FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, funds generated by the Autism Specialty License Plate are collected and redistributed to select non profit organizations throughout Florida providing assistance and opportunities to individuals with autism and related disabilities. This year, the Autism Services Grants Council awarded a total of $99,600 in grants to 18 Florida-based nonprofit organizations.

"We are thrilled to continue growing the Autism Services Grants Council year after year," explains Council Chair, Dennis Haas. "The primary purpose of this Council is to fund service programs for grants to nonprofit organizations to operate direct services programs for individuals with autism and related disabilities in Florida. We believe that the agencies selected provide not only unique programming, but act as a catalyst in their communities raising awareness of autism and related disabilities."

Through a highly competitive selection process, the Autism Services Grant Council is proud to announce the recipients of the 2018-2019 grants:

Bit By Bit Medical Therapeutic Riding Center 
Jacksonville School for Autism  
Latino Leadership 
SFA Center 
Personal Ponies 
TOPSOCCER 
Artists with Autism, Inc. 
Learning Links  
Prosperity Life Planning  
BASCA, Inc.  
Project Lifesaver  
Special Equestrians  
Autism Spectrum on the Emerald Coast, Inc.  
National Autism Registry  
OASN Autism 
Autism Pensacola, Inc.  
Autism Society of Florida  
Autism Society of the Keys, Inc.

The Autism Services Grants Council was created by the Florida Legislature in 2009 to implement and oversee a grants process for the distribution of funds generated from the sales of the Florida Support Autism Programs Specialty License Plate.

The primary purpose of the Council is to fund service programs for grants to nonprofit organizations to operate direct services programs for individuals with autism and related disabilities in Florida including direct services, evaluation, training, and awareness. Consideration for participation in such services and programs must be given to applicants who are children or adults with autism and related disabilities and their families and shall include those who are on the Agency for Persons with Disabilities waiting lists for services.

The amount of funds available through the grant process will be dependent of the amount of revenue generated by sales of the Florida Support Autism Programs Specialty License Plate. The Autism Services Grants Council is administered by Arc Broward, Inc., an IRS exempt Section 501(c)(3), Florida nonprofit organization.

​Michael Towner

Brevard Humane Society is the proud recipient of a $25,000 grant from Florida Animal Friend, Inc., an organization whose mission is to help end pet overpopulation.

Brevard Humane Society will utilize the grant by focusing its efforts on vital spay/neuter surgeries for low-income families and the community cats in Brevard County.

“This award from Florida Animal Friend goes straight to the heart of our mission to reduce the homeless animal population in this area through proactive spay/neuter programs,” said Theresa Clifton, Executive Director for the Brevard Humane Society. “Brevard Humane Society’s mission is to humanely end a cats’ ability to reproduce, improve their quality of life, and assist the citizens who serve as caregivers.”

The main source of funding for Florida Animal Friend is the sale of its specialty license plate. A portion of every plate sold goes directly to organizations across the state that offer free or low-cost spay/neuter services.

On an annual basis, Florida Animal Friends’ Board of Directors review grant applications from non-profit and municipal agencies across Florida, and award grant funding to those who further its mission to help save the lives of countless unwanted cats and dogs.

“With the number of community cats currently in Brevard County the need is compelling,” Clifton said. “We are extremely grateful to the citizens who purchased these license plates, the selection committee who awarded the grants – and to all the citizens who support our efforts. If you purchase a Florida Animal Friend plate, you are making a difference. This is a great opportunity and tremendous benefit to our community.”

In 2017, the Brevard Humane Society treated 1,109 cats through this life-saving fund, 542 of which were community, un-owned stray/feral cats.

You can order here.

​Currently, Louisiana has 185 special license plates. ​The state has about four million registered cars and trucks. Louisiana license plates are produced at the state prison, and by a machine invented in the early 1900s at Angola, a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is named "Angola" after the former slave plantation that occupied this territory. 

