Hurricane Milton, Florida Voter Registration Deadline & Israel One Year Later – Top 3 Takeaways – October 7th, 2024
- Hurricane Milton is on its way. Florida’s Gulf coast has been nothing if not a hurricane magnet in recent years. Debby, Helene, Idalia, Ian, Nicole, Sally, Michael, Irma, Hermine. Over the past 19 hurricane seasons those are the names of the nine hurricanes that have struck our state. Of those, eight have made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and five of them have been major hurricanes when making landfall. On Wednesday it appears Milton will be added to the list. It’s yet another major hurricane on the approach to Florida’s Gulf coast, although potentially right at the point of the greatest impact on Florida’s Gulf Coast in terms of population and property. Tampa Bay. Everything associated with this Hurricane is bad news for our state. The anticipated size, the timing, less than two weeks removed from the most recent hurricane, and for the state’s property insurance market as well. Given the historic devastation caused elsewhere by Helene, and what we’ve seen happen to Cedar Key, as it was leveled by Helene, it may sound weird to hear that the impact on Florida’s property insurance market from Helene was minimal – but that is that is the case. According to Helene was considered a moderate loss event for the state of Florida according to Mark Friedlander from the Insurance Information Institute. Friedlander estimated the Helene loss to be $1 to $2 billion within Florida. One of the key reasons is that most of the damage was flood damage which is most commonly handled through the federal flood insurance program. What we’re seeing shaping up with Milton may prove to be different in addition to potentially devastating for an already battered and bruised Gulf Coast. That may prove to be bad news for all Floridians as the state’s property insurance market had just recently started to turn the corner on the crisis it’s been under in recent years that’s left Floridians paying huge premium increases to maintain coverage. The silver lining, if there’s one to be found in what Milton is about to bring, is that it will move quickly across the state – however in part because of its speed it's expected to maintain hurricane status completely across it as well. In our case, we’re expected to be on the south side of the storm, which if you’re going to be anywhere in proximity to a hurricane is where you want to be. For that reason, from the Treasure Coast through Palm Beach County there’s currently a 40%-70% probability (based on your location) of having at least sustained tropical storm force winds throughout the course of this event based on current guidance from the National Hurricane Center.
- Today is voter registration deadline day. Aside from keeping an eye on Milton today there’s another timeline that’s important today. If you’re a full-time Florida resident (6 months and a day) not yet registered to vote, today’s your final day to do so in order to be eligible to vote in the November 5th general election this year. If this is you, you may register to vote online, as there’s a process to verify your eligibility online. You’ll need a Florida driver license or Florida identification card issued by the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, the issued date of your Florida DL or Florida ID card; and the last four digits of your Social Security Number when you register. If you don’t have the ability, or don’t want to provide that information online, you can prefill your application online, print it and take it to your county election supervisor’s office to verify today. The vote by mail process has already been well underway and we’re also now only two weeks away from early in person voting throughout the state.
- It’s been one year since the most horrific attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Every day since Israel has been fighting for its survival. The initial horrific attack that left 1,200 Israeli's often tortured and murdered with another 250 hostages taken has led to a year of escalation within the region as Iran and all of its proxies have attempted to seize on the opportunity to eliminate the Jewish state and the Jewish people as all Islamic states governed by Sharia Law seek to do. What started with Hamas has escalated with Hezbollah and even directly with Iran following two attacks on Israel from the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism – including one within the past week. Thankfully for Israel, and for the rest of the world which seeks to live in relative peace, Benjamin Netanyahu is the prime minister and he’s not afraid to fight to win. War is awful. But the only way you win, and the only way peace can be restored, is when enough of the enemy combatants are killed that they concede. This was true during the American Revolution. It was true during World War II, it’s true in Israel today. While the US and most of the western world have fallen into a pattern of fighting politically correct wars over the past fifty plus years, which is why we lose them in the end, Bibi doesn’t play that game. He plays to win. It’s been a year since Israel and its people have been victims of Islamic terror. The terrorists have been systematically terrorized by a brilliantly and justly fought war by Israel that’s led to those within the Jewish state being safer along with the entire world becoming a safer place. When Israel wins, everyone who isn’t an Islamic terrorist wins.