“Rising seas threaten Florida’s historical sites. This archaeologist wants to fight back.”
The grassy hill, crawling with snake plants and sabal palms, towered over Sara Ayers-Rigsby as she observed the erosion at its base.
The archaeologist gingerly arranged a photomacrographic scale on top of the tightly packed oyster shells exposed at the foot of the hill, as if the weight of the pocket-sized paper measuring tool may leave a mark.
She recorded any changes, however small, with pictures on her phone and scribbles in her notebook.
This shell mound in Jupiter, Florida, was built thousands of years ago by the Jeaga, a Native American people who lived in northern Palm Beach and coastal Martin counties. The mound had outlasted time, construction and mining of the material for roads.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
“How the Sugar Industry Makes Political Friends and Influences Elections”
Last year, the Florida Legislature was in the midst of an extraordinary push to protect the state’s farming industry from lawsuits over air pollution.
Supporters argued that the legislation was critical to protecting Florida’s agricultural businesses from “frivolous lawsuits.” But some lawmakers were skeptical, noting that residents of the state’s heartland who were bringing suit against sugar companies would feel their case anything but frivolous. At issue was the practice of cane burning, a harvesting method in which the sugar industry burns crops to rid the plants of their outer leaves. Florida produces more than half of America’s cane sugar and relies heavily on the technique, but residents in the largely Black and Hispanic communities nearby claim the resulting smoke and ash harms their health.
Read more at ProPublica.com.
“Gas stove tax break starts soon in Florida. What to consider before taking advantage”
What began as a political dunk on a federal agency exploring options to reduce the “hidden hazard” of indoor air pollutants has snowballed into a one-year waiver of the sales tax on certain gas-powered appliances for Floridians.
Starting July 1, indoor gas stoves and ranges will be sold in Florida free of local and state sales taxes. That means savings of between 6% and 7.5%, depending on the county, or tens to hundreds of dollars in reduced costs depending on the item.
If your home already has a gas connection, it might be a good time to consider upgrading your appliance or making the switch from electric to gas.
But if you’re among the majority of Florida homeowners who aren’t connected to gas, the financial investment to make the switch and take advantage of the sales tax break could profoundly outweigh any savings.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
“‘I almost had a heart attack’: Florida homeowners rattled by property insurance costs”
It could have been the unbeatable waterfront view or a perfect perch that overlooks the jungle-like backyard. Perhaps it was a place the size of a postage stamp, but nonetheless a roof over their heads that holds their prized possessions. Or maybe the price was just right to finally escape the rental market.
There are immeasurable reasons that homeowners choose the place they call home. A safe haven, a sanctuary, a retreat. But the dream of homeownership and the stability it provides for many now feels uncertain because of the insurance crisis in Florida.
Homeowners are finding their premiums are going up two- or three-fold. Some are being suddenly dropped by their provider and forced to find new coverage, and others are learning that some providers are extremely picky about who they will cover or require a laundry list of fixes.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
“Mourning in the time of coronavirus”
Losing a loved one during, but unrelated to, a global pandemic was inconceivable for Carolyn Winter.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
’The fun police’: County coronavirus compliance team spot checks businesses
The element of surprise clearly worked.
Unsuspecting diners and drinkers at Boynton Beach’s Hurricane Alley stopped to stare at the six-strong team that had just arrived unannounced on a slow Wednesday night. A tabletop of three gawked, holding up their phones to record the group made up of law enforcement, code enforcement and an assistant county administrator.
Having toured as part of Palm Beach County’s COVID-19 Education Compliance Team more than once, the reaction from the patrons at the popular eatery was nothing new, quipped Boynton Beach Police Sgt. Henry Diehl.
It was a common response at nearly every business the team has randomly spot checked, day or night, to ensure they are following guidelines for mask-wearing and physical distancing, to give advice to improve safety measures. Or, as a last resort, write warnings, issue fines or shut down a business illegally operating during the pandemic.
If someone was trying to reclaim some normalcy by grabbing a bite to eat in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the team’s brief presence was surely a reminder that it is not business as usual.
The COVID-19 Education Compliance Team was formed in mid-June, said by county officials to be the first of its kind in the state.
