Capturing invasive pythons in South Florida

Parkland native Ian Bartoszek does not hesitate to hail Dion the snake as an MVP—“Most Valuable Python.”

After all, thanks to Dion, a “scout” snake, Bartoszek and his fellow biologists at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida removed five Burmese pythons during the last breeding season. “[Dion] had five girlfriends,” Bartoszek jokes.

However, Burmese pythons and their effect on South Florida’s wildlife are no laughing matter. The Burmese python is a large, nonvenomous constrictor that is an invasive species in Florida. You will find them primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem. The snake represents a threat to native wildlife, but “they’re not interested in us,” Bartoszek says.

One of the snakes captured during this past breeding season was the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, according to Bartoszek. Specifically, it weighed 215 pounds, measured nearly 18 feet long, and had 122 developing eggs. A necropsy found that an adult white-tailed deer was its last meal.

“Imagine what else she ate over her life[time],” Bartoszek says.

The necropsy, which National Geographic documented, took place in March. Before the December 2021 capture, the largest female removed through the conservancy’s program measured 16 feet and weighed 185 pounds. At the time, it was the heaviest python captured in Florida.

Bartoszek, a 1995 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduate, says that at first, he and his colleagues were unimpressed. “We all underestimated the weight,” says Bartoszek, environmental science project manager for the conservancy’s program. “When we brought her back to the lab and put [her] on the scale, there was a collective wow factor. When we looked, the scale read 215 pounds. We’ve lost count of how many large pythons we’ve captured over the years. To be honest with you, it’s just another big snake for us. There’s always a bigger snake out there.”

Ten years ago, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida started a radio telemetry project to track Burmese pythons in order to learn about their behavior. Since then, Bartoszek and his team removed more than 1,000 pythons collectively weighing more than 26,000 pounds from an area of less than 100 square miles outside of Naples.

Bartoszek and his team use radio transmitters transplanted in male “scout” snakes, such as Dion, to study python movements, breeding behaviors, and habitat use.

Since the conservancy’s python program began in 2013, necropsies have found dozens of white-tailed deer inside Burmese pythons. Also, data researchers at the University of Florida have documented 24 species of mammals, 47 species of birds, and two reptile species in pythons’ stomachs.

The breeding season for Burmese pythons runs from November through March. Last season, Bartoszek and his team removed 4,300 pounds of python from the study area outside of Naples. He says the previous season yielded about the same number.

Removing female pythons plays a large role in disrupting the breeding cycle, Bartoszek says. But that can be easier said than done. Indeed, Burmese pythons are “amazingly cryptic” and hard to locate, he adds. Furthermore, they expand their range each year. Parkland is on the edge of that range, the wildlife scientist says.

The public can report invasive animal sightings by calling 1-888-IVEGOT1. In addition, people can report sightings of invasive species on the IveGot1 app, available at the App store. The app is an integrated invasive species reporting and outreach campaign for Florida that includes the app, a website with direct access to invasive species reporting, and a hotline for instant reports of live animals.

Searching the Woods for Critters

While Bartoszek currently captures huge snakes, he recalled flipping over rocks as a child in the woods in search of critters.

“I always had the bug for turning over stones, seeing where critters were hiding,” he says.

In addition, Bartoszek’s father used to take him fishing. He says those experiences made him appreciate Florida’s wildlife more. As a college student at the University of Arizona, the Parkland native studied wildlife and fisheries science. He recalls coming home from school for the holidays during his college years and appreciating the Everglades and South Florida’s water world even more.

“You have to get away from it to appreciate it sometimes,” Bartoszek says.

After earning his degree, he landed an internship at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. His responsibilities included working on projects for the Everglades restoration. Also, he recorded wildlife and became more aware of the area’s invasive animal issue. The internship led to Bartoszek’s employment with the conservancy.

Bartoszek says if you told him 11 years ago that he would track one of the largest snakes on the planet, he would not have believed you. He has encountered “some pretty incredible things.”

He says, “You really can’t make this stuff up.”

Paralympic goals

When former Coral Springs resident Tyler Merren and his American teammates play for the world championship in their sport during this fall’s Paralympic Games, they will need to rely on their ears as much as other body parts to succeed.

That is because the sport in which Merren and his teammates compete is goalball. It is a sport designed specifically for athletes who are visually impaired. Participants compete in teams of three and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents’ goal. Players, using ear-hand coordination, must use the sound of the bells to judge the position and movement of the ball. Athletes play the sport indoors, usually on a volleyball court.

Merren, who lives in Fort Wayne, will participate this fall in his fifth world championship as a member of the U.S. men’s goalball team. The results will play a crucial role in determining qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Specifically, the top two men’s and women’s teams at the world championships earn an automatic berth for Paris. The Paralympics games are for physically disabled athletes.

Merren, 37, was born with an eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa in both of his eyes. It is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina. As a result, he is legally blind, meaning he has less than 10 percent vision.

Merren, who grew up in a family of athletes, used to play other sports. But as his vision got worse, he had to stop. Then, a sports education camp for visually impaired youth at Western Michigan University introduced him to goalball and other adapted sports such as swimming, track and field, and wrestling.

Merren had never heard of goalball before the camp. He said that a fellow camper observed him play, thought he was good, and asked him if he wished to continue to play. Merren stuck with the sport. And today, his former fellow camper is his teammate on the U.S. Paralympic team.

Altogether, Merren has competed in 15 countries and 28 states. He has been competing with the U.S. men’s goalball team for more than 20 years. He credited their success to the work the players put in off the court.

