Community Archives - Page 31 of 44 -

August 1, 2019August 19, 2019

Foster fin

Albert Wilson has not forgotten what it’s like to be “normal.”

That’s how the Miami Dolphins receiver describes the seven years of his childhood spent in Florida’s foster care system — for Wilson, being a foster kid felt normal.

And if it were up to him, the children now being raised in foster care, torn between homes and families, would never have to feel this “normal” again.

Wilson spent seven years of his childhood in Florida’s foster care system. He found that to be rather normal at the time as he was in the system twice — when he was six years old for a one-year stint, then again for six years when he reached 12 years old, basically for much of his years growing up.

The reason Albert spent much of his teenage years in foster care was because his parents were in jail. But that did not deter Albert from staying in contact with his parents on a regular basis, communicating with them by phone and any other means.

It was a bit of a different parent-child relationship given the circumstances, yet Albert made the best of it on that front as well as with the Bayleys, his foster family, with whom he lived from the 10th grade on. The Bayleys already had eight adopted children.

Feeling secure and happy during those years, Albert considered the Bayleys his family as well. It was a balanced life; it was an organized and a structured life. There were family activities together with all the children, and school was an important priority.

Albert moved in with the Brown family after finding out that they were actually distant cousins with origins in the small town of Maysville in South Carolina. His dad’s family is from Maysville. He learned about that talking with his Port St. Lucie high school friend Moe Brown.

Guided by his father, Albert turned to football, in particular, from a very young age. It was a way to use sports for a better way in life. Albert was fully dedicated and committed to football in high school and it paid off as he earned a scholarship at Georgia State. And that eventually propelled him to the NFL where he was signed as a rookie free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. After four years in Kansas City, Albert is now back in his home state with the Miami Dolphins in the middle of a three-year contract valued at $24 million.

It is football that now allows Albert the opportunity to give his time and invest his money in something that he considers very important and takes close to his heart. He has created the Albert Wilson Foundation which places all its attention in helping kids in foster care. Albert held his fourth annual football, track, and cheer youth skills camp at Lawnwood Stadium in Fort Pierce on June 22, giving the boys and girls the opportunity to showcase some of their athletic aptitudes.

With that type of financial resources available, Albert knew he had an obligation to give back to the community, and not forget the early part of his life’s journey. He created his foundation to help kids in foster care, more importantly to help with scholarship programs for those kids who were in foster care at least two years, but did not get out of it.

In early June, because of his involvement with this type of program, Albert was honored by the Eckerd Connects’ Project Bridge as a Community Hero for his work with foster children, and ChildNet presented him with the nonprofit Champion of Children Award.

Both the Browns and Baileys remain close to heart for Albert and he considers them an important part of his life. What also is important is that Albert cares and is dedicated to the community work he does. That is something to respect and admire.

August 1, 2019August 19, 2019

Bridging troubled waters

Hope for peace springs from conservation efforts

JERUSALEM — For Dr. Gerald Sussman, a water shortage a world away in the Middle East, amid tensions between Israelis and Palestinians ever ready to boil over, was never too big a project to tackle.

The head of international programs for the Coral Springs-Parkland Rotary Club and the club’s past president, Sussman saw in Israel’s water crisis not so much a problem as an opportunity. A researcher by training, with a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, the 83-year-old Coral Springs man is the epitome of Rotary’s can-do optimism and its commitment to working with young people.

His initial idea was to examine how rainwater harvesting could help alleviate water scarcity in Israel and neighboring countries, if done locally by individual communities. By partnering with the Rotary Club of Lod, a small city southeast of Tel Aviv, a small cross-cultural group began to teach students at the school there how to conserve water through harvesting.

“In a short time, the rainwater harvesting was supplying all of their water needs, from kitchens to toilets, and so much more,” Sussman said. “But Israel only has a few months of rainwater during the year, and water that is harvested is unusable after about two weeks. So, we quickly realized that this method wasn’t sustainable.”

Still, Rotary International had the project on its radar. The community service organization, which has an estimated 33,000 chapters and 1.2 million members worldwide, saw what was then called Rainwater Harvest as a prototype for the projects it now funds through its global water initiative.

Rotarians in Israel, in the meantime, introduced Sussman to Dr. Amnon Shefi, founder and director of Hi-Teach, which develops educational programs focused on engineering and technology. In Sussman’s project, Shefi saw a bridge — one that could bring together different middle- and high-school student populations in Israel.

While some integrated schools exist in Israel, most are separated by religion or ethnicity, whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or Druze.

And thus, in 2011, Rotary’s Hands Across Waters project was born. The project brings together students from different schools to work on science projects relating to water conservation. Through inter-school collaboration and joint field trips, students not only become more educated in the science behind global water conservation technologies, but also learn more about each other.

