Residents, Businesses Caught Between Political Fight Over Zika
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WYNWOOD (CBSMiami) -- Not only do the mosquitoes sting, but so are Wynwood business owners as they sit caught in the middle of a political fiasco between state and local leaders.
The Florida Department of Health announced there are no new locally acquired cases of the Zika virus. It comes as Gov. Rick Scott said he'll head to Washington, D.C. next month to push Congress to fund the fight.
The trip, scheduled for September 6th, was announced a day after Scott and the CDC disagreed over how many Zika tests were sent to the state.
"I think unhappy might be an understatement," said business owner Joseph Furest. "I am furious."
Then there is the battle between the governor and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.
"He not only blindsided me, he blindsided our administration, the county administration, I think he blindsided everybody," Levine said of Gov. Scott's lack of information and communication.
Local leaders say they've repeatedly been kept in the dark.
"When it comes to my district, I find out from television," said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson. "He never calls."
"Everybody wants to be seen as being active on the Zika fight. For example, all announcements on Zika have to come out of the governor's office," said Dr. Charles Zelden, a Nova Southeastern University political science professor. "The people are finding out the trouble is everyone is playing politics."
But there might be a non-political reason for the slow flow of control of information -- science, politics and rapid information are not a compatible brew. So going slow might be what's needed.
"That's actually doing the right thing, trying to be careful. They do not want to raise false positives," said Zelden.
Gov. Scott will travel to the nation's capital to shake out Zika funds from a stalled Congress. He'll be in Miami Beach on Friday to hold a round table and hopefully communicate with Mayor Levine.
"I take the governor for his word and he said that we are going to get timely and accurate information, and I hope it is the case," said Mayor Levine.