“We run ourselves into the ground training day after day,” Merren said. “Like any athlete out there, we want to be the best we can be. I enjoy the process of trying to perfect my game and my athleticism.”

Individually, Merren said that his accuracy throwing the ball is “pretty good.” As a result, he gets many opportunities for penalty throws.

During the 2010 world championships, Merren was the fourth-highest goalscorer in the world.

However, he said that he values team victories more than individual statistics and accomplishments. “Sometimes that means handing the ball off to a teammate,” he said.

How does it feel to qualify for the world championships?

“It’s gratifying and affirming at the same time,” Merren said. He added that the U.S. has a “pretty strong” goalball program. “I would have been shocked if [we] had not qualified,” he said.

The former Coral Springs resident described goalball as a combination of soccer, handball, and volleyball.

“It’s not quite like anything else that people have played before,” he said. “The cool thing about goalball is that no matter how much vision I might lose, the sport stays the same. It’s based off of my work ethic and skill as opposed to my vision loss.

“Being visually impaired doesn’t change the fact that I’m a competitive athlete, and goalball gives me that opportunity to compete at an elite level.”

Goalball has existed since 1946. Its first purpose was to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during World War II. Players remain on their hands and knees to defend their net and score against their opponents. A goalball court measures about 60 feet long and almost 30 feet wide. String taped to the markings on the court allows players to feel the lines and orient themselves.

Goalball’s Paralympic premiere came in 1976 in Toronto. Organizers added a women’s event at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. The sport’s first world championships took place in 1978 in Austria. The International Blind Sports Federation is the official governing body for the sport.

Merren, who is originally from southwest Michigan, lived in Coral Springs from 2013 to 2019. While in South Florida, he worked at a 24 Hour Fitness location as a master trainer and an assistant fitness manager. He is also a motivational speaker and has a Facebook page. To find it, go to www.facebook.com and search for “Tyler Merren Speaks” in the search bar. Following Merren’s Facebook page will, among other things, allow you to keep up with his goalball team’s progress. For more information on the International Blind Sports Federation and goalball, visit https://ibsasport.org/.

The Fantels − adjusting to a new normal in music, performing arts

In early 2020, the future looked rosy for Coral Springs couple Caryl and Roy Fantel.

One night, Roy was playing drums in the orchestra for the world premiere production of the musical “A Wonderful World” at Miami New Drama, a professional, nonprofit theater company in Miami Beach. Roy helped create the drum score for the musical biography about jazz legend Louis Armstrong. 

While Roy worked on “A Wonderful World,” Caryl was music directing a production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic “A Little Night Music” by Zoetic Stage, a nonprofit, professional company in downtown Miami.

Caryl and Roy, a nationally respected couple who have been married almost 26 years, own and operate Coral Springs-based Fantel Music (www.fantelmusic.com). The couple, between them, boast more than 60 years of professional expertise in the performing arts. And the couple had already booked most of the rest of 2020 with gigs. Life was good.

Then, almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Folks who had booked the Fantels for jobs canceled the engagements. In fact, Caryl could not even retrieve her belongings from the Arsht Center, where “A Little Night Music” was to open. The Arsht shut down, as did the musical. Meanwhile, in Miami Beach, Miami New Drama postponed “A Wonderful World” indefinitely.

In the bleakness that followed, email message after email message reached the couple’s inboxes, confirming closures and cancellations. 

For the first time in decades, the Fantels found themselves jobless. Fortunately, they are versatile and adaptable. 

Caryl is a music director, event producer, pianist, teacher, editor, and arts activist. Meanwhile, Roy is a drummer, percussionist, teacher, video-audio producer, and web designer. With all the skills between them, they were able to adapt to the new normal by finding virtual work.

Their first COVID-era job was producing the Carbonell Awards, which recognizes excellence in South Florida live theater. Caryl has been part of the award show’s production team for 12 years. But this year, the awards ceremony looked different. Caryl, herself a Carbonell Award winner, decided — along with the organization — to prerecord the 2020 awards ceremony and present it virtually in August 2020. The Carbonells turned out to be one of several projects the Fantels worked on, during which they helped schools and other performers put on shows virtually. 

“COVID has been extraordinarily challenging for everyone in the entertainment industry, but it has given us the opportunity to demonstrate our flexibility,” Caryl said. “Roy’s extensive technical background and abilities, and our wide experience working with groups of all sizes, ages, and levels, has enabled us to pivot into creating work that isn’t necessarily live performance, but is still art and entertainment.” 

For instance, the couple worked with drama students at Coral Glades High School to virtually perform the Off-Broadway musical hit “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Among other things, Roy figured out via green-screen technology how to make four actors appear as though they were together.

The Fantels also used green-screen technology to virtually produce “Signs of Life.” The Yiddishkayt Initiative presented the musical drama as part of a Holocaust Remembrance Day program. Roy said because the production was virtual, people from all over the world were able to watch it on Facebook and YouTube. 

The Fantels − adjusting to a new normal in music, performing artsJoan Limon, the producer of “Signs of Life,” praised the Fantels. “If there is an equivalent of a Tony Award for best musical direction and videography of a virtual musical drama, it definitely belongs on [their] mantel,” she said.

In addition to the Carbonell Awards, “Signs of Life,” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” the couple’s projects during the past year included the following:

  • “Stars of David in Concert,” produced by Avi Hoffman’s Yiddishkayt Initiative. The group is a not-for-profit organization that celebrates and promotes Jewish history, life, and culture.
  • Two readings of new musicals that combined recorded and live elements, including one at Florida Atlantic University.
  • A couple of holiday concerts presented as part of the Yiddishkayt Initiative’s international Hanukkah and Purim festivals.
  • A musical theater production for Nova Southeastern University.
  • A production of “Almost, Maine” for an area high school.

