Oil-induced Tourism Slump: No Match for our Pun-tastic Slogans

As a general rule, people like going to the beach and splashing around in the ocean, but they tend to get fussy when they emerge covered in toxic tar sludge from an exploded BP oil rig. Strange, I know–but decidedly true.Although the April 20 catastrophe has already released 6 million…

Allen West Pins Oil Spill on Obama, Democrats

President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress failed to see into the future and prevent the April 20 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What’s more, it’s apparent that the White House and Congress are not experts on how to prevent an oil well 5,000 feet below the ocean’s…

Pissed About the Oil Spill? Ride Your Bike — Naked.

Following the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizion oil rig and subsequent spill, there were scattered protests around the country, a bunch of huffing and puffing on Capitol Hill, and a general sense of heartbreak as TV news viewers watched the first tar balls reach land in Alabama. But…

For Lake Worth Commissioner Mulvehill, It IS Easy Being Green

Lake Worth Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill has a headfull of programs she’d like to see in Lake Worth to make it the greenest little city in South Florida. On the agenda: composting, public orchards, rain barrels, and front-yard vegetable gardens.  Mulvehill says her own back yard composting projects inspired her to…

Who Benefits from Surfing License Plate?

By the end of today, Florida drivers could have a new design option for their license plate: an image of a surfer inspired by the 60s surf flick, The Endless Summer. The state legislature is expected to OK a bill authorizing the new plate. Sounds pretty rad, right? But some…

A Cold Winter Means Fewer Butterflies This Spring in Florida

It’s like some sort of child’s fable, or maybe a Virginia Woolf essay. It is both poetic, and a sad reminder of modern woes.After the coldest South Florida winter in more than 30 years, this spring will see a sharp reduction in the number of butterflies fluttering about.The Clay Glass…

Animal Planet Hunts River Monsters in Broward Canals

It has a torpedo-shaped body, rows of sharp teeth, and if it has to, it can swim up from the muck of east Broward canals and walk across land. Animal Planet’s Jeremy Wade, whose program River Monsters is the highest-rated show in AP history — with moe than a million…

A Breeder’s View on the Proposed Python Ban

Greg Bryant raises reticulated pythons, the longest snakes in the world. From the Retic Ranch in Delray Beach, he breeds animals that can grow to 20 feet and top 100 pounds and sells them around the world. His livelihood is now threatened by federal legislation, proposed last year by Florida…

Immokalee Workers Plan Major Push on Publix This Weekend

Thirty-year-old Romeo Ramirez has worked on Florida farms for his “whole life,” he says. And despite the conditions he’s seen — stagnant wages, no benefits, and even migrant farm workers forced to work against their will — he still seems to see the state he lives in as a vast…

Two Florida Farmers Opt Out of Animal Rights Battles

This week’s feature story details the escalating battle between Big Agriculture and the Humane Society, the organization behind a nationwide campaign to legislate the safety and comfort of farm animals. The Humane Society helped push through Florida’s “pregnant pigs” constitutional amendment in 2002 — its first such victory in the…

Activists Protest Scripps Plan for Briger Tonight in Palm Beach Gardens

Lake Worth environmental activist Panagioti Tsolkas was one of many locals who banded together five years ago to protest the Scripps Biotech development on Mecca Farms. Some of those same activists, including members the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition and Everglades Earth First, are hoping to use similar tactics to…

Hometown Democracy Stalled by 60 Percent Requirement?

Leadership Florida released its fourth annual Sunshine Survey yesterday, and already supporters of Hometown Democracy Amendment 4 are crying foul. The survey, conducted by Nielsen ratings, suggested that the constitutional Amendment 4 that supporters have fought to get on the ballot in November 2010 may not muster the 60 percent…

Attorney Teams Up With Banker to Tell Teachers How to Teach

John Thrasher and Jeff Atwater worked as an attorney and a banker, respectively, before they became state senators and declared themselves experts on how to educate your Florida child. You see, it’s quite simple: Good teachers inspire students who score high on standardized tests; bad teachers cause students to score…

A Sad, Beautiful Video About the Everglades

German Mendez is a biologist who works at Mack’s Fishing Camp in West Broward. Yesterday this video of Mendez was posted on YouTube by documentary makers Paul Franz and Jesse Swanson. It’s not clear whether the timing is related to this week’s Charlie Crist scandal, but it really does drive…

Publix Recall: Stop, Drop That Meat Loaf!

Your Hungry Man might have to settle for salad tonight: Lakeland, Florida-based Publix today ordered a recall on four seasoning mixes (call them “mother’s little helpers”) distributed in all 735 of its Florida stores. Bad enough that we’ve had to haul back our baby food and dog kibble, our burger…

Skeptics Set Sail For The High Seas

Do skeptics enjoy some time in the sun? How about cruising the Caribbean, discussing the finer points of incredulity as they gaze upon crystal clear waters and tropical islands? You better believe they do.If South Florida seems a little more gullible this week, it’s because James Randi, the “King of…

Broward Trash Hauler Gets the Best Compliments Money Can Buy

Wheelabrator, the division of trash-hauling giant Waste Management that owns Broward County’s two mammoth incinerators, is desperate to persuade cities to renew a contract for dumping waste at their facilities. But that’s a tough sell, especially if you read articles like the one I wrote in September 2008, in which…

Wild Boar and Politics Mix at Delray’s Garlic Fest

The mystery ingredient in last Saturday’s Garlic Chef Competition at the Delray Beach Garlic Fest came from an unlikely source. Mayor Nelson “Woodie” McDuffie provided 60 pounds of pork for the occasion — and slayed the hogs himself.”I was also sworn to secrecy,” McDuffie says. But now that the fest…