The Everglades, Florida Keys And Global Warming

Range Of Efforts Necessary To Protect Florida Panther

While the challenges are daunting, we also have some success stories to share and reason for hope. By the early 1990s, the panther population was about 20 to 30, and it became clear that genetic problems were causing a downward spiral that would likely lead to extinction. In response, the state of Florida led a restoration effort that has tripled the population. Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, created in the 1970s and 1980s, are strongholds of this population. Today, roughly 75 percent of the panther’s primary habitat is protected, but there is clearly more work to be done.........here

Bill McCollum's "Do Not Shop List"

Florida's Attorney General is urging parents to make a toy list and check it twice, and he's helping you find out who's been naughty or nice. Bill McCollum's "Do Not Shop List.".........here

Burger King Exploits Florida Farmworkers

Attempts To Boost Wages For Florida Tomato Pickers May Fail Under Pressure
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers fought for years to persuade fast-food giants McDonald's Corp. and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands Inc. to pay a penny more per pound of Florida tomatoes - with their suppliers passing the money on to farm workers........more
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Eat Local

Bob Hite, A Local Treasure

Florida's Key Deer Making A Comeback

Florida's Key Deer National Refuge

Recently marked its 50th anniversary.The first ranger at the refuge used to chase off hunters by shooting at their trucks. Things are calmer nowadays, but the conservation efforts started 50 years ago have paid off big time for the little deer.Key deer are found nowhere in the world except the lower Florida Keys........here

Florida Teacher Chips Away At Thanksgiving Myth

Robyn Gioia

Doesn't look like a troublemaker. Far from it. Gioia is a wife, mother and teacher, and her green eyes twinkle when she talks about her fifth-grade students at the Bolles School just north of here in Ponte Vedra. But Gioia, 53, has written a children's book, and just the title is enough to peeve any Pilgrim: America's REAL First Thanksgiving........here......via My Florida History

"I became rather famous at the time for saying that by the time the Pilgrims came to Plymouth, St. Augustine was up for urban renewal."

Cost Of Thanksgiving Soaring

The cost of Thanksgiving is soaring, according to investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co, which may help explain the gloom among U.S. consumers as they head into the holiday season.......here

"Black Friday," the day after Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday and the start of the traditional year-end spending spree, threatens to be a Bleak Friday this time around.

If They Make Us All Poor, Who Is Going To Buy Their Stuff?

Antidepressants Truth About

Bush continues to ignore the growing deaths in children using psychiatric drugs....

Eat The Rich In The Conch Republic

The Florida Keys are at a crossroads, beset by shortages of high-paying jobs and affordable housing, rising property taxes and insurance, and environmental concerns. Yet the move to "upscale" the Keys is gaining steam, a sign of growth that's commonly experienced by tourism-dependent communities. Such growth is leaving many Keys residents feeling priced out or ignored.......here

Chasm Between The Haves And Have-Nots In Florida

The economic chasm between the haves and have-nots in Florida is wide and getting wider, fueled by low wages that fail to cover the most basic needs, especially for families with small children, according to a report released Tuesday.........here

Seeking Nookie On Florida Beaches

Martin County, Florida has a new way to scare people from having sex on their beaches, They are looking to install cameras and loudspeakers that would try to detect and warn anyone seeking nookie. "FlashCAM devices sense motion and then flash a bright light," After being activated, the cameras issue a pre-recorded verbal warning to let people know they are under surveillance. A minute later, the camera starts recording.......here

Howard Dean's Vermont Country Baked Ham Recipe

Ingredients
One 8-pound ham
3 quarts sweet cider
2 cups raisins
2 cups Vermont maple sugar
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 cup water
Simmer ham in cider for 2 hours. Drain, skin ham, and cover it with paste made from maple sugar, mustard, cloves, and water. Place in baking pan, pour cider over it, add raisins to pan, and bake 2-1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Baste frequently. Make thickened gravy of cider raisin drippings.
Serves: 16 Source

Florida Soldier Killed While Giving Toys To Kids

A soldier from South Florida was killed in Iraq while giving toys and candy to children. Private First Class Marius Ferrero, 23, of Miami, was killed Sunday in Baqouba, Iraq, with two other Army soldiers from his Stryker brigade. Three children also died........here

Family Says 23-Year-Old Thought War Was 'Stupid'

Kucinich Weekly Update

No Room At The Inn For Florida

Democratic activists and a lone Republican asked a Leon County Circuit Court judge Tuesday to tell Florida to push back its early presidential primary one week. The lawsuit, filed in Tallahassee, seeks to order Florida's Secretary of State to change the date of the controversial primary from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5........here

Jon Ausman, a Democratic state committeeman from Leon County, called it "unconstitutional infringement on my First Amendment rights of free speech and political association.'' This made me angry, Ausman said. But his real anger is aimed at the state.