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Personnel note: Jared Rosenstein joins Capital City Consulting

Lobbying firm Capitol City Consulting on Tuesday announced that Jared Rosenstein has joined its team of government affairs consultants.

Rosenstein comes to the firm from the Florida Division of Emergency Management, where he served as legislative affairs director under former FDEM Director Jared Moskowitz. Rosenstein was the primary point of contact for federal, state, and local elected officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Jared fits our firm culture of hard work, a deep knowledge of issues and attention to detail very well. He will undoubtedly provide top-notch government affairs services at the state level and before local governments in South Florida,” founding partner Ron LaFace Jr. added.

Big donations fuel Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $14M campaign cash haul in April

In a show of force, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political committee raised nearly $14 million in April as he prepares for a reelection campaign next year — and as speculation builds about a possible bid for president in 2024.

The committee Friends of Ron DeSantis raised $13.979 million in April and had about $31.6 million in cash on hand as of the end of the month, according to a report posted Monday on the state Division of Elections website.

Though the 2022 election is still almost 18 months away, the April haul was the largest amount raised by the committee since October 2018, when it collected $17.36 million, a state elections database shows. October 2018 was the month before DeSantis defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum to become governor.

Nikki Fried reassures Floridians amid looming gas shortages

A slew of issues including a ransomware attack that shut down a major fuel pipeline servicing the nation’s East Coast may soon disrupt the price and supply of gas in Florida.

Yet despite the looming disruption, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Monday told Floridians not to “panic.”

In a video posted to Twitter, she discouraged Floridians from hoarding gas, buying fuel in a panic and forming long lines around the pump.

Fried said she’s in talks with the EPA, U.S. Department of Energy and the petroleum industry over the shortages.

Red tide, blue-green algae prompt environmental groups to ask DeSantis for state of emergency

Several environmental groups have asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency for communities impacted by what appears to be a growing toxic blue-green algae outbreak in the Lake Okeechobee system and a red tide in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Groups like the Calusa Waterkeeper, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Everglades and about a dozen others signed on to a May 8 letter that was delivered to the governor's office Monday. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, satellite imagery recently showed a bloom of about 300 square miles on Okeechobee.