“The request is for more water than the controversial Niagara Bottling plant pumped when it first opened in Groveland. Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be.
Florida’s water-management districts can’t say no to anyone. Despite a sloppy application, chances are high that Spring Water Resources of Ocala — doesn’t the clever name sound like it’s a group doing good? — will be getting permission to pump 181 million gallons a year.
The company’s plan is to withdraw water from 10 acres just south of County Road 470 and east of U.S. Highway 301 in Sumter County. Some 144 tanker trucks a day would take the raw water to the Azure Bottling plant in Leesburg, owned by a Fruitland Park couple.
There, plans call for bottling the water and selling it to five retailers, including Niagara Bottling and Nestlé Water, according to a business plan filed with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
The proposal is to drill a 10-inch well near Fern Spring, but don’t worry — the application swears that tests show the pumping won’t hurt the spring at all. Never mind that engineers at the water district have never even heard of the process the water company’s consultant used to determine the spring is safe.”
We can’t afford to have our water sucked dry.
Watch this clip from Flow: For the love of water about nestle
Your Florida Government at work protecting big business and stealing yet another resource from its citizens.
Save January 12,2016 for Florida Awake the State. This year the Treasure Coast will have our very own “Awake the State” group at 4 PM. The Meeting place will be the River Warrior Lodge.
Thank you to Mary Westcott Higgins, candidate for State Representative for District 82 for bringing “Awake the State” to the Treasure Coast.
“We will rally on the bridge to “Awake the State” the first day of Legislative Session. We will “Awake the State” with signs addressing our concerns. Then, we will have snacks and drinks at the Lodge.”
Awake The State is an organic, grassroots movement of everyday Floridians fighting to protect and restore our middle class.
This is a non partisan event.
From the “Awake the State” website.
“Gov. Rick Scott and his extreme allies in the Legislature have launched an all-out assault on Florida’s middle class. They’ve put our public schools in danger, harmed the quality of health care Floridians receive, and cost our communities thousands their jobs.
Floridians are fed up with their governor and legislative leaders insisting on extreme, regressive policies that hurt hard working Floridians. Enough is enough.
It’s time to Awake The State and urge our state legislators to end the war on our middle class and instead work to protect and restore our middle class by investing in our future.”
We are being assaulted by all sides by the very people who were elected to protect us.
From the Awake the state website
Commonly Asked Questions
What is Awake the State and how did it begin?
Ever since Gov. Scott and legislative leaders announced their plans to cut thousands of jobs, raise taxes on middle class Floridians and make the deepest cuts to education in history, people from all across the state have been looking for a way to voice their opposition.
Progress Florida, Florida Watch Action and America Votes joined together to provide a platform for everyday Floridians to make their voices heard. In 2011, Awake the State started as a Facebook page that quickly grew to thousands strong who organized rallies in cities all across the state of Florida on March 8th, the opening day of the legislative session.
Who is behind it?
Awake the State is made up of Floridians from every walk of life including educators, healthcare workers, police and firefighters, advocates for consumers, middle class families and more.
So please join in so we can all make a difference.
So according the news John Michael Janaskas, who was court ordered to drug rehab in Jensen beach, was dropped off at a Walmart because the rehab center “didn’t want the heat.” The news reported that “Martin County sex offender” was taken to another rehab in Miramar. We still have lots of questions.
I want to be very clear. I am very much for good treatment. Our citizens do not have the option of a special treatment houses. They have nothing. Our mentally ill end up in jail. Or they get 15 minute at New Horizens to get their prescription refilled. I worked on a great CD unit in Ft Lauderdale. In order to work there I had to be credentialed. A few months ago I had an issue with urinating for my urine test. I had to pay 250 dollars for a blood test and I was happy to do so. But I (The RN with no record is guilty and has no to proven innocent). These guys are just innocent and through some loop hole they do not have to obey the same laws and rules as the rest of us.
Why won’t our legislators do something about this?
How does a person who is a sex offender get court ordered to Jensen Beach to a licensed drug rehab around the corner from me and then get dropped off at Walmart? Do these people have the good sense to do business and keep the the rest of us safe?
The news reported they could not say which recovery center because it was protected by HIPAA. People are protected by HIPPA not buildings. Rehabs, sober houses etc are a matter of public record.
So yesterday I heard a bunch of things. I was told these places cannot be regulated. This place can and is regulated under the laws of the State of Florida which means it follows the rest of the rules that we all do. They will be investigated but we still have not answered the question as to why are people being ordered for treatment in Florida a state with such an incredible huge drug problem. This is like the issue of the Lost dogs of South Carolina. Why are we bringing more dogs to a state that has a huge amount of homeless dogs that are being euthanized.
