* A key part of the pre-COVID-response, DeSantis honeymoon was the un-Scott-like appointment of Florida’s first chief resiliency officer, Julia Nesheiwot. The climate-change vulnerable Sunshine State was stepping up its existential game. Now, within six months, she’s gone, leaving a report in her wake that’s more sobering than encouraging.
“Florida’s coastal communities and regions do not have time to waste,” warns the report. “Communities are overwhelmed and need one place to turn for guidance. Florida needs a statewide strategy.”
It still does. Only sans Nesheiwot, who had vowed to push for scientific analysis, more funding and an advisory council to advocate for best practices and planning standards for sea-level rise. She now leaves behind an uncertain future for her recommendations. Resiliency–as well as gubernatorial commitment–has never mattered more.
* “We’re in uncharted waters, and nobody knows what’s effective.” —Gov. Ron DeSantis. Not exactly. Some bodies, whether in Tallahassee or Washington, know more than others.