Why Florida is an awsome place to live

[Pyrrho]

Link:

[Witness]

A possible military explosive device washed ashore on a Florida beach

https://i.imgur.com/9mzler0.jpg

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/04/us/n ... index.html

Now really ed, look after your stuff!

[Rob Lister]

"Inert" pretty makes it military but it's painted the wrong color. Should be green if it's one of ours.

I can't tell how big it is and I'm not sure it is a sea mine. it's an oddity,.

[xouper]

"Inert" pretty makes it military but it's painted the wrong color. Should be green if it's one of ours.

I can't tell how big it is and I'm not sure it is a sea mine. it's an oddity,.

Maybe it was in the water so long the green got washed off it? :P

According to this story (with more pictures), it's about four feet diameter:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/fl ... story.html

[gnome]

What is the purpose of it, if it is inert? An exercise in finding devices of that shape?

[ed]

A possible military explosive device washed ashore on a Florida beach

https://i.imgur.com/9mzler0.jpg

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/04/us/n ... index.html

Now really ed, look after your stuff!

A mine. Interesting.

[ed]

What is the purpose of it, if it is inert? An exercise in finding devices of that shape?

Deploying them maybe. It is also inert until it's "ert". Maybe they are shipped that way to a depot wherein they are armed and "erted", as we call it here in Fla.

[Witness]

2021 hurricane forecast: 17 storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 major ones

Get ready for another busy hurricane season in 2021.

The first major forecast of the season calls for 17 named storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes, according to Colorado State University research scientist Phil Klotzbach, one of the world’s top hurricane forecasters.

It is the sixth year in a row that what forecasters call an above-average season has been predicted for the Atlantic. The 30-year average is 12 named storms and six hurricanes.

This year there is a 69 percent chance that a major hurricane will make landfall in the U.S., according to the Colorado State University forecast.

There is a 45 percent chance one could strike Florida or the east coast, and a 44 percent of landfall anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas along the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane season starts June 1, peaks in September and ends Nov. 30. But in recent years storms have formed before and after that traditional window.

https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2021 ... ajor-ones/

Stock up your bunker, ed.

[Rob Lister]

Does CSU predict well? last year is a good example. I should check out their misses and hits.

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/DMjuZjS.jpg

[ed]

You think thats a joke?

[ed]

Lake Ed has a new spokesperson.
https://i.imgur.com/Bxu6DYI.jpg

[Hotarubi]

"Inert" pretty makes it military but it's painted the wrong color. Should be green if it's one of ours.

I can't tell how big it is and I'm not sure it is a sea mine. it's an oddity,.

It's a sea target mine, and it is one of yours.

So, you pretty much got everything wrong. And that means you win.

[Witness]

You think thats a joke?

Not at all… by local customs.

E. g.: Florida woman who claimed to be Harry Potter killed judge in hit-and-run, officials say.

:roll:

[Pyrrho]

Link:

[shuize]

Spoiler:

You think thats a joke?

Not at all… by local customs.

E. g.: Florida woman who claimed to be Harry Potter killed judge in hit-and-run, officials say.

:roll:

Snape remained jailed on Sunday on $60,000 bond. The Palm Beach county public defender’s office has a policy of not speaking about its cases.

For a hit-and-run which killed a federal judge and injured a child, that bond seems really low.

[ed]

Its Harry though

[Witness]

Florida Man Who Posed as Immigration Lawyer Gets 20-Year Sentence

Elvis Harold Reyes filed hundreds of fraudulent applications, collecting $411,000 that he spent on himself and his girlfriend, prosecutors said.

A Florida man who posed as an immigration lawyer, filing hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications and collecting more than $411,000 from unwitting clients, has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

The man, Elvis Harold Reyes, 56, of Brandon, Fla., pleaded guilty in December to charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced on Monday to serve 20 years and nine months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a statement.

From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Reyes, who owned and operated a Christian nonprofit group called EHR Ministries Inc., portrayed himself as an immigration lawyer even though he was not licensed as one, according to court documents. A website for the ministry says it helps prepare immigration documents and applications, provides “wedding ceremony services” and caters “to those that are away from any home church.”

Prosecutors said Mr. Reyes sought out undocumented immigrants in the Tampa area who were originally from Spanish-speaking countries and were seeking Florida driver’s licenses and work authorization. Clients retained and paid Mr. Reyes to represent them on immigration-related matters before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and other agencies, prosecutors said.

He charged about $5,000 for his services, according to court documents.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/us/e ... ation.html

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/fhrG2xw.jpg

[Witness]

New venomous species of tarantula-like spider discovered in South Florida

https://i.imgur.com/TWfj275.jpg

LAKE MARY, Fla. - A venomous, tarantula-like spider discovered in South Florida in 2012 has been identified as a new species of medium-sized trapdoor spider, according to experts.

