the first time on Saturday.
It’s always hard to get a gauge on Week 1 performances when there’s so much to learn about each team as the season progresses.
With that said, here are five takeaways from the first big Saturday of the year.
Billy Napier’s hot seat is scorching after a no-show loss to in-state rival Miami
No. 19 Miami walked into The Swamp with transfer quarterback Cam Ward and looked every bit the part of an ACC title contender. Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, as the Hurricanes rolled over Florida 41–17.
But as impressive as the victory was for Miami—a team that appears to be the class of an underwhelming ACC—this game signals more about the state of Florida’s program than anything else.
Through two seasons (and one game) of the Billy Napier era, the tenure has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. The Gators posted a 6–7 record in Napier’s first season, and followed that up that with a 5–7 record in 2023.
Napier’s predecessor, Dan Mullen, took Florida to New Year’s Six bowl games in each of his first three seasons, but was fired at the first sign of trouble in Year 4 due to uneven recruiting, athletic department politics and an underwhelming on-field product in 2021.
Three years later, the Gators appear worse off for it. After an 0–1 start, Florida now must navigate one of the toughest schedules in college football to try to make a bowl game in Napier’s third season.
As if things weren’t bleak enough in Gainesville, Napier’s buyout is $26 million, making for a tricky situation for a program that deserves better.
No. 14 Clemson posts a program referendum loss to No. 1 Georgia
Clemson lost four ACC games in 2023 for the first time since the ‘10 campaign—Dabo Swinney’s second full season as head coach.
If you thought that would be enough for Swinney to change his well-documented aversion to using the transfer portal, think again.
Instead, Swinney doubled down on his program’s culture and doing things his way, while the rest of college football embraced the transfer portal as another method to roster building.
Swinney’s defiance of the current state of affairs in college football has led to his program falling swiftly from the ranks of the sport’s elite class. The Tigers have not made a College Football Playoff appearance since Trevor Lawrence’s junior season in 2020, and the program now seems far more susceptible to losing multiple conference games per year than it does to dominating the ACC like it once did.
Saturday’s 34–3 loss to top-ranked Georgia would have been shocking five years ago.
Now? It’s expected when the Tigers contend with elite competition.
And that’s a problem.
No. 8 Penn State found a passing game, making it an actual Big Ten contender and College Football Playoff threat
On paper, No. 8 Penn State entered 2024 as the third-best team in the Big Ten and a program that appeared primed to battle for one of the last handful of spots in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Based on a 2023 season that saw the program go 10–3 behind a stout defense but an offense that lacked a legitimate passing game against top-flight competition, a similar formula seemed reasonable enough to get Penn State into this year’s playoff.
But if the passing game in 2024 takes as big of a step forward for the entire season as it did on Saturday against West Virginia, then look out.
Penn State head coach James Franklin hired Andy Kotelnicki away from Kansas in the offseason to become the program’s primary play-caller and spearhead an improved passing game, and the early returns on Saturday were phenomenal.
Junior quarterback Drew Allar tossed three touchdown passes as the Nittany Lions cruised into Morgantown and came away with a convincing 34–12 victory over West Virginia.
Allar looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did at any time last season, and if Saturday is any indication, Penn State looks primed to not only seriously compete for a Big Ten crown, but perhaps win a game or two in the College Football Playoff.
No. 3 Oregon and No. 9 Michigan left plenty to be desired in their season opening victories
No. 3 Oregon was a 44-point favorite against theIdaho Vandals of the FCS, while No. 9 Michigan was favored by three scores against Fresno State. Both teams escaped with victories, but neither was particularly pretty.
For Michigan, this was somewhat expected, given the turnover on the coaching staff and across the roster following last year’s national championship. Even so, the Michigan quarterback situation appears to be a total mess. Former walk-on Davis Warren earned the starting nod over junior Alex Orji, a former four-star recruit, which probably says more about the staff’s lack of confidence in Orji throwing the football than anything else.
Warren completed 15 of his 25 passing attempts for a mere 118 yards with one touchdown and one interception. That was good enough on Saturday night to earn the Wolverines a 30–10 victory over Fresno State, but certainly won’t be good enough next Saturday when Michigan hosts the Texas Longhorns in the Big House.
Oregon, meanwhile, couldn’t gain separation from Idaho in their 24–14 win thanks to plenty of sloppiness. The Ducks had a missed field goal, a fumble on the edge of the red zone and two failed fourth down conversion attempts despite outgaining the Vandals by nearly 300 yards.
Michigan’s issues can be easily tied to a downgrade at quarterback, while Oregon simply could not stop stepping on its own feet against an overmatched opponent. But more will be expected in the near future.
No. 7 Notre Dame’s offensive line struggled, but the Irish defense was still elite in a road win over No. 20 Texas A&M
Much of the talk entering the game of the day in college football between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M in College Station revolved around the Irish’s inexperienced offensive line going up against an Aggies defensive front featuring plenty of future NFL talent.
Notre Dame struggled offensively throughout the night as expected, but came through in the clutch when it needed to the most. With the game tied at 13 with 6:12 remaining in regulation, the Irish embarked on a back-breaking eight-play, 85-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 21-yard touchdown scamper by running back Jeremiyah Love.
The Irish defense, like it did all night, closed out the Aggies on their final offensive possession of the night with less than two minutes remaining, and added a late field goal to cap off an impressive 23–13 road victory to spoil Mike Elko’s Texas A&M debut.
Notre Dame is a likely favorite in each of their remaining 11 games, and earned an early feather in the cap to their College Football Playoff resume.
Extra Points
It’s the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, which means the full chaos of college football has truly arrived.
There were 21 games on Thursday — including Colorado’s win against perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State — and six games Friday before a full slate on Saturday.
No. 1 Georgia got things started with an absolute show of force, blasting No. 14 Clemson 34-3 in their season opener. Heisman favorite Carson Beck was on point throughout, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
The nightcap is a showdown between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M.
(All times are Eastern.)
Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Texas A&M -3 | Total: 46.5
Notre Dame doesn’t shy away from tough openers, and this is no exception. Saturday night is QB Riley Leonard’s first game in a Notre Dame uniform after transferring to Duke, but he’ll be playing behind a revamped offensive line that lost three starters from 2023. First-year Texas A&M coach Mike Elko brings a defense that has lots of new faces but is still plenty talented. And QB Connor Weigman returns as the Aggies’ starting quarterback with the goal of staying healthy for the whole season.
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