This past week someone said to me “Do well so you can do Good.” What a concept – how can seven simple words have so much meaning? Doing well means a person is content, healthy, successful; doing good means caring and helping others, and doing good things in the world that make a difference. Those are profound words to live by especially as we enter the halfway point of our State Legislative Session. Why is that important? Well, the decisions being made in Tallahassee directly affect our local government. The Florida League of Cities (FLC) has a saying: “Local voices making local choices.” Many bills are being considered that could negatively affect our cities financially as well as socially. I joined over 250 elected officials from throughout the State of Florida in Tallahassee this past week to defend Home Rule and explain the detrimental impacts some of these proposed bills will have on our cities. We are watching several bills and constantly speaking with our State Legislators to let them know the potential negative impacts these bills will have if passed. Two critically important bills at the top of my list are SB 512/HB 325 – Short term rentals and SB974/HB985 – Sovereign Immunity. To stay involved and up to date on these and other bills, text “local voices” to 50457.
The Hollywood Youth Ambassadors traveled with me to Tallahassee FLC Legislative Days. They experienced two full days of meeting our State Legislators including Representatives Marie Woodson, Evan Jenne and Robin Bartleman and Senators Gary Farmer, Jason Pizzo and Shevrin Jones. Additionally they met with Supreme Court Justices John Couriel and Carlos Muniz as well as Commissioner and Chair of the Florida Commission on Offender Review Melinda Coonrod. They also participated in debriefings by FLC and experienced an interesting and engaging visit to the State Capitol and Florida’s Justice System. This trip provided our Hollywood Youth Ambassadors (aka: Future Leaders) the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of our State government and to meet officials that can help them in future years.
The Ambassadors are also preparing for the Annual Hollywood Happy Days May 2nd, 2022 at 6pm. Local High School talent will be performing at our very own Joseph Young Arts Park. It’s a great evening and we encourage the community to come on out and enjoy the fun.
Traci Callari
tcallari@hollywoodfl.org
