CHAMBER CHOWDER© 510 Greene Street ~ 1st Floor, Key West www.keywestchamber.org Chamber Hears Legislative Highlights Message from President Nicki Will s I drove down U.S. 1 Arecently from Stock Island through Big Coppitt, I pondered the future of the roadway and the landscape of the area. Quite frankly as I strug- gled to keep my speed to 45 MPH, yes remember the speed limit is 45 from Stock Island through Big Key West Chamber of Commerce President Nicki Will, left, thanks State Rep. Holly Raschein for Coppitt, I do look forward to a newly resurfaced her legislative update at the Chamber’s May luncheon. roadway. We are all used to incessant road work on he Florida lawmakers may not have passed a balanced budget during the 2015 Highway 1 but on the other hand I also thought legislative session in Tallahassee, but they did tackle some windstorm and flood about the many years that I lived up north and this Tinsurance issues while passing additional bills aimed to help Floridians. time of the year we had the “pothole hotline” that State Rep. Holly Raschein, the Keys Republican representative in Tallahassee, spoke to members of the Key West Chamber of Commerce during their May 27th membership we all called to report the craters in the roadways luncheon at the Marriott Beachside Resort. due to the freeze and thaw cycle that thankfully we After 57 days in the state capital, politicians in the State House of Representatives are not subject to in the Keys. and the Florida Senate were unable to reach agreement on the state’s finances. “I I also thought about the Naval Air Station thought I’d talk a little about what we did manage to get done,” Raschein told Chamber Key West on Boca Chica. We too often forget to members. In a few days Raschein will be returning to Tallahassee for a month-long thank the men and women that serve and protect special session called specifically for lawmakers to hash out a balanced budget for the Sunshine State by the end of June. our freedom. The engineering marvels that are “We did a lot of work with Citizens Property Insurance,” Raschein said, asking for the jets that are used for training at NAS. And a show of hands of the number of Chamber members who rely on the state-subsidized finally the positive impact on our community insurer of last resort for windstorm policies in the hurricane-prone coastal state. “There and economy that a military presence brings. was an issue in 2013 when a provision with Citizens Property Insurance would have The stable employment base both military and allowed the insurance company to deny policies for properties in designated Coastal Barrier Resource Zones, which includes the Florida Keys island chain. civilian, individuals that live, work and play in Chamber Chowder “What was happening was Citizens would cover your loss, but then drop you as a our community, and people that give back to the VOL. 17, NO. 12 policyholder,” Raschein said. “We got that provision fixed and it’s on the governor’s desk community through various charitable events and now awaiting his signature.” continued on page 34 The Keys representative was also asked to co-sponsor a bill that was out of her usual area of expertise this past legislative session. Table of Contents “The party leadership asked me to work on something a little different, in the criminal justice realm, this session,” she said, adding that House Bill 717 took steps to Business Spotlight . 2 specifically define a “no contact order” that is often issued in cases of domestic violence. Thank You for Supporting Tom Sawyer 5 Star Program . 4 “My bill clarified and defined a no-contact order,” Raschein said. “Before this, a Visitor Brochure and Map Information . 5. suspect could basically go park outside a victim’s house, and there was nothing the victim Business Trends . 6-7 could do about it because there was no uniform definition of a no-contact order.” Paying Tribute to Our Area Teachers . 8 “We also heard an outcry this year regarding ‘overtesting’ in schools,” Raschein said, adding that the legislature acted by passing House Bill 7069. “We should see some relief Business After Hours . 9 from testing in schools, so we’ll be testing smarter, not harder.” New Members . .10 . The bill limits testing to 45 hours – out of 900 – a school year, with some exceptions. Cruise Ship Calendar . 10 It also does away with a requirement for final exams in all courses, a demand initially Community Calendar . 11 introduced in 2011 under the state’s merit-pay law for teachers. Tiger in the Woods Golf Tournament Photos . 