When Dr. Raul Pino, director of Florida’s Orange County Health Department, was recently put on administrative leave for encouraging his employees to get vaccinated, I was shocked but not surprised.

And I could certainly empathize with his frustration that only 77 of his 568 employees were fully vaccinated with booster shots.  I faced the same problem with my staff of 83 at Sunrise Ford. Although the numbers at the dealership were better than the Orange County Health Department, more than 30 percent of my employees refused to be vaccinated.

The situation baffled me.  The employees knew I had to be in lockdown for nearly a year because of continuing cancer treatments to keep my beast cancer in remission. My husband, Mike Wetzel, who helped me run the dealership, also had to be extremely careful, fearful he could bring COVID home. My oncologist initially cut back my treatments because she was so worried if I was infected with COVID, it could be fatal.

When the vaccines were readily available, I was thrilled to be back at work.  But that euphoria quickly dissipated when I realized I had so many anti-vaxxers on the payroll.  I tried everything to change their minds — extra  paid vacation time, paid sick leave should they be forced to quarantine, and paid time off should they have a reaction to the shot.

I met personally with each of them to try to debunk some of their crazy excuses. Their reasons varied. ‘’I am scared to death of shots.”  ‘’I never had a cold so no way I could get COVID.” ‘’My wife is breast feeding and we want another child.’’ And my personal favorite.  ‘’No one is going to tell me what to do.”’

I pleaded and cajoled.  I pointed out others at the dealership had serious  health issues. A body shop technician was in the midst of chemotherapy. A sales representative had just recovered from open heart surgery.  Several had diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

Even after their fellow employees came down with COVID, one requiring a lengthy hospital stay and another suffering from long haul COVID, the anti-vaxxers remained steadfast.

I then tried not so subtle threats. At the time, I could fire anyone refusing the vaccine. The weekly memos suggesting that I might resort to that did not work, probably because most knew I would have to close the business down because so many would be terminated.

Dr. Pino called his department’s anti-vax stand “pathetic.’’ I know how he feels. I said much worse about my predicament

The whole situation finally  wore me down. Last June I decided to sell the dealership that had been in the family 90 years. The sale was finalized October 4. Mike and I had mixed feelings about giving up a successful business that we had run for more than 30 years.  And we felt badly for the employees who had been so loyal, some working there for decades.

But in the long run we knew we made the right decision. We set up The Tierney & Wetzel Foundation to carry on Sunrise Ford’s legacy of gIving back to the community which was so supportive of the dealership.

I hope Dr. Pino hangs in there. It was ridiculous for the state to suspend him for trying to protect the health of his employees and the residents of Orange County. Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration continue to undermine the efforts of Dr. Pino and other public servants who are just trying do their jobs.

I have seen firsthand how politics has caused so many to make the wrong decision when it comes to COVID vaccines.  Dr. Pino was right. It is pathetic.

Two days before the election, I was shocked to hear how the rancor between the two campaigns had hit a new level right in my own neighborhood.  My usually tranquil walk  along South Ocean Drive was interrupted by a shouting match between two strangers yelling about Biden’s proposed tax plan.

‘’He’s going to raise your taxes. He even said so,” screamed the middle aged walker on the other side of the street. His tirade was meant for a bicyclist who apparently was wearing a Biden tee shirt. ‘’That’s not how it works. Go back to school,’’ the cyclist yelled back.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that two random strangers felt it was necessary to argue politics on a peaceful oceanfront street. When I returned to Ft. Pierce a few weeks earlier after being away for four months, I was amazed at the number of Trump flags flying behind trucks and boats and hanging on homes in most sections of the county. After all, until four years ago when St. Lucie County went for Trump, the county was considered a Democratic stronghold. Apparently the Trump win in 2016 was not an anomaly. The county, considered a blue collar, working class entity between its wealthier conservative counties to the north and south, was turning red.

Additionally, the presidential race was unlike any we have ever seen. The COVID pandemic, which at this writing has taken more than 300 lives in St. Lucie County, led to more dissension. Mask mandates or not? Restaurants and bars —open or close?  Dr. Anthony Fauci, friend or foe?  Everything about the pandemic was up for debate.

The campaign has divided families, strained friendships and kept record numbers of viewers glued to cable TV news the last few months. Our family was no different. My two brothers, to the amusement of our relatives and friends, often battle it out on Facebook.