Every year, students choose a research project on an area of water conservation and sanitation. Some groups find ways to address the water leakage problems, while others research the role of robotics in conservation or study the structure of antique wells. The students visit each other’s schools and take trips together, including to the Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference in Tel Aviv.

Sussman is passionate about Israel. He also wishes to see a peaceful Middle East. With the growth and development of Hands Across Waters, Sussman and members of the local Rotary chapter are helping to lead what he sees as a “building block for peace.”

Sussman believes the key to overcoming hate is generating peace from the bottom up.

“It’s been over 70 years, and the politicians haven’t achieved much,” he said in a recent interview, referring to the long-standing conflict in the region since Israel declared independence. “If we’re going to get along, it’s got to start in the schools.”

And indeed, the project has been extremely successful. Hands Across Waters has received two global grants from Rotary International and a commendation as one of its 20 notable projects. While the program hoped to reach 50 schools by its third phase of funding, it has already reached 54 during its second!

Hands Across Waters is now seeking funding for a School Twinning Program, which would pair up schools around the world to raise awareness about water conservation. Each school would research the status of water supply and sanitation in their part of the world, then share their findings with each other and learn about technologies being used to save water worldwide, many of which were developed in Israel.

Sussman says he hopes to see the students who participate in this project continuing on to college, including at places like Ben Gurion University in central Israel and the Technion, Israel’s Institute of Technology in Haifa. On a larger scale, he hopes this project can be a model for other countries experiencing ethnic violence. “This is a special program that’s having great significance in Israel and could have greater significance in the Middle East and worldwide.”

July 2, 2019September 2, 2020

BookLog – No Stone Unturned A Remarkable Journey to Identity

If ever a cable series suggested its own sequel that promised to be just as or more captivating than the original, A Handmaid’s Tale would be it. And local writer Nadean Stone has provided a true-life look at how such a shocking dystopia can play out in the next generation.

In No Stone Unturned, the debut author and Coral Springs resident traces her 44-year search for her mother, who was among the hundreds of thousands of unwed mothers across Canada, from 1945 until the 1970s, forced to give up their babies for adoption. The Canadian government has only recently come to grips with its lead role in what became a program of stigmatization and illegal coercion, which provinces and territories carried out, largely in secret, with the help of religious and charitable organizations. Stone, one of the more than 600,000 babies deemed “illegitimate” in Canadian census records from the period, tells a tale that’s often raw with emotion, recounting a grim childhood and her winding, but determined journey to find her birth mother — and herself. A must-read in these times of forced family separations and dystopian fantasies come true.

July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

More Than a Job

Tragedy drives county health official

Casey McGovern is the Florida health department’s Drowning Prevention Program Manager for Broward County —raising awareness about water safety is her job.

But preventing deaths by educating people about the possible consequences of not being aware of water-related dangers is her passion.

Nine years after McGovern’s daughter drowned in a backyard pool, the mother of three is still haunted by what she didn’t know then and driven by what she wants parents to know today.

On Aug. 3, 2009, McGovern found her 19-month-old, Edna Mae, floating face-up in the pool where “Em” had been playing in just hours earlier. The toddler died eight days later.

“You think you are going to hear it — people think they are going to hear flailing and splashing and yelling,” McGovern said.

But the unthinkable can happen quicker than you think, she said. “A drowning can occur in as little as 60 seconds.”

Mom to three girls, who were then ages 10, 3, and 19 months, McGovern placed Em in a chair in the family room, across the counter from where she was putting away groceries.

McGovern stepped away to chat with her husband. She was only gone a minute.

Today, McGovern, of Coral Springs, talks openly about the experience, acknowledging some of the ways Em’s death might have been prevented. She needs other parents to know how such a tragedy happens.

At the time of her daughter’s death, the family pool was encircled by a child safety fence, but McGovern said the fence gate was not latched that day.

McGovern also said there was nothing in place at the time to raise an alert to potential trouble, such as chimes on the sliding door leading to the pool deck. “Drowning is silent,” she said, encouraging parents to find ways to put sound to danger.

McGovern said she also wasted precious minutes searching for her daughter inside the house.

Whether you have a pool or you’re at the pool or the beach, she tells parents today, check the water first.

“We thought we were doing everything right,” McGovern said. “There are so many things I didn’t think about, wasn’t educated on.”

According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, In the past two years, 12 children ages four and younger drowned in Broward County. The deaths occurred in family pools, community pools, lakes, the ocean, and in canals. With its 125,000 backyard pools and miles of waterways, Broward offers ample risk of drowning.

“Because our county is covered in water and it’s swim season all year long, year after year our statistics show we are one of the highest counties in state of Florida for drowning fatalities,” McGovern said.

