At the end of every week, we praise a political playmaker, “swipe left” on the week’s biggest political loser, and explain what it all means for Florida’s political arena.
Champ of the Week
After a successful mission that saw the first commercial rocket take humans to space, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splashed down off Florida’s coast on Sunday in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The successful landing capped off a very successful two-month mission that saw both astronauts take part in the first test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.
The mission also marked the first time that astronauts have launched from American soil since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011.
“Thanks for flying @SpaceX.”
📍 Current Location: Planet Earth
A 2:48pm ET, @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug splashed down, marking the first splashdown of an American crew spacecraft in 45 years. #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/zO3KlNwxU3
— NASA (@NASA) August 2, 2020
Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed! Welcome back to Earth, @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug! pic.twitter.com/0vAS3CcK9P
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 2, 2020
Chump of the Week
The debate over the health and well-being of students continued last week, with unions across the state pushing back against the state’s emergency order requiring in-person instruction by the end of the month.
Weeks after the Florida Education Association (FEA), the largest teachers union in the state, sued Governor Ron DeSantis, more unions across the state filed lawsuits in response to his administration’s decision to fully reopen public schools this month.
Earlier this week, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association filed a lawsuit against the county school district over the district’s decision to reopen campuses on Aug. 21. The union cited the district’s failure to not take adequate steps to protect staff members and students from COVID-19 in a complaint last Thursday.
This injunction was followed up by the United School Employees of Pasco who last Friday said they will ask the court to put a stop to the order and inject “common sense” to the highly publicized debate.
The group plans to file this week, with union leaders in Hillsborough County also exploring legal options related to the reopening of schools.