Latest news with #StetsonUniversity
Associated Press
17-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Climate First Bank Appoints Richard Prescott to Expand Presence in Volusia County
Renowned banking leader joins Climate First Bank to drive sustainable growth ORLANDO, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / April 17, 2025 / Climate First Bank ( ), the world's first FDIC-insured digital community bank founded to combat the climate crisis, today announced the appointment of Richard Prescott as First-VP, Commercial Banker. Prescott brings decades of experience and a strong commitment to community service, making him an excellent addition to the Climate First Bank Prescott Richard Prescott Headshot With over 14 years in the banking industry, Prescott brings extensive experience in commercial lending, including conventional mortgages and vacant land loans. This combination makes him well-equipped to drive Climate First Bank's mission forward. He has also demonstrated a commitment to community involvement, actively participating in local initiatives and fostering relationships with clients and colleagues alike. 'I'm excited to join Climate First Bank and honored to contribute to its mission of values-based banking,' said Richard Prescott, First-VP, Commercial Banker at Climate First Bank. 'My deep connections in Volusia County, especially DeLand, will help drive sustainable growth and positively impact the region. I look forward to leveraging my knowledge and experience to support the bank's initiatives while continuing to serve the local community.' Prescott's extensive volunteer work in Volusia County has given him deep community insights and strong local connections. These relationships will be instrumental as he expands Climate First Bank's presence in DeLand and Volusia County. Prescott's dedication to community service, combined with his professional expertise, positions him as a valuable asset to Climate First Bank and the communities it serves. 'I am thrilled to welcome Richard to Climate First Bank. We met on our first day at Stetson University, and it had turned into a lifetime of friendship, both personal and professional,' said Lex Ford, CEO and President of Climate First Bank. 'I am confident Richard will help Climate First Bank become THE bank in Deland and Volusia County.' About Climate First Bank Recognized as the fastest growing new bank in America since 2009, Climate First Bank is the world's first FDIC-insured, values based, digital community bank founded to combat the climate crisis. A Certified B Corp, 1% for the Planet member and operationally net-zero since it opened its doors in June 2021, the Bank offers a complete, full-service portfolio of simple and easy-to-use traditional banking products powered by technology to meet the expectations of today's consumers. In addition to offering standard banking services, the company places a special emphasis on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and businesses committed to sustainability. Eco-conscious customers will find dedicated loan options for solar photovoltaic (PV), energy retrofits and infrastructure to help combat the climate crisis. The Bank reports annually on its impact in line with corporate social responsibility goals. Read the most recent Impact Report here. Member FDIC. For more information, please visit: Contact Information John Collins Collins Strategy Group [email protected] (917) 496-4587 Rachel Kent Marketing Director [email protected] 5186693550 SOURCE: Climate First Bank Related Images press release
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida 6th District election: President Trump will join Randy Fine during 'tele-rally'
If Tuesday's special election for Florida's 6th District seat in the U.S. House is a referendum on Donald Trump, the president will not let the final days pass without involving himself. Republican Randy Fine — who's been endorsed by Trump to fill the seat vacated by Michael Waltz when he became national security advisor on Jan. 20 — has announced the president will join him for a "tele-rally" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Those interested can call in at 833-380-0653, according to a text message from Fine. Fine and his Democratic opponent Josh Weil are scrambling for votes in what promises to be a closer contest for Congress than previous races in the 6th. Weil has raised $10 million and has hundreds of canvassers on the ground knocking on doors, while the two have traded insults in ads airing on TV spots and elsewhere. Weil announced he would be participating in a town hall and phone bank with Stetson University Democrats on the DeLand campus Thursday night. That event starts at 6 p.m. in the Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd. Also, the Human Rights Campaign endorsed Weil Wednesday and has "launched an effort to mobilize the district's more than 100,000 equality voters (voters who prioritize issues of LGBTQ+ equality)," according to Brandon Wolf, the organization's press secretary. HRC will send those "equality voters" emails and text messages, while also launching paid digital ads in the district. Wolf attacked Fine's record on equality issues. Fine, now a state senator, wrote a bill removing access to medical care for transgender youth, sought to restrict drag shows and led legislative efforts to retaliate against Disney after the company challenged the Parental Rights in Education Act, referred to by critics as the "don't say gay" law, Wolf said. Meanwhile, Fine has gotten help from other corners of the right-wing mediasphere. Donald Trump Jr., posted a video urging voters to back Fine. 'Democrats are pouring millions into this race trying to take Congress away from the Republicans, so we need to fight for the America First agenda. They want to open our borders, raise your taxes, everything Florida stands against." Fine appeared on the conservative Mark Levin's radio show where the host suggested Republicans are sleeping on the race. "America, you gotta view this as our seat and our battle," Levin said. " ... No. 1, if you live there and you don't vote, and this kook (Weil) wins ... that's on you and you're going to punish the nation and President Trump." This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: President Trump to urge support for Florida 6th candidate Randy Fine
