Florida’s data center boom shouldn’t raise your bill — this law gets that right | Opinion

Energizing Florida

Large energy users — including manufacturing facilities, industrial operations or emerging sectors like data centers — can play an important role in a growing economy. The key is making sure that growth happens responsibly and does not shift costs or risks onto families and small businesses. Florida has developed a straightforward solution to move the state’s economy forward.

Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation requiring all of Florida’s regulated utilities to develop rate structures ensuring large-scale data centers bear their electric service costs and that risks are not passed on to other customers. This is another great example of Florida getting things right.

At Florida Power & Light Company, we already put this principle into action with a large-load rate structure approved by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC). Under this framework, companies connecting significant new demand to the grid are responsible for paying the costs associated with serving their projects, including 100% of any new power generation.

This structure also includes strong protections — engineering reviews, financial collateral, minimum monthly payments and long-term commitments and protections if a project shuts down early. The goal is to make sure the cost stays with the company driving the demand, not with Florida families.

Our grid is built to reliably serve customers during peak demand and extreme weather, while also planning for continued growth. When a large customer connects to the system and uses power steadily, it will pay its costs and add significant revenue that helps cover fixed system costs. Over time, that creates downward pressure on rates while maintaining reliability and resilience.

By planning ahead and putting the right policies in place, Florida and the PSC have created a model that protects customers and supports responsible economic growth.

Scott Bores,

president,

FPL

Education

The debate over the future of public education in Miami-Dade should center on one question: are students succeeding?

The author of the Herald op-ed, “My South Florida school is thriving, yet it’s forced to share space with charter,” deserves recognition for his service to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and his acceptance to Harvard. Alumni pride in Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School (HML) is understandable, but nostalgia cannot outweigh today’s realities.

During the 2024-2025 school year, only 43% of HML students were at or above grade level in math and just 47% in English Language Arts. More than half of students are below grade level in both subjects.

At the same time, HML has operated at an average of 44% utilization over the past five years. Taxpayers are maintaining a campus built for nearly 2,900 students while serving less than half that number. Every dollar spent maintaining underused facilities is a dollar unavailable for teacher pay and student success.

That is why Miami-Dade schools’ decision to allow Success Academy to co-locate on underutilized campuses beginning in 2027 makes sense. Success Academy reports that 96% of students pass New York’s math exam, 92% pass English Language Arts and 100% of graduates are accepted to four-year colleges. More than 90% of students are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households.

This debate should not be about protecting buildings. It should be about ensuring every child in Miami-Dade can access a high-quality public education. Miami’s families are eager for solutions that put students, teachers and academic excellence first.

Our 2026 poll found 76% of Miami-Dade residents support combining nearby low-enrollment schools if it directs more resources into classrooms. Families deserve transparency about student outcomes and facility usage. Students deserve schools that prepare them for college and careers. Taxpayers deserve decisions driven by facts, not nostalgia.

Raul Moas,

president,

Partnership for Miami

Playhouse delays

I thank Miami Herald reporter Andres Viglucci for his May 8 online article, “Neighbors’ complaints stall county’s plan for Coconut Grove Playhouse — again,” which illuminated many of the complicated issues around the revitalization of the Playhouse. Indeed, work can always be done toward a more perfect Playhouse.

History, however, tells us building a “wall” between public spaces and the community is an outdated and bad idea. The results are never good. They leave a long-lasting scar and a divide that takes years to heal. We can check the remnants of the old ones as palpable proof.

As Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado has said, the proposed opening of a campus park toward Charles Avenue connects the heart of the Grove to its history with the E.W.F. Stirrup House; yet another chance to heal long-standing rifts in the community.

Some taxpayers want to reduce the Playhouse’s ability to generate revenue through on-site retail. Regional theaters across the country wish they were being set up as nicely as the Grove Playhouse — a nonprofit with a revenue stream built-in, as philanthropy wanes and the subscription models dwindle.

That’s a win. Miami is doing it right and could be an example for the rest of the country.

Tarell Alvin McCraney,

Academy Award-winning playwright,

Coconut Grove

Iconic symbol

The American flamingo is an iconic bird recognized by millions as a symbol of elegance, beauty, and unmistakable uniqueness. While I have tremendous respect for the Northern Mockingbird and appreciate its wonderful singing ability, it remains a relatively common and nondescript species found throughout much of the United States. In addition to Florida, it is also the state bird of Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Until recently, the flamingo was considered only a transient visitor to Florida, traveling between Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas. Wild populations had been extirpated from the state in the 1800s, victims of the plume trade and hunted for food. Before then, however, thousands of flamingos called Florida home, thriving and breeding successfully.

Recently, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which had previously listed the flamingo as a non-native species, officially confirmed its status as native to Florida thanks to extensive research conducted by Audubon Florida and Zoo Miami conservation biologists.

Florida deserves a state bird that reflects its beauty, diversity and uniqueness. I can think of no better choice than the flamingo. No other state can claim it as its own, though I am sure many wish they could. The flamingo also represents a symbol of conservation success. That flamingos are now remaining in Florida year-round and appear poised to once again become permanent residents speaks to the success of Everglades restoration — the single greatest environmental restoration effort in world history.

In addition, the flamingo serves as a powerful symbol for promoting Florida as a global tourist destination, driving one of the state’s most important economic engines — tourism. In reality, many people around the world already recognize the flamingo as our state’s symbol. Officially designating it the state bird would only strengthen that identity while further enhancing its value for the state.

Last year, state Rep. Jim Mooney introduced a bill in the Florida House to make the flamingo the official state bird, replacing the mockingbird. The bill also designated the Florida scrub jay as the official state songbird. The scrub jay, found only in Florida, is endemic to isolated pockets of sandy scrub habitat in central Florida. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House, 112–1. Unfortunately, it died in the Senate before ever reaching a vote.

With all due respect to the mockingbird, the time has come for Florida to recognize the flamingo as its official state bird and the Florida scrub jay as its official state songbird. Doing so would celebrate Florida’s remarkable avian diversity while shining a spotlight on the conservation successes that are so vital to preserving the state’s priceless natural treasures for future generations.

Ron Magill,

goodwill ambassador/conservation liaison,

Zoo Miami Foundation,

Miami