The Pine Rockland Trapdoor Spider (Ummidia richmond) was found by a zookeeper at Zoo Miami who was checking reptile traps in the endangered Pine Rockland forest surrounding the zoo.

Another spider located about two years later was sent out to experts for an evaluation. It was confirmed as a previously undescribed species by Dr. Rebecca Godwin, of Piedmont College in Georgia.

"The fact that a new species like this could be found in a fragment of endangered forest in the middle of the city underscores the importance of preserving these ecosystems before we lose not only what we know, but also what is still to be discovered. Venoms of related species have been found to contain compounds with potential use as pain medications and cancer treatments," said Frank Ridgley, DVM, Zoo Miami Conservation & Veterinary Services Manager.

Experts say spiders like the newly discovered species can live for decades in the same burrow over the entirety of their lifespan. For humans, the spider's venom has been likened to a bee sting.

Zoo staff says they have only found a handful of males through the years and a female of the species has yet to ever be discovered.

"Considering only about 1.5% of the pine rocklands outside Everglades National Park are left in Miami-Dade County, it is likely that this endemic and elusive spider is already imperiled," Zoo Miami posted on its website. "Zoo Miami staff is grateful to Dr. Godwin for years of work in confirming the identification of this new species and are inspired that discoveries like this can still be made, even in the middle of a large developed region like the Greater Miami Area."

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/dont- ... th-florida

[Witness]

Streams and lakes have rights, a US county decided. Now they’re suing Florida

A novel lawsuit is taking advantage of a local ‘rights of nature’ measure passed in November in effort to protect wetlands

A network of streams, lakes and marshes in Florida is suing a developer and the state to try to stop a housing development from destroying them.

The novel lawsuit was filed on Monday in Orange county on behalf of the waterways under a “rights of nature” law passed in November. It is the largest US municipality to adopt such a law to date.

The listed plaintiffs are Wilde Cypress Branch, Boggy Branch, Crosby Island Marsh, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane.

Laws protecting the rights of nature are growing throughout the world, from Ecuador to Uganda, and have been upheld in courts in India, Colombia and Bangladesh. But this is the first time anyone has tried to enforce them in the US.

The Orange county law secures the rights of its waterways to exist, to flow, to be protected against pollution and to maintain a healthy ecosystem. It also recognizes the authority of citizens to file enforcement actions on their behalf.

The suit, filed in the ninth judicial circuit court of Florida, claims a proposed 1,900-acre housing development by Beachline South Residential LLC would destroy more than 63 acres of wetlands and 33 acres of streams by filling and polluting them, as well as 18 acres of wetlands where stormwater detention ponds are being built.

In addition to seeking to protect the waterways’ intrinsic rights, the suit claims the development would disrupt the area’s hydrology and violate the human right to clean water because of pollution runoff from new roads and buildings.

Chuck O’Neal, president of campaign group Speak Up Wekiva who will be representing the wetlands in court, told the Guardian he looks forward to giving them a voice. “Our waterways and the wildlife they support have been systematically destroyed by poorly planned suburban sprawl. They have suffered in silence and without representation, until now.”

The housing development, known as the “Meridian Parks Remainder Project”, needs a development permit from the city of Orlando and a dredge-and-fill permit from the Florida department of environmental protection to proceed. The suit seeks to block these from being issued.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... evelopment

[Witness]

Fox News was the only news outlet allowed to cover Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' signing of a controversial election-administration bill

• Only Fox News was allowed to cover Gov. DeSantis signing a GOP-backed election bill in Florida.
• Other reporters who showed up to cover the Thursday event reported being turned away.
• The law, Senate Bill 90, adds new restrictions on ballot drop boxes and mail voting.

https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-new ... ?r=US&IR=T

[xouper]

I still prefer Florida over Michiganistan.

[Witness]

↑

– I don't like carrots.
– Hey, spinach is worse!

---

League of Women Voters, Black Voters Matter sue all 67 Florida counties over new election restrictions

[xouper]

Those who don't like Florida, no one is making you live there.

[shuize]

Florida Man Steals Two Police Cars During Chase

Florida man!

[Witness]

https://i.imgur.com/h1jW2UB.jpg

Space X launch seen from Indian River.

[Witness]

Cruise giant Norwegian threatens to skip Florida's ports

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is threatening to skip Florida ports because of the governor's order banning businesses from requiring that customers be vaccinated against COVID-19

Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is threatening to keep its ships out of Florida after the governor signed legislation banning businesses from requiring that customers show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

The company says the law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is at odds with guidelines from federal health authorities that would let cruise ships sail in U.S. waters if nearly all passengers and crew members are vaccinated.

