Guthrie's new message on hurricane evacuations

Kimberly Leonard's must-read briefing on what's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State

Feb 22, 2024 View in browser   By Kimberly Leonard Good morning and welcome to Thursday.  Ahead of a forecast “super-charged” hurricane season, Florida’s emergency management director says the division is planning to get a clearer message across about evacuating during catastrophic storms. Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Floridians ordered to leave their homes can expect to hear more about why, and about the exact dangers they’d face. He worries otherwise people will make the fatal mistake of comparing future storms to past storms they’ve ridden out safely by sheltering in place. Hurricane Ian, which claimed 149 lives, offers an example about why this is so important. Guthrie said he and other officials should have laid out the storm’s unique dangers: It was three times larger than Charlie had been in 2004. Because it came in from the Gulf, Ian carried devastating amounts of water onshore with it. In 2017, Irma didn’t see a similar storm surge because its path was across the Everglades, which absorbed much of the water. “I just believe in my heart of hearts that if we tell people what the difference is, and we warn them of the actual dangers that are about to come to them, and we treat that storm as its own individual storm, people will make the right decision and they will evacuate if asked to do so,” Guthrie said, adding that he’d used the fresh messaging during Hurricane Idalia. Guthrie also wants evacuees to know they don’t have to go far. In most cases, people only needed to get to shelters that are five to 20 miles away — not drive hundreds of miles across the state in all-lane traffic as is often shown in news photos accompanying disaster coverage. Some outlets raised questions about whether local evacuation orders had been fast enough during Ian, and Guthrie says he thinks they were, but people may not have understood how close they were to safety. Adding to better communication this season, the National Hurricane Center will feature an experimental “cone of uncertainty” alongside the old one to show not just a storm’s projected path but more details about how wind hazards from hurricanes can affect people inland, rather than just on the coast. Gurthrie said most homes built in the last 20 years, with the exception of mobile homes, can withstand winds under a Category 5 hurricane. But when local officials issue an evacuation order, it means they’re bracing for flooding, and that’s why people have to get out. Months before hurricane season starts, the division is testing flood control systems, setting aside food and water, preparing generators and readying fleets of equipment for search and rescue teams. And calls with county officials are already underway, checking on factors such as whether they'll need ambulances from FEMA or the state for evacuations. Guthrie said the division is checking in with each one to ask, “What are their needs? What are their gaps gonna be? And where is the state going to be expected to step up and come in?” WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis is doing a press conference at 10:30 a.m. at the headquarters for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     This file photo shows the Youtube and Snapchat apps on a mobile device in New York. | Richard Drew/AP SLATED FOR SENATE PASSAGE TODAY — The social media bill, now that senators have added a layer of anonymity, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. In a notable change, senators Wednesday added a provision mandating that social media platforms offer an anonymous age verification option. The applications may offer a standard age verification method to give account holders a choice, but there at the minimum must be an anonymous alternative under the legislation. The latest amendment, backed by senators during a floor session, shows how state lawmakers continue to tweak the proposal in hopes of passing legislation that will be accepted by DeSantis and also withstand potential legal challenges from the tech industry. The Senate is slated to pass the bill today, after which it will return to the House for another vote. STILL CONTROVERSIAL — Top Trump adviser becomes latest to sound off on Florida defamation change, reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. Stephen Miller, a top adviser to Trump, said in a social media post that if the bill is passed it would allow lawyers to spend “the next generation bankrupting every prominent conservative based in Florida.” Lawmakers are moving forward with the contentious measure, which would alter Florida’s defamation laws even as the legislation continues to draw opposition from across the political spectrum. The high-profile bill would make it easier for politicians and elected officials and other public figures to sue media outlets for malice if an article relied on an anonymous source and turned out to be false. The Libs of TikTok account also railed against it on X yesterday, calling it “dangerous,” as did Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy. EPSTEIN FILES — “Legislation that aims to reveal the evidence and testimony presented almost two decades ago to the South Florida grand jury that charged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein with just one felony count of soliciting a prostitute is making its way to the governor’s desk,” per Alyssa Johnson of The Miami Herald, and DeSantis said on X last night that he’d sign it and then from his non-official account he asked why President Joe Biden hadn’t released the federal government’s files on the investigation. SCRAMBLE POST-ALABAMA RULING — “In wrongful death suits, Florida Republicans want fetuses to be covered as soon as they’re in the womb,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. “Florida Republicans say an effort to allow expecting parents to collect damages in a wrongful death suit of an unborn child wouldn’t apply to