“As long as there’s a need, we will continue to produce virtually,” Caryl said. “To some degree, we believe virtual productions are here to stay, as they provide unlimited audience reach.”

However, “we’re both looking forward to performing in front of live audiences again,” Caryl said. “We are cautiously optimistic that audiences will return to theaters live and in-person in pre-pandemic numbers (or even beyond those numbers). We have heard that people are starved for live entertainment. We’re hoping they will be willing to prioritize attending live events, since people haven’t spent much, if anything, on arts events in more than a year … and artists and arts organizations need support now more than ever.

Carbon: A new cash crop for farmers

What if farmers could make their practices more environmentally friendly, improve their plants, and continue to generate income at the same time? Such an idea has grown into more than just a thought in the U.S. The concept is called carbon sequestration, or “carbon farming.”

In simple terms, farmers capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide in their plants. The concept could prove important in the fight against global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S.

Such gases trap heat, resulting in higher temperatures in the atmosphere, and contribute to global warming. President Joe Biden hopes to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands.

John-Walt Boatright, Director of National Affairs for the Florida Farm Bureau, said that he and others in the agriculture field have discussed carbon sequestration for about 20 years. And now, “the stars are aligning” to make such practices widespread, he said.

Specifically, Boatright noted that the Biden administration is determined to develop a climate policy. And those in the agriculture industry are equally determined to make carbon sequestration a widespread practice.

The process of implementing carbon sequestration strategies can prove challenging. It depends on factors such as a farm’s location, equipment, and finances.

For instance, planting cover crops, or those that cover soil is one technique. Among other things, the practice helps fight erosion, builds organic matter, and improves fertility.

Farms in some regions of the U.S. have been planting cover crops for decades. But growing seasons in other regions are too short to consider cover crops.

Some farmers have been using a technique called “no-till” for years with great results. It’s a process of farming without tilling the soil, helping to reduce the amount of soil disruption that would otherwise release carbon dioxide into the air.

But it’s not a technique that works everywhere, and it depends on the soil and other factors.

University of Florida soil scientist Jehangir Bhadha agrees that not all carbon sequestration techniques work equally well.

“We have to be very cautious in making these broad overarching statements because in some cases, certain practices may work, and you may yield profits from it — not just financial but even environmental benefits,” Bhadha told WUSF Public Media.

Boatright said that while conversations about carbon sequestration have been happening for years, “we’re still early in this process.”

Biden wants to use $30 billion in farm aid money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation to pay growers for implementing sustainable practices.

And at least one agriculture official supports Biden’s proposal — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried.

“It’s going to be millions upon millions of dollars,” Fried told WJCT Public Media.

Fried told the media outlet that tariffs, adverse weather, and the pandemic have hit Florida farmers hard. She believes that Biden’s incentive can help.

In fact, Fried submitted a proposal to the White House. In it, she told Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that “with 9.7 million acres of farmland, Florida is an ideal state for potential pilot programs.”

Among other things, Fried’s document suggests a public-private partnership “to identify federal and state-owned lands on which potential properties not actively being managed can implement a tree planting and cover crop program for carbon sequestration.”

“While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, regenerative agriculture can help sequester carbon from the atmosphere at levels that will have a real impact on the climate crisis,” Fried wrote.

Broward County Farm Bureau President Fred Segal said that carbon sequestration “definitely has potential down the road.”

Such practices could not only help environmentally but also assist agriculture in becoming self-sustaining while continuing to provide a safe, economical food supply for the public, Segal said. He added that carbon farming could help small farmers remain in business by providing them with an additional revenue source.

Just outside Tallahassee, David “Kip” Ritchey, 31, and Angelique Taylor, 27, operate a one-acre farm. WJCT Public Media reported that the young couple uses alternatives to tilling. In addition, they plant cover crops off-season to keep nutrients in the ground. They also use hay as a natural water and nutrient reservoir, and they experiment with organic fertilizers to reduce their carbon footprint. The Florida couple isn’t receiving monetary compensation for their efforts.

But in the Midwest, large agricultural companies are paying growers to plant crops that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use techniques to keep carbon in the soil.

With Biden’s plan to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands, it could be just a matter of time before Florida growers also receive monetary compensation.

Boatright said that carbon sequestration is a complex topic but “I think will be valuable to the American farmer and also to the American citizen.”

Carbon: A new cash crop for farmers

What if farmers could make their practices more environmentally friendly, improve their plants, and continue to generate income at the same time? Such an idea has grown into more than just a thought in the U.S. The concept is called carbon sequestration, or “carbon farming.”

In simple terms, farmers capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide in their plants. The concept could prove important in the fight against global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S.

Such gases trap heat, resulting in higher temperatures in the atmosphere, and contribute to global warming. President Joe Biden hopes to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands.

John-Walt Boatright, Director of National Affairs for the Florida Farm Bureau, said that he and others in the agriculture field have discussed carbon sequestration for about 20 years. And now, “the stars are aligning” to make such practices widespread, he said.

Specifically, Boatright noted that the Biden administration is determined to develop a climate policy. And those in the agriculture industry are equally determined to make carbon sequestration a widespread practice.

The process of implementing carbon sequestration strategies can prove challenging. It depends on factors such as a farm’s location, equipment, and finances.

