Florida - The Sunshine State

Thanks the veterans while wearing the garb of traitors and sucking up to a president that looks down on those who serve.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11364171

"I need to ask my staff," Florida Rep. Maria Salazar said as a reporter listed off times she bragged about getting money for her district that she opposed.

Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) on Sunday got called out for routinely taking credit for delivering money to her district — after opposing the bills that provided that money.

During an interview on CBS News Miami, host Jim DeFede asked Salazar about a ceremony she attended last month where she presented a check for $650,000 to help small businesses at Florida International University.

“You voted against the bill that gave the money that you then signed a check for and handed and had a photo op,” said DeFede, the host of CBS’s show “Facing South Florida.” “The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, right?”

She did vote against that $1.7 trillion government funding bill. It was a massive and memorable bill that almost every House Republican opposed.

Salazar said she couldn’t remember that vote.

“Right now, you have to give me more details,” she said. “But I do know that every time I have an opportunity to bring money to my constituents, I do so. I just did $400,000, but look—”

“But you voted against the CHIPS and Science Act, right?” DeFede interrupted.

“We call it black snow because it falls from the sky just like snowflakes. But it’s just the burnt trash blowing from the cane. I know people who’ve had to move out of the Glades because their respiratory issues got so bad during the burn season.”

To hear the $13bn sugar industry tell it, there is no problem here. The Clewiston-based US Sugar Corporation, which farms more than 230,000 acres across four counties and employs about 2,500 people, touts its own studies regularly claiming “the Glades communities have air that is good, safe and clean”, and insisting those who say otherwise are “dishonest anti-farming activists”.

Yet the evidence against is more than just anecdotal. A 2021 collaboration between ProPublica and the Palm Beach Post determined, among numerous other findings, that hospital admissions for respiratory distress in Belle Glade, a town in the heart of sugar country, increased up to 35% in the harvesting season.

Researchers at Florida International University found in 2015 that levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the air at Belle Glade were 15 times higher during harvesting season than the summer growing season.

Florida’s HB 1, typically considered the legislative priority of the year, is sailing through its committee hearings with unusual bipartisan support.

This year, the state’s lawmakers have decided to go after child and teenage social media use. The bill, which can still be amended, bans teens under 16 years old from creating new social media profiles, allows parents to request the deletion of an existing profile, and fines platforms for each time they don’t comply.

In a summary analysis, House legislative staff laid out nearly two pages of constitutional concerns, from First Amendment considerations to infringement on federal laws.

“The First Amendment is an inconvenient thing. It protects expression that some find wrongheaded, or offensive, or even ridiculous,” Newsom wrote in a concurring opinion.

“But for the same reason that the government can’t muzzle so-called ‘conservative’ speech under the guise of preventing on campus ‘harassment,’ the state can’t exercise its coercive power to censor so-called ‘woke’ speech with which it disagrees. What’s good for mine is (whether I like it or not) good for thine.”

[...]

The Eleventh Circuit opinion goes into depth about the rights of elected officials like Warren to engage in political speech, even if it runs counter to what the governor thinks.

DeSantis argued he was entitled to punish Warren because the prosecutor had acted as a government employee. The Eleventh Circuit, however, concluded it “seems suspect” to apply a U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing such punishment for rank-and-file state workers to an elected official.

A different U.S. Supreme Court ruling noted that elected office holders enjoy the right “to enter the field of political controversy,” Pryor continued. Also, that “[t]he role that elected officials play in our society makes it all the more imperative that they be allowed freely to express themselves.”

“Warren’s speech occurred outside the workplace, and he never distributed the advocacy statements inside the workplace or included them in internal materials or training sessions. He employed no workplace resources and never marshaled the statements through his process for creating policies. Neither statement referenced any Florida law that would go unenforced,” the court said.

Builders and developers are constantly chafing at how long it takes them to acquire the permits they need. They don’t like waiting for local and state government approvals, and so Esposito’s bill is designed to alleviate that concern.

But meeting these accelerated deadlines “would be a challenge for local government,” Kim Dinkins of 1000 Friends told me.