So someone needs to find out about this. How does this work?
The treatment center dropped him off at Walmart and not the Martin County Sheriff’s office because “They didn’t want the heat.”
So in fact, the people that put us in danger was the treatment center and the person in question found his way to another treatment center because he knew he was in deep doodoo.
Apparently, when he got kicked out of the treatment center he reached out to the outreach coordinator at the facility in Jensen Beach who got him here in the first place. This person got him into the center in Miramar. Where was the person when the BOLO went out? Did this person call the police explain the situation?
So the treatment center has a lot “splainin to do.
And they will. They have lots of people to answer to.
The good news is this issue has put this issue front and center. I wrote last week about motels being bought up and turned into treatment centers, sober homes, half ways houses for the people up north is really coming to light. The fact Martin County has allow these place to sprout up everywhere in our neighbors it seems they have a lot of “splanin to do.
Instead of repeating the same thing over and over again there are things that can be looked at. There is a difference between a “sober home” and a licensed facility.
The sheriff himself confused calling this a sober home when it’s not. It’s a licensed drug rehab. So someone please educate him as to the difference.
“A lot of people have reached out to me this week which is great. What I heard is this: “They are popping up everywhere and people are worried. One person said she is constantly calling the police and no one is doing anything. I heard the problem is Epic is Rio. That MCSO has no interest. There is drug abuse and distribution and break ins.”
Which is why I laugh when some guy want’s to build some massive yuppie land in Rio. Who is going to buy these places between the drug issues and the train horns and the filthy dirty stinky water? A lot of people. Want to know why? All this will get sweep under the rug. It won’t get dealt with.
We know this happens because we see it. I see it in FIsherman’s Haven. I see it at the corner store when someone asks me for money to buy pot. Everyday it get scarier over there.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-03-08/news/fl-sober-homes-state-crackdown-20140308_1_sober-houses-sober-homes-group-homes
“For years, the proliferation of sober houses has been a source of frustration for city leaders and neighbors.
Both groups groused about the lack of regulation in place to govern sober houses, which are group homes that shelter people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions.
“It’s the wild west,” Delray Beach Mayor Gary Glickstein said.
Sober houses dot the landscape in several Broward and Palm Beach county communities, including in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach.
But now two proposals aim to bring order to what many say is a chaotic situation.
A proposed state law under consideration in the annual Florida legislative session would impose regulations on the facilities.
“Unfortunately, there are houses popping up everywhere which are “addiction counseling” houses. Some on my very street. When I asked what I can do about it, the city basically said “Follow your instinct. We can’t refuse because it is an ADA compliance.”
The measure would require registration with the state, including disclosure of the number of people served at each site, and implement background checks. Operators would have to show proof of fire, safety and health inspections and compliance with local zoning ordinances. And felons convicted of violent crimes wouldn’t be allowed as owners and operators.
Neighbors seethe over unsupervised residents congregating in and around the homes and city officials complain they’re powerless to do anything, even in the face of problems, because people recovering from addictions are protected under federal fair housing and disability laws. Clemens, Glickstein and Hager said government officials don’t know who’s staffing the homes, what kind of people are residing in them, or even basic numbers about how many exist and how many residents are there.
“Unregulated sober homes are popping up in the middle of neighborhoods and in many cases essentially changing the character of those neighborhoods,” Clemens said. Hager said the sober homes “have been plaguing our cities and our residents.”
Glickstein and state Rep. Gwyndolen “Gwyn” Clarke-Reed, D-Deerfield Beach, said the number of sober homes increased during the real estate meltdown, during which foreclosed houses were bought cheaply and turned into sober homes.
“Something definitely has to be done,” Clarke-Reed said.
Not so fast, said James Green, a West Palm Beach lawyer who has repeatedly and successfully challenged cities’ attempts to restrict sober homes in South Florida. He said people in recovery are a protected class under the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It’s a problem that’s motivated by hostile neighbor prejudice against people in recovery,” Green said, urging people to substitute blacks or Jews for people in recovery. “If there was neighborhood opposition to people who belong to other protected groups, we’d be saying that they were racist or anti-Semitic.”
Efforts to impose restrictions amount to politicians pandering to “the voices of intolerance,” he said. “It’s more easy to demonize than understand.”
He said the model of having people “who are committed to sobriety” living and working together is a successful way to help people stay away from drugs and alcohol.”
This is great but it’s not what is happening.