Like the old Firing Line TV show, Steve, my liberal brother, would post anti-Trump missives, and our younger brother, Mark, would quickly respond with his conservative comments. A recent example from Steve: “Live your life in such a way that the entire planet doesn’t dance in the streets when you lose your job.’’ Mark’s response—a picture of Biden next to a supposed dead person thanking him for his vote.

My husband’s family was also quick to weigh in. Mike’s daughter-in-law, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, posted a profile picture of Kamala Harris next to a gallery of portraits of the former all white, male Vice Presidents. No words needed. Mike’s mother, however, was not too pleased with the election results. ‘’I think maybe I should not have gotten up this morning,” was her Facebook post the day the election was called. The family zoom call that evening did not end well either.

My daughter, a journalist working in Washington DC, often refers to herself as “Switzerland,’’ meaning she tries to stay neutral during the family political skirmishes. But for months she has been covering Republican voter suppression efforts and now is monitoring the Trump campaign lawsuits.  I am proud of her hard work and hoping the “Fake News” and “Enemy of the People” diatribes will gradually fade away. 

President Elect Joe Biden in his acceptance speech Saturday night urged Americans ‘’put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.’’ I will be taking the temperature of my family members in the upcoming weeks and will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I am somewhat heartened to see our neighborhood return to almost normal. All but one of the Trump signs and all of the Biden signs were removed from the front lawns shortly after Biden was declared the winner. And my four-mile walk this weekend was as peaceful as ever. 

After 31/2 months of isolating at home with my husband, I was so hoping that by now the number of COVID-19 cases would have diminished enough that I could at least return to work and perhaps visit some family members without worrying about becoming infected.

But with record breaking cases being reported in Florida, and hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients on the rise,  we have no choice but to remain at home, have our groceries delivered to our door and run Sunrise Ford remotely.  Since I have a compromised immune system because of ongoing chemotherapy to keep my breast cancer in remission, I am considered to be high risk should I contract the disease.

Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to people like me when he announced this week that he would not order any major rollbacks of businesses, despite the alarming new statistics.

‘’If we protect the vulnerable then we are going to get through this patch adequately,’’ he said.  Keeping people like me, along with the elderly in nursing homes, as shut-ins may prevent us from contracting the virus, but at what price?

I feel more fortunate than most.  I, along with my husband, can still run Sunrise Ford from home, although I have always been a hands on dealer so staying away is difficult.  I miss interacting with our employees and customers.  But it could be much worse.  I could be one of the “vulnerables’’ whose job would not enable me to work remotely.  That would be a tough choice.   Stay at work for that necessary paycheck and worry about would could be very dire consequences or stay at home and worry about what happens when the unemployment checks (if you were even lucky enough to get them) end?

And what about the vulnerables in nursing homes?  For months they have not been allowed to visit with families and friends.  In most cases they cannot even share meals in their communal dining rooms.  Meals are brought to their rooms where they eat alone.

A friend, whose mother has lived in an assisted living home for seven years, has fretted for months about how much her mother’s health has failed during the shut down. Visits were limited to phone calls outside her window.   Their Sunday brunches In local restaurants, usually the highlight of her mother’s week, abruptly stopped.

‘’It just wasn’t the same,’’ my friend said  “It just breaks my heart.’’

Her mom died this week, a few days short of her 97th birthday.   Yes, she had a long life but my friend told me that her mother’s caregivers said the affects of COVID-19 were devastating to most nursing home residents.  ‘’People just give up their will to live,’’ the caregivers told her. ‘’They just didn’t want to hang on any longer.’’

So as this highly contagious virus sticks around,  there continues to
be suffering beyond the hospital rooms and gravesite services.  DeSantis decided to open up non-essential businesses weeks ago in defiance of recommendations from the Center for Disease Control.  Our state had not achieved the defined reduction in  COVID-19 cases that would have permitted the reopening.  Nor have some businesses adhered to social distancing guidelines.  

There have been packed bars and restaurants, crowded beaches and no statewide mandates about face masks.  Fortunately some local governments have enacted stricter regulations when it comes to masks and beaches and there is at least a new statewide closing of bars. To make matters worse, the Republican convention will be held in Jacksonville after the GOP decided they could not adhere to the safety measures North Carolina officials demanded. At this writing, it appears that masks will not be required so the convention will be deemed by health officials a ‘’super spreader.’’

