* As our country rapidly grows stronger and smarter, I want to wish all of my friends, supporters, enemies, haters and even the very dishonest Fake News Media, a happy and healthy new year.2018 will be a great year for America.”–Donald Trump.
* “Here’s hoping 2018 brings more ethical leadership, focused on the truth and lasting values. Happy New Year, everybody.”–Former FBI Director James Comey.
* “We’re seeing the presidency completely and utterly transformed in a way I don’t think we’ve seen since before the Civil War.”–Jeffrey A. Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.
* “Events in recent months have illuminated the depth of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace. And events in the past few weeks have made clear that the judicial branch is not immune.”–U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in underscoring that the federal court system must do more to protect law clerks and other employees from abusive conduct.
* “There’s less to lose sleep about now than there’s been for quite some time.”–Outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
* “It’s an honor and a pleasure to be considered and acknowledged for my music and my charity work, both of which I love.”–The newly-knighted Ringo Starr.
* “There is a growing recognition that for most people and most businesses most of the time, local government has become the most important order of government. … This is not a time for the weak and meek in local governments.”–Author and urbanist Gord Hume.
* “Student-athletes have always been considered unpaid amateurs engaging in extracurricular activities rather than profitable professions. So college sports is deemed part of the educational mission of schools and exempt from income taxes. … That means the college sports machine keeps cranking out expensive entertainment, and the scandals that go with it, while sheltered by the scholastic equivalent of a Cayman Islands tax dodge.”–Mike McIntire, author of “Champions Way: Football, Florida, and the Lost Soul of College Sports.”
* “Puerto Ricans are Americans. They are U.S. citizens, and a lot of my fellow members of Congress don’t understand that.”–Sen. Bill Nelson.
* “Most of the public policy challenges with medical marijuana laws stem from the conflict between state and federal law.”–Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care.
* “Florida is just not predictable.”–USF political analyst Susan MacManus.
* “This suggests that vacation rentals on Airbnb and other platforms are opening up the state to a new demographic of tourists by catering to travelers who are less able to afford hotels.”–Statement by Airbnb on Florida’s 40,000 Airbnb hosts and 2.7 million Florida Airbnb guests.
* “There’s going to be a Democratic turnout that’s energized. A countywide race is going to be a nightmare. Look at what happened in Alabama.”–Hillsborough County Republican activist Sam Rashid.
* “We’re going to be aggressive in 2018 with transit. … There’s a lot on the plate and this will be a very aggressive year for us.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman.
* “HART is the most under-funded transit agency in the nation by a long shot.”–County Commissioner Pat Kemp.