The issue I have with Mr Green is this. I understand what he is saying. but we have no idea who the people are that are running these places. Are they even licensed mental health counselors. We are all for recovery. What we are not for is becoming alcoholic/drug center of the universe. There is no regulation. I’m a nurse and in order to work with people who are protected under the American’s Disabilities Act I have to be credentialed. Finger prints. urine tests, FBI background checks, physicals, tb tests, cpr and more. It cost’s me a fortune to stay credentialed. If a person is protected under the American’s Disabilities Act then the people taking care of them need to be credentialed. It’s not intolerance. It’s keeping the people safe.
This is Florida. Land of the Scam. If there is a loophole it will be found and only until something tragic happens will something maybe be done.
Again and again the people of Martin County are not protected. We are the Cassidaga of drug addiction. Send us your heroin addicts. We don’t have enough of our own.
So these are the big ticket items that we need to know about.
Who is running these sober homes? Are they credentialed under the State of Florida?
Why are people getting court ordered from Florida? How does that work?
Is there a limit to how many facilities can go into a county.
Why are these places even here and our citizens do not have any services? (Who does that)
Are the police going to clean up Rio and other areas where drug abuse, drug distribution is rampant
This morning there is nothing on the new about John Michael Janaskas. Why is that?
A group that is intent on destroying our bears, panthers, manatees and every piece of green we have in our state. It’s also quite obvious that RIck is ruled by the Koch brothers because his agenda is their agenda. Not ours.
Last year we saw an incredible dysfunctional Florida legislature and the will of the people even for little things was just totally ignored. Like we didn’t exist.
They really don’t care. Not Rick Scott nor the people who represent you.
“AFP is extremely disappointed in leaders in Florida suggesting that the Sunshine State should create a health insurance exchange” said Slade O’Brien, AFP’s Florida State Director. “An exchange will increase insurance premiums on consumers and taxes on hardworking families. Florida’s best intentions will be masked by the federal government’s onerous requirements.”
“Americans for Prosperity, the free-market advocacy group financed by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, is going on the attack.
The group sent mail ads Monday to the districts of Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and 24 other senators over their support for a plan to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
“The Florida Senate continues to move forward on a plan to give good people bad coverage,” the mailer states.
AFP sent the mailers to the districts of senators who voted for the Medicaid expansion plan in committee. Gardiner, who is vice president of external affairs at Orlando Health, doesn’t sit on any committee as Senate President, but pushed expansion from the onset of the legislative session.”
“The heated race for governor in the Sunshine State is just around the corner, and after throwing his tantrum on national television, Rick Scott needs something of a miracle to win reelection. Luckily for Scott, he’s got the support of the billionaire Koch brothers and their extensive political network: Koch Industries has made large contributions to Scott’s campaign, and the Kochs’ primary political arm, Americans For Prosperity, has put more than 40 paid staffers on the ground in the Sunshine State.
Scott’s ties to the Koch brothers go back a ways. In 2013, Scott spoke at Americans For Prosperity’s “Defending the American Dream Summit” in Orlando the very same week that he skipped his own three-day education summit, a stark juxtaposition of priorities that drew this rebuke from Tampa Bay Times:
“Unless he’s worried about his base or the lingering threat of a primary challenge, it baffles us that Scott – who couldn’t find time to attend any of a three-day education summit he called himself – would find the time to speak at the AFP “Defending the American Dream Summit”… Maybe he hopes the Koch brothers, who founded AFP, will show some love to Scott’s Let’s Get to Work Committee.”
“This year, AFP’s annual summit was hosted in Texas, and Scott’s fellow Republican governor and friend Rick Perry joked about razzing him because the Texas summit was better attended than Scott’s Orlando event. Perry recalled, “Rick Scott always tries to one-up me, so you know, he was the first to call me and say ‘Hey, we got Americans for Prosperity, what’d you get?’”
Of course Scott called Perry to brag about his support from the Koch brothers. And of course the Koch brothers support Rick Scott, they share the same agenda – opposition to raising the minimum wage, denying the science of climate change, refusing to expand Medicaid. It’s a match made in heaven.
When Floridians go to the polls on Tuesday, they should bear this in mind. Rick Scott is the special interests governor. The Koch brothers are just one of his many interests.”
Steve Crisafulli says it’s amazing “anything” gets passed in GOP-led Legislature
“The intense divide between the Florida House and Senate this year was so intense that House Speaker Steve Crisafulli led his members out of the chambers three days prematurely this past April, leading for the first of a series of special sessions in 2015.
