Florida TaxWatch is bulking up its leadership and research bench.

The independent, nonpartisan government watchdog just announced four hires as former Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp begins his tenure as President and CEO. The hires add operational, economic modeling and event-planning capacity to the Tallahassee organization.

Ray Monteleone, President of Paladin Global Partners and a longtime Florida TaxWatch Board member, will serve as Chief Operating Officer.

The group also hired Garrett Gouveia as a research economist, named Florida State University graduate student Rylan Clark as a Florida TaxWatch Research Fellow, and brought on Samantha Castaline, who previously worked for the organization as a consultant, as a full-time event marketing specialist.

Kottkamp said in a statement that Monteleone’s experience will help Florida TaxWatch “continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research” on issues affecting Florida.

“His depth and breadth of experience will be a tremendous asset to our organization as we continue to lead the way with timely, accurate and insightful research into issues impacting the nation’s third largest state,” he said.

Kottkamp also pointed to the research additions as a boost to Florida TaxWatch’s data-driven work, saying Gouveia will help analyze and expand the group’s data and that Clark will support its research output.

Castaline’s move into a full-time role, Kottkamp continued, positions the organization well in growing its events footprint and statewide initiatives.

He also teased more staffing announcements as Florida TaxWatch aims to expand its reach.

“Stay tuned,” he said.

Monteleone is a CPA and consulting executive whose background includes strategic management, mergers and acquisitions, compensation consulting and executive mentoring, with clients spanning health care, technology, manufacturing, education, financial institutions and nonprofits.

His civic and professional involvement includes Leadership Florida, multiple advisory and audit roles, and past leadership in Broward County education and civic organizations.

Gouveia, from West Palm Beach, is tasked with building economic models and contributing research on forces shaping Florida’s economy. A Florida State University graduate, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied economics and has worked with tools including Python, SAS, Power BI and SQL.

His prior research includes work on education economics and environmental policy, including an award-winning master’s project examining the economic fallout from the oyster industry collapse in Apalachicola.

Castaline, a communications specialist and former event manager for cannabis giant Trulieve, will manage Florida TaxWatch’s events calendar and help develop new statewide initiatives.

Conservative firebrand Joshua Wostal will face opposition this year in his re-election campaign for Hillsborough County Commission, District 7.

Aileen Rodriguez, a former regional director for former Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, has filed paperwork to run. Rodriguez, a Democrat, is so far the only candidate challenging Wostal.

Rodriguez is a career public relations expert, having run her own PR firm, AR Public Affairs and Strategic Solutions, since 2009. She also worked from 2014 to 2017 as a senior manager of executive affairs for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

Prior to that, she served as marketing communications director for the Helios Education Foundation and Communications Director for the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee for the Republican National Convention.

Rodriguez was previously registered as a Republican but changed her political affiliation in 2019, saying the GOP left her and no longer reflected her values as a Christian.

In her campaign announcement late Thursday, Rodriguez alluded to Wostal’s controversial, often combative management style from the dais.

“I see an opportunity to bring common sense and decency to our County Commission. The incumbent has consistently demonstrated an inability to engage in our political process in a civil manner,” she said. “I am running to serve everyone in Hillsborough County, regardless of political affiliation, and bring local government back to the people of Hillsborough County whose voices are drowned out by special interests.”

Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and raised in the Tampa Bay area. Her campaign will focus largely on the affordability crisis that is plaguing not just Hillsborough County residents, but those throughout the region, state and nation.

“While some folks pretend to care about protecting the wallets of our residents, I will listen to constituents, and work with public and private partners to find real solutions that reduce everyday costs,” Rodriguez said.

“Citizens need our County Commission to be focused on investing in affordable housing, childcare, and public transportation. These are the financial stressors families are facing every day. I look forward to being a genuine champion for the people of Hillsborough County and providing the considerate, dedicated, and empathetic servant leadership our residents deserve.”

Rodriguez also said she would prioritize infrastructure spending and expanded transportation options to break gridlock in Hillsborough County, calling such moves “common sense.”

