In what may come to be called the Great Swine Flu Fuck-Up, local health officials have vaccinated thousands of schoolkids this year with the regular seasonal flu nasal mist — a vaccination which unfortunately promises to protect them not at all. The seasonal flu vaccine purportedly protects against three viral…
Today, newswires were abuzz with the information that a Washington-based nonprofit group called the Cancer Project, on behalf of two plantiffs in Connecticut, filed a class-action lawsuit against Burger King, McDonald’s, and Friendly’s. The lawsuit alleges that chicken sold by the three restaurant chains contains a chemical, PhIP, which causes…
Florida Fish and Wildlife has yet to respond to a July 30th letter from Lori Kettler, senior counsel for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), concerning humane death for Florida’s thousands of Burmese pythons. Tori Perry, senior cruelty caseworker at PETA, told the Juice today that the guidelines…
In advance of world leaders’ December meeting in Copenhagen for a new climate treaty, Palm Beach County residents are heading to Atlantic Dunes Beach Park, where on Saturday October 24, they’ll participate in a demonstration that’s gone global.That day marks the International Day of Climate Action, in which activists in…
“We’d love it if the world turned vegan tomorrow,” Dan Mathews says breathlessly. Mathews is senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the controversial animal rights group founded by Ingrid Newkirk in 1980. When I spoke to Mathews by phone Friday, he had to raise…
One of Palm Beach billionaire Bill Koch’s main objections to a proposed offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound — which he has spent millions of dollars fighting — is that it will require tax breaks to succeed. As the Juice reported earlier today, Koch has claimed that the annual $100…
Yesterday, The Juice brought you the tale of Bill Koch, the Palm Beach billionaire energy mogul who has spent millions of dollars to oppose an offshore wind farm that will sully his view of Nantucket Sound. We speculated that Koch’s opposition might have something to do with the fact that…
You’d think Bill Koch might be a fan of wind energy. The billionaire Palm Beach energy magnate made some of his fortune off eco-friendly geo-thermal and natural gas power plants. He’s also an avid sailor who won the America’s Cup in 1992.But it appears that when he’s on dry land,…
As local gadflys go, Wes Blackman is one of the most thought-provoking; in fact, New Times gave this urban planner an award for “Best Blog” in 2009 for his insightful commentary about the city of Lake Worth. These days, Blackman is running for city commissioner and he has to make…
Ocean currents only seem to behave randomly; researchers have detected a method to their movements. They’re coordinated in fashion similar to the way a muscle moves around a “skeleton.” By recognizing that system, researchers may be able to predict it, in the same way as meteorologists predict the weather. And…
Residents and businesses on the island of Palm Beach got a harsh green lesson this week when they were invited to the first of three water conservation “workshops” on Monday, to discuss a dirty little secret that many have known but few have talked of openly: the town is guzzling…
Alan T. Brown of Hollywood is the subject of an article in the most recent issue of Newsweek. Paralyzed from the chest down since colliding with a rock at age 20, the now 42-year-old Brown has long hoped medical technology would discover a means for him to walk again –…
[jump] In this video, Anderson Cooper examines Browne’s claims about kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck. Browne told Hornbeck’s parents that their son was dead, and his body would be found “in a wooded area.” Hornbeck was found alive, living with his kidnapper in the opposite direction from where Sylvia indicated. Randi…
It’s been one of the talking points in the battle for major health-care reform — for all our medical technology, Americans have a lower life expectancy than that of other developed countries. Like Europe, where people smoke like chimneys. Far more than Americans do. So what gives?Today’s New York Times…
Wild critters in Florida have many subtle ways of fighting the predations of man. And now that Florida has declared open season on invasive pythons, it’s a good bet that the snakes are going to have the last word, even if it’s spoken with forked tongue. Python meat is a…
The day is upon us. Yes, every Simpsons fan knows Whacking Day started in 1924 as an excuse to beat up the Irish. And yes, technically Texas has had organized snake whacking for years. But now Florida’s bravest most cunning snake-hatingest citizens will descend upon the swamps of this state…
A month after a national magazine named Resveratrol Ultra among the drug supplements that profit from what appear to be misleading advertisements and in the week following its being mentioned in a similar context in the New York Times and then sued by Oprah Winfrey, that same controversial product is…
The feature story I wrote this week about zoophiles has attracted some controversy, here and in our sister paper, the Miami New Times. That’s not surprising — it’s a touchy subject. I didn’t have time to respond to all the comments and emails, but I did want to share a…
Males. When they’re young and brash, trying to mark their territory and impress girls, there’s no telling what they’ll do. Run off to Georgia, even, and get themselves killed.That’s apparently what happened to a Florida panther who was shot and killed by a hunter last year in the woods of…
Bet you thought South Florida was a lot more likely to win accolades for “best strip malls” or “extra egregious decimation of natural wildlife” than for anything much greener than development dollars. But it turns out Florida is among the top states in the nation when it comes to a…
Near the city of Fort Worth, Texas, there’s a Lake Worth — a city that’s next to an actual lake, not a lagoon like Florida’s Lake Worth. And according to the Star-Telegram, this summer marks an anniversary of a ghoulish sighting that has earned a place in local legend. The…
