Project L.I.F.T. combines job-training, community service and behavior modification with pioneering community solutions during difficult economic times. “At-risk” youth members of Project L.I.F.T. have the opportunity to literally affect the lives of hundreds of individuals in a positive way through innovative interventions and service learning experiences.
This sense of self-management and community responsibility will equip at-risk youth with problem solving capabilities to provide insight into why they choose certain negative behaviors and how to successfully intervene to avoid those behaviors in the future.
Each day, members of Project L.I.F.T. receive the opportunity to learn hands-on job skills, guided by professionals in designated fields. The projects that members work on and learn from are then made available to families in need. Surrounded by positive mentors, members are also provided with a safe and healthy environment to build valuable and meaningful relationships, which help them grow mentally and develop skills to prevent relapses. During this process, members are given opportunities to work on their “self” through structured behavioral interventions led by state licensed mental health professionals.
The product of the Project L.I.F.T. experience is not only a “Restored Youth,” but a youth who is better prepared to live and work independently.
I met up with Matt Churchey at Paddlefest and he told me about Project Lift.
The Dolphin Ecology Project is establishing a long-term field research and monitoring program to collect these data and evaluate how dolphins respond to changes in ecosystem health. Throughout the year, Project staff, scientists and volunteers photograph individual dolphins for identification and observe their activities, along with sampling environmental parameters and identifying and measuring the abundance of important dolphin prey species. Over time the Project intends to gain a better understanding about how dolphins utilize the different habitats that comprise the Florida Keys. The Project’s educational goal is to increase public awareness about dolphins and the interrelated nature of the Florida Keys’ habitats and the importance of South Florida ecosystem restoration efforts.
Volunteer to help with this exciting Project! Contact the Volunteer Stewardship Exchange of The Nature Conservancy at 305-289-9060. Become a Dolphin Ecology Project Member. Your contribution will support the ProjectÕs research and education programs, ensuring a sustainable future for humans, dolphins, and the ocean environment.
If you go to the link above there is a membership form link on the left, you can print the form and send it in with your tax deductible contribution.
They also have a nice poster with all the local dolphins on them and their t-shirts are beautiful.
Let’s make sure we support this wonderful project that supports our neighbors, the dolphins of the southern indian river lagoon.
Most of all lets support our good neighbors the dolphins of the southern indian river lagoon.
Who could blame them if this happened?
“So long and thanks for all the fish” from the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
My Dad, Arthur had two brothers Melvin and Edward and one sister, Millie. I never met my Uncle Edward because he was killed during WW2. But I knew him through stories my dad would tell me and I know that my Gramma Bertha and Grampa Max thought about him every day.
I always wondered what would have happened if he lived. What would he have been like (My Dad said he was a good kid.) Would have he have married? Would I have more cousins?
American cemetery in Cambridge,England
I found this today and I was able to leave a flower.
USAAF WORLD WAR II
Passenger M/Sgt. Edward Z. M. Gelman Lost
Hometown: Massachusetts
Squadron: 532nd 381st Bomb Group
Service# 11030709
Awards: Bronze Star
Pilot Captain Charles E. Ackerman Lost
Target: Ferry Mission
CASUALTIES NOT LISTED IN MACR
Date Lost: 23-Apr-45
Serial Number: #43-38856
Aircraft Model B-17G
Aircraft Letter:
Aircraft Name:
Location: southern side of North Barrule Isle of Man
Cause: Pilot error, 31 service men lost.
Reports from the time of this crash stated that no combat operations over Germany were planned, so servicemen from nine different units were billeted for a week’s leave to Northern Ireland. The men chosen were the support servicemen, the ground crews, armourers, mechanics and fitters – people who kept the aircraft flying, combat-ready and safe. Some of those men had been on duty since June 1943 and for most this was their first real break. This ferry flight from Ridgewell in Esssex to Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland with a normal crew and a large number of passengers was on course flying in low cloud when it crossed the coast of the Isle of Man. The flight, piloted by Captain Charles E. Ackerman was never to reach its destination. Shortly after the aircraft passed over Glen Mona and Corrany before flying into the steep southern slope of North Barrule about 200ft short of the summit of the hill. The aircraft disintegrated with most of the airframe being consumed by fire. The crash killed all 31 crew and passengers on the aircraft.
The sadness of this tragedy was compounded by the fact that it happened just two weeks before the end of the war.
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 43-38856 of the 534th Bombardment Squadron, 381st Bombardment Group, flew into the southern side of North Barrule on the 23rd April 1945.