Today the St. Lucie County Commission voted to require restaurant and grocery workers to wear masks.  Other businesses can decide on their own what they want to do.  The meeting was raucous at times with residents decrying any efforts to require masks anywhere.   A violation of their constitutional rights, they said. Some even insisted that there was no pandemic.

At this point I have given up hope of leaving our isolated existence any time soon.  I am afraid that until there is a vaccine we vulnerables will remain at risk.  Gov. DeSantis‘s sanctimonious talk about protecting the vulnerable does not impress me at all. If he was really serious about curtailing cases and deaths, he would implement tougher measures that would lead to that flat line of cases.  Until he does, we vulnerables will continue to be fearful of leaving our homes.  And those nursing home family visits will still require a phone. If you are lucky you can see your loved one through a window.  And like my friend, you continue to be broken hearted knowing your mom or dad, aunt or uncle, or dear friend will not be able to socialize with their buddies.  Instead they will stay in their rooms, watching TV and eating their meals alone.  

As we enter week seven of home isolation, I am both alarmed at how fast states, including Florida, are opening up for business and how political the coronavirus pandemic has become. 

I wonder if I am being over cautious because I am considered one of the “vulnerables,” who has a greater chance of dying from the virus because of a compromised immune system.  But I would rather be in the vulnerable camp than the “warrior” camp.
The warriors, President Trump declared this week, are those who will die because as more businesses open there will likely be more cases and deaths from Covid 19.   Those ‘’warrior’’ deaths are the collateral damage of getting the economy back on track when most states are not following the administration’s own guidelines on  social distancing. 

And then there are the ‘regular folks.’   That’s who Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack referred to, who she said, would not likely be affected by Covid 19
in her county.  It was the meat processors who were the cause of the flare ups, she said.  Yet, they are the ones mandated by Trump to stay on the job, even though in many cases the plants are not providing  adequate protections for the workers, many of whom are migrants.

There are also the “protesters” who fall into several categories. There are those who refuse to wear face masks because I guess they just don’t want to. Health  care workers say their actions jeopardize both themselves and people around them.  Then there is the more militant sect of protestors  who arm themselves with assault weapons and block state capitol buildings demanding the economy be “liberated.‘’

The ‘’violent protestor’’varies from those intentionally coughing in someone’s face to gunning down a 43–year-old Family Dollar store security guard in Flint Michigan because he refused to let a customer in the store without a face mask. Just this week a woman in Oklahoma City fired a handgun at McDonald’s employees who would not let her sit in the restricted dining area. 

Politicizing the pandemic has reached a whole new level, with Trump egging on the protestors, gagging some of his most respected medical experts, and firing those In his administration who challenge his untrue narratives.  He also has refused to use his authority under the Defense Powers Act to force the private sector to step up production of badly needed testing kits, face masks and other protective gear.  As mentioned above, he did use the act to force meat plants to remain open despite the dramatic uptick of cases.  I guess the judge’s assurance that the meat processors‘ viruses would not spread to the “regular folks’’ was a good enough reason to keep the plants open. 

As a business owner, I am taking a more cautious approach to reopening Sunrise Ford and Sunrise Volkswagen.  We have been fortunate to keep all of our employees on the payroll while rotating skeleton crews for necessary vehicle repairs and purchases.
When the Center for Disease Control issued it’s reopening guidelines, I figured the decision to reopen would be an easy one.  The guidelines were straightforward.   Florida would have to see a set decrease of Covid19 cases over two successive weeks.  Massive testing would be underway so businesses can tell who had the virus and who had built up an immunity.  Extensive contact tracing would be done to locate those who may have unknowingly  contracted the virus. 

As of this writing, those guidelines have been met, so for the time being so we will keep limited staff and hours of operation. As one of those “vulnerables,” I wonder how others in my situation are following the strict guidelines recommended by health experts.  Like those in nursing homes, my husband and I are supposed to stay isolated in our homes, even staying away from grocery stores, pharmacies and family members and friends who aren’t in self isolation.  When will those restrictions be eased?  Probably not for at least a year when either a cure or a vaccine is available.   It’s hard to even think about the time frame.