Among her high-priority recommendations, McGovern said children should start swim lessons as soon as they start to crawl.

The county Children’s Services Council backs that advice by providing a $40 swim voucher to Broward kids ages six months to four years. The voucher is available annually, up until the fifth birthday.

“I think knowledge is power and I think the more people who relate and connect to my story may cause changes,” McGovern said.Sallie James writes for the Florida Department of Health in Broward County.

July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

Michelle Kefford Comes Home

New principal ready to lead Douglas forward

Michelle Kefford is pumped. And while spasms of enthusiasm seem to come with the job when you’re a school principal, the new principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High has plenty of legitimate reasons to be excited.

“It’s coming back home,” Kefford, 44, said.

Those four words explain almost every reason she’s back at the Parkland school, coming full circle from where she began her career 20 years ago as a biology teacher.

Kefford, who begins work at Douglas on July 1, replaces former principal Ty Thompson, who stepped down in May, and co-principal Teresa Hall.

The principal at MSD when a former student opened fire at the school, leaving 17 dead and as many injured on Feb. 14, 2018, Thompson had been under investigation by Broward Schools and reassigned to different duties at Douglas. A popular and exuberant figure at the school, Thompson cited personal reasons for resigning after six years as principal. The investigation, which district officials expected to complete by May, remains ongoing.

Thompson’s departure widened the administrative hole needing to be filled at Douglas. In the wake of 2/14 and the local and state probes that followed, three assistant principals were transferred and a second principal was named. Kefford’s hire is not only a move to fill that void, but to begin building anew.

Kefford declined to speak specifically about past events at the high school but did say she will be re-evaluating policies and procedures going forward.

She has been working on her transition from Flanagan High, where she served as principal for eight years. Her efforts at the Pembroke Pines school blossomed these past two years as Kefford was named Broward’s 2018 Principal of the Year, then in March earned the Florida Board of Education Principal of the Year honor for 2019.

“I love what I do,” she said. “It’s rewarding to work with kids.

“I’m driven by their success. I want to prepare our kids for graduation and what comes next in life.”

A wife and a mother of two, Kefford and her family reside in Parkland. Her oldest son attends Douglas, while the younger boy is a student at West Glades Middle School.

Valerie Wanza, the district’s School Performance and Accountability director, was Kefford’s first supervisor.

“I watched her career grow in the school district and watched as her leadership grew at Flanagan,” Wanza said. “Under her guidance, Flanagan became a consistently A-rated, high-performance school — not just academically, but as an overall school experience.”

Describing her as a highly accomplished school leader, Wanza believes Kefford is the right person at the right time to take the reins at Douglas.

“Michelle will seize this opportunity to go home, help the community recover, heal, and move forward,” Wanza said.

Michelle Kefford (center) is flanked by Broward Schools officials, including superintendent Robert Runcie (right) at a May 13 press conference to announce her hire as principal at Douglas High. (WLRN photo

Robert Runcie, at a May 13 press conference announcing Kefford’s appointment, said, “We are grateful to Michelle for taking on this challenge. It speaks volumes to the type of leader she is.”

The Broward Schools superintendent cited the “culture of pride” Kefford built with the staff and students at Flanagan.

“Given her qualifications and her background, we couldn’t be more proud — and lucky — to recommend someone that’s so qualified to fill this important role,” Runcie said.

For Kefford, the most fulfilling aspect of the job is witnessing the success of her students.

“I get to see these kids from their awkward adolescence through to young adulthood,” she said. “Watching (them) attain their goals, receive scholarships, graduate, walk across the stage, go on to college, and to know I’ve made a difference in their life is very satisfying.”

The daughter of two retired educators, Kefford once thought she’d become a veterinarian. She said it was her mom who encouraged her to teach, because of her passion for biology. “I tried it out and never looked back,” she said.

July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

Man on a Mission

Street Priest hits South Florida & beyond

Just 19, barely past his freshman year at Lynn University, James Okina is already well-traveled, very savvy, and passionate about his work. In fact, he’s a man on a mission.

At 15, in his hometown of Calabar, Nigeria, a city not unlike Boca Raton with its greenery and coastal proximity, he founded a nonprofit called Street Priests designed to help the children living in the streets.

By the time he reached 17, Okina says he became obsessed with solving this problem on a global scale and began to study why, despite increasing efforts to address the issue, this problem is growing and persists worldwide.

An estimated 100-150 million children live on the streets around the world, while 250,000 die every week from disease and malnutrition, and 10 million are child slaves, according to Womenaid International.

In the U.S., almost 2.5 million kids under age 18 — that’s 1 in 30 — experience homelessness each year. In Palm Beach County alone, more than 4,400 children are counted as homeless, according to the county’s Homeless Coalition.