His other top issue is tackling water policy, where he invoked the drought in California as a reason why the Legislature must act this year. When the House broke early from session in April, they failed to pass a water bill, though the Senate companion was approved on a 39-1 vote.”
Amazing how hindsight is BS and this guy has no problem spending money on special sessions while people have no food.
I think for everyone special session we have a portion of the money spent should be donated to our local food banks. An idea so horrid if it really did happen the GOP would make sure they agreed rather than make sure there was food.
Humane Society Florida director Kate McFall called the name exemptions “fishy,” but said it makes sense considering the widespread opposition.
“One hundred and three is a lot. It sounds strange,” McFall said. “(The hunt) is being painted as a small group of trophy hunters, so it makes sense for them to not want their names out there. It has hit a nerve with a lot of people.”
“And even though it may seem counter-intuitive, anti-intellectualism has little to do with intelligence. We know little about the raw intellectual abilities of Dylann Roof, but we do know that he is an ignorant racist who willfully allowed irrational hatred of an entire demographic to dictate his actions. Whatever his IQ, to some extent he is a product of a culture driven by fear and emotion, not rational thinking, and his actions reflect the paranoid mentality of one who fails to grasp basic notions of what it means to be human.
What Americans rarely acknowledge is that many of their social problems are rooted in the rejection of critical thinking or, conversely, the glorification of the emotional and irrational. What else could explain the hyper-patriotism ) that has many accepting an outlandish notion that America is far superior to the rest of the world? Love of one’s country is fine, but many Americans seem to honestly believe that their country both invented and perfected the idea of freedom, that the quality of life here far surpasses everywhere else in the world.”
So if your frustrated just understand YOU have better critical thinking skills.
One can hardly imagine a better case of inconsistent thinking and misapplied brain power in the public arena today. Carson, a successful brain surgeon and Yale graduate, is obviously intelligent and well educated. Yet he continually says things that any clear-thinking high school kid would cringe at.
He mocks the Big Bang Theory as absurd. (Like all theories, the Big Bang Theory is a work in progress, of course, but it is based on solid scientific evidence.)
A state of Florida website laconically refers to the project known as “Mod Waters” this way: “The Modified Water Deliveries Project project is a federal ecological restoration project in south Florida designed to improve water delivery to Everglades National Park. The completion of Mod Waters is required before the implementation of portions of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Mod Waters is being implemented by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
Florida legislators file bills that would prevent communities from regulating fracking
Posted By Erin Sullivan on Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 7:45 AM
“On Sept. 17, the League of Women Voters of Florida held a town hall on fracking. The event, which featured speakers from both pro- and anti-fracking factions, was well-attended by people concerned about the idea that utility companies are eyeing our state as fracking’s new frontier.
What better time, then, for two state legislators to quietly file pro-fracking bills, while so many activists were occupied?
On Sept. 17, Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, introduced SB 318 (aka, “Regulation of Oil and Gas Resources”). The bill summary is completely blunt about what it’s proposing: “Preempting the regulation of all matters relating to the exploration, development, production, processing, storage, and transportation of oil and gas.” Not only that, if a municipality has already decided that it does not wish to allow fracking within its jurisdiction, this bill would declare “existing ordinances and regulations relating thereto void.” The bill would provide an exception for certain zoning ordinances (it doesn’t say which zoning ordinances, but we like to think that it would at least respect your right to not have fracking companies set up shop in your residentially zoned backyard) but only if those ordinances were in place before Jan. 1, 2015. Interestingly, the bill doesn’t contain the word fracking anywhere in its text – nor does it contain the words “hydraulic fracturing.” Instead, it refers to fracking as the very innocuous-sounding practice of “high-pressure well stimulation.”
Meanwhile, over in the House, Rep. Ray Wesley Rodriques, R-Fort Myers, filed a bill the same day that would do essentially the same thing as SB 318. Rodrigues’ bill, HB 191, declares that it’s the state’s job to regulate all things relating to the oil and gas industry, “to the exclusion of all existing and future ordinances or regulations relating thereto adopted by any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state. Any such existing ordinance or regulation is void. A county or municipality may, however, enforce an existing zoning ordinance adopted before January 1, 2015, if the ordinance is otherwise valid.”
Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, is one of the legislators leading the charge against fracking – he’s put forward a bill for the 2016 session that would ban fracking in the state completely: “We have a very unique geology here,” he says, pointing out that the fragile limestone bed beneath our soil would not be able to withstand the practice of shooting chemicals into it at high pressure. “Our geology does not allow for fracking to be done safely.”