“It is a classic state-versus-federal-government issue,” said Norwegian's CEO, Frank Del Rio. “Lawyers believe that federal law applies and not state law, but I’m not a lawyer. And we hope that this doesn’t become a legal football or a political football.”

The company owns Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Del Rio told analysts during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday that if the company can’t operate in Florida, it can go to other states or the Caribbean “for ships that otherwise would have gone to Florida ... we certainly hope it doesn't come to that.”

Del Rio said the company is still discussing the matter with DeSantis’ office.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/wireS ... s-77560343

[ed]

I am weeping.

[Witness]

People are Seeing Crawdads in Their Yards in Ohio, and They are Realizing They Live There

https://i.imgur.com/GLy0eic.png

http://www.sciotopost.com/people-seeing ... zing-live/ for details.

And you can't even find them in your lake! :roll:

[Witness]

Miami judge who used staff for personal errands resigns

A Florida judge who publicly accepted responsibility for skipping work and making his staff run personal errands for him has resigned

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Martin Zilber submitted his resignation letter Friday, the Miami Herald reported.

The Florida Supreme Court wanted a more severe punishment than the 60-day suspension and $30,000 fine recommended by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, according to WPLG-TV. The court sent the case back to the judicial disciplinary agency in April for a full hearing, which could have led to a formal removal from the bench.

According to the Herald, the commission found that Zilber’s routine mistreatment of his staff included berating his judicial assistant, Dixidela Dent.

Zilber commented on the “inconvenient timing of her pregnancy,” the commission found, adding the judge once asked Dent while pregnant to wheel his chair up “several floors to the courtroom and then lift it onto the dais prior to hearings.”

The investigation determined that she and the judge’s bailiff were required to drive Zilber to various events. Dent was also told to create a scrapbook of his achievements.

Zilber sent his bailiff to register his car with the state highway safety department and motor vehicles, as well as to pick up tickets for an art fair.

Between January 2019 and March 2020, according to the commission, Zilber was absent from the courthouse 51 days without notifying superiors. It said he often left work early.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireSto ... s-77743486

[robinson]

Crooked judges are everywhere


Nothing to do with Florida

[Witness]

Once Nearly Extinct, The Florida Panther Is Making A Comeback

https://i.imgur.com/ySRKXtm.jpg

A male panther leaps over a creek at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Florida. The rarely seen cats, which number only around 200, are reclaiming territory north of the Everglades, but their habitat is threatened by encroaching suburban sprawl.
Photo by Carlton Ward, Jr.

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/23/99920259 ... 1818666635

[Witness]

School decides to cover girls' chests by altering yearbook photos, St. Johns County students, parents angry

https://i.imgur.com/I6W2BMX.jpg

ST JOHNS, Fla. — Some St. Johns County parents with kids at Bartram Trail High School are outraged after receiving their child's yearbook and seeing their child's photo had been edited without permission.

The photos below are just one example. Riley O'Keefe was wearing an outfit that the school told her met the dress code requirements, yet the school decided to edit the photo that appeared in the yearbook to cover up part of the student's body. O'Keefe told First Coast News she believes there's a double standard and pointed out members of the boys swim team were in the yearbook wearing speedos.

"It doesn't make any sense that they looked at that and was like, 'This is okay, but this is not,'" she said.

Her mother says she was never contacted about a re-take.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/ ... 2ff6cd902f

[robinson]

The insanity spreads …

[xouper]

https://dcstorms.com/wp-content/uploads ... 814450.jpg

[robinson]

You don’t t have to shovel snow in Florida

[robinson]

Or worry about freezing to death

[ed]

Finally!!! A gator has deigned to grace one of my ponds' with it's presence.
4 feet+ maybe.



https://i.imgur.com/vfKM3bm.jpg

[xouper]

An elderly man in Florida had owned a large property for several years. He had a pond in one of the lower acres that had been fixed up for swimming and he also had some picnic tables placed there in the shade of the fruit trees.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond to look it over, as he hadn’t been there for a while. He grabbed a large bucket to bring some fruit back with him.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. When he got around the trees and bushes, he saw it was a group of young women skinny dipping in his pond.

He called out so that they could see he was there. When they saw him, they started shrieking and moved to the deep end.

One of them shouted at the old man, “We’re not coming out until you leave!”

The old man frowned and said, “Now, I didn’t come here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond.”

Holding up the bucket and smiling, he said, “I’m just here to feed the alligator.”