Thousands of complaints have been phoned in through its hotline and officials have made hundreds of site visits to make sure businesses are operating safely, said Palm Beach County Code Enforcement Director Robert Santos-Alborná. Most of the complaints involve employees or customers not wearing masks, or people standing closer together than what public health experts advise.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
Uncertainty and relief as Dorian survivors escape on cruise to Florida
The Grand Celebration cruise ship completed its Hurricane Dorian relief voyage to The Bahamas on Saturday, bringing back to the Port of Palm Beach about 1,100 Bahamian residents escaping the powerful storm’s aftermath.
The Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line sent its ship with aid and supplies Thursday evening, days after Dorian rocked the country.
The cruise ship sailed in later than anticipated Saturday morning, which, coupled with customs processing time, left relatives and loved ones waiting for the passengers. Tears of joy and relief were shed as they arrived, but many of the arrivees face an uncertain future.
Still, it was nothing compared to the days of silence Mysline Jean of Lake Worth Beach and her family endured waiting to learn whether her brother was safe.
Read more at PalmBeachPost.com.
“Manatee families learn rare ‘children’s Alzheimer’s’ is closer to home than they imagined”
Published Aug. 11, 2017
MANATEE Two families, one river apart, were simultaneously railroaded by diagnoses of a rare genetic disease in their 8-year-old children.
Trenton Greer and Fiona Humphrey won’t outlive childhood. A buildup of old cells along their vital organs has slowly degenerated their motor skills and speech. Around their third birthdays would be the best times of their lives.
Sanfilippo syndrome. It’s known as “children’s Alzheimer’s.” It’s fatal and there is no cure.
It’s a disease that is said to afflict one in 70,000 children worldwide, but it could be more because it’s often misdiagnosed as autism.
These two families, whose paths never crossed, would soon learn that they weren’t alone.
Read more at Bradenton.com.
“Sarasota teen strives for equal rights for transgender youth”
Published March 6, 2017
SARASOTA “Don’t use that as a noun,” Emma said to her mother.
Sitting cross-legged on a velvety floral couch next to her parents, Gabrielle and Rick, Emma’s long, light-brown hair that she’s had most of her 13 years fell in front of her face as she spoke. Her mother adoringly pushed her daughter’s hair back behind her ear.
“What, honey?”
“Transgender people,” Emma said. “It’s, like, it’s just a thing. You said ‘transgender’ as a noun.”
“Oh, OK.”
“It’s about the people,” Emma said.
While relentlessly supportive of their two children, it’s been a learning process for the Sarasota family after Emma — whose real name is not being used at the request of her parents — came out as transgender more than a year ago.
There are 1.4 million trans adults in the U.S. whose lives have been caught up in uncertain policy decisions. And trans youth like Emma are now subject to each state deciding which bathroom they can use in school, after the Trump administration last month retracted federal protections for trans students that had broadly allowed them to use the bathroom of their identifying gender.
Read more at Bradenton.com.
“Under the oaks, conservation ideas flood to new Triangle Ranch owner”
Published Feb. 17, 2017
MYAKKA CITY Elizabeth Moore isn’t your typical rancher.
Sure, she’s got the cowboy hat and the land to prove it. But at first glance, the part-time Massachusetts resident’s trendy Hunter-brand rain boots and her white Tesla Model X might stick out like a sore thumb on the 1,143-acre Carlton Triangle Ranch.
She didn’t think she’d be a ranch owner, either.
But Moore — having purchased Triangle Ranch in part with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and the Forever Florida Trust Fund for nearly $5 million in October — is learning the language of Old Miakka and how to best preserve the historic cattle-ranch-turned-conservation easement. So, she’s getting by with a little help from her friends.
Triangle Ranch is a quiet sanctuary, save for the intermittent moos. You can hear the wind coming from a half mile away as it flows through the oak trees. During the rainy season, the three miles of the tannin-stained Myakka River that snakes through the land spills over the edge, making it a lush, green paradise.
When Moore, a Bradenton conservationist, first visited the property more than a year prior, she saw the for sale sign, hoping whoever bought the land would be an environmentalist.
That person would be her, helping to put a close to the Conservation Foundation’s three-year journey to save the property from development.
“This land will be preserved beyond my lifetime, and frankly I wouldn’t have bought the property if it didn’t have a conservation easement on it,” Moore said.
Read more at Bradenton.com.
Hannah Morse 