For instance, planting cover crops, or those that cover soil is one technique. Among other things, the practice helps fight erosion, builds organic matter, and improves fertility.

Farms in some regions of the U.S. have been planting cover crops for decades. But growing seasons in other regions are too short to consider cover crops.

Some farmers have been using a technique called “no-till” for years with great results. It’s a process of farming without tilling the soil, helping to reduce the amount of soil disruption that would otherwise release carbon dioxide into the air.

But it’s not a technique that works everywhere, and it depends on the soil and other factors.

University of Florida soil scientist Jehangir Bhadha agrees that not all carbon sequestration techniques work equally well.

“We have to be very cautious in making these broad overarching statements because in some cases, certain practices may work, and you may yield profits from it — not just financial but even environmental benefits,” Bhadha told WUSF Public Media.

Boatright said that while conversations about carbon sequestration have been happening for years, “we’re still early in this process.”

Biden wants to use $30 billion in farm aid money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation to pay growers for implementing sustainable practices.

And at least one agriculture official supports Biden’s proposal — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried.

“It’s going to be millions upon millions of dollars,” Fried told WJCT Public Media.

Fried told the media outlet that tariffs, adverse weather, and the pandemic have hit Florida farmers hard. She believes that Biden’s incentive can help.

In fact, Fried submitted a proposal to the White House. In it, she told Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that “with 9.7 million acres of farmland, Florida is an ideal state for potential pilot programs.”

Among other things, Fried’s document suggests a public-private partnership “to identify federal and state-owned lands on which potential properties not actively being managed can implement a tree planting and cover crop program for carbon sequestration.”

“While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, regenerative agriculture can help sequester carbon from the atmosphere at levels that will have a real impact on the climate crisis,” Fried wrote.

Broward County Farm Bureau President Fred Segal said that carbon sequestration “definitely has potential down the road.”

Such practices could not only help environmentally but also assist agriculture in becoming self-sustaining while continuing to provide a safe, economical food supply for the public, Segal said. He added that carbon farming could help small farmers remain in business by providing them with an additional revenue source.

Just outside Tallahassee, David “Kip” Ritchey, 31, and Angelique Taylor, 27, operate a one-acre farm. WJCT Public Media reported that the young couple uses alternatives to tilling. In addition, they plant cover crops off-season to keep nutrients in the ground. They also use hay as a natural water and nutrient reservoir, and they experiment with organic fertilizers to reduce their carbon footprint. The Florida couple isn’t receiving monetary compensation for their efforts.

But in the Midwest, large agricultural companies are paying growers to plant crops that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use techniques to keep carbon in the soil.

With Biden’s plan to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands, it could be just a matter of time before Florida growers also receive monetary compensation.

Boatright said that carbon sequestration is a complex topic but “I think will be valuable to the American farmer and also to the American citizen.”

Another busy storm season predicted

By Aaron Krause

Hunker down for yet another hectic hurricane season this year, say AccuWeather forecasters. However, in 2021, the period of intense storm activity from June 1 to Nov. 30 won’t quite match 2020’s record-breaking season of practically nonstop action.

AccuWeather’s team of tropical weather experts, led by veteran meteorologist Dan Kottlowski, predict that this year, 16 to 20 named storms will form, including seven to 10 hurricanes. Of the storms expected to reach hurricane strength, weather experts believe three to five will become major hurricanes. Such storms are Category 3 or higher that carry maximum sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.

Experts consider a normal season to be one carrying 14 storms ⎯ with seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Last year’s season produced 30 storms, including 13 hurricanes. Six of those reached the major hurricane threshold.

It was a record year with 12 named storms making landfall in the U.S., overtaking the previous record of nine direct strikes in 1916.

In fact, forecasters had to turn to the rarely used Greek alphabet for just the second time to name the storms. Forecasters use Greek letters as names when they have exhausted the list of a year’s assigned proper names.

But the weather service will no longer use Greek letters, instead developing an alternate overflow name list. Journalists and the public were asking more questions about the names than the storms themselves.

Also, say goodbye to Dexter, Dorian, Leah, and Laura. Officials have permanently retired these names, following the tradition of not reusing the names of particularly destructive storms.

Forecasters this year will step up to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System weather model, which should improve predictions on tracking, intensity, and landfall locations.

According to a statement from the National Hurricane Center, the start of the 2021 hurricane season remains June 1. Weather experts had been considering changing the start to May 15, due to an increase in tropical activity in the Atlantic basin over the past decade.

Since 2011, 10 named storms have formed in the Atlantic before June 1. Eight of those happened since 2015. The years 2012, 2016, and 2020 featured seasons that not only saw storms before June but experienced more than one storm before the official season start.

While the 2021 hurricane season’s official start date will remain the same, there has been at least one change. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center started issuing tropical weather outlooks on May 15, two weeks earlier than normal.

To determine how active a hurricane season will be, weather experts consider factors such as the strength or weakness of systems like El Niño and La Niña, short-term climate fluctuations caused by the warming or cooling of waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. When the water in the equatorial Pacific is warmer than average, forecasters typically declare it an “El Niño.” When the reverse is true, weather experts call it a “La Niña.”

Locally, ongoing work by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) will help speed electricity restoration following major storms for Coral Springs residents.

“Florida Power & Light Company customers in Coral Springs continue to benefit from the company’s ongoing work to strengthen the energy grid and improve service reliability,” company officials wrote in a press release.