Soto predicts that these pro-fracking bills will likely “sail through the House,” but that there will be a battle in the Senate. Soto says that if people do care about how fracking could impact the state, or about the state’s attempt to pre-empt home rule, they should contact their legislators. “We need all the help we can get from Floridians across the state,” he says. “We’d love support for the ban. Other states have done it. New York did it last year, so it’s not like it can’t happen here.”
If these bills pass, he says, “there would be no sanctuary against this in any county in the state. … it’s concerning, to say the least.”
Something similar happened recently in Texas. The small city of Denton, Texas banned fracking within its borders in late 2014. Less than six months later, the state of Texas signed a bill into law that banned any bans on fracking, nullifying Denton’s law. A story in the Dallas Morning News pointed out that “numerous studies” have tied fracking to earthquakes, and here has been a marked increase in seismic activity in the Dallas area recently. On Sept. 21, an earthquake that measured 2.6 M on the Richter scale shook the city. The San Antonio Current says it was the “more powerful than any of the other multiple earthquakes that hit the area this year.”
Although the U.S. Geological Survey has said that the cause of recent quakes in Dallas is not clear, a study released in May by Southern Methodist University concluded that stresses caused by “oil and gas activity” in the area are likely contributors.
“That was the message from a press conference held Monday afternoon in St. Petersburg, as state Representatives Dwight Dudley (D-St. Petersburg), Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Miami), and Amanda Murphy (D-New Port Richey) spoke out against a decision last week by the Florida Public Service Commission that would allow Florida Power & Light to collect up to $500 million per year from customers to further invest ratepayer money in natural-gas production. FP&L has roughly 4.6 million customers, but none in the Tampa Bay area (where Duke Energy and TECO are the main providers).
“Consumers are getting screwed again,” Dudley said in a phone call with Florida Politics late Monday afternoon. “A five-member panel of unelected people decide they’re going to allow this huge corporation get $500 million a year from ratepayers to subsidize and pay for fracking – drilling exploration and production of natural gas and oil,” he said with obvious disdain, adding, “It’s a staggering ripoff.”
More unelected people stealing thing from us.
Fracking is not happening right now in Florida. In late April, a proposal by Naples Republican state Senator Garrett Richter that would put “responsible regulations” in place for fracking failed to advance.
What’s it to him?
Our savings BTW will be 2 bucks a year. We can buy what two cucumbers with that. I can’t even buy the ingredients for my smoothie with that (cucumber, cantaloupe, almond milk, local honey and ice cubes). FPL wants 500 million dollars from you and can’t even buy you a smoothie.
Drilling has come under increased scrutiny in the past year, partly because the Collier-Hogan well, south of Lake Trafford, was fracked at the end of 2013.
Richter’s bill (SB 1468) defines the process as a “well intervention performed by injecting more than 100,000 gallons of fluids into a rock formation at high pressure” to create fractures to increase production at an oil or gas well.
He said the bill was crafted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, with input from other stakeholders including Collier County and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Dee Ann Miller, a spokeswoman for the DEP, said the agency collaborated with Richter on the language of the bill but could not confirm if it would suggest changes or push for its passage.”
You can go on the link and read the rest. He said. She said.
But here is deal. We want no fracking. Just one more thing we do not need here.
My county Martin County said a big fat no to fracking.
My friend and tireless advocate for the water Merilee Malwitz-Jipson came to town. ( Where was I?)
The vote was unanimous and unequivocal, with Palm City, and Indiantown Commisioner John Haddox leading the way with the motion to sign a state-wide ban on fracking.
The worst oil price rout since 1986 is beginning to claim victims in the shale oil patch, and now its every man for himself.
Investors in $158.2 million of Goodrich Petroleum Corp.’s debt agreed to take 47 cents on the dollar in exchange for stock warrants for some note holders and a lien on Goodrich’s oil acreage, according to a company statement today…
“In the industry it’s called ‘getting primed,’” said Spencer Cutter, a credit analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s every man for himself. They’re trying to get in and get exchanged, and if you can’t you’re getting left out in the cold.”
Investors in shale oil frackers like Goodrich aren’t the only ones writing off huge losses.
Earlier this month, Halcon paid about 65 cents on the dollar to investors in $1.57 billion of the company’s debt, in exchange for being third in line to get paid if the company fails… “The bubble is bursting,” Cutter said. “And if oil stays where it is, the worst is yet to come.”
With creditors of fracking companies taking huge losses on their investments, and with more losses coming, it isn’t surprising that frackers have been basically locked out of the bond market, and regulators are worried that banks are overexposed.