Let’s call Esposito’s bill what it really is: The Rush It Through No Matter What Law.

It doesn’t trim the amount of time local government has to review builders’ plans to make sure they comply with the rules. It provides a radical cut, not unlike giving shaggy-haired Keanu Reeves a Marine Corps high-and-tight buzz.

Right now, state law says cities and counties can take 30 days to review building permits for single family homes and up to 120 days for larger projects such as condominiums.

They have 45 days to determine if the application is complete. And if it’s not, they can ask the developer for additional information three times, each time stopping the clock on the review.

Esposito’s bill would reset every deadline. All building permits — condos included — would have to be issued by that same 30-day limit. If the builder or developer hires their own permit reviewer, then the city or county would have even less time — a mere 15 days.

Under the bill, the amount of time to determine if the application is complete would be cut to only 10 days. And the cities and counties could ask for more information only two times, not three.

If they fail to meet those accelerated deadlines, then the permit is approved automatically.

Florida abortion rights advocates, who have seen access to the procedure erode in the state and nationally in recent years, reached a major milestone that could shape abortion access throughout the south.

Groups seeking a constitutional amendment protecting abortion on Friday secured enough state-certified signatures by the Feb. 1 deadline to put a referendum on the 2024 ballot.

If successful, voters in the country’s third-most populous state could undo Florida’s abortion bans, keeping access open to thousands of patients throughout the South who travel to Florida from neighboring states — and from as far away as Texas — to avoid more restrictive prohibitions.

In Hunters Point, Fla., the world’s first LEED Zero Energy certified residential development, every house produces more electricity than it uses

Canonical YouTube link

Many of the details are in this storymap

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/3314637

...yeah. This is a thing. Both of these are things.

In short: due to mishandling at the Port of Tampa Bay, some gasoline has been contaminated with diesel, and this gas was distributed to various gas stations -- mainly along the Gulf Coast of Florida (particularly unfortunate due to Idalia) but also elsewhere.

Story: https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2023/08/27/florida-gas-contamination-idalia/

updated list: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2023/08/29/citgo-fuel-contamination-list-gas-stations-updated/ (linked above)

(cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/2859577)

Edit: Added the city of Plantation.

There's the following BioBlitz events in state of Florida next month: (links go to their iNaturalist projects)

• Markham Park (special event: September 2, 10am ~ 12noon) (observations also count for City of Sunrise)
• City of Plantation (in Plantation Preserve Linear Trail and Golf Course) (special event: September 9, 9am ~ 11am)
• Quiet Waters Park (special event: September 9, 9am ~ 11am)
• City of Sunrise (special event: September 9, 10am ~ 1pm, at Sawgrass Sanctuary)
• Miramar Pineland (special event: September 13, 9am ~ 12noon)
• Central Broward Regional Park (special event: September 23: 9am ~ 11am)
• Delray Beach (in Old School Square Park)
• Palm Beach County
• Pinellas County

I don't know when the last three are having their special events (if any); check with their parks or local government calendars. But the BioBlitz events last the whole month so you can still participate even if there aren't special events!

Not sure what this is all about?

A "BioBlitz" is an event where you go around and make observations of wildlife all around you using the citizen science app/website iNaturalist.

Every September, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) runs the "Parks for Pollinators" BioBlitz, which involves a bunch of such events across the US, lasting the whole month, and focusing mainly on plants and the animals that pollinate them (mainly insects and birds) in local parks. But, with an iNaturalist account, you can record observations of any sort of living thing you want, anywhere, as much as you want, anytime.

The umbrella project page on iNaturalist for NRPA's BioBlitz events is linked at the top. I looked on its map and found all the projects for BioBlitz events in Florida. Hopefully, there's one near you!

They all last the whole month, but some of them have special events on specific days. I've listed the ones I know of. But, of course, you can go to these places anytime in September to participate. (Or just make observations on iNat anytime, anywhere.)

