* “When will you (China) realize that whatever is bad for America is not necessarily good for you? Will it take South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Taiwan all getting nuclear weapons? China controls food and fuel going into North Korea. It could end the freak show there anytime it wants, by cutting off both and opening its border to refugees. Yes, it is worried about a united, nuclear Korea and a flood of refugees, but America could help facilitate a united, nonnuclear Korea and dealing with refugees.”–Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times.
* “Just as it’s becoming more and more expensive to do business in places like China, America is getting more competitive.”–President Barack Obama.
* “Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus. They get the most attention, and that’s what he’s paid to do. This guy is so out of whack, it’s unbelievable.”–Connecticut Gov. Dannell Malloy on NRA President Wayne LaPierre.
* “The United States of America now should normalize relations (with Cuba) and begin a constructive dialogue with the island nation.”–U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.
* “The average life of a web page is only75 days, because websites change, the contents get taken down. If we don’t capture this material, a critical piece of the jigsaw puzzle of our understanding of the 21st century will be lost.”–Lucie Burgess, the British Library’s head of content strategy, in addressing the need to preserve England’s “digital memory.”
* “It’s hard to overstate the breadth and depth of enthusiasm for a Hillary run.”–Doug Hattaway, political consultant and former Clinton campaign aide.
* “Unfortunately, doctors earn more treating patients for serious problems in the hospital than they do preventing those problems from occurring in the first place.”–Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, oncologist and vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania.
* “Dementia is among the most costly diseases to society, and we need to address this if we’re going to come to terms with the cost to the Medicare and Medicaid system.”–Matthew Baumgart, senior director of public policy at the Alzheimer’s Association.
* “We’re at the tipping point where solar is cheaper but not the cheapest source of electricity. It’s going to be a giant snowball rolling out of control in five or six years.”–Jim Fenton, director of the Florida Solar Energy Center.
“We’re getting to the point where one could draw a sample of DNA at birth and sequence it and put it on a credit card and keep it and that’s part of your medical record. And if we were smart enough about how we use genetic information, it really could inform lifetime risks.”–Tom Sellers, executive vice president and director of the Moffitt Cancer Center.
* “A brilliant, dedicated and impactful champion of justice and warrior on behalf of victims.”–Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s description of Robert O’Neill, who is resigning as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
* “I’m up for anything that will make progress happen at any time.”–Rays’ owner Stu Sternberg.
* “There is a difference between politicians and public servants. Politicians will do whatever they need to do to keep being elected. Public servants will do what they need to do, not thinking of election outcomes.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller.
* “She is a model public servant.”–Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan in presenting former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio with the Ellsworth G. Simmons Good Government Award.
* “I think for the film commission to be successful, it has to have a high degree of autonomy to develop its own culture and marketing activities. But what we will do from the EDC is support it every step of the way wherever possible.”–Rick Homans, CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., on plans for the county to create a film commission–to be housed in the EDC–and hire a film commissioner.
* “We think that Santiago is a deal closer. … Clearly we have great assets and we think he’ll be a great champion for our destination, not just across the country, but also the world.”–Jim Dean, the chairman of Tampa Bay & Co.’s board of directors, on the naming of Santiago Corrada as its new president and CEO.
* “I hope you like me, because I’m going to be here a while.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano.