Category Archives: florida

June is educate your legislators in mental illness month. I said so!

@joenegronfl

who said

http://fcir.org/2012/07/26/florida-slips-even-lower-in-mental-health-funding/

“More specifically, state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm City, advocated cuts to so-called soft services, which include mental health and drug-addiction programs, because many of these services address what Negon views as “a lack of willpower, a lack of discipline, a lack of character.” Negron was the chair of appropriations for health and human services in the state Senate.”

This attitude has got to change. We cannot have legislators that do not believe in taking  care of our most vulnerable people and do not believe in science.

Mental illness knows no parties. It is a bipartisan disease.

mental-health1-1050x641

Let’s educate our legislators. Let’s make a difference.

Let’s make June “Educate your legislators on mental illness month.”

Society is Judged By How They Treat the Most Vulnerable.

What does this say about us?

http://www2.nami.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentFileID=93487

Mental Illness Is Common
Of Florida’s approximately 18.3 million residents, close to  660,000 adults live with serious mental illness
and about 181,000 children live with serious mental health conditions.
Untreated Mental Illness has Deadly and Costly Consequences
In 2006, 2,440 Floridians died by suicide.
Suicide is almost always the result of untreated or under-
treated mental illness.
Public Mental Health Services
are Inadequate to Meet Needs
•
Florida’s public mental health system
m provides services to only 26 percent of adults who live with
serious mental illnesses in the state.
•
Florida spent just $38 per capita on mental health
agency services in 2006, or $686.6 million
Nationally, an average of 70 percent is spent
on community mental health services and 28 percent on state hospital care.
by the numbers
Criminal Justice Systems Bear a Heavy Burden
•
In 2006, 7,302 children were incarcerated in Florida’s juvenile justice system.
Nationally,
approximately 70 percent of youth in juvenile justice
systems experience mental health disorders, with
20 percent experiencing a
severe
mental health condition.
•
In 2008, approximately 24,600 adults with mental
illnesses were incarcerated in prisons in Florida.
Additionally, an estimated 31 percent of female and 14
percent of male jail inmates nationally live with
serious mental illness.
Many Residents Rely on Public Services for Needed Care
•
Approximately 10.1 percent of Floridians are enrolled in Medicaid.
Housing is Unaffordable for People who rely on SSI or SSDI.
•
The average rent for a studio apartment in Florida is
119 percent of the average Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) payment, making housing unaffordable
for adults living with serious mental illness who rely on SSI.
Here is an article from Science Daily

Brain circuit problem likely sets stage for the ‘voices’ that are symptom of schizophrenia

Scientists have identified problems in a connection between brain structures that may predispose individuals to hearing the ‘voices’ that are a common symptom of schizophrenia. Researchers linked the problem to a gene deletion. This leads to changes in brain chemistry that reduce the flow of information between two brain structures involved in processing auditory information.

Here is a video by ROCHE that is a simple explanation on schizophrenia.

The biology of schizophrenia.

Mental Disorders as Brain Disorders: Thomas Insel at TEDxCaltech

Where are the Pet-Friendly Shelters?

@MartinCountygov

@TCPalm

@TCPalmAndreassi

To Our Commissioners in Martin and St Lucie County.

This past Saturday I attended  our annual disaster conference. Our area includes Martin County, Port St Lucie County, Okeechobee County and Indian River County. The MRC (Medical Reserve Corp) are volunteers who assist in disasters.

CGQKShmWgAA1jj9.jpg_largeThe only county that seemed to have it act together was Indian River County. They have this:

ifyougotheygo

photo

It was suggested you take a photo of yourself with you and your pet so no one can show up and say that your pet is their pet.

meme selfie

meme selfie (you should have your face in the photo)

photo

Do not leave your pets if you have to evacuate. If you go they go!

photo

don’t leave us food source your our only hope!

photo

photo

The number for the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County is 772-388-5492. Our commissioners can call them and get info on how to set up programs in our county. I bet they would be deee-lighted to come down and show you guys how to do this.

In a storm everything east of Federal Hwy is considered an evacuation zone. That means your veterinarians in that area are in a potential evacuation zone.

We still do not have pet friendly shelters in Martin or St Lucie County.

I found this article that George

@TCPalmAndreassi

wrote in 2007:

http://www.tcpalm.com/weather/30martin-pets-canshelter-in-storm

The Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City, the county’s first pet shelter, can withstand winds of 140 mph or more and accommodate as many as 200 cats and dogs.

The offering, free for up to five days, is a temporary solution that allows Martin County to comply with a new Federal Emergency Management Agency pet shelter strategy requirement, Holman said.

The county in the meantime is working to provide a similarly secure shelter for pets as well as their owners, Holman said.

It’s 2015- what’s the plan?

We really need a plan especially for our seniors who have pets. We have a lot of people who live by themselves with their dog or cat in substandard  housing. What are we going to do to help them?