11 But it leaves intact the state’s main testing program, so standardized exams in language Chamber Calendar of Events . .12 . continued on page 3 4 Page 1 Chamber Chowder June 2015 VOL. 18, NO. 6 Spotlight Shines on ... George B. Wallace, Esquire “I focus primarily on general practice at County from 1981 to 1984. He became a partner this point, doing a lot of commercial real estate at Berry & Wallace in 1984. In 1989 became a loans, wills, trusts and probate,” Wallace said. “I partner at Moncrief & Reid, then Moncrief & do it all. In fact, I still have an active criminal Wallace from 1995 to 2000., with primary areas defense case going, and I’m still a title agent for of practice being real estate, corporate and business real estate transactions.” practice, wills, trusts, probate, civil litigation, Wallace said the legal landscape of Key criminal defense and family law. West, where many attorneys specialize in one Wallace became sole owner of the firm in 2000 specific area of the law, be it real estate, business, and renamed it George B. Wallace & Associates. A tax, property or criminal defense, is much few years later, he and Julie both expanded their different than Sanford. businesses to the Keys, with Julie still owning and “In Sanford, if you specialized you starved,” operating Sanford Mortgage Corporation. said Wallace who likes the variety that comes with Both are members of the Key West Chamber being a jack of all trades. “I always and still do take of Commerce, and George has also become active pride in providing services that meet or exceed the in the Sunrise Rotary Club of Key West, the Navy Each month, the Chamber of Commerce spotlights standard, but I can do it for a smaller fee.” League and the Monroe County Bar Association. a business or professional person whose business card is His office is in a downtown professional But it’s not all legal briefs and leadership drawn at the Business After Hours. This month’s winner plaza at 300 Southard St., where Wallace warmly meetings for George Wallace, who makes a point is George B. Wallace, Esquire. welcomes clients. to enjoy the reasons he moved to the Florida Keys. “Down here, I can focus on my clients “Fishing and lobstering,” he said without ttorney George Wallace doesn’t need a individually and more efficiently, which saves hesitation when asked what he enjoys in his sprawling office with expensive artwork everyone time and money,” he said. spare time. “Any chance I get.” A to serve his clients. After 34 years as a Before devoting his time to his own practice, Wallace’s office is conveniently located across practicing attorney between his hometown of Wallace served as assistant state attorney, or the street from the courthouse at 300 Southard Sanford, Florida and his adopted island of Key prosecutor, for the 18th Judicial Circuit in Seminole St. Contact him at 305-294-3660. West, Wallace has become a sort of “one-man band” in his local office at 300 Southard St. Wallace started his own practice in 1982 in Sanford – that previously unknown Florida town that gained notoriety in 2012 as the site of the shooting death of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin by white neighborhood watch activist George Zimmerman. “That’s why everyone has now heard of Sanford, Florida,” Wallace said of the Central Florida town of about 53,000 residents. “I now have people running the Sanford office so I can be a full-time Keys resident.” Wallace and his wife, Julie, bought a home on Duck Key in 2004 “and then we got a place in Key West about three years ago, and I opened up an office down here two years ago,” he said with a hint of the Southern drawl found farther north in Florida. The Chamber Chowder Heartily Thanks These Businesses for Their Generous Support of this Issue of the Newsletter Ernest Hemingway La Concha YP.com House Museum Crowne Plaza 9850 NW 41st St. 907 Whitehead Street 430 Duval Street Doral, FL 33178 Key West, FL 33040 Key West, FL 33040 305-482-2601 305-294-1136 305-296-2991 Porter Allen Old Town Key West Insurance Company Development 513 Southard Street 201 Front Street, Suite 301 Key West, FL 33040 Key West, FL 33040 305-294-2542 305-294-3225 Page 2 Chamber Chowder © June 2015 VOL. 18, NO. 6 “Legislative Highlights” continued from page 1 4 President’s Message continued from page 1 4 arts and math still will be taken by students in flags that fly above public buildings to be made community involvement. There are elementary through high school. in the United States. many visitors, snowbirds or residents In addition to Citizens Property Insurance, “No more buying American flags from Florida lawmakers also spent a great deal of China,” she said. “If you can’t afford three or that have passed through NAS as a time on a Flood Insurance Flexibility Bill to seven dollars for an American-made American member of the military and come back encourage private sector involvement, Raschein flag, please come see me,” she added before to Key West.