TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Union workers from across the southern United States have collected basic essentials, including food and clothing, and are traveling throughout South Florida to share them in places affected by Hurricane Irma.

The recovery process has slowed a bit as major disaster relief is shifted from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Harvey to survivors of Irma and now, Maria.

Kyle Gawroriski, a field representative with the West Central Florida AFL-CIO, says it's important to lend a hand, especially when things are calm.

"I think a lot of times, you know, you get your power back on and you forget that people are still suffering from the hurricane,” he points out. “You're OK, but there's a lot of people down there that were hit a lot harder than the rest of the state was. I'm getting calls every day from people who, one woman said, 'It rains in the living room now.'”

More than 13 million Floridians were left without power in the first day after Hurricane Irma. Members of many of the state's trade unions are participating in the rebuilding efforts.

Jim Junecko, business agent for the International Union of Operating Engineers, is on a team distributing supplies. He says for him, it's as simple as helping a neighbor in need.

"We're regular working people, so we feel that, you know, in a time like this, it's regular people who you can count on, and who come together to help," he states.

Officials at the Florida Division of Emergency Management say Irma is responsible for 54 deaths.

Maria Gonzalez, office manager at Sheet Metal Workers' Local 15, calls the outpouring of support "remarkable."

"To me, just going through the stress of what hurricanes can do and being without power and hearing how so many people are suffering to the extent that they are losing their lives, just knowing that we can be a part of helping them get back on their feet, it's priceless," she states.

The unions say they will continue to gather and deliver food, water and other necessities at least through next month, or however long they see the need.





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Advocates are cheering the General Assembly for legislation protecting Marylanders' data privacy and are calling on Gov. Wes Moore to sign the bill.

The Maryland Online Privacy Protection Act of 2024 would limit data collection by tech companies as well as their ability to bury unfavorable terms in complex license agreements.

R.J. Cross, director of the Don't Sell My Data Campaign for the Public Interest Research Group, said the new law is a win for consumers.

"No one reads those long privacy policies. They're often vague and full of legalese and so, hiding what a company wants to do with your data there is pretty duplicitous and not being consumer friendly," Cross contended. "The Maryland law takes a very different approach and said it's not enough; you can't just hide things in your fine print. You need to have good data practices that protect people upfront."

She pointed out the Maryland law would be one of the strongest in the nation. If Gov. Moore signs the bill, it would go into effect in October 2025.

The bill gives consumers the right to have some personal data deleted and places limits on the kind of widespread monitoring used to generate targeted advertising. Cross noted such data collection is common.

"A lot of our favorite websites and apps are gathering things like what you've searched for online, every website you visited, your location, maybe even your entire phone contact list," Cross outlined. "It has turned around and sold that information to companies that you've probably never even heard of."

With data breaches consistently making news, Cross added the bill will improve Marylanders' personal security.

"A lot of what this will do is limit how much data is being collected about you and sold, which will help your personal security in a big way," Cross explained. "The more data that companies collect about you, and the more they sell it to other companies, the more likely it's going to be exposed in a breach or a hack."


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Florida residents can now file their simple income-tax forms for free and save time through the Internal Revenue Service's Direct File pilot program. It's estimated the simplified filing process could eventually save Florida taxpayers more than $530 million in filing fees every year.

With the April 15 income-tax filing deadline right around the corner, Adam Ruben, vice president for campaigns and political strategy at the Economic Security Project, said you can easily use the program by visiting the website Directfile.IRS.gov.

"It's an interview-based questionnaire," Ruben said. "So it's something that people can use on their phones on their computers available in English and Spanish that asks people questions and pretty much plain language, and you fill in the answers. And it fills in the tax form for you."

Florida is one of a dozen states where IRS Direct File is a pilot project. If it were to expand nationwide and be available to more taxpayers, Ruben estimated that within five years, it could save Americans $8 billion in tax-preparation fees and another $3 billion worth of time annually.

However, opponents have argued that the government is wasting resources and will snag business from professional tax preparers and programs that have lobbied against Direct File.

Chris Moreno, director of financial capability for Catalyst Miami, a nonprofit that works with communities through a variety of free services, said a stress-free filing process that can be done from the comfort of your home or the convenience of your phone is worth taking advantage of.

"If you are an average worker who gets a W-2 - you're employed for a company, you don't own any companies or businesses - you'd probably be the ideal candidate for someone to be able to use Direct File this year," Moreno said.

While a free-file program has been available, many taxpayers were unaware they had access to it. An investigation by ProPublica revealed tactics by Intuit, maker of TurboTax, to cloud the free-file program.

And state auditors, comptrollers and treasurers in 18 states - including Florida - sent a letter in March to the federal government urging the termination of Direct File. They claimed it might lead to confusion about state tax filings, potentially resulting in penalties and loss of state refunds.


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As out-of-state, and sometimes disreputable companies offering solar installations crowd the market, a local effort called Solarize aims to connect residents and small businesses with pre-screened solar contractors, while also providing discounts on installation.

Nick Hartnett, Pure Power Solar and Solarize partner, said residents considering solar should find local companies, read reviews, and talk to customers who've had systems installed, adding the Solarize program is designed to do the legwork.

"There's a lot of aggressive sales techniques. And so, when companies that aren't really invested in the local community, and don't plan on being there, for a while, come in with a goal to just sell as much as they can," he said.

David Gomez of Daily Green Power, another Solarize installation partner, says his company went through a thorough analysis based on experience and work quality to be selected as a vetted contractor.

Andy McDonald, Solarize Frankfort Coordinator, said enrolling in Solarize allows residents to get a free solar assessment and installation estimate from contractors screened to work for the program.

"There's no obligation of people to buy anything. If after they get an assessment from Solarize Frankfort, they want to go get estimates from other contractors, they're welcome to do that. But they'll be empowered with information from us about the solar potential on their property," he continued.

Frankfort homeowner David Hensley said after doing online research on solar installation, he decided to use Solarize.

"The price was actually lower than it would have been if I'd gone out by myself. Plus the fact that these people had a good reputation, they've been vetted by both local and state agencies. That made me feel quite confident in the decision just to simply go with them, " he explained.

A few months later, Hensley is saving money on his electricity bills and is playing his part in reducing carbon emissions, he said.