The aircraft was on a ferry flight from Ridgewell in Esssex to Nutts Corner in Northern Ireland with a normal ferry crew and a large number of passengers. These passengers were additional aircrew and ground crew travelling to Northern Ireland for a short period of leave. The aircraft was on course flying in low cloud when it crossed the coast of the Isle of Man. Shortly after the aircraft passed over Glen Mona and Corrany before flying into the steep southern slope of North Barrule about 200ft short of the summit of the hill. The aircraft disintegrated with most of the airframe being consumed by fire. The crash killed all 31 crew and passengers on the aircraft.
American Cemetery in Cambridge, England
This was the second accident on the island involving a B-17 in less than 10 days, the previous accident also detailed on this site.
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and the second was awarded to the 1st Bomb Division as a whole for flying without fighter protection to bomb aircraft factories at Oschersleben on 11 January 1944.
When Adam was 13 we went to England for 3 weeks and we went to visit our Uncle Edward’s grave in Cambridge, England. It was amazing experience. They help you find the grave and then take you there with sand so you can take photos.
Alina Valdes “Left me wanting more. As a candidate, I learned quite a bit. I see why people have said to me that the more I do, the better I will get. I am ready for the next one.”
Yesterday I attended Candidate Training with Kevin Winchell in Palm Beach County. He referred to Wellstone Training and it for a moment I was terrified that I had not thought about Paul Wellstone for a very long time. TIme passed and people become a blur because they are not in front of us on 24 hour news cycle.
In 1998, Wellstone formed an exploratory committee and a leadership PAC, the Progressive Politics Network, that paid for his travels to Iowa and New Hampshire, two early primary states in the nomination process. He spoke before organized labor and local Democrats, using the slogan, “I represent the democratic wing of the Democratic Party”. Governor Howard Dean later incorporated that phrase into his stump speech in the 2004 US presidential election.[3]
On January 9, 1999, Wellstone called a press conference at the Minnesota State Capitol. Despite expectations that he would announce his candidacy, he stated he could not muster the stamina necessary for a national campaign, citing chronic back problems he ascribed to an old wrestling injury. His pain was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
On October 25, 2002, Wellstone, along with seven others, died in an airplane crash in northern Minnesota, at 10:22 a.m. He was 58 years old. The other victims were his wife, Sheila; one of his three children, Marcia; the two pilots, his driver, and two campaign staffers. The airplane was en route to Eveleth, where Wellstone was to attend the funeral of Martin Rukavina, a steelworker whose son Tom Rukavina served in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Wellstone decided to go to the funeral instead of a rally and fundraiser in Minneapolis attended by Mondale and fellow Senator Ted Kennedy. He was to debate Norm Coleman in Duluth, Minnesota, that same night.
In 2007, former First LadyRosalynn Carter joined with David Wellstone to push Congress to pass legislation regarding mental health insurance.[54] Wellstone and Carter worked to pass the “Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008” which requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses when policies include both types of coverage; both testified before a House subcommittee regarding the bill in July 2007.[54] David said of his father, “Although he was passionate on many issues, there was not another issue that surpassed this in terms of his passion.”[54] Because Paul Wellstone’s brother had suffered from mental illness, Wellstone had fought for changes in mental health and insurance laws when he reached the Senate.[54]
The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (a part of Division C) mandates that if U.S. health insurance companies provide coverage for mental health and substance abuse, the coverage must be equal for conditions such as psychological disorders, alcoholism, and drug addiction.[4][24][25] This act continues and expands upon the previous Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. It states that financial requirements such as deductibles and copayments and lifetime or dollar limits to mental health benefits and substance abuse disorder benefits should be no more restrictive than those on medical and surgical benefits.[26] MHPAEA applies to employer-sponsored health insurance plans with more than 50 employees, though parity is also extended to small group and individual plans under the Affordable Care Act.
He would have loved Obama Care because people like his brother could get the care he deserved.
“When today’s progressives remember Paul, they tend to focus on his sheer political courage. Paul was the only senator up for re-election in 2002 to vote against the Iraq War — a vote he told people he was convinced would cost him his job.
One of Paul’s most famous quotes is this: “Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives.
The big fights — war and peace, justice and liberty — are important. But there aren’t any small fights. And where Paul made the biggest impact — where his work resulted in the greatest improvement of people’s lives — was on issues that don’t usually lead anyone’s stump speech: mental health, domestic violence, homelessness among veterans.
Paul’s brother, Stephen, had struggled with mental illness since he was 19. And Paul knew that many people who suffered from mental health problems were forced to suffer all over again because their insurance companies wouldn’t cover the treatments they needed. Paul’s own parents spent 20 years paying down the bill for Stephen’s treatment.