My only outings have been to my oncologist’s office for regular checkups and blood work.  She had sent home all of her employees over the age of 60, fearing their exposure to the virus. I saw her at the end of the day and she looked exhausted, but we did chat for awhile about how Covid19 affected her and her patients.  She was getting “more calls than ever” from patients wanting prescriptions for Xanax and Ambien to help with insomnia and anxiety. She had to adjust treatments and chemo doses for many of her patients, hoping to boost their immunity should they contract the virus.  She worried about her fellow  health care workers not getting the equipment they needed and was concerned about the federal administration not taking an aggressive  stand to battle the pandemic.

On a personal level, Covid19 prevented her from her daily visits with her husband, living with Alzheimer’s in an assisted living facility.  “We do get to FaceTime everyday so that helps,” she said.  Then there was then a long pause in our conversation and I waited for her to continue.   Instead she just stared and sighed.  Then she said something that I believe  sums up what most of us are now feeling. ‘’Everything,’’ she said.  ‘’Just everything is in disarray.’’

A couple of weeks ago I read with interest a newspaper article about a concrete plant on Rock Road that was getting some pretty hefty tax breaks from St. Lucie County for adding a 15,000 square foot facility to its existing business and promising to add 15 jobs with an average pay of $17.67.

It didn’t take me long to call Peter Jones, St. Lucie County’s business navigator, to see if our new Sunrise Volkswagen dealership could get the same deal. After all, we are adding 20 jobs and built a multimillion dollar facility adjacent to Sunrise Ford. I could guarantee the average hourly pay would be significantly more than $17.67 an hour. Unfortunately, Jones told me, Sunrise Volkswagen would not qualify for any tax incentives because it was not a manufacturing facility. St. Lucie County’s board of county commissioners targets only manufacturing businesses for the tax subsidizes and no matter how many jobs Sunrise Volkswagen generated we were out of luck.

That felt worse than rubbing salt into the wound.

Sunrise Volkswagen is an addition to the Sunrise Ford family business, that was founded in 1932. Sunrise Ford has 95 employees, most of whom live in St. Lucie County . Over the decades we contributed to a numerous local charities and civic organizations. Just as important we have paid millions in county property taxes. And constructing Sunrise Volkswagen had added tons more to city, county and state coffers. The big hits were the county and city impact fees, more than $100,000 before the first shovel hit the ground. And the checks kept rolling. One of the first was $314 to the city for a permit for the dumpster at the site. A separate city road impact fee was $1,655. The city also got $250 for a “pre-application” meeting with our engineer and architect. Building permits totaled in the thousands. The city’s new building permit alone was $7911. My personal favorite was another city requirement that we purchase a $400 bond that would cover the $50,000 worth of mandated landscaping should all of those trees and shrubs die and the company that installed them go out of business.

The city and county officials took some of the sting out of paying the fees by being helpful explaining their processes and issuing permits in a timely matter. The North St. Lucie River Water Management District was also very accommodating by allowing us to expand our parking area between Sunrise Ford and Sunrise VW.

I didn’t get a chance to have much interaction with state officials who also got their fair share. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection received $400, the two water management districts sent bills for more than $2,500, about the same amount as the Florida Department of Transportation.

Today we paid our last two fees—$300 to the state Department of Motor Vehicles for our license and another $253 for a state permit to sell warranties.

I haven’t had the nerve yet to tally up all of the bills, but am relieved that today we can officially open and begin selling new VWs as well as used vehicles and repairing all makes and models. Our showroom is stunning and the lineup of new VWs is impressive. After decades of selling Ford trucks, with high end models costing north of $60,000, I was particularly pleased to see that a customer

could drive away in a nicely outfitted Jetta for $19,502. Since Ford is phasing out its sedan line, I am also glad we have a large inventory of VW sedans to offer our customers.

Our grand opening is scheduled for May 18, when we will have a lot of festivities including giving away a brand new Jetta. In the meantime, we have a full staff in our sales and service departments ready to show you around. Our address is 5359 South U.S.1, just north of Sunrise Ford. Our phone number 772-742-8333 if you want to make an appointment for service or talk to a sales representative. And by all means , please come by before May 18 to sign up to win that new Jetta. No purchase necessary.

Before I left today I realized I had one more state form to complete—the one required if a business is giving away a product. I went online to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs website to download the form. I filled it out and when I got to the end, I saw I needed to pay one more fee—$100 for a permit so I can give away a car.

