Does looking at all the state amendments on your ballot this year kind of make you want to cry? Does seeing offshore drilling and indoor vaping bundled together make you LOL and/or roll your eyes? Us too.
There are so many amendments because this is an election after a Constitutional Review Commission convening. CRC members travel the state to hear what Floridians want to see amended in the constitution, and then decide which of those to put on the ballot, as well as some of their own initiatives. This only happens once every 20 years, and itās probably the easiest way to get an item on the ballot, so CRC members crammed as many on there as they could.
The other key ways are for the legislature to propose an amendment, or for citizens to collect enough signatures to place it on the ballot.
You probably noticed that a couple of these amendments combine things that seem totally unrelated. The CRC bundled a bunch of proposed amendments because they worried there would otherwise be too many on your ballot. (Some folks say that they did this to be deliberately misleading. Weāre not gonna take a stance on that.)
This is confusing as heck, so today weāre explaining all the amendments very, very clearly. And weāve been doing that all week as we publish sections of our voter guide.Ā We’ll tell you what it means if you vote “yes,” and what it means if you vote “no.”
Thanks to reader Arun Ravindran and two other anonymous folks for their questions about the amendments.
FYI: We updated our post on the Miami-Dade school board referendum that we shared yesterdayĀ to add some info on how the plan will affect charter schools. Head here for the updated post. Thanks to reader Laura Lazar for writing in to ask about that.
Weekend plans, made. Whether youāre feeling bougie or you just want to stuff your face with carbs and deliciousness, weāve got agendas for you: a luxe day in Bal Harbor or a comfort food crawl through Coconut Grove that kicks off at the reborn classic, Grove Bay Grill. Sorry, clean eating plans. And youāre welcome, decision fatigue. (PureWow, Eater)
Third option. But, if neither of those are your speed, we suggest a trip to Kendall to visit their new barcade, which serves šŗ. Bonus: if you go on the weekend, you probably wonāt sit in traffic. Well, for the most part. (Miami.com)
Drama. Ousted Kairos CEO Brian Brackeen is being sued by his former company for theft, and heās been accused of using company money to cover at least $60,000 in personal expenses. Kairos, a facial recognition software company, booted Brackeen last month, sending shockwaves through the local tech community. Kairos has been a darling of the Miami tech scene, and so has Brackeen, who ditched Silicon Valley for Miami years ago and has been singing the praises of our tech scene since then. The company says that his misuse of funds has undermined trust in the company. Brackeen denies all the allegations. (Miami Herald)
Now get out there and have a great weekend ā and tag us in your pics of you doing just that. š
ā The New Tropic