District 7 is elected countywide, where Republicans hold a voter registration advantage with nearly 292,000 voters compared to nearly 273,000 Democrats. With another more than 217,000 independent voters, Rodriguez’s experience as both a Republican and Democrat could help bridge the voter registration gap by enticing moderate voters.

That could be especially true in a Midterm Election year expected to favor Democrats amid frustration with federal policies under the Donald Trump administration and GOP trifecta in Washington.

Historically, the party in power in the White House suffers losses in Midterm years, and this year is not expected to be any different. But it’s worth noting that in the last Midterm cycle, in 2022, Republicans overperformed in Florida even as they underperformed elsewhere in the nation.

That was also the same year the Hillsborough County Commission flipped red, with the defeat of two incumbent Democrats, shifting the board from a 5-2 Democratic advantage to a 4-3 Republican majority. Wostal was first elected that year, defeating incumbent Democrat Kimberly Overman with more than 52% of the vote despite being significantly underfunded.

The GOP grew that advantage further in 2024, and the board now has just two Democratic members.

Wostal immediately ruffled feathers after his election in 2022 by leading efforts to delay a property tax referendum to boost teacher pay, which ultimately received broad support when it passed in 2024. Wostal had pushed successfully to move the referendum from the 2024 ballot — a Presidential Election year with higher voter turnout — to 2026. The Hillsborough County School District sued, and ultimately won, putting the measure before voters in 2024 as originally intended.

Some took to calling him “Hostile Wostal,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Wostal also once spoke out against a longtime county health care tax that serves the poor.

As of the end of 2025, Wostal had already raised more than $108,000 for his race, with only about $1,000 of that spent. Because she only just filed to run, Rodriguez has not yet reported any fundraising.

Two Democrats had previously filed to challenge Wostal: former state Rep. Adam Hattersley and Mark Nash, who has sought office unsuccessfully before. Both have since withdrawn from the race.

A 70-year-old woman died after riding Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor roller coaster at Universal Studios, a state report said.

The incident happened Nov. 25. The woman, whose name was not given, passed away at the hospital, according to the quarterly theme park injury report released this week by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Universal did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Revenge of the Mummy ride is based on Universal’s “The Mummy” franchise starring Brendan Fraser.

The ride goes up to about 45 mph. Even though there are no loops or inversions, the ride has a few surprises, with mummies attacking and guests whizzing by in the darkness.

It’s not the first tragedy that’s occurred at the ride.

Months after Revenge of the Mummy opened in 2004, an Apopka man died after falling from the loading platform onto the tracks. The death was ruled as an accident, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.

The 70-year-old’s death is the second fatality for Universal within a span of a few months. A man with disabilities died in September, reportedly from multiple blunt head force trauma after riding Stardust Racers, a roller coaster at Universal’s Epic Universe. Universal later settled with the man’s family.

In total, 15 people had serious medical issues at Disney and Universal from this past October to December, a time when the holidays are in full swing and draw big crowds, the state injury report showed. Several visitors in their 70s ended up in the hospital for at least 24 hours after riding roller coasters.

Stardust Racers had two incidents in October where guests were hospitalized, according to the report. A 78-year-old man suffered chest pain Oct. 6, while a 61-year-old man went into cardiac arrest Oct. 14, the report said.

At Disney World, a 75-year-old man “had stroke-like symptoms” riding the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster in Hollywood Studios’ Toy Story Land.

A 72-year-old man became “disoriented” after riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster at Epcot. The report said the man had “a pre-existing condition” but doesn’t give any more details.

A 42-year-old man had a seizure riding the spinning Mad Tea Party ride at the Magic Kingdom.

A 19-year-old woman had an “altered mental status” riding Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge at Epic Universe.

A 49-year-old woman felt chest pain riding Jurassic World: VelociCoaster in November at Universal Islands of Adventure.

A 35-year-old woman passed out in Epcot’s The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The report said the woman had “a pre-existing condition” but doesn’t provide more details.

The state’s theme park injury report is one of the only ways the public can find out when someone gets hurt at Florida’s biggest theme parks, though the report offers sparse details.