When I heard President Donald Trump say that he would know right away if he and North Korean dictator Kim Jong- un would hit it off, I thought of my friend Bob Mandell who also traveled oversees to promote the United States’ values and ideals.

Mandell, who I met in the early 1970s when I roomed with his younger sister at the University of Florida and he was a UF law student, was appointed Ambassador of the United States to Luxembourg in October 2011. But unlike Trump, Mandell spent months preparing for his time abroad, learning to speak French, familiarizing himself with the culture, politics, and economy of Luxembourg, and memorizing all of the protocols of the job.

We often crossed paths in Washington DC when he was going through the rugged training program because my daughter was attending Georgetown University. “Charm School,” is how he jokingly described his time with Foreign Service personnel at the State Department, but I knew it was much more. Luxembourg is small, but is one of the capitals of the European Union and has a large NATO base. Luxembourg troops also fought with our troops in Afghanistan, so he had to keep up with all of the war efforts. And in our post 9-11 era, Mandell had to be prepared to defend the embassy should insurgents attack.

“I am a Jew from Orlando, I’ve never even held a gun before,” he said at the time. It was fitting that President Barack Obama would appoint a Jew to the post. The mansion that housed the embassy’s residence was occupied by Hitler during World War II. Luxembourg donated the estate to the United States as a thank you for liberating their country from the Nazis.

My husband and I were fortunate to stay in the mansion. After several months on the job, Mandell invited us to spend the weekend there and attend an embassy party. We joined his family and several friends from Florida in the spacious living area where we met politicians, business leaders (including the owners of a large car franchise), the Catholic Archbishop, and a myriad of other Luxembourg residents.

California wine and champagne flowed, and rounds of hors d’oeuvres were served (including hamburger sliders topped with a tiny American flag). The crowd was lively and convivial. A guest played the piano and another sang a few songs. The party was supposed to end at 9 p.m… It didn’t wrap up until midnight.

But I learned that weekend that serving as an ambassador means more than schmoozing and partying with the upper crust. Mandell often visited wounded troops at a nearby U.S. hospital in Germany. He flew to Afghanistan to meet the Luxembourg soldiers who joined our forces to fight the Taliban. On Saturday afternoons, youngsters from orphanages joined Mandell at the embassy for lunch. He went to every high school in the country to talk to students about our values and the history between the two countries.

Mandell also arranged to have the U.S. Supreme Court travel to Luxembourg and meet with the European Court of Justice so the two bodies could talk about policies and other common issues. He said the members of the Supreme Court, who often disagree on court rulings, were a congenial group and enjoyed their time at the Embassy.

Mandell decided to leave the post in February 2015. The stint was exciting, he said, but also took a toll on  his personal life. Ambassadors can spend only a limited amount of time back in the United States each year. We attended the ceremony at the State Department where Mandell officially gave up the post. Unlike his jovial swearing in ceremony almost five years earlier, this gathering was more solemn. There were fewer friends and family there, but more government officials who came to acknowledge Mandell’s work and thank him for his public service. It was a bi-partisan crowd that included then U.S. Senator Al Franken and conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito.

Mandell returned to Orlando but occasionally travels to Washington where he serves on a Smithsonian museum board and is a member of the Council of American Ambassadors. A few months ago, the State Department asked him to return to help train new ambassadors. The department had lost a lot of career personnel after the election and still had many ambassador posts that needed to be filled. Mandell decided to take the job. “It’s not much money and I go on an as needed basis,” he told me. “Actually there are some good people there that I would like to help.”

I saw his sister a few weeks ago and asked how her brother was making out in the new job. “You haven’t heard?,” she said. “Trump didn’t want anyone working there who was appointed by Obama. He was fired.”

If anyone had any doubts about Governor Rick Scott running for U.S. Senate this year, his column in last Sunday’s News Tribune should pretty much confirm Scott will be challenging Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. Scott, who was elected governor eight years ago on the Tea Party wave, was the hard-nosed businessman who wanted to slash social and environmental programs, making “jobs first” the cornerstone of his administration.