​Top 20 Plates (FY 2017/2018):

​1 World Champion Saints 1,047
2 Antique Vehicle 954
3 LSU @ Baton Rouge 872
4 Army Veteran 828
5 Environmental Education 757
6 Professional Firefighter 479
7 Marine Corp Veteran 398
8 White Tail Deer 364
9 Navy Veteran 355
10 Active Duty Army 290
11 Air Force Veteran 281
12 I'm Cajun 280
13 U of Louisiana @ Lafayette 274
14 Black Bear 218
15 300th Anniversary New Orleans 209
16 Protect the Wild Dolphins 183
17 Louisiana Tech 145
18 Retired Army 140
19 Choose Life 125
20 Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club 111

Statewide elections for less-prominent cabinet positions, such as state chief financial officer, rarely generate the headline buzz that campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate do.
But the Florida chief financial officer (CFO) election between Republican incumbent Jimmy Patronis and Democrat challenger Jeremy Ring is an exception to that rule.
With neither facing primary challenges, both have been zeroing in on each other since January. Among disclosures bantered about as campaign fodder are motor vehicle driving records that indicate both candidates’ driver licenses have been briefly suspended over the last dozen years.
But the “dirt” is no longer the issue.
How the “dirt” got dredged up has become the issue, not only exposing the skullduggery that “opposition research” plays in even relatively obscure elections but, according to Patronis, that there are “loopholes in third-party state vendor agreements that must be addressed.”
The irony is, it is among the CFO’s responsibilities to address those “loopholes” by vetting third-party vendors contracted by the state to ensure they comply with federal and state privacy laws.
In May, “news” circulated that Patronis’ driver license had been suspended for nine months spanning 2011 and 2012. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires drivers maintain car insurance. If a policy expires without being renewed or replaced, the license is automatically suspended.
Patronis presented documents confirming he had switched insurance carriers, but his new policy was never logged. The DMV officially declared the suspension an error and removed it from his record.
In response, Patronis’ supporters presented a South Florida Sun-Sentinel article documenting how Ring’s driver license was suspended because of unpaid tolls in 2006.
Ring contended he didn’t realize his SunPass transponder wasn’t working until he tried renting a car and learned his license had been suspended. He paid the fines and his license was restored.
On May 30, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) opened an investigation after being notified by the DMV “that Patronis’ PII (Personally Identifiable Information) had been released to an individual through a third party vendor, Unisoft Communications.”
In mid-June, the DMV terminated its 2017 agreement with Unisoft, which allowed it to gather data for insurance companies and operate the mydrivingreport.com website for three years, because “a problem … made it possible for unauthorized individuals to enter a person’s license number and get their personal information,” which is prohibited by the federal Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA).
"By only requiring a driver license number, someone other than themselves could easily obtain DPPA-protected information," the DMV informed Unisoft.
According to the FDLE investigation, among the “someone other than themselves” accessing the personal information of more than 17 million people with Florida driver licenses was Jake Wagman of Shield Political Research, a Democratic “opposition researcher” based in South Bend, Ind.
In the FDLE’s six-page investigative summary, special agent Jeff Foggy determined that on April 18 and 19, Wagman ordered the driver history from mydrivingreport.com for Patronis, former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor, who is running for Tampa mayor, and Broward attorney Michael Gottlieb, a Democrat facing Republican Joseph Cruz in the District 98 State House seat.
“The forms provided by Unisoft Communications were unredacted and contained the PII,” Foggy wrote.
In June, according to Foggy, Wagman requested driver information on the Republican candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, Roy Walker, and Democrat Agriculture Commissioner candidate Nicole ‘Nikki’ Fried.
Fried is facing Matt Caldwell, who defeated Walker in Tuesday’s primary, in the agriculture commissioner election.
The FDLE’s report identified a payment trail linking Wagman with Eric Johnson, a political consultant working “on several campaigns” in Florida, including Ring’s.
Fried and Castor told Foggy they gave Wagman permission to get their driver license information while Gottlieb, Walker and Patronis said they had not.
“Based on the investigation, Mr. Wagman did in fact possess and use the driver license number of Mr. Gottlieb, Mr. Patronis and Mr. Walker without their consent,” and turned the case over to the Office of Statewide Prosecution (OSP).
The OSP ruled on Aug. 21 “that criminal charges cannot be pursued against Mr. Wagman or Shield Political Research” because “there is no evidence of fraudulent intent” in gathering the information.

​Excerpts taken from Watchdog.org - John Haughey

A Florida woman finds herself in jail after declaring herself outside of the rules of Florida and United States law — especially when it comes to driving.
That’s what Vero Beach resident Crystal Ross was doing when, according to Indian River Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christopher Bellefleur, her Nissan sedan passed him with a license plate that didn’t look kosher. Upon following the Nissan, Bellefleur saw the license plate declared “Private” and “No license plate or driver license required.”

There are 122 specialty license plates offered by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This is not one of them.

Bellefleur hit the lights on his cruiser. He said the Nissan continued for another three blocks before turning left and stopping after another block.