So he found a Republican with a similar first-hand understanding of the problem, New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, and the two introduced legislation that would require insurance companies to treat mental health the same way they did physical health. Paul didn’t live to see mental health parity become law — but it did (thanks in large part to another Republican colleague, Minnesota’s Jim Ramstad), and that crusade has improved, even saved, millions of lives.
hat’s why Paul’s political career began by organizing college students and low-income women to fight for better anti-poverty measures, and organizing farmers to fight against utility companies planning to install power lines on their land. And that’s why the organization that bears his name and carries forward his legacy, Wellstone Action, isn’t a think tank or a super PAC. Wellstone Action trains organizers — not just to articulate progressive values, but to do the “prosaic, practical work” that makes a difference.”
First campaign “Looking for Rudy”
Opposing the Iraq War
“Fast Paul” awesome campaign ad
I’ll never forget the day that Paul Wellstone died. I can never forget this.
Stormwater management is a big deal and according to the employees of SFWMD they couldn’t even deal with another Issac situation never mind a Katrina Situation. But I’m sure if something bad happens they will do what they always do they will blame it on the ACOE.
It’s time to stop the circle jerk and have assurances that if something bad happens we are not going to float away.
or we could just blame it on Obama like Rick Scott (Who blames the federal government and then when they try to do something good and right for our citizens refuses it.)
Blaming “inaction” by the Army Corps of Engineers for the lake flooding threats and the polluting discharges, Scott called for an immediate influx of federal spending on strengthening the lake’s dike and in backlogged Everglades restoration projects that are supposed to create alternatives for dumping lake water to the east and west
Let’s bring it on home to its deja vu all over again.
he Big Sugar Summit will pull the curtain back on the sugar industry. We’ll dig as deep into the muck as we can, in one day, to uncover just how profoundly Big Sugar affects us all. You’ll get the facts regarding the sugar industry’s influence and impact on Florida and its citizens. Our speakers will represent a wide spectrum of the political, academic, scientific and advocacy realms.
The following topics will be covered:
History of Big Sugar in the EAA
Sugar’s impact on the Everglades
Sugar burning practice and impacts
Health impacts
State-level political influence
Federal-level political influence
U.S. Sugar Program
Local economy in the EAA
Sugar Hill Sector Plan
A full agenda and speaker list will be available soon.
Note: There will be a social hour immediately after the program.
“The South Florida Water Management District is directed by nine Governing Board members who set policy for the agency. They reside within the agency’s 16-county region and represent a cross section of interests, including the environment, agriculture, local government, recreation and business. Governing Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. They generally serve four-year terms.
Kevin Powers
Vice Chair
[Term: 5/2013 – 3/2017]
At-large member for an area that includes St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
Occupation: Partner, Indiantown Realty Corp
Professional, Business and Service Affiliations:
•
Director, Stuart Martin County Chamber of Commerce
•
Member, Indiantown Western Martin County Chamber
of Commerce
•
Former Director, United Way of Martin County
Former Vice President and Director, Martin County
Taxpayers Association
–
Former Director, Economic Council of Martin County
Support continued funding to store, clean and move more water south from Lake Okeechobee, rather than having it discharged to tide through our estuary. Recognize that CERP and CEPP projects need to be consistently funded until their completion. Note that all projects help to protect the environment while providing Jobs and Economic benefit to all communities in South Florida.
I wrote that Janeen was kind enough to give him some fish to bring to Tallahassee and he was going speak to some people on our behalf. So for five minutes we were hopeful.
It must must have been quite a trip because he came back and told us that RIck Scott, The legislature and SFWMD was our best friends. So where did the fish go? Did he just say this because some people wanted some for their desk? Did some people take the fish and then say FU to all of us? What happened in Tallahassee?
You can hear it for yourself.
The last meeting I went to I honestly thought I could a glimpse of human being on his and others faces when I asked them what was their plan to stop the discharges. Kevin spoke about being a kid on the Indian River Lagoon and going to Boy Scout Island.
He must have gotten something really good in Tallahassee. Something better than saving our drinking water, saving South Florida from salt water intrusion, recharging the aquifers, stopping the toxic discharges.
He lives here. He can’t even run away from the damage that he has done. And during this whole time he couldn’t call his friends? He couldn’t call his neighbors and say “Hey, this is what the story is. But you know what let’s figure something out. Let’s a find a solution for the pollution!”
I totally understand people having a difference of opinion. But I also expect when people are in charge and there is a problem they find solutions and they don’t play games. We have had nothing but games played. Us. The citizens of Martin County. Your friends and neighbors.