In Indian River County the first pets they take are the volunteers that work the shelter. HINTHINTHINT

Here is a list of pet friendly shelters for Florida. Plan now. Many of these place require that you pre register. Your pets must be up to date on their vaccinations and you need to bring a crate, food, basically everything your pet will need.

http://www.floridapetfriendly.com/pet-friendly-hurricane-shelters.htm

We also need an update list of hotels/motels that accept pets and I am told that some that usually don’t take pets will change their policy during a storm.

After Hurricane Katrina hundreds of pets were displaced. Please make sure your pet has at least a tag with a phone number.

Here is a nice video from the AVMA.

Here is a good FEMA video that I found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUbSF_S20bE

Do our Legislators Need to be Credentialed?

Our Legislators Need to be Credentialed.

politicians

As a nurse I have to be credentialed into order to work. I had to go to school, take my boards, pay for my license. I have to complete continuing education. That’ s just to keep my license. Then in order to be a nurse and have a job I have to do the following.

1. Have my level 2 back ground screening ; get fingerprinted (Florida and FBI) ; always  be open to a drug test;

http://floridasnursing.gov/help-center/what-is-a-level-2-background-screening/

sign a “good moral character”affidavit

http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/programs/backgroundscreening/docs/APD%20Affidavit%20of%20Good%20Moral%20Character%20August%202010.pdf

There’s more. There is a big long list of things you have to do even after you go to nursing, take your boards, pass the test, get the license.

Even to be a MRC volunteer you have to do these things.

I also have to have an active CPR certificate.

I don’t have problem a doing any of these things.  I would want to the person taking care of me to have to do the same thing. If we had our politicians following the same rules I bet  we could get  rid of a good amounts of politicians out there.

There are many other employees in health care and other various fields that have to do the same thing. including: Various City Governments AND Water Management Facility  Employees. Interesting.

Employees yes

but Boss’s NOT. hmmmm…..

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/b059be98-4e2d-45fc-b823-92573ab76e11/A9R6E83.aspx

A positive note is if your candidate is in health care or any of these other fields that require either level one or level two then you know they’ve been checked out!

So I wondered what do politicians have to do to run so they can be charge of all the rules and laws that essentially run our lives  and I found this.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEVi38SWpVXFoAAMAnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBybGY3bmpvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg–?qid=20090502234123AAZjMrW&p=politicians%20credentials

“To become a politician you would need to major in Deceit, lying, thieving and expenses or bribe taking.”

CSFTS logo

LOL

But really they don’t have to produce anything.  Not even a CPR card.

FBI GUY: If your a politician and your taking money and your voting on matters that affect the people your taking money from you shouldn’t do that. It’s pretty simple.

Paddlefest 2015: RiverKidz

Paddlefest 2015: RiverKidz

We have an amazing group of RiverKidz!

DSC_0037 DSC_0034

This year, I caught up with Katy Lewey.

Here is some video of the Riverkidz speaking out.

DSC_0030 DSC_0026

DSC_0114 DSC_0097

The River Kidz have some cool new tee shirts. I just bought a bunch for my grandson and nieces.  Nice white cotton. Perfect for the summer.

photo photo

and cool new bags.

photo photo

River Kidz Martin County https://www.facebook.com/pages/River-Kidz/237123116309196?fref=ts

River Kidz St Lucie and Indian RIver County https://www.facebook.com/riverkidzslc?fref=ts

Join the River Kidz http://riverscoalition.org/riverkidz/membership-registration/

What can we do about the death of Florida Bay, our water, our river, our eastuaries? Bring me the person in charge!

What can we do about the death of Florida Bay, our water, our river, our estuaries?

Feeling frustration? Yes me too.

This just in from the keys free press.

Why is Rick Scott destroying Florida?

http://pdf.keysnews.com/weeklys/freepress.pdf

 Opinion piece that is in this weeks Florida Keys Free Press at http://pdf.keysnews.com/weeklys/freepress.pdf that reads as follows:

Florida Bay needs clean water now

Unless the South Florida Water Management District takes immediate action to restore flows of clean fresh water to the southern Everglades, its governing board and the man who appointed them, Gov. Rick Scott, will go down in history as the people who destroyed South Florida’s coastal fisheries.

Most estuaries in the district’s jurisdiction are on the verge of collapse. By assaulting the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers with billions of gallons of filthy runoff and depriving Florida Bay of clean fresh water, the district is knowingly destroying many of the iconic waters that make Florida the Fishing Capital of the World.

The discharges out the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers get the most media attention, since they’re urban waterways and always in the public eye. But what’s going wrong in Florida Bay is also reprehensible and costly, especially in the context of Florida Keys tourism. One of Florida Bay’s most popular and prolific fish species, the spotted sea trout or “speckled trout,” has virtually disappeared. Recent studies confirm what veteran anglers like me witness on the water — a near absence of the second most commonly caught fish in Florida Bay, which also happens to be the state’s most commonly targeted species.