On one side are the bankers who have been grappling with the plunge in oil prices and the need to shore up billions of dollars in credit extended to the energy industry. On the other are regulators eager to prevent another financial crisis while not knowing what it might be. Caught in the middle are the small- and medium-size exploration and production companies that rely on credit lines that use their energy reserves as collateral.”
So it very interesting that a person who was prescient of bank is all for fracking.
So again as happened last year there are people in our legislature that say they are for local control. They tell that to you when they are running. “I’m for you!”
Here is a trailer for program that at UCF. It’s called Booktalk. My son was really involved with the project. It was a program that made trailers from books and then showed them to kids so they would get interested in reading. The two people in opening are my son Adam and Dr Kenny.
“The City of Ember is a post-apocalypticscience fiction novel by Jeanne DuPrau that was published in 2003. Similar to Suzanne Martel‘s The City Under Ground published in 1963 and Helen Mary Hoover‘s This Time of Darkness published in 1980, the story is about Ember, an underground city threatened by aging infrastructure. The young protagonist, Lina Mayfleet, and her friend, Doon Harrow (the second protagonist), follow clues left behind by the original builders of the City of Ember, to safety in the outside world.”
Every time I thing about electricity I think about this trailer. I think about the darkness and I think about the light. Then I think about the sunshine that is completely devoid in the State of Florida.
At about 1:07 “I’m your man!” That’s what I hear when people who do not have our best interests at heart do bad things. Then he says “it’s alright!”
Will they save ember or will the city be lost in darkness forever?
Harvard Law School’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics is out with a fascinating new report measuring legal and illegal corruption in American states, and Florida does not fare particularly well.
Illegal corruption is “moderately common” in Florida’s executive branch.
Illegal corruption is “very common” in the state’s legislative branch.
No state has a high ranking for illegal corruption in its judiciary.
When it comes to “legal” corruption, Florida falls into the “very common” category in both the executive and legislative branches.
Florida is also listed as one of America’s most corrupt states, along with Arizona, California, Kentucky, Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Texas.
The Safra Center compiled its corruption rankings in part by surveying news reporters covering state politics across the country, in addition to the investigative reporters covering issues related to corruption during the first half of 2014.
A few weeks ago I put out a call for books that people thought would be good for our Florida Legislators to read. I got a great response. Thank you all so much. I put up my poll. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the 27 people who cared and took the time to vote.
I’ve done this before. Sent books that I thought was important. Not just to politicians but to friends. I think I have bought at least 50 copies of my favorite book “The Art of Racing in the Rain.”
I can tell you that people from both sides that have never read “The Swamp.” Many have not even heard “Paving Paradise.” Most can’t be bothered. They just don’t want to hear about it.
Our elected officials need to be bothered. They need to read.
If you don’t have time put it in your bathroom and read a little everyday.
Why? Because reading matters. It really does.
“New technology allows us to see the living brain at work. Reading can help unlock remarkable powers. Reading builds new connections in the brain which in turn helps to create stepping stones to understand other people’s worlds.
A good book literally has the power to change you.”
We should be asking the candidates what was the last five books they read. Take note question askers.
I forgot one book and I apologize to fellow WordPress blogger and future Martin County Commissioner Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch. I totally forgot The RiverKids Workbook. Yikes. So I’m adding it in. Because like me you guys forgot also.
“In an award-winning newspaper series, two investigative reporters from the St. Petersburg Times chronicled how federal rules meant to protect the nation’s wetlands were more illusion than law. Now, that series has been expanded into a book, delving into how we got to this point, starting with land speculators making waterfront property out of sand dredged from the bottom of the ocean. Now, read how the nation’s wetlands protections were formed in clashes between developers, bureaucrats, judges, activists and con artists over Florida swamps.”
This is an exhaustive, timely and devastating account of the destruction of Florida’s wetlands, and the disgraceful collusion of government at all levels. It’s an important book that should be read by every voter, every taxpayer, every parent, every Floridian who cares about saving what’s left of this precious place.” — Carl Hiaasen
I am amazed, horrified and delighted that you wrote Paving Paradise! You have uncovered the perfidy that we always knew existed … You have named the key figures that led to the loss of thousands of acres of Florida wetlands.” —Nathaniel Reed
“The Everglades: River of Grass is a non-fiction book written by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1947. Published the same year as the formal opening of Everglades National Park, the book was a call to attention about the degrading quality of life in the Everglades and remains an influential book on nature conservation as well as a reference for information on South Florida.