My Dad always told me to be a good friend and neighbor. Here are 10 worse neighbors in movies.
What we need is a good neighbor. Someone who is concerned about us, our economy, our water, our real estate, our welfare.
We need to have a neighbor like Wilson.
or even these guys.
than this guy
Carter Hayes (played by Michael Keaton) moves in to an apartment in a nice townhouse in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights then refuses to pay rent. Not only that, he locks himself in his room and begins to tear the place apart. Then he begins introducing thousands of cockroaches in to the house! His aim? To make the house unlivable so the owners are forced to move out of it and sell it.
And I have to wonder- is this whats happening to us?
“The South Florida Water Management District is directed by nine Governing Board members who set policy for the agency. They reside within the agency’s 16-county region and represent a cross section of interests, including the environment, agriculture, local government, recreation and business. Governing Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. They generally serve four-year terms.
The South Florida Water Management District encompasses two major watershed basins, the Okeechobee Basin and the Big Cypress Basin. The Big Cypress Basin also has a Basin Board, with appointed members setting policy. One Governing Board member also serves as the chair of the Big Cypress Basin Board.
The Governing Board appoints the Executive Director, who directs all South Florida Water Management District activities. The Florida Senate confirms this candidate.”
Glades, Highlands, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties
Education:
J.D., with honors – University of Florida College of Law
B.S. in Business Administration, Business & Finance – University of Florida
Occupation:
Attorney with Shutts and Bowen LLP
Professional, Business and Service Affiliations:
Board Member, Smart Growth Alliance
Wekiva River System Advisory Management Committee
Member, West Orange Chamber of Commerce
President, West Orange Political Alliance
Former Member, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
From wikipedia:
“Shutts & Bowen LLP is an Am Law 200 Florida-based law firm with over 240 attorneys in seven offices in the State of Florida and one office in Europe. Shutts & Bowen was founded in 1910. Frank B. Shutts came to Miami in 1909 and became the legal representative of Henry M. Flagler and the Florida East Coast Railway Company. In 1910 he formed a professional association with Henry F. Atkinson. In 1912 Crate D. Bowen joined the firm which settled on the name Shutts and Bowen in 1919. In 1910 Shutts organized the Miami Herald Publishing Company and was its President and principal stockholder.[2] Shutts and Bowen is among the List of largest U.S. law firms by number of lawyers. Its offices are located in the Florida cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa,[3] and Tallahassee. Its Tallahassee office is headed by Bobby Brantley.[4] According to statistics submitted to American Lawyer, Shutts & Bowen recorded $127.5 million in revenue for the year 2012 with profits per partner averaging $682,000.”
“Daniel O’Keefe, a real estate attorney in the Orlando office of Shutts & Bowen, is the new chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, the state agency that oversees water resources in the Everglades and 16 counties.”
What he wanted to do when he started.
Our runoff from (Orlando’s) Shingle Creek makes it to the Kissimmee chain and Lake Okeechobee, and that’s ultimately got to be cleansed. Storing more on private and public lands during the wet season, rather than just flushing it out — that’s been a successful and effective strategy, paying for that storage instead of just buying more land.
» Two other items also are a focus of mine: An assessment of lands — the district owns something like 1.4 million acres. We really need to take a serious look at that and ask ourselves, ‘Is it serving its purpose?’ If some is not, and we’re just paying to own it, should it be (sold as) surplus? We could take the money and find better ways to use those dollars. And the last thing is water supply. Just how much do we have? From all sources, surface, aquifer and alternatives such as reuse and desal, and what about the next 30 to 40 years? We expect to have a draft water-supply plan by September.
“Recognizing that a healthy ecosystem is vital to a healthy economy, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is making significant progress on dozens of initiatives and projects to improve water quality and increase storage.
“The most effective way to achieve restoration is by completing the host of projects now being designed or under construction across the region,” said SFWMD Executive Director Blake Guillory. “Major progress is being made, from wildlife returning to the Kissimmee to heavy construction work south of Lake Okeechobee on reservoirs and treatment wetlands that will help protect coastal estuaries and the Everglades.”
Reservoir south of lake Okeechobee? no kidding. do tell!
There are other Daniel O’Keefes.
This one is missing in Australia if you come across him.
Daniel Lawrence O’Keefe (February 25, 1928 – August 29, 2012) was an editor at Reader’s Digest,[1] author, and the inventor of Festivus, an annual secular holiday now celebrated on December 23.[2] His son, Dan O’Keefe, was a writer for the Seinfeld[3] television show and incorporated the family holiday into an episode of the program,[1] and in 2005 published The Real Festivus.
