Wade Vose, representing the city of Anna Maria, attends a March 1 meeting via Zoom, addressing the issue of a charter county government. Islander Photo: Amy V.T. Moriarty Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse March 3 stood down his fact-finding mission to implement a county charter government. The move came two days after Kruse attended a meeting hosted by the city of Anna Maria with a city attorney, Wade Vose, via Zoom, who detailed the ramifications for the city of a charter county government. A charter county is a county with a unique set of laws that forms the legal basis of its government. Resembling state or federal constitutions, charters and amendments must be approved by 50%-plus one of county voters. According to Kruse, 80% of counties in the state are charter county governments.
Emails from the organizers of a COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinic in Charlotte County raise more questions about the fairness of vaccine distribution in Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed politically-connected private developers to dole out the life-saving drug to residents of their upscale communities, bypassing systems set up to ensure equitable access to vaccines. Whether it’s through a random lottery or a system that gives people a digital place in line based on when they sign up for the vaccine, Florida counties have tried to distribute vaccines without favoritism. But the emails from employees of private developer Neal Communities provide further evidence of how some Florida residents in affluent areas have been allowed to cut in line. They show how the developer offered the vaccine to homeowners in the upscale Boca Royale Golf & Country Club community, their family members and members of the community’s semi-private club, essentially turning the vaccine into a perk of living in a gated country club community where some homes are priced at more than $1 million, or of buying a club membership, which can cost thousands in annual dues.
Emails show how upscale Sarasota County community got special vaccine access statesman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from statesman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Criticism continues over clinic sites in Charlotte and Manatee. The Manatee site has received much of the focus. A clinic in the Kings Gate community of Port Charlotte is also under the microscope. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing bipartisan accusations of playing politics with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Southwest Florida. The criticism stems from DeSantis’ recent selection of COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinic sites in Charlotte and Manatee counties. The Manatee site, in upscale Lakewood Ranch, has received much of the focus. A clinic in the Kings Gate community of Port Charlotte is also under scrutiny. Two weeks ago, 1,000 shots were given out at a state-run pop-up clinic in Port Charlotte. DeSantis reached out to former state lawmaker and developer Pat Neal to host the clinic at a 55+ community in Kings Gate, where Neal’s business, Neal Communities, is building homes.