Once another deputy came, Bellefleur wrote, “I made contact with the driver of the vehicle, who refused to provide identification. The driver, later identified as Crystal Ross, advised that she is a sovereign citizen and does not fall under Florida or United States laws. Ross provided several pieces of paper, but continually refused to provide identification for herself or the vehicle.”

A check of the vehicle identification number showed the car as unregistered. Bellefleur said he asked Ross to get out of the car. She rolled up the window.
“After several minutes of attempting to reason with Ross through the window of the vehicle, Ross continued to refuse all commands and refused to cooperate with lawful instructions,” Bellefleur wrote. Finally, Ross momentarily lowered the driver’s side window allowing for Lieutenant Morris and I to forcefully remove Ross from the vehicle.”

Ross did have a driver’s license on her with her name. Still, “Ross continued to advise that she is now sovereign and that she falls under no jurisdictions.”
No, Ross can’t drive in any jurisdiction -- her license was yanked in April 2014 for five years after three convictions of driving with a suspended license. Court records say she was convicted of doing that in 2011 (two counts), 2012 and 2013.

​That’s why she got arrested on knowingly driving with a license suspended or revoked (third or subsequent conviction), which is a felony; and a pair of misdemeanors, resisting arrest without violence and failing to register a motor vehicle. She remains in Indian River County Jail on $7,000 bond.

The newest specialty plate in Louisiana promotes Hunters for the Hungry.
Jimmy Anthony, a retired wildlife biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is familiar with the specialty plate program.
"It is a walking advertisement for people who want to support certain programs,” Anthony said.
Some of the cost of each plate goes to each cause -- and the plates provide work for people behind bars. "They are made by Prison Enterprises, which is at Angola, where all license plates are made Louisiana,” Anthony said.  Angola is a maximum-security prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is named "Angola" after the former slave plantation that occupied this territory
The newly issued Hunters 4 the Hungry plate will be available in less than two months -- and if you order now you may be able to choose a number that is special to you.
And in conjunction with the focus on fighting hunger, September 23 is "clean out your freezer day”, a program in which hunters can donate venison to the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana. People can drop off donations at First United Methodist Church at the head of Texas Street in Shreveport that day.

​Michael Towner

When donors are asked what charity they would support if they could give to just one, 54% selected one of only 20 organizations, according to a new study.
 
​The findings show that a small number of national and international groups hold a privileged place in the philanthropy of American donors.
 
Even though they were not prompted with a list of charities to choose from, the respondents most often picked a brand-name group such as the American Humane Society, Doctors Without Borders, Feeding America, Goodwill Industries, Planned Parenthood, the United Way, and Wounded Warrior Project.
 
Among the 20 were five that were particularly popular. 36% of donors picked one the following: Alsac/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, or Unicef.
 
Donors preferred large organizations, underscoring the challenges small charities face from well-resourced competitors. Only 23% picked a favorite charity with annual revenue of $50 million or less; only 5% picked one with revenue of $1 million or less. 38% picked a charity with annual revenue of $1 billion or more.
 
The favorite charities cited by donors had a median annual revenue — including donations, government support, and earned income — of $399 million.
 
A bright spot for small organizations: The top donors, those who gave $2,000 or more during the 12 months preceding the survey, were most likely to pick a favorite charity with revenue under $50 million.
 
Donors overwhelmingly favored organizations that work globally, as opposed to those that work exclusively stateside: 60% of donors chose a favorite charity that supports programs internationally. However, only 2% picked a nonprofit that works exclusively overseas. Political conservatives, parents with children at home, and Christians were most likely to favor global charities.
 
By cause, health-related charities were the most commonly picked as favorites, cited by nearly one in three donors.
 
Among other findings:
 
Impact matters. The three most commonly cited reasons for selecting a particular charity as a favorite were the organization’s results (32%), the donor’s trust (28%), and the donor’s personal connection to the cause or charity (22%).
 
Overhead spending doesn’t matter so much. 84% of donors picked a charity that spends 10 to 29 % of revenue on administrative costs, according to that charity’s informational tax forms. The average "overhead ratio" for the charities donors favored was just under 19%. But only 12% of donors said that using their money efficiently was the key factor in why they picked their favorite charity, and a February report by the same researchers discovered a charity’s spending on administrative costs had little impact on giving.
 
Religion’s influence is muted. 82% of people who attend religious services at least monthly picked a favorite charity that was not faith-based.