Douglas was a freelance writer who submitted stories to magazines throughout the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Her friend Hervey Allen was an editor at Rinehart, responsible for the Rivers of America Series. Allen asked her to write a story about the Miami River, but Douglas did not find it very interesting, calling it only “an inch long”. She began learning more about the Miami River though, and in her research, she instead suggested to her editor to write a story about the Everglades. Douglas spent five years researching the Everglades, consulting with Garald Parker of the US Geological Survey, who was studying the Everglades hydrology systems, and eventually wrote nearly 40 papers on the ecosystems in the Everglades.
The Quarterly Review of Biology reviewed the book and commented on Douglas’ “convincing evidence” in her assertion that the Everglades are a river instead of a swamp, and declared that “it is hoped that this excellent account of the area and its history may provide the needed stimulus for the establishment of an intelligent conservation program for the entire Everglades.”
“The Everglades was once reviled as a liquid wasteland, and Americans dreamed of draining it. Now it is revered as a national treasure, and Americans have launched the largest environmental project in history to try to save it.
The Swamp is the stunning story of the destruction and possible resurrection of the Everglades, the saga of man’s abuse of nature in southern Florida and his unprecedented efforts to make amends. Michael Grunwald, a prize-winning national reporter for The Washington Post, takes readers on a riveting journey from the Ice Ages to the present, illuminating the natural, social and political history of one of America’s most beguiling but least understood patches of land.
The Everglades was America’s last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and “reclaim” it, and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished.
Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the $8 billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And this book is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline. ”
“Long before “going green” was mainstream, Dr. Seuss’s Lorax spoke for the trees and warned of the dangers of disrespecting the environment. In this cautionary rhyming tale, we learn of the Once-ler, who came across a valley of Truffula Trees and Brown Bar-ba-loots (“frisking about in their Bar-ba-loot suits as they played in the shade and ate Truffula Fruits”), and how his harvesting of the tufted trees changed the landscape forever. With the release of the blockbuster film version, the Lorax and his classic tale have educated a new generation of young readers not only about the importance of seeing the beauty in the world around us, but also about our responsibility to protect it.”
Between roughly 25 and 31 degrees north latitude, a combination of flat topography, poor soils, and limited surface water produce deserts nearly everywhere on earth. In Florida, however, these conditions support a lavish biota, more diverse than that of any other state east of the Mississippi.
In this first comprehensive guide to the state’s natural resources in sixty years, thirty top scholars describe the character, relationships, and importance of Florida’s ecosystems, the organisms that inhabit them, the forces that maintain them, and the agents that threaten them. From pine flatwoods to coral reef, Ecosystems of Florida provides a detailed, comprehensive, authoritative account of the peninsular state’s complex, fragile environments.
In this book a master scientist tells the story of how life on earth evolved. Edward O. Wilson eloquently describes how the species of the world became diverse and why that diversity is threatened today as never before. A great spasm of extinction — the disappearance of whole species — is occurring now, caused this time entirely by humans. Unlike the deterioration of the physical environment, which can be halted, the loss of biodiversity is a far more complex problem — and it is irreversible. Defining a new environmental ethic, Wilson explains why we must rescue whole ecosystems, not only individual species. He calls for an end to conservation versus development arguments, and he outlines the massive shift in priorities needed to address this challenge. No writer, no scientist, is more qualified than Edward O. Wilson to describe, as he does here, the grandeur of evolution and what is at stake. “Engaging and nontechnical prose. . . . Prodigious erudition. . . . Original and fascinating insights.” — John Terborgh, New York Review of Books, front page review “Eloquent. . . . A profound and enduring contribution.” — Alan Burdick, Audubon
My Florida by Ernie Lyons
Publications of books “My Florida” and “The Last Cracker Barrel,” compilations of Mr Lyons columns from the Stuart News, can be purchased at Stuart Heritage Museum, 161 SW Flagler Avenue, Stuart, FL.(http://www.stuartheritagemuseum.com)
Here is a blogpost about Ernie Lyons that could simply be emailed.
A Land Remembered focuses on the fictional story of the MacIveys, who migrated from Georgia into Florida in the mid-19th century. After settling, this family struggles to survive in the harsh environment. First they scratch a living from the land and then learn to round up wild cattle and drive them to Punta Rassa to ship to Cuba. Over three generations, they amass more holdings and money, and move further from their connection to the native, untamed land.
I love this book and I’m including it because it was geared towards a second grader. It simply is a marvelous accomplishment and enjoyable to read. I sent my niece’s in Colorado a copy each because I want them to know about what goes on here at Aunty Cyndi’s house.