“FPL investments, which include strengthening power lines and poles, trimming trees near power lines, installing smart grid technology, and undergrounding power lines in select areas, help make the grid more reliable day-to-day and speed restoration following major storms,” according to FPL.

“For more than 15 years, FPL has been improving the energy grid, making it stronger, smarter, and more storm-resilient to keep the lights on for customers in good weather and bad,” said Eric Silagy, FPL’s president, and CEO.

Improvements in place last season, for example, prevented some 150,000 potential outages, Silagy said.

Roller coaster ride for local fraternal groups

“We’ve really become everybody’s new favorite place,” boasts Veroni Que, referring to an increase in membership at Ft. Lauderdale Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3140.

In fact, membership has increased by at least 25 percent since the coronavirus pandemic hit, estimates Que, a bartender at the club. She attributed the growth, in part, to the club’s pleasing physical appearance, reasonable prices for meals, and camaraderie among club members.

A strong membership drive during 2020 might have also helped, club trustee Kelly Carver said.

But apparently, such efforts elsewhere in the world of fraternal organizations have not translated into increased membership.

Indeed, a 2019 congressional report found that membership has been steadily declining in a variety of social clubs and groups. Specifically, the joint economic committee report found that membership rates in some organizations decreased from 75 percent in 1974 to 62 percent in 2004. “At 52 percent, the drop was steepest among fraternal organizations such as the Freemasons or the Knights of Columbus,” NPR reported, citing the committee report.

Speaking of the Freemasons, its membership in Florida has considerably decreased over the last 10 to 15 years, says Stewart Davies. He’s the secretary and past master of the Hollywood-based Roe Fulkerson Masonic Lodge No. 299 of the Free and Accepted Masons.

Today, the lodge boasts 192 members, about 30 less than five years ago, Davies says. But within the last couple years, the lodge has “held its own” in terms of membership, he adds.

“We have a really good team of new blood in our lodge,” Davies says. Specifically, he notes, within the last five years or so, men in their mid-20s to mid-30s with vigor and ambition have joined. In contrast, older members didn’t return when the lodge re-opened after a closure due to the pandemic. The lodge lost almost a dozen members in 2020. Six died, and the others left for different reasons.

Davies says he feels one of the reasons that membership is down among Freemasons is that people have other interests.

“We’re just competing with natural diversions,” he says. But Davies also notes that a Mason must follow strong rules and regulations. And it might be harder for younger people to follow them.

There’s also a lot of work involved to become a master mason, Davies says. In particular, the process can take anywhere from four months to a year. There is no “instant gratification,” he adds.

Freemasonry, or masonry, comprises fraternal organizations which trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients.

Modern Freemasonry consists of two main recognition groups. Regular Freemasonry “insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member profess belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics be banned.”

Meanwhile, Continental Freemasonry is now the general term for the jurisdictions which have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.

Davies says that lodges are particular when deciding who
joins.

“We take good men and make them better. We don’t take bad men and make them good,” he says. “We’re not looking to fill our chairs with numbers but with quality men. We want people whose heart is in freemasonry.”

“We’re not some weird, secret society,” Freemason Daryn Hufton-Rees told CNBC for an article by Holly Ellyatt published in 2013. “There are no Illuminati roaming about or funny handshakes involved — although, by the way, it’s a grip, not a handshake — We’re an organization with moral codes and people join us for the sense of camaraderie, the opportunities to learn, and charitable giving.”

The Fort Lauderdale lodge, for example, held a school supplies drive at the beginning of the academic year. The lodge has also conducted food drives.

Opportunities also exist to perform good deeds with the Fort Lauderdale Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 3140. Que, the club’s bartender, says she thinks the “charity work” that the club performs is a draw for people considering membership.

The Fraternal Order of Eagles, an international nonprofit organization, “unites fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills, and by promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope,”according to www.foe.com.

“We have a great group of people here,” Que says about her Fort Lauderdale chapter.

Once people notice the camaraderie within the group, “they come back, they want to be a member,” she adds.

Now, Eagles Aerie 3140 is striving to bring in younger members. Carver, one of the chapter’s trustees, says he feels that in general, younger people are not as interested as are their older counterparts in joining fraternal groups. They might just be too busy, Carver says.

“It’s a tough group to shoot for,” he adds.

 

Florida preserves college-level civics literacy requirements

Who’s second in the line of presidential succession? Speaker of the House, you say? Good job. You know your civics.

When President Reagan was shot in 1981, Secretary of State Alexander Haig said, “Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president, and the secretary of state in that order…I am in control here.”

Haig later insisted he was talking about the executive branch, not the presidential line of succession. Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, was not amused.

Either way, Florida wants to make sure its citizens are civics literate. So if you didn’t know your civics in high school, you’re in luck, because civics literacy is a graduation requirement at all state colleges and universities. It has been since 2017.

Civics literacy means an understanding of history and how government works.

Earlier this year, Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted to amend the 2017 law, introducing “The Florida Civic Literacy Test,” which basically was just a version of the U.S. Immigration Services Naturalization Test.

It was a 100 multiple-choice test and you only had to get 60 right to pass, the equivalent of a “D” letter grade.

To be clear, there are 100 questions would-be citizens have to study, but the examiner randomly selects ten from the 100 and the test taker isn’t given multiple choices. They have to know the answers to six questions, in addition to passing reading, writing, and speaking tests.

The Florida Department of Education (FDE) withdrew the amendment it had proposed after parties petitioned against it at the end of May. The amendment would have added the test as one of several options by which Florida College System students could demonstrate civic literacy competency.