Why bring this up? Because of Daniel Lawrence O’Keefe we have some great memes for Daniel O’Keefe Chair of the Board of Governors at SFWMD.
check em out.
Need I say more?
well just a little more.
I think Daniel O’Keefe understands our disappointment. My main one is his seeing us as “uneducated” and not taking the time or having respect to sit down and hash this out.
Thank you Kenny Hinkle for this great video. This is great work.
Last Thursday SFWMD voted to terminate the 46,000 acre option on the sugar lands where our reservoir was suppose to go.
You know the one that was going clean and convey the water south they way GOD intended it and man screwed it up. Yes, that land. The one that was suppose recharge the aquifers, help stop salt water intrusion, save South Florida’s water and help us to to stop the toxic discharges.
Your job was to read the water study. What I’m confused about is why you thought we didn’t read it and talk about it and ask questions about it? We, as in all us advocates, actually talk to each other and communicate with each other daily. We share articles. .We talk about the water every day. Multiple times a day.
I also think you need to do your homework and understand what you are calling local runoff. have you ever been to western martin county? Seriously. Your a horse person and a real estate person. I’m sure your great at both. But to spit in the face of the people who have lived and breathed this water issue is unacceptable.
If you want people to treat you with respect then if has to be both ways. You were totally disrespectful.
We were getting “local runoff” and we did not have green algae. It wasn’t pretty. But before that things were clearing up and they were going test and then the ACOE opened the gates.
“If your concerned about the estuaries.” really. If you were you would understand your remarks were simply sugar speak and a big wink wink.
There is no one more well informed that the group before you. 6 months before the discharges we were documenting here and havn’t stopped.
We also have other pages where thousands of people talk to each other every day. Every day. Multiple times a day. We wake up with each and we at night time we check in to see whats going on.
So before you insult all my hard working friends who have given up their lives for this you should do your homework. Actually, they deserve an apology. You need to apologize.
You can send it here and i’ll post it. You also need to watch the video above. and then you need to resign immediately.
Of course Mitch Hutchcraft doesn’t want the land in play. He is also in real estate and I’m sure part of your golden parachute will be to build big things on this land. Good luck with that!
You cannot build big things south of the lake. Why? We are getting the discharges is to protect the people south of the lake because they are in danger because of the dike. So putting more people in danger is not an option. If you all think its ok o build then maybe it’s not as dangerous as we were told.
No offense.You are really out of touch and you have no business being part of the people who decide how to deal with our water. In fact, your entire presentation was beyond frightening.
Then my favorite part was I could hear Gayle just having a meltdown and Mr Moran telling her that she was exposed to propaganda.
really? hahahhh
That is seriously rich.
and if it propaganda why is Senator Negron promising to buy other land so we get all the scientists together and send the water south? Why?
State Sen. Joe Negron said Friday he’ll continue “full-speed ahead” seeking $500 million to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee, even though the option of getting it from the U.S. Sugar Corp. is dead.
Now if our Congressman Patrick Murphy understands this and our Senator Joe Negron Understands this. Why don’t you?
Mr Moran should have attended the Everglades Coalition meeting where we listened to real “scientists” talk about sea level rise and we went to a great session about the northern estuaries.
He should have gone he would have learned something.
or at least read a book.
Here’s a great book he can read!
Because sir, if your going to berate us. you really need to know the facts.
Please bone up because I’m sure your not calling the following people propagandists. You surely have time to take that back.
Here are the following people who have been going to SFWMD plead with the Board of Govenor’s to buy the land and send the water south.
US (The River Warriors)
The Everglades Coaltion
The Everglades Trust
The Everglades Foundation
Florida Audobon
Tropical Audobon
Everglades Law Center
The Indian RiverKeeper
Ray Judah
Mark Perry Director of Florida Oceanographic, WRAC member
Palm Beach County Soil
Ed Fielding, Martin County Commissioner
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Sewell’s Point Commissioner and WRAC member
Dr Gary Goforth
The Sierra Club
Maggy Hurchella
I’m sure there are more. You get the drift.
You have no intention of doing anything because your orders are clear. Privatize the water and you will be rewarded handsomely.
When you sink this low can you really trust the puppet master?
Axis of evil: Big Sugar- Legislature- SFWMD
Just so you know the difference THIS is a propaganda campaign. Trying to stop you from polluting us, saving the water, saving the Everglades and stopping sea level rise and salt water intrusion certainly is not propaganda. But YOUR propaganda campaign is just as bad as this. Now lets all go get some coffee made from snow.
cyndi lenz 