If you want to participate, you'll need an iNaturalist account, and any relevant observations you make in participating locations will automatically be counted in applicable projects. If you join the project, its badge will also appear on your observations that are part of the project! (Feel free to ask questions about how to join/use iNaturalist.)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3884606

Tropical Depression Ten Discussion Number 1
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL102023
400 PM CDT Sat Aug 26 2023

The cloud pattern of the low pressure area located near the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico has gradually become better organized today. Radar observations show a circulation has developed, although surface observations indicate that the western semicircle of this circulation is rather weak at this time. Given the increased organization, advisories are being initiated on Tropical Depression Ten. Surface synoptic observations suggest that the current intensity is around 25 kt.

The current motion estimate is nearly stationary. There is a weakness in the subtropical ridge to the north of the tropical cyclone, leaving the system in a region of very weak steering flow. The dynamical guidance indicates that the system will remain in weak steering currents for the next 24 to 36 hours, so very little motion is predicted during that period. After that time, a mid-level ridge begins to build to the east of the tropical cyclone. This should cause a generally northward motion in the next 2 to 3 days. Then, a gradual turn to the north-northeast is expected as the system moves along the northwestern periphery of the ridge. The official track forecast is a blend of the simple and corrected dynamical model consensus guidance.

The tropical cyclone will be moving over very warm waters with only moderate vertical wind shear anticipated during the next several days. Therefore, gradual strengthening is forecast. The official forecast is similar to the latest LGEM guidance and shows the system becoming a hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Users are reminded that there is significant uncertainty in 3-4 day intensity predictions and are urged to monitor changes to future forecasts.

KEY MESSAGES:

1. Heavy rainfall from Tropical Depression Ten is expected across the eastern Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba. The heavy rainfall may produce areas of flash and urban flooding, as well as landslides, across western Cuba. The depression is forecast to become a tropical storm by Sunday, and tropical storm conditions are expected over portions of the Yucatan Peninsula where a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect. Tropical storm conditions are possible over portions of western Cuba within the Tropical Storm Watch area.

2. The depression is forecast to strengthen during the next few days and could become a hurricane over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, bringing a potential of dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, and strong winds to portions of the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle by the middle of next week. Heavy rainfall is also likely to spread into portions of the Southeast U.S. by mid to late next week. Although it is too soon to specify the exact location and magnitude of these impacts, residents in these areas should monitor updates to the forecast of this system and ensure that they have their hurricane plan in place.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT  26/2100Z 21.1N  86.1W   25 KT  30 MPH
 12H  27/0600Z 21.0N  86.3W   30 KT  35 MPH
 24H  27/1800Z 20.9N  86.2W   35 KT  40 MPH
 36H  28/0600Z 20.8N  86.1W   40 KT  45 MPH
 48H  28/1800Z 22.0N  85.7W   45 KT  50 MPH
 60H  29/0600Z 24.0N  85.6W   50 KT  60 MPH
 72H  29/1800Z 26.3N  85.3W   65 KT  75 MPH
 96H  30/1800Z 31.5N  83.0W   45 KT  50 MPH...INLAND
120H  31/1800Z 35.0N  79.0W   30 KT  35 MPH...INLAND

$$
Forecaster Pasch

Original Post:

(800 AM EDT Sat Aug 26 2023) Northwestern Caribbean Sea and Eastern Gulf of Mexico (AL93): Shower and thunderstorm activity continues to show signs of organization in association with an area of low pressure located near the Yucatan Channel. Environmental conditions appear conducive for further development of this system, and a tropical depression is likely to form within the next day or two while it moves generally northward over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Interests in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, western Cuba, and Florida should monitor the progress of this system.

• Formation chance through 48 hours...high...70 percent.
• Formation chance through 7 days...high...90 percent.

(1205 UTC Sat Aug 26 2023) Invest AL93: Shower and thunderstorm activity continues to show signs of organization in association with an area of low pressure (invest AL93) over the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Scattered moderate convection is noted within 120 nm in the N semicircle and 60 nm in the S semicircle of the low. Current winds are 20 kt with seas of around 5 ft. Environmental conditions appear conducive for further development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this weekend or early next week while it moves generally northward over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Interests in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, western Cuba, and Florida should monitor the progress of this system. Please refer to the latest NHC Tropical Weather Outlook at www.hurricanes.gov for more details.