But a representative from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), one of the petitioners against the proposed rule change, said that the citizenship test is problematic. “The problem with the proposed rule was that it created a test that could be passed by scoring 60 percent on a memorization test instead of completing a university-level course or an existing assessment specifically designed to measure collegiate level learning,” said Jonathan Pidluzny, ACTA’s vice president of academic affairs.

An ACTA press release states that the proposed rule would have “seriously weakened” the 2017 law, which says educators must “establish course competencies and identify outcomes that include, at minimum, an understanding of the basic principles of American democracy and how they are applied in our republican form of government, an understanding of the United States Constitution, knowledge of the founding documents, and how they have shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of self-governance, and an understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases and their impact on law and society.”

The Parklander requested a copy of the multiple-choice test from the Florida Department of Education, but officials did not supply one.

Civics test

A recent survey of 41,000 Americans, conducted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, indicates less than four in ten Americans could pass a civics test. Some other notable facts from the survey: Those in Vermont had the highest passing rate (53 percent); the next four highest scoring states were Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, and Virginia. Meanwhile, Louisiana had the lowest passing rate (27 percent), followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Florida’s score was 29 percent. The questions below come from 100 used in the citizenship test.

Scroll below for correct answers

  1.  What is the supreme law of the land?
  2. When was the Constitution written?
  3. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
  4. What position is third in line of Presidential succession? (Hint, it’s still not Secretary of State.)
  5. Who is the current Chief Justice of the United States?
  6.  How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
  7. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
  8. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
  9. Name one right or freedom under the First Amendment.
  10.  Who was the president during World War I?

ANSWERS:

If only mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood

One fact might remove some of the sting from this year’s mosquito season: Health officials have no data to suggest that mosquitos transmit coronavirus to people. Still, mosquitos can transmit potentially deadly diseases to humans. And so, like every mosquito season, county officials are working to control the
population.

This year, Broward County has temporarily suspended mosquito home inspections as part of social distancing protocols. However, “we continue to provide truck-dispersed mosquito control products,” said Ahn Ton, director of the Broward County Highway and Bridge Maintenance Division and Mosquito Control.

The county’s seven inspectors apply products, collect traps, test water for larvae, and participate in public outreach. The county’s call center received about 50-80 calls per day in May, Ton said. By July that grew to 150-200 calls, County residents can call 311 or (954) 831-3940.

Ton said the mosquito problem this year is no greater or less than previous years. “Thankfully, we are not currently experiencing a mosquito-borne illness pandemic as we did with the Zika Virus,” Ton added.

However, from March 9 through July 28 of this year, as of press time, Palm Beach County had experienced one case of West Nile Virus in a human. In Miami-Dade County, that number is 24. Also, the Florida Department of Health has confirmed a case of West Nile in a horse in Northern Broward County.

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne disease that affects birds, but mosquitos, through their bites, can also transmit the condition to humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States.

Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall. There are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat WNV in people. Most people infected with WNV do not feel sick. Roughly one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms. About one out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.

“Mosquitoes that transmit West Nile Virus bite during the day and night,” according to information on the county’s website. “People can avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent (formulated with Permethrin, Picaridin, or DEET), by wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, and by treating clothing and gear.” The website also advises people with horses to ensure the animal is vaccinated against the virus. “When possible, keep your horse stabled and spray it with a horse mosquito repellent.”

Broward County officials are educating people about methods to lower mosquito populations such as removing standing water from their properties. Also, the county is providing materials and non-toxic larvicide tablets at special events and doctors’ offices.

Trapping is another control method, said Ton.

“Traps are used for surveillance so that we know the quantity and species of mosquitos in an area so that we can tailor our treatment technique to maximize effectiveness and minimize any waste,” Ton said. “Traps have the added benefit of removing adult mosquitos from the environment.”

Officials place traps throughout Broward County and collect them weekly for “counts.” On a regular basis, the county biologist traps mosquitos, separates them by species, and detects any potential viruses. Findings determine the chemical application that county workers will use and the type of treatment required.  Aerial spraying traps provide another control method. But under
Florida law, counties must show a 10-fold increase in their mosquito population before the state approves aerial spraying. Ton said the last time Broward County conducted aerial spraying was July 2019.

In Palm Beach County, mosquito control program supervisor Chris Reifinger said he deploys 17 traps around the county. This year, several traps caught more than 1,000 mosquitos in 24 hours. “That indicates a mosquito problem,” Reifinger said. Therefore, he’s had to conduct aerial spraying. Reifinger added the county usually uses a helicopter for that purpose an average of six times every year.

In early August, Reifinger said the mosquito problem in his county was “pretty calm.” By contrast, in June, mosquitos were a “big problem.” He’s had to conduct aerial spraying west of Military Trail on 270,000 acres of land which tends to flood. Reifinger said his team has also used a spray truck to try to kill West Nile Virus-carrying mosquitos.

For information on how you can avoid getting sick from viruses spread by mosquitos, visit cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/index.html.

 

By Aaron Krause

Locals want to change names that recall painful past

Eyes widen, and sometimes jaws drop when South Florida resident Dharyl Auguste mentions his city’s name: Plantation. In fact, the name bothers him. To Auguste, the name conjures images of slavery and a terrible period in America’s past. So, Auguste wants to change the name. He has started a petition on change.org, which has netted more than 10,000 signatures and many supportive comments.

“The attention is there, the support is there, and the desire is there,” says Auguste, who has lived in Plantation since 2011. “We’re living through some revolutionary times, and I think we need to get on the right side of history.”