ST. PAUL — Minnesota officials have come up with a plan to continue trying to fix and upgrade the state’s beleaguered computer system for vehicle license plates and tabs.
They’re hoping to tap into funds slated for enhancements to a new computer system for Real ID driver’s licenses, which are being rolled out next month.
The likely solution floated this week to state lawmakers aims to keep improving MNLARS — the now-$100-million-plus computer system that was rolled out more than a year ago and has never worked as it was supposed to — through February by diverting $5.5 million from the Real ID track.
After February, work on MNLARS would essentially cease without new funding from the next Legislature and governor. A more-secure funding plan failed at the Capitol earlier this year. It became roadkill when it was included in a wide-ranging spending bill that Republican lawmakers passed and Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, vetoed for unrelated reasons. Each side blamed the other.
Commissioner Johanna Clyborne, who heads the state information technology department, or MNIT, told lawmakers and the Pioneer Press that the planned use of the $5.5 million in Real ID funds will delay enhancements to that system, but it won’t affect the underlying launch of the new licenses Oct. 1.
Minnesotans with valid driver’s licenses will not have to rush to get a Real ID license. Starting in October 2020, the new licenses, which feature enhanced security, will be required to board domestic airline flights.

‘NO-WIN SITUATION’
No one seems to like that such a Band-Aid maneuver is needed, but without it, several important upgrades to MNLARS would be delayed until at least the winter, if not longer.
“We’re kind of in a no-win situation, and so I’m trying to do the best I can,” Clyborne said in an interview. She was brought on board by Dayton last year when the MNLARS troubles boiled over amid complaints from license centers, many of which are privately owned businesses, as well as auto dealers, insurance companies, and regular folks unable to get their legally required paperwork in order.
Republican lawmakers pummeled the Dayton administration over the problems, with some threatening to attempt to disband the entire MNIT agency.
Nonetheless, lawmakers this week received the new plan soberly.
“The bottom line is that Minnesota citizens need these services in place,” said Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, who chairs the House Transportation Finance Committee, which has oversight over the program.

​The new funding plan doesn’t require approval from lawmakers, but it will need an official agreement between FAST Enterprises, the company hired to implement Real ID, and the state to allow the $5.5 million to be delayed. Clyborne and Torkelson both said FAST has indicated they’re receptive to the idea.

​David Lameyer of North St. Paul, Minn., holds his personalized license plate, with a number he’s had for 20 years, outside his office in Fridley on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Like at least 1,000 other Minnesotans, Lameyer was unable to transfer his specialized plate — showing his initials and the year he was born — onto a car he bought earlier this year because the state’s troubled new computer system, known as MNLARS, is unable to process such a transfer. (Dave Orrick / Pioneer Press)

​Michael Towner

RENO, Nev. — Commissioners accepted a 2018 Nevada State Emergency Response Commission, United We Stand grant on Tuesday, September 11. 
“We find it very fitting that Commissioners approved this grant that fights Acts of Terrorism on the seventeenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks,” says John Slaughter, Washoe County Manager. “While you can never fully anticipate these attacks, Washoe County is always working to ensure our preparedness and we will forever remember 9/11.”
The source of this funding comes from fees collected from the sale and annual renewal of the United We Stand specialty license plates.
The grant provides funding to the Washoe County Local Emergency Planning Committee for Planning, Training and Equipment purchases.
The grant funding is allocated to improve state and local government planning, training and response capabilities to react to Acts of Terrorism.
The total funding of over $25,000 will be distributed, based on the Sub-Grant Agreements between Washoe County and local partners, to the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, Reno Police Department, and the Washoe County School District.

​Michael Towner

According to the Florida DHSMV, (information provided by Alvin Speights), the cost to the DMV for a regular Florida license plate is $1.62 and, for a personalized regular Florida license plate, it is $1.82.
The cost to the DMV for a specialty Florida license plate is $2.82 and for a personalized Florida specialty license plate it is $3.07.
The estimated cost to the DMV of the renewal/decal is 43 cents.
For Florida specialty license plates, the state also charges a $5.00 annual specialty license plate processing fee and the state charges a $28.00 'metal plate replacement fee' for all new plates, which is covered either by a $28.00 payment or, if a customer has retained their existing plate for 10 years, that cost is covered by the annual $2.80 'advance plate replacement fee' that the customer has paid. If someone switches plates before the expiration of the 10 year plate replacement cycle period, there is no pro rata allocation of those fees.