You really have to work hard at destroying an estuary to crash spotted sea trout populations. Female trout spawn as frequently as each full and new moon from March through October, broadcasting hundreds of thousands of eggs into waters where they’ve spawned for millennia.

These offspring can survive in a pretty wide range of salinity levels. However, water that’s too salty causes brown algae blooms that block sunlight from reaching seagrass meadows, killing seagrasses and depriving juve- niles of essential cover. Annual hatches of shrimp and crabs, which provide nutrition for juvenile trout, depend upon spring- and summertime influxes of fresh water as well. Without clean, fresh water mixing in the bay, the little trout and many other species don’t get enough to eat. Extremely salty water also interferes with a juvenile trout’s ability to breathe.

Boating and fishing are two of Florida’s biggest economic engines. So you’d think the state that touts itself as the Fishing Capital of the World would bend over backwards to ensure that its most fertile coastal waters get the right amount of clean water at the right times, to maximize the numbers of fish and other marine life these waters can produce. After all, recreational fish- ing in salt water alone generates at least $7.6 billion, with more than $1 billion of that income generated in Everglades watersheds.

Instead, fishermen like me embrace science-based fisheries management and adhere to catch limits recommended by scientists, only to watch fisheries and the ecosystems they belong to crash because of water mismanagement.
We’re tired of being ignored. Florida Bay needs more fresh water, the same water that’s destroying the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee. To restore our coastal fisheries, the district needs to expand water storage, clean the water and send it south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades and Florida Bay. … Our fisheries are running out of time, our jobs are on the line and our patience has run out.

Capt. Matt Bellinger, Bamboo Charters, Islamorada

One way you can help this weekend is to attend one of these rallies.

http://floridawaterlandlegacy.org/sections/page/may30events

Finish the Job: May 30 Eventsmay30eventsmap-updated

Click on any city below for more information.

Alachua

When: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Where: 15935 NW US Hwy 441, Alachua, FL 32615
(Parking at Lowes, Sonny’s BBQ, or other nearby lots. This is the stretch of 441 that everyone uses to get to Spring Country!)

Lead organizers: Heather Culp, hculp@floridaspringsinstitute.org and Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, merrilleeart@aol.com

Bradenton

When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: Manatee County Courthouse, 1115 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, FL 34205

Lead organizer: Sandra Ripberger, sandrarip@yahoo.com

Fort Myers

When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: Lee County Alliance of the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd., Ft. Myers, FL 33919

Lead organizers: Ray Judah, ray.judah@icloud.com and John Scott, greenguy@smartgreenhelp.com

Jacksonville

When: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Where: Walter Jones Historical Park, 11964 Mandarin Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32223

Lead organizers: Jimmy Orth, jorth@ju.edu and Lisa Rinaman, lisa@stjohnsriverkeeper.org

Melbourne

When: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Where: Grills Riverside, 6075 N US Hwy 1, Melbourne, FL 32940
On the Lagoon, east side of US Hwy 1, just north of Pineda Causeway.

Lead organizer: Spence Guerin, spenceguerin@earthlink.net

Miami

City of South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard invites you to a public meeting with the Water and Land Legacy Coalition.
When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: South Miami City Hall Commission Chamber, 6130 Sunset Dr., South Miami, FL 33143

Lead organizer: Tabitha Cale, tcale@audubon.org

Orlando

When: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Where: Eagle’s Nest Park, 5165 Metrowest Blvd, Orlando, FL 32811

Lead organizer: Deborah Green, watermediaservices@icloud.com

Stuart

When: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Where: Terra Fermata, 26 SE 6th St., Stuart, FL 34994

(Stick around for the Dirty River Jam, benefiting Indian Riverkeeper!)

Lead organizer: Marty Baum, indianrivguy@yahoo.com

Tampa

When: 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Where: Cypress Point Park, 5620 W. Cypress St., Tampa, FL 33607

Lead organizers: Elizabeth Fleming, efleming@defenders.org, Kent Bailey, kent.bailey@florida.sierraclub.org, Frank Jackalone, frank.jackalone@sierraclub.org

ToDo%20FB%20EventBannerWithDate

This has got to be fixed. All these people are in charge

SFWMD

The Legislature

Rick Scott

Seems to me like its a concerted effort to destroy Florida. or at least privatize it.

or even better!

and we are still being destroyed

Paddlefest 2015: Project L.I.F.T.

Paddlefest 2015:  Project Lift

DSC_0008

http://www.projectliftmc.com

How Project L.I.F.T. works

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.

Thank You PROJECT LIFT!