When I call them on the phone they asked me “How is Barney?” then “How are the Dolphins?” then “How are you?”
“The first verse of the River Kidz’ Song, written by River Mom, Nicole Mader, and the River Kidz goes:
“The River Kidz are here; Our mission’s quite clear; We love our river and ALL its critters; Let’s hold it all dear…”
The rest of this wonderful song can be found on page 36 of the new workbook below.
After over a year of creative preparation, and community collaboration, the River Kidz’ 2nd Edition Workbook is here!”
This is from Jacqui’s blog:
”
The really cool thing about this workbook is that it was written “by kids for kids,” (Jensen Beach High School students for elementary students). The high school students named the main character of the book after Marty Baum, our Indian Riverkeeper. The students had met Mr Baum in their classroom (of Mrs Crystal Lucas) along with other presenters and field trip guides like the Army Corp of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, and politicians speaking on the subject…
The books will be going into all second grade public school classrooms and many private school classrooms beginning in February of 2015. Teacher training will be underway this February at the Environmental Studies Center in Jensen.
River Kidz will make the booklet available to everyone. Some will be given away, and some will be used to raise money at five dollars a booklet. To purchase the booklets, please contact Olivia Sala, administrative assistant for the Rivers Coalition at olivia@riverscoalition.org —-Numbers are limited.
In closing, enjoy the workbook and thank you to Martin County, Superintendent, Laurie J. Gaylord for encouraging the workbook and for her beautiful letter in the front of the booklet. Thank you to Martin County School Science Leader, Valerie Gaylord; teacher, Mrs Crystal Lucas; Mom, Mrs Nicole Mader; Sewall’s Point artist, Ms Julia Kelly; Southeastern Printing’s Bluewater Editions’ manager and River Dad, Jason Leonard; to River Kidz founders Evie Flaugh and Naia Mader, now 14/13; years old–they were 10 and 9 when this started,—- to the Knoph Foundation, and the Garden Club of Stuart, and to the hundreds of kids, parents, students, businesses, politicians, state and federal agencies, and especially to Southeastern Printing and the Mader Family who made this concept a reality through education, participation.”
So that’s it. I’m going for the top five. Also if you have read any of these books please feel free to write a review and I’ll post it.
“Seems Florida’s Palm Beach County is considering a mandatory spay/neuter law, and some kind constituent sent each of the county commissioners, the ones who’ll be voting on the issue, a copy of Nathan Winograd’s “Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America” to assist them in making this decision that will impact the lives of dogs, cats, and people in their county.
Now it seems that one of the commissioners, Burt Aaronson, has no plans to read the book, saying, “If people want me to read something, they could have enclosed a letter: ‘We’d like you to read this, we are giving it to you as a gift.’”
Wow, commissioner, you’re a tough guy to do a favor for. It wasn’t enough that this constituent purchased the book and sent it to you, you wanted them to schmooze you up, too?”
True Story. That person was me.
At the time and still today there are many pets that die at Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. We were trying to do a few things. We were trying to create a village of knowledgeable people in all aspects dog and cat to cut down the death of the animals which is atrocious. We had a big, diverse circle of friends.
This was probably the last public event I ever did in rescue. Most of commissioners were corrupt. The Palm Beach Post was awful. I hold them just as responsible as the commissioners.
One day I will write more but the big issue for me was that my friends the veterinarians are the one’s that sold the licenses. I did not want this to come between them and their clients.
Really deserves a full blog post because it is an interesting story.
One person, Bob Kanjian, read the book. He totally got it. I think if I asked him today he would say this book changed his life. I am forever grateful to him for reading and understanding.
What I found out this past winter is our Supermajority Florida Legislators don’t read books apparently. They have no idea how the water works, what the Everglades need. They take their order’s from Tallahassee. Very Scary. Apparently you go there with goodness in your heart and you come back a scoundrel. Anything goes. Everything went out the window.
I have written that they need to be credentialed. I don’t think it’s too much to ask them to do what I have to do my job as a nurse.
They need to read and there needs to be a quiz.
I would really like a lot of people to vote so I can honestly say ” We had a poll and lots of people voted and we think it’s important for you to read and understand these books.
I promise I’ll write a note. I’d hate for Burt Aaronson to come back and haunt me.
Poll: Florida Legislators reading list. Yes there will be a quiz.
Thanks to everyone that gave me such good suggestions. I have to create a poll so I’m just doing environmental books. So please vote so we can have the top five books and we’ll take it from there.
cyndi lenz 