So I had to do a double-take when I read his column that gushed about the need to protect the “Dreamers” and pushed to make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) permanent. Is this the same guy who toasted in the New Year with Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago? As Trump was flip-flopping on his views of DACA, Scott wrote that Washington should “do the right thing for these kids by removing the uncertainty hanging over their future goals and dreams.” Wow. Who would have thought our governor, who usually takes the hard right on most issues, would have such soft spot in his heart for illegal immigrants? Scott may have been a political outsider eight years ago, but he has certainly learned a thing or two about political expediency.

Scott knows that he will have to garner votes from tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans now living along the I-4 corridor in the central part of the state. (And being so closely associated with Trump, who did not endear himself to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, does not help.) Furthermore, he will have to woo the state’s large Hispanic population as well as immigrants from those countries referred to as “S—holes” by our president.

The column was published a week after Scott pushed to have Florida removed from the Trump administration’s list of coastal states that would now allow oil drilling. Ryan Zinke, the U.S. Interior Secretary, was quickly dispatched to Tallahassee where he announced Florida was no longer on the drilling list.

“I will never stop fighting for Florida’s environment and our pristine coastline.” Scott said at the time.  This is the same guy who gutted the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation after his first election, firing career engineers and scientists and putting one of his business cronies in charge. After his PAC received nearly a million dollars from Big Sugar, he made multi-million dollar cuts to water management districts, eased water quality enforcement, vetoed money for the Florida Forever program, and renewed long term leases for Big Sugar in the fragile Everglades Agricultural Area. Who does these things and then says he would “never stop fighting for the environment”? Someone who wants to be a U.S. Senator from Florida. Eve Samples, a columnist for the News Tribune, aptly called his turnaround the “green-washing” of Rick Scott.

Scott apparently realizes that he will need the votes of Floridians who actually do care about clean water, the destruction to our Indian River Lagoon due to agriculture runoff, and a program meant to conserve even more of our threatened land. He now is for a $1.7 billion environmental package that includes $50 million for Florida Forever. Part of that money is to go towards restoring the Everglades and building reservoirs to siphon off polluted water from Lake Okeechobee.

I am pleased that Scott is finally pushing these environmental causes, but where was he eight years ago? His leadership as governor would have gone a long way to solve these programs. So we have had to put up with toxic algae, scrapping a plan that would have enabled the state to buy Big Sugar property at a reasonable price, and lax enforcement of anti-pollution laws.

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson calls Scott’s latest moves a political stunt. Hopefully Florida voters will agree when they go to the polls in November.

 If anyone had any doubts about Gov. Rick Scott running for U.S. Senate this year, his column in last Sunday’s News Tribune should pretty much confirm Scott will be challenging Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.     

Scott, who was elected governor eight years ago on the Tea Party wave, was the hard-nosed businessman who wanted to slash social and environmental programs, making “jobs first” the cornerstone of his administration.    

So I had to do a double-take when I read his column that gushed about the need to protect the “Dreamers” and pushed to make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) a permanent program.  Is this the same guy who toasted in the New Year with Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago?  As Trump was flip-flopping on his views of DACA, Scott wrote that Washington should “do the right thing for these kids by removing the uncertainty hanging over their future goals and dreams.”  Wow. 

Who would have thought our governor, who usually takes the hard right turn on most issues, would have such soft spot in his heart for illegal immigrants? Scott may have been a political outsider eight years ago, but he has certainly learned a thing or two about political expediency.      

Scott knows that he will have to garner votes from tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans now living along the I-4 corridor in the center part of the state.   (And being so closely associated with Trump, who did not endear himself to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, does not help.)  Furthermore, he will have to woo the state’s large Hispanic population was well as immigrants from those countries referred to as “S—holes” by our president.   The column was published a week after Scott pushed to have Florida removed from the Trump administration’s list of coastal states that would now allow that oil drilling.  

Ryan Zinke, the U.S. Interior Secretary, was quickly dispatched to Tallahassee where he announced Florida was no longer on the drilling list.    

“I will never stop fighting for Florida’s environment and our pristine coastline,” Scott said at the time.  This is the guy who gutted the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation after his first election, firing career engineers and scientists and putting one of his business cronies in charge. 

After his PAC received nearly a million dollars from Big Sugar, he made multi-million cuts to water management districts, eased water quality enforcement, vetoed money for the  Florida Forever program and renewed long term leases for Big Sugar in the fragile Everglades Agricultural Area.  Who does these things and then says he would “never stop fighting for the environment?”  Someone who wants to be a U.S. Senator from Florida.        