Dolphin Ecology Project: Let’s help our Southern IRL Dolphin Family

Dolphin Ecology Project

dolphineo

Yesterday, I caught up with Nik Mader of the Dolphin Ecology Project at Paddlefest 2015.

DSC_0005

We have around 100 resident dolphins in the southern Indian River Lagoon. They live here like we live here.

who

Nik reminds us what happens to the water happens to the Dolphins.

So if this happens to us it happens to the dolphins.

St Lucie River middle estuary, February 2015.

We can go to our houses. This is their house.

http://www.dolphinecology.org/FindOut/

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.

http://www.dolphinecology.org/help/index.html

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.

jump_frame

Who could blame them if this happened?

“So long and thanks for all the fish” from the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.

Candidate Training with Kevin Winchell

‪Candidate Training with Kevin Winchell

10996488_10206557231993772_7780841559861604845_n

#‎fladems‬

@kwinchel

DSC_0002

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.”

Terry Rizzo PBCDEC chair

Chair, PBCDEC

Chair, PBCDEC

Event Organizer: Mary Westcott Higgins, Mary Higgins for State Representative , District 82

Mary Wescott Higgins

Mary Wescott Higgins

Kevin Winchell

DSC_0035

Successful Candidates

Building your Bases

DSC_0050

Forming a Team

DSC_0057

Message Development

Establishing Credibility

DSC_0052

Fundraising

Fun Fundraising exercise

Voter Outreach Tactic

Social Media

Media Paid and Earned

DSC_0094

DSC_0071

to contact Kevin kwinchell@gmail.com

Link to training: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-zNf59ePEFfX1hCOFkyR3RLenM/view

Get to Know Know Your SFWMD Board of Governors: Rick Barber: Welcome to Waterworld!

Get to Know Know Your SFWMD  Board of Governors : Rick Barber: Welcome to Waterworld!

gb_bcb_portrait_barber_small gb_map_fbarber_en

[Term: 3/2015 – 3/2019

Lee, Collier, Hendry and Charlotte counties

Appointed by:
Governor Rick Scott

Original Appointments:

  • March 2013
    (SFWMD Board)
  • November 2011
    (Big Cypress Basin Board)


Occupation:
Civil Engineer and Chief Executive Officer, Agnoli, Barber & Brundage Inc.

Professional, Business and Service Affiliations:

  • Secretary, CREW Trust Executive Committee
  • Member, National Society of Professional Engineers
  • Member, Florida Engineering Society
  • Member, American Water Resources Association
  • Member, Urban Land Institute
  • Member, Florida Stormwater Association
  • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers
  • Member, Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers


District-Related Committees:

  • Member, Project & Lands Committee
Barber, 66, of Bonita Springs, is the chief executive officer of Agnoli, Barber & Brundage. He has served on the Department of Environmental Protection’s statewide stormwater rule technical advisory committee, the budget finance committee of the SFWMD and the Lee County land stewardship acquisition committee. Barber, a Navy veteran, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida.
So I found this report from 2007 and no report since then.
“The discharge of stormwater within the Stat
e of Florida has been subject to regulation
since the early 1980s to prevent pollution of Wate
rs of the State and to protect the designated
beneficial uses of surface waters. Currently, st
ormwater management is regulated at the State
level by the Florida Department of Environmen
tal Protection (FDEP), at the regional level by
water management districts, and at the local level by local governments.”
”

The analyses summarized in this report
are based primarily upon mass loadings of
nitrogen and phosphorus. Although other constituen
ts are commonly present in stormwater
runoff, such as suspended solids, BOD, and h
eavy metals, nutrients are the most significant
parameters linked to water quality impairment
within the State of Florida today. Other
significant pollutants can often be removed from
stormwater more easily than nutrients, and as a
result, design criteria which provide the desired
removal efficiencies for nutrients will likely
achieve equal or better removal efficiencies for other constituents.”
“Based upon the language outlined above, all
stormwater management systems designed within the
State of Florida must “achieve at least 80% reduction of the annual average load of pollutants that
would cause or contribute to violations of state water quality standards”.
 This statement forms the
minimum basis for all stormwater design criteria within the State of Florida”
let me repeat
“Based upon the language outlined above, all
stormwater management systems designed within the
State of Florida must “achieve at least 80% reduction of the annual average load of pollutants that
would cause or contribute to violations of state water quality standards”.
 This statement forms the
minimum basis for all stormwater design criteria within the State of Florida”
wow.
Stormwater
So I refer you back to 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.

The green ooze of algae blooms, fleeing fish and no-swimming warnings: Welcome to South Florida’s flood-control dumping grounds.

How quickly we forget.

Big Sugar Summit Buy your tickets now

bigsugarsummit

Thanks to the Sierra Club, Florida

@SierraClubFL

Buy Your Tickets Here Now!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/big-sugar-summit-tickets-16963454148

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.