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Shaboozey, Killer Mike to lend star power to Democratic congressional candidate in DeLand
Brace yourself, but the unlikely mashup of the special congressional election and Shaboozey is a thing. Josh Weil, a Democrat running to become the next U.S. House representative from Florida's 6th District, has scheduled a town hall at which the "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" hitmaker will be performing. Weil will also be accompanied by rapper Killer Mike. Weil will tap into the star power at the Sanborn Activity Center in DeLand at 6 p.m. Thursday. The event is being billed as "a no-holds-barred discussion on our rights, culture and the power of our voices." Weil is attempting to win a district won in November by incumbent Michael Waltz, who won 33 percentage points more than his Democratic opponent. Waltz's Jan. 20 resignation to become President Donald Trump's national security advisor opened the seat for the April 1 special election. Republican Randy Fine, a state senator, is Weil's chief opponent on the ballot, which also contains the names of Libertarian Andrew Parrott and non-partisan Randall Terry. Collins Chibueze – stage name Shaboozey – has combined rap, rock and country music and was featured on the Beyoncé album "Cowboy Carter" before his own record, "Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going," and specifically "A Bar Song," blew up. "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks and remains atop the Hot Country Songs chart for a record 37th week. It also topped charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. The 29-year-old could inject some interest from young voters into a special election, which typically does not attract high turnout. DeLand is home to Stetson University, while the Weil campaign is planning an event at the Bethune-Cookman University Yard in Daytona Beach earlier in the day. Killer Mike, a rapper from Atlanta, is one-half Run the Jewels along with El-P. His collaborations include work with Outkast, Big Boi and Danger Mouse. Most recently, he won Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Album in 2024 for the single "Scientists & Engineers" on the LP "Michael," and is no stranger to progressive politics, having hit the trail on behalf of Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020. Weil says he has raised enough money – at last check $9.5 million – to run a full-on messaging campaign, with TV, radio, newspaper, social media and billboard ads, as well as hiring some 300 canvassers to knock on doors and dial up voters. And the Shaboozey-Killer Mike event isn't the only presidential campaign-style event to attract voters and drum up interest in the unusual special election. Grammy-winning gospel singer Le'Andria Johnson, who was born in Palatka, appeared at a Weil event at Allen Chapel AME Church in Daytona Beach Sunday night. And Weil's campaign is hosting R&B legend Patti LaBelle at a fundraiser Friday night at an unadvertised location in Daytona Beach. At a town hall in Hastings on Friday, Weil said the fundraising and campaign events are part of a plan. "We cannot take our foot off the gas," Weil said. "We have to continue to press. Continue knocking on doors and continue dominating the airwaves, holding more and bigger events and getting more people out.' Early voting for the election starts Saturday in the six counties – including all of Flagler and Putnam plus parts of Volusia, St. Johns, Marion and Lake counties – where voters will cast ballots. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Josh Weil draws celebrities into Florida's 6th election for Congress
CNN
11-03-2025
- Business
- CNN
The chilling effect of Trump's war against the legal establishment
The Trump administration is waging a war against the legal community in the United States with a target list growing by the day. Thus far, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders that have targeted two law firms representing his perceived enemies, and his administration has attacked firms and law schools it says may be violating presidential initiatives against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The executive order Trump signed restricting Perkins Coie's access to classified information and federal buildings and thus hurting its ability to work for some clients is sending shockwaves through the legal establishment nationwide. 'We've never seen a president put out a specific order about a law firm,' Ellen Podgor, a Stetson University law professor and legal ethicist, told CNN. 'You're taking away the ability of an attorney to act in their role as a lawyer,' Podgor added. 'The order to me is … depriving our whole right to counsel. This is a major amendment to our Constitution.' The White House's retaliation has been boldly a political response aimed at a group of lawyers and businesses that are known very little in public life outside of Washington. But the implications may be profound, with Trump's administration positioning itself in direct opposition to major institutions, using its power to quell the work of experienced and influential attorneys. The moves also encroach on what the legal community views as a fundamental right for people needing lawyers to have the freedom to choose who represents them — an ability even Trump had as a criminal defendant being prosecuted by the Justice Department. The executive order about Perkins Coie suspends the national security clearances of attorneys at the firm, because it was part of the effort to commission the now-infamous Russia dossier about Trump and his advisers during the 2016 election. The White House says it also may limit the firm's lawyers from visiting federal buildings and instructed agencies not to hire into government jobs employees from the firm. Perkins Coie has said it will challenge the order in court and has enlisted another large private law firm to represent it. A White House aide said Thursday the administration plans to review other law firms' practices, saying there may be more retribution to come. Trump's order on Perkins Coie included a call for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review other 'large, influential, or industry leading law firms' in case they offer preferential hiring based on applicants' races. In all, the steps the administration has taken have sent a 'chilling' tone across the legal industry, said Cari Brunelle, the founder of a legal advisory firm that works with several large American law firms. 