Eve Samples, a columnist for the News Tribune, aptly called his turnaround the “greenwashing” of Rick Scott.         

So Scott apparently realizes that he will also need the votes of Floridians who actually do care about clean water, the destruction to our Indian River Lagoon due to agriculture runoff, and a program meant to conserve even more of our threatened land.   He now is for a $1.7 billion environmental package that incudes $50 million for Florida Forever. Part of that money is to go towards restoring the Everglades and building reservoirs to siphon off polluted water from Lake Okeechobee.       

I am pleased that Scott is finally pushing these environmental causes, but where was he eight years ago? His leadership as governor would have gone a long way to solve these programs.  So we have had to put up with toxic algae, scrapping a plan that would have enabled the state to buy Big Sugar property at a reasonable price, and lax enforcement of anti-pollution laws.       

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson calls Scott’s latest moves a political stunt.   Hopefully Florida voters will agree when they go to the polls in November.

I have often thought that St. Lucie County is one of the best places in the state to be a Ford dealer. Although the per capita income is less than adjoining Indian River and Martin counties, the Ford brand reflects our typical buyers—hard working, middle class men and women looking for great value in a vehicle.

St. Lucie County historically is known for its agriculture and manufacturing businesses, and now with stable construction and tourist industries, we have seen our sales and service numbers surge in the past five years.

Our neighboring counties may have more enclaves of multimillion dollar homes, but St. Lucie has a large inventory of affordable housing which is another attraction for middle class residents.

So from a business standpoint, I have taken a hard look at the GOP tax “reform” proposal and I don’t like what I see. Although the planned tax cuts would be favorable for large volume car dealers like Sunrise Ford, I am more concerned about the affect they would have on our customers.

Tax cuts for middle class families will be minimal and, in some cases, those families will see their taxes increase. The bill could eliminate state and local tax deductions. If you have a son or daughter going to college, you get an even bigger hit. There would be no more tax deductions for interest charged on student loans. Graduate students, who often get waivers on tuition and are paid stipends in exchange for their research and assistance in graduate programs, will now be taxed on both.

Compare that with those making $1 million or more, which is not your typical mom and pop store, their tax rate would drop from 39.6 percent to as low as 20 percent, depending on which version of the tax bill is finally passed. Repealing the estate tax and maintaining other loopholes for the rich make the GOP tax plan even more lopsided. And the plan is expected to drive up the national debt an additional $1.5 trillion. Republican leaders are already warning the increased debt may mean additional cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

So it is not difficult to see who are the winners and who are the losers when the bill is passed. Multimillionaires and large corporations will get the big breaks, while middle income families will not. Retirees who rely on their monthly social security checks and Medicare plans will probably have to tighten their belts even more.

Those wanting to better themselves with higher education will suffer, even though we are pushing for more educational opportunities so we can remain competitive in this highly technical world.

But what about the argument that those significant tax cuts for wealthy corporations will cause them to invest more and hire more employees? As a business owner with more than 90 employees I can assure you that will not be the case.

The only thing that stimulates the economy is demand. I can get all of the tax breaks in the world, but if I don’t have a strong customer base, there will be no need for additional employees. Sunrise Ford needs those plumbers, painters, school teachers, firefighters, grove workers, government employees, and nurses to buy our cars and trucks. Construction and landscape companies, businesses that sell fire equipment and building materials, we need those strong middle class professions and businesses to survive. Those retirees who come to St. Lucie County for the weather or the New York Mets or most importantly, affordable housing, we need them too.

For 85 years, Sunrise Ford has thrived in St. Lucie County, thanks to its stable middle class population. Although we all struggled through the recession, with record numbers of foreclosures and bankruptcies, most of us have come back strong. So right now, the last thing we need is a tax plan that will hurt our middle class and threaten our Social Security and Medicare programs.

However, it looks like some form of the tax “reform” plan will be passed by year end. I can only hope that down the road politicians will come to their senses and realize that they ,too, need that strong middle class block of voters to stay in office, and reverse this detrimental tax plan.

St. Lucie County lost one of its most beloved native sons last weekend. Bud Adams died early Saturday in the home he had built for his wife in 1949 on his family’s expansive ranch. Although he owned one of the largest ranches in the country, Adams led a low key, unpretentious life. He was not one to brag about his accomplishments. Instead he just wanted a legacy that meant that the ranchland he loved be preserved forever. He got that wish three years ago when the state of Florida approved a conservation easement that will protect a portion of one of his ranches from development in perpetuity. 