These days, Auguste is hardly alone in his desire to see change. African-American George Floyd’s murder in May by a white police officer in Minneapolis sparked peaceful and violent protests across the country and other parts of the world. That includes Broward County, where at least one person wants to change the county’s name. The county was named for former Florida governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, a segregationist whose statue was removed from the county courthouse in 2017.

In addition, activists have become vocal about their desire to change the names of places and to remove statues which, for them, conjure a painful past. In fact, some changes have already happened.

Auguste, for one, said he’s attracted supporters as well as people who strongly disagree with him. Folks “keep saying
I’m trying to erase history,” Auguste says, adding he hears people reminiscing about fond memories from earlier times in Plantation.

“Changing a name of a city will not change any of those wonderful memories,” he says. “It won’t change relationships they’ve formed here.”

A name change for the city will “spark a renewed faith in our city council and give way for a new history to be told that separates itself from a shameful past,” Auguste wrote on his petition, which he uploaded to change.org. The website bills itself as “the world’s platform for change,” with 369,383,944 “people taking action.”

“We as a country are going through radical changes and I would like to see our beloved town follow suit to other places that are condemning and removing Confederate monuments,” Auguste wrote in his petition. “Plantation and the areas surrounding it are a diverse melting pot that shouldn’t have to carry a reminder of oppression in its namesake. The new name should be voted upon by the people and submitted by the people.”

However, Auguste learned at a recent city council meeting that his petition on change.org is not the legally correct way to bring the issue to voters. Rather, he must obtain signatures from 10 percent of Plantation’s registered voters. City councilman Nick Sortal said that about 65,000 registered voters live in the city, whose population is nearly 100,000. To bring the issue before voters, Auguste would need to obtain 6,500 signatures, according to Sortal, who said he’s not taking a stance on the issue.

“I am very confident that I am going to be able to do that,” Auguste says. But at the moment, he says he’s not comfortable with knocking on people’s doors in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, Auguste learned from the city officials that, at the earliest, the city would include his cause on a ballot in 2022.

Auguste, who was born in Haiti, says that watching protests and racist monuments coming down across the world spurred him to start an effort to change Plantation’s name.

“The word just conjures up images of slavery and a terrible period in our nation’s past,” he says. “The city could have a new, beautiful name that really represents our community. [Plantation] is a beautiful place to live, and the name no longer serves us.”

Holly Morgan agrees. She also uploaded a petition to change.org in an effort to change Plantation’s name.

“The name Plantation is synonymous with slavery and all the atrocities that come with it,” she wrote.

Further, the name Plantation “is very offensive and insensitive to people of color whose ancestors endured unspeakable acts on ‘plantations.’ The time has come for the city to change its name to a more welcoming name to embrace the diversity represented within the city.”

Yuval Shott, who commented on Auguste’s petition, was blunter.

“This name [Plantation] is wrong and is a stain on Broward County. About time it’s changed,” Shott wrote. The “History” section on the city’s website does not explain how Plantation got its name. According to an article in Wikipedia, the city’s name stems from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their efforts to establish a rice plantation in the area.

How ever the city got its name, some people are apparently OK with the status quo.

“The word ‘Plantation’ means vast with trees and greenery, which is what our city is,” a commenter wrote. “It’s only negative if you let it be. It doesn’t HAVE to be a negative thing.”

The Parklander could not reach Plantation Mayor Lynn Stoner in time for this article.

On a larger scale, some people want the name for Broward County changed. In his petition on change.org, Kyle Hill wrote that the county’s namesake is former Florida Gov. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, which information on the county’s website confirms.

“He’s best remembered for draining and developing parts of the Everglades,” Hill wrote. Broward was Florida’s 19th governor, serving from Jan. 3, 1905 to Jan. 5, 1909. He was a “noted racist, segregationist, and an arms smuggler,” Hill wrote. “In 2017, his statue was removed from the Broward County Courthouse because of his reprehensible views on race. Let’s finish the job and erase his name from the county altogether. Broward County is a minority-majority county with many of its residents either hailing from or having roots in Latin America, the Caribbean, and various diverse regions.”

An Oct. 10, 2017 article in the “Sun Sentinel” carried the headline “‘Racist’ statue of Broward County’s namesake to be removed from courthouse.” Barbara Sharief, who was county mayor at the time, told the newspaper that changing the county’s name was out of the question.

“I don’t even want to go down that road,” she said.

In his petition, which had netted more than 3,600 signatures at press time, Hill wrote that “if many of the residents of Broward County knew the true history of its namesake, I’m sure that they would
be horrified and ashamed. Hoping for change, praying for change, and marching for change are all good things, but at some point, we must be willing to take action.”

Current county officials did not return a call requesting comment. However, on a local T.V. channel in June, Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said that officials, for marketing purposes, have considered changing Broward County’s name to Ft. Lauderdale County.

“Maybe we can benefit in two ways, harmony and healing, and to benefit the brand of Ft. Lauderdale,” Holness said.

Elsewhere in Florida, “J.B.,” started a petition on change.org to change the name of Lee County in Southwest Florida. At press time, 5,681 people signed it.

“One of Southwest Florida’s most prominent counties, Lee County, is named for Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee,” J.B. wrote. “It is also home to
the city of Ft. Myers (named after Col. Abraham Myers, quartermaster general of the Confederate States Army).

“It’s time to stop idolizing these Confederate soldiers. Ending racism includes the removal of racist figures, statues, and idols across the south.”

An official with the Daughters of the Confederacy declined to comment.