frozen embryos created from in vitro fertilization, but abortion-rights advocates say that the plan would reduce access to reproductive health care.” NO GO IN SENATE — “Measures repealing parts of Parkland 2018-gun safety law head to the Florida House,” reports Mitch Perry of Florida Phoenix. The measures include a rollback of the minimum age to buy a rifle and a three-day waiting period, but are dead in the Senate. ‘AGAINST THE CLAW’ — “Legislature OKs looser bear-killing rules,” reports Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics. “Under HB 87 … people who kill a bear on their property must notify the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours of the incident. They’re also prohibited from selling or disposing of any part of the animal — that would be up to the state — and the bill’s allowances are void if a person lures or provokes a bear into a confrontation. PENINSULA AND BEYOND GND PUSH — “University of Florida becomes first public college student government to pass Green New Deal resolution,” reports Lexi Lonas of The Hill. “The University of Florida Student Senate passed a Green New Deal resolution Tuesday, with supporters saying they were the first public college in the country to do so. The five-volume resolution was passed unanimously and demanded the university take more action in combating climate change on campus.” PARTY’S OVER — “Miami Beach makes 11th-hour decision to close parking lots, garages during spring break,” reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz. “Officials had previously said city-owned garages and parking lots in the entertainment district would close after 6 p.m. to everyone except Miami Beach residents and employees from March 7-10 and March 14-17, the weekends that are expected to bring the highest volume of visitors. But during a discussion Wednesday to approve other measures related to spring break — namely, a $100 flat parking rate for visitors in city garages and lots in South Beach — Commissioner David Suarez suggested that the city go further and shut down those parking options entirely.” CAMPAIGN MODE Then-House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL). | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images TODAY — Former U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Rick Scott, is holding a meet-and-greet with seniors in Miami. She’ll aim to spotlight Scott’s 2022 agenda when he led the National Republican Senatorial Committee to sunset and re-approve all federal programs. Democrats and even some Republicans accused him of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare, so Scott later amended the plan saying those popular programs would be exempt. LEAKED — “DeSantis shares his concerns about Trump in a private call with supporters,” reports NBC News’ Henry J. Gomez. “DeSantis told backers of his unsuccessful presidential bid Wednesday that former President Donald Trump should not play ‘identity politics’ when picking a 2024 running mate. ‘Now we have a diverse Republican Party. I want everybody in the fold, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t want people representing 10, 15 percent of the party being in the driver’s seat,’ DeSantis said on a call with supporters, including those who had committed to serving as delegates for him at this year’s Republican National Convention, according to audio obtained by NBC News.” The governor also said he wasn’t interested in becoming Trump’s running mate after the former president seemed to indicate that all those on a list ticked off on Fox News were in the mix. Trumpworld responds… Chris LaCivita, one of the top officers in the Trump campaign called DeSantis a “sad little man” in a post on X. TRUMP CENTRAL — Make America Great Again Inc. is holding a roundtable with Trump at Trump Doral on March 21, per an invitation viewed by Playbook. Others listed on the invitation include Speaker Designate Daniel Perez, Miami Commissioner Kevin Cabrera, Sunshine Gasoline Distributors president Maximo Alvarez and former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise. HE’S RUNNING — Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey today launched his Democratic campaign for Congress in Florida’s swing 27th District, currently held by GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar. He’ll be challenging school-board member Lucia Baez-Geller for the Democratic nomination. “This country is facing serious problems and we need serious people in Washington to resolve them, not people who are there simply to sow chaos and dysfunction,” Davey said in a statement. “Maria Elvira Salazar is at the center of the problem.” DATELINE D.C. TODAY — U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg will be in Miami this morning to talk about the $27 million federal investment for a project to improve Miami International Airport. EMAIL NOTICES OUT — “Biden plan cancels $1.2 billion in student loans. Do Florida students qualify? How to apply,” by C.A. Bridges of USA Today Network - Florida. “Students enrolled in President Joe Biden's new income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education, could see their debt erased immediately if they meet certain conditions. For people in a state with the third-highest federal student loan debt in the country, this act could be a huge load off their minds … The debt forgiveness was initially planned for July but last month the agency announced the timetable was moving up.   Don’t sleep on it. Get breaking New York policy from POLITICO Pro—the platform that never sleeps—and use our Legislative Tracker to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN Rep. Spencer Roach met his namesake on the House floor yesterday. BIRTHDAYS: Ben Sasse, president of the University of Florida and former Senator from Nebraska … The Associated Press’ Michael Biesecker … (was Wednesday) Katie Edwards-Walpole   Follow us on Twitter Kimberly Leonard @leonardkl   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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