Adams’s father, Alto Adams Sr. purchased the 40,000 acres in western St. Lucie County in 1937 for $1.50 an acre. But Adams Sr., a lawyer, had political aspirations and after campaigning for a successful gubernatorial candidate in 1936 he was rewarded with a circuit court judge appointment and then, in 1940, was named a justice to the Florida Supreme Court and moved to Tallahassee.

His son, however, always wanted to be a cowboy and Bud was perfectly content to oversee the cattle ranch. But Bud Adams didn’t just run the ranch, he excelled at it. He developed a new breed of cattle, called the Braford, which could better withstand Florida’s heat and mosquitoes. He shied away from pesticides and other chemicals hoping to keep his land as pristine as possible. His efforts earned him all sorts of awards, Landowner of the Year by the Florida fish and Wildlife Commission, a member of the Agriculture Hall of Fame, Florida Cattlemen’s Association’s Environmental award, were among the dozens of accolades he received during his long career.

Adams was also a man who wanted to give back to his community. He was a quiet philanthropist who supported several hometown organizations. Adams was not as politically motivated as his father, but was interested in both local and national campaigns.  Unlike his father, Adams took a more bipartisan approach.  He backed Patrick Murphy, a young Democrat who challenged incumbent Allen West, the Tea Party stalwart for the 18th district congressional in 2012.  Murphy won and he and Adams became fast friends. Adams was even featured in a Murphy commercial when Murphy ran for his second successful term.

Some of his agriculture buddies were surprised to see Adams take such an active role in a campaign for a young upstart Democrat no less. But Adams, then in his mid 80s, was always his own man and seemed to enjoy his involvement in the race.

Over the years, Adams photographed all sorts of wildlife on his ranch. His photos became well known. One of my favorites, which graced the wall of my husband’s office at Sunrise Ford, was a picture of a red tail hawk entangled by a rat snake. ”He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them,” was the inscription Adams put on that photo.

When Adams came to the dealership, he usually did not spend a lot of time looking at trucks. He just wanted something reliable, nothing fancy. Used was just fine. His down-to-earth lifestyle was adopted by his three sons, who worked the ranch alongside their father for decades. His granddaughter, Lee Ann, negotiated the easement deal with the Florida Cabinet.

Adams’s younger sister, Elaine, shared her brother’s love for the outdoors, with early morning horse rides and until her declining health, entertaining a myriad of friends from all over the globe at her comfortable ranch house. Elaine was the more adventurous of the two, traveling to exotic places, often piloting her own plane, galloping her horse across polo fields, and playing a mean game of tennis.

Bud would just as soon spend his free time with his family, gathering the brood for a Sunday supper. He also loved taking friends for ranch tours, pointing out the deer, alligators, turkeys, and exotic animals that he has collected.

Adams had slowed down in recent years. His wife, Dot, whom he once told a reporter was the prettiest girl at Florida State University when he met her, suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Adams was an attentive husband and would often take her out on Saturday mornings to the Captain’s Galley for breakfast. She has stayed in the home they shared for 68 years, with Adams depending on caretakers, many from different countries, to help out. “It’s like the U.N. out there,” he told me a while back.

I last heard from Adams right before the November election. He wrote me a letter, saying he didn’t get out much anymore, but still was rooting for Murphy to defeat Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate race. He also enclosed a picture of himself proudly holding his new great grandbaby.

Murphy lost, but Adams still kept his hand in politics. He was to host a fundraiser at the ranch last Thursday for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who is up for re-election next year. By then Adams, 91, was gravely ill, but the fundraiser was held anyway. Dozens of Adams’s friends, many of them fellow ranchers and citrus growers, were there to show they supported their well respected colleague. Word spread that Adams had taken a turn for the worse and the event took a more somber tone. As a breeze swept through the ranch arena, Nelson chatted with everyone and gave a short talk, no blustery rhetoric or even a mention of his expected opponent, Governor Rick Scott.

Then everyone helped themselves to the barbecue, complete with Adams beef and iced tea. Many were wearing Adams’s preferred attire, blue jeans and cowboy boots. The event was down home and cordial, just like the man who was supposed to host it.