In his petition, J.B. suggested changing Lee County’s name to Calusa County, honoring the indigenous Calusa tribe of Southwest Florida. In fact, there is a website dedicated to the cause: calusapetition.com. The website represents “the beginnings of a local movement,” according to the wording on the site. It notes that more than 3,000 people have signed a petition to the Florida state government to change the name of Lee County to Calusa County, “in honor of the Native American tribe that lived here for hundreds of years before European settlers arrived.

“The name ‘Lee’ honors a man who led armies into battle in an effort to preserve slavery and racial injustice,” the petition says. “Honoring Robert E. Lee’s legacy is no longer appropriate as we fight for justice and equality for black Americans facing oppression in counties all across the United States.”

Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann agreed during an interview with NBC-2.

“We can take down the pictures, we can have a burning ceremony of the pictures, and we are still Robert E. Lee County,” Mann said during the interview.

Alan Fields, who commented on J.B.’s petition, wrote, “Long overdue. Lee didn’t even visit this area.”

“I say defund all those who want to change history for his or her political gains,” he wrote. “I just can’t believe what’s happening.”

People have called for the removal of Confederate tributes and other statues in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Hollywood officials in late 2017 re-named three Hollywood streets originally named for Confederate commanders. Specifically, the streets previously named for John Bell Hood, Robert E. Lee, and Nathan Bedford Forrest became Hope, Liberty, and Freedom streets.

 

By Aaron Krause

Hurricane Season Starts June 1 – Generators

Hurricane Season Starts June 1

Next, you want to pick the type of generator you want. Home standby generators are installed permanently, operate on natural gas or propane, and kick on automatically during an outage. You can move around portable and inverter generators and they come in a variety of sizes. Figure out how many watts you’ll need for the essentials during a power outage and shop accordingly. A regular generator produces electrical power, while an inverter draws power from a fixed DC source and uses a microprocessor to invert DC to AC.

Safety features

In order to decrease the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, some new generators feature a built-in sensor that triggers an automatic shutoff if carbon monoxide builds up to hazardous levels within an enclosed space. In addition, some generators come equipped with engines which emit less carbon monoxide in the first place. “Recent test data . . . shows that these safety features will likely save lives,” according to Consumer Reports, which recommends only portable generators that pass its new carbon monoxide safety technology test. 

You can read more about that at consumerreports.org/portable-generators/new-safety-feature-on-portable-generators-could-save-lives-consumer-reports-tests-show/.

Even with a generator that comes equipped with life-saving features, “we still advise consumers to follow our longstanding safety guidelines: Always operate a generator a minimum of 20 feet from your home, with the exhaust directed away from any windows, doors, air conditioners, or other structures.” 

What size?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the typical American household loses power once or twice a year for an average of about three hours. However, some outages, such as those which extreme weather cause, can last for days or weeks. When that happens, homeowners can face such problems as spoiled food, frozen pipes, flooded basements and moldy walls.

“Buy the smallest generator that will meet your power needs,” Consumer Reports test engineer Dave Trezza says on its website. “That will minimize the amount of fuel you need to keep on hand to run it.” 

For detailed information on what a generator can power, log onto consumerreports.org/generators/how-to-choose-the-right-size-generator/. 

Gas or propane?

“When choosing a generator, consider which aspects of the fuel are more important to you,” advises thepreppingguide.com. “If you are on a tight budget and don’t mind having to replace your fuel on occasion, an affordable gasoline generator my be the best choice for you. If you prefer a fuel that will not deteriorate over time and are willing to pay more for it, a propane generator may be the suitable choice.” Propane is clean burning and has a “relatively long shelf life,” preppingguide.com advises. 

Hurricane Season Starts June 1

While you may already feel flooded by unsettling news regarding the coronavirus pandemic, weather forecasters are predicting an above-average hurricane season.

Even though hurricanes can happen at any time, the official season, like always, began June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30. The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project team is predicting 16 named storms. Out of those, researchers expect eight to become hurricanes, and four to reach major hurricane strength, packing wind speeds of 111 mph or greater. 

A hurricane is a storm with winds of 74 mph or greater, typically accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning. By contrast, a tropical storm features winds of more than 39 mph, but less than a hurricane.

A tropical depression is a cyclone with sustained surface winds of less than 39 mph. While national disasters such as earthquakes occur without warning, forecasters provide multiple notices before a hurricane strikes. “Whenever a tropical cyclone (a tropical depression, tropical storm, or hurricane) or a subtropical storm has formed in the Atlantic or eastern North Pacific, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issues tropical cyclone advisory products at least every six hours at 5 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m., and 11 p.m. EDT,” according to weather.gov/safety/hurricane-ww.

Also, when tropical storm, hurricane watches or warnings are in effect, the NHC and Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) issue Tropical Cyclone Public advisories every three hours. Websites to follow include hurricanes.gov for the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific or weather.gov/cphc for the Central Pacific. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an average hurricane season features about 12 named storms. 

The Colorado State team bases its predictions on various models. They are built on 25 to 40 years of historical hurricane seasons and evaluate such conditions as Atlantic sea surface temperatures, sea level pressures, vertical shear levels and El Niño. The shear levels refer to the change in wind direction and speed with height in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, meteorologists associate El Niño with the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December. The Climate Prediction Center recently released its findings on El Niño. In particular, this year it’s producing weak westerly winds blowing to the east. The lack of wind production means low wind shear and a stronger possibility for pressure to build in the warm water-heavy Atlantic. These conditions resulted in an above-average hurricane season last year. It marked the fourth year in a row with above-average activity in the Atlantic.

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