'This is unprecedented in our country. … The message is: Watch where you step,' she said. In recent history, the closest comparison to the Trump White House blacklisting some in the legal industry is the approach then-President Richard Nixon took when he made an 'enemies list,' Brunelle added. So far, law firms have reacted out of fear, Brunelle said. Many want to avoid becoming a target, while others are looking at and rewriting what their websites say, especially regarding their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which the administration says it is taking into consideration as it considers restricting more firms. Other lawyers' security clearances were stripped too in recent weeks by White House order, including those at Washington's largest private law firm, Covington & Burling, who have been involved in representing former special counsel Jack Smith, now a private citizen. 'American law firms have always represented interests to the US government, without worrying if there would be retribution or sanctions until now,' Brunelle said. 'It's created just an incredible amount of fear.' (Brunelle's company doesn't have Perkins Coie or Covington & Burling as its clients.) Brunelle said there could be safety in numbers, if many large law firm leaders, law schools and others in the legal industry publicly criticized Trump's approach. But so far, the response has been muted from law firms themselves. Marc Elias, a lawyer to the Democrats who until 2021 was Perkins Coie's primary political law attorney, critiqued the lack of large law firms rallying behind those who lost security clearances in an email newsletter Monday. 'That has not happened,' he wrote. Law schools and independent groups that represent the legal community have been bolder in pushing back. Georgetown University Law Center responded, for instance, to a letter from the interim US attorney for Washington, DC, threatening not to hire its students if the school's curriculum wasn't in line with Trump's DEI policies. 'The First Amendment, however, guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it,' Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor wrote last week to Ed Martin. Several prominent national groups have called the Trump administration's actions hurtful to the rule of law in the US. The American College of Trial Lawyers condemned recent statements from Trump's close adviser Elon Musk that called for the impeachment of some judges. 'We call upon our Fellows and all lawyers, judges, legislators, executive officials, historians, political scientists, and citizens who value our democracy to speak out and condemn threats to impeach judges because of disagreement with the judge's lawful orders,' the group said. The elite, invitation-only group also responded to the executive orders retaliating against Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling by calling them 'escalating' threats and an undermining of the justice system. 'Lawyers throughout the country should unite in condemning these actions in the strongest possible terms,' the group said. The American Bar Association, a voluntary organization with a large number of America's lawyers as members, also has been deeply critical of the Trump administration's actions in recent weeks, with its president, William Bay, saying the approaches are an attack on the rule of law. The group has been in the crosshairs of conservatives for years. The Federal Trade Commission last month banned its political appointees from taking leadership positions in the ABA or participating in its events, Bay pointed out. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, in a letter to staff in mid-February, called the group 'beholden to the interests of Big Tech' and a 'radical left-wing' organization 'guided by the principles of the Democrat Party.' In a move with similar results, more than two dozen Justice Department employees who were set to speak at the ABA's White Collar conference in Miami canceled their plans to attend, the group's organizer, Raymond Banoun, told CNN. When the ethics panel spoke at the conference Friday, about some of the most political moves by the administration, there were essentially no Justice Department staffers there to hear them.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The chilling effect of Trump's war against the legal establishment
The Trump administration is waging a war against the legal community in the United States with a target list growing by the day. Thus far, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders that have targeted two law firms representing his perceived enemies, and his administration has attacked firms and law schools it says may be violating presidential initiatives against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The executive order Trump signed restricting Perkins Coie's access to classified information and federal buildings and thus hurting its ability to work for some clients is sending shockwaves through the legal establishment nationwide. 'We've never seen a president put out a specific order about a law firm,' Ellen Podgor, a Stetson University law professor and legal ethicist, told CNN. 'You're taking away the ability of an attorney to act in their role as a lawyer,' Podgor added. 'The order to me is … depriving our whole right to counsel. This is a major amendment to our Constitution.' The White House's retaliation has been boldly a political response aimed at a group of lawyers and businesses that are known very little in public life outside of Washington. But the implications may be profound, with Trump's administration positioning itself in direct opposition to major institutions, using its power to quell the work of experienced and influential attorneys. The moves also encroach on what the legal community views as a fundamental right for people needing lawyers to have the freedom to choose who represents them — an ability even Trump had as a criminal defendant being prosecuted by the Justice Department. The executive order about Perkins Coie suspends the national security clearances of attorneys at the firm, because it was part of the effort to commission the now-infamous Russia dossier about Trump and his advisers during the 2016 election. The White House says it also may limit the firm's lawyers from visiting federal buildings and instructed agencies not to hire into government jobs employees from the firm. Perkins Coie has said it will challenge the order in court and has enlisted another large private law firm to represent it. A White House aide said Thursday the administration plans to review other law firms' practices, saying there may be more retribution to come. Trump's order on Perkins Coie included a call for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to review other 'large, influential, or industry leading law firms' in case they offer preferential hiring based on applicants' races. In all, the steps the administration has taken have sent a 'chilling' tone across the legal industry, said Cari Brunelle, the founder of a legal advisory firm that works with several large American law firms. 'This is unprecedented in our country. … The message is: Watch where you step,' she said. In recent history, the closest comparison to the Trump White House blacklisting some in the legal industry is the approach then-President Richard Nixon took when he made an 'enemies list,' Brunelle added. So far, law firms have reacted out of fear, Brunelle said. Many want to avoid becoming a target, while others are looking at and rewriting what their websites say, especially regarding their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, which the administration says it is taking into consideration as it considers restricting more firms. Other lawyers' security clearances were stripped too in recent weeks by White House order, including those at Washington's largest private law firm, Covington & Burling, who have been involved in representing former special counsel Jack Smith, now a private citizen. 'American law firms have always represented interests to the US government, without worrying if there would be retribution or sanctions until now,' Brunelle said. 'It's created just an incredible amount of fear.' (Brunelle's company doesn't have Perkins Coie or Covington & Burling as its clients.) Brunelle said there could be safety in numbers, if many large law firm leaders, law schools and others in the legal industry publicly criticized Trump's approach. But so far, the response has been muted from law firms themselves. Marc Elias, a lawyer to the Democrats who until 2021 was Perkins Coie's primary political law attorney, critiqued the lack of large law firms rallying behind those who lost security clearances in an email newsletter Monday. 'That has not happened,' he wrote. Law schools and independent groups that represent the legal community have been bolder in pushing back. Georgetown University Law Center responded, for instance, to a letter from the interim US attorney for Washington, DC, threatening not to hire its students if the school's curriculum wasn't in line with Trump's DEI policies. 'The First Amendment, however, guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how to teach it,' Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor wrote last week to Ed Martin. Several prominent national groups have called the Trump administration's actions hurtful to the rule of law in the US. The American College of Trial Lawyers condemned recent statements from Trump's close adviser Elon Musk that called for the impeachment of some judges. 'We call upon our Fellows and all lawyers, judges, legislators, executive officials, historians, political scientists, and citizens who value our democracy to speak out and condemn threats to impeach judges because of disagreement with the judge's lawful orders,' the group said. The elite, invitation-only group also responded to the executive orders retaliating against Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling by calling them 'escalating' threats and an undermining of the justice system. 'Lawyers throughout the country should unite in condemning these actions in the strongest possible terms,' the group said. The American Bar Association, a voluntary organization with a large number of America's lawyers as members, also has been deeply critical of the Trump administration's actions in recent weeks, with its president, William Bay, saying the approaches are an attack on the rule of law. The group has been in the crosshairs of conservatives for years. The Federal Trade Commission last month banned its political appointees from taking leadership positions in the ABA or participating in its events, Bay pointed out. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, in a letter to staff in mid-February, called the group 'beholden to the interests of Big Tech' and a 'radical left-wing' organization 'guided by the principles of the Democrat Party.' In a move with similar results, more than two dozen Justice Department employees who were set to speak at the ABA's White Collar conference in Miami canceled their plans to attend, the group's organizer, Raymond Banoun, told CNN. When the ethics panel spoke at the conference Friday, about some of the most political moves by the administration, there were essentially no Justice Department staffers there to hear them.