Kids living on the street are often victims of violence and crime, and later often fall prey to abuse and drug addiction. They are especially vulnerable to the human rights violations inherent in gangs, sexual exploitation, and abuse and neglect.

As an adolescent, Okina had been tempted into gang life. He is thankful he escaped — and it inspired him. “I rose above my own difficulties when my parents divorced when I was 8, and many people helped me along the way.” He remembers a cousin who came to stay where he lived with his father. Okina told NPR in 2017, “I saw that he led a more quiet, dignified life.”

Okina had already made international news by his late teens, as Street Priests drew attention, help, and funding. Trying to find a framework that would help the nonprofit reach children across different cultures and societies, he moved to South Florida to study at the Watson Institute at Lynn. Okina is part of an inaugural cohort of scholars from around the world studying to earn a degree in social entrepreneurship while working on issues they are passionate about.

“The first word that comes to mind when I think of James is unstoppable,” Tyler Tornaben, director of programs for the Watson Institute, said. “He is majoring in his mission every day.”

In his first year at Lynn, Okina met Isaac King, 23, who also feels driven to solve the worldwide crisis of homeless children.

King spent six months in the Dominican Republic after high school. The Ocala native learned Spanish and was drawn to the island’s street children, known as palomos — literally translated as “doves,” but in street slang, meaning “rascals.” King later spent a year in Brazil, working with the homeless “beach kids” of Rio de Janeiro.

At Lynn, joined in common cause, Okina and King set out on a self-proclaimed “audacious” trip back to the Dominican Republic to dive deeper into the street culture there.

Okina (right) and Isaac King flank Ana María Domínguez, Governor of Santiago Province, paying their respects during a recent visit to the Dominican Republic.

Over a period of eight days last March, the two traveled the island, interviewing more than 60 kids, community members, police officers, and government officials for a documentary.

“The stories and plights of both the Haitian and Dominican children we met left a deep and burning desire in us to commit to this problem and create a long-lasting change in our world,” Okina said.

A few of the children living in the streets in Santo Domingo. (Photo courtesy of James Okina)

The two will travel to London this summer to present their findings at the Map the System Global Challenge, part of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

King calls his mission partner an inspiration.

“James is a leader in every sense of the word,” King said. “He embodies everything he talks about. When you hear his conviction, you know it comes from a place of compassion and empathy.”

In the fall, Okina is set to help tackle gun violence in Palm Beach County. Partnering with Angela Williams, founder of Mother’s Against Murderers Association in Rivera Beach, they hope to design a plan of action to work with kids in the community to interrupt the cycle of gun violence.

Even if he can’t solve all the world’s problems, it seems likely Okina will at least provide sparks of inspiration and fellowship in lending a hand. Engaging with kids is the first step. “The future won’t create itself. Young people must take an active role,” Okina said. “We are only 25 percent of the population, but we are 100 percent of the future.”

July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

Local Libraries Deliver

Upgrades make reading easy, accessible

The mental image the phrase “public library” frequently evokes involves metal shelving filled with worn bindings, with a severe-looking librarian perched behind the counter, index finger primed for shushing. Certainly, those shelving units and librarians are real, but the Broward County Public Library delivers so much more, and right to where you need it.

Take the Northwest Regional Library’s collection of eBooks (electronic books) and audiobooks (recordings of books read aloud.) For the full-time busybody, both options provide opportunities to enjoy stories without the hassle of trying to get to the library twice. The offerings simply disappear from your device after the loan period concludes, thus erasing the need to keep track of a book for longer than the day or two you need to read it. eBooks and audiobooks checked out through the Broward system don’t have late fees! Audiobooks are a nifty companion for the daily commute and road trips, often playable through your car’s sound system.

What’s that? You don’t have a device to download eBooks or play audiobooks? Worry you’re your local library shall provide. Digital tablets can be checked out for three months and renewed for another three months — that’s half a year. That might get a person a sixth of the way through their reading backlog!

For kids on summer break, Northwest Regional has child-friendly tablets that come with educational games, no internet required. These Launchpad Learning Tablets can be checked out for 21 days with two 7-day renewals.

It helps, too, that these kinds of technological upgrades make reading more accessible for the dyslexic, the visually impaired, and the otherwise disabled. While Broward Library has made plenty of impressive high-tech upgrades to its community services (virtual reality devices, portable wi-fi hotspots, amateur robotics labs, and more) throughout the region, what stands out is its dedication to making its services available to every resident, regardless of mobility or income level.

Impressive examples include accessible computer software that turns websites into braille for the blind, which is offered at several library locations; as are assistive listening devices that amplify sound but minimize background noise, aiding those with hearing loss. West Regional Library has a sign-language story time for children who have speaking and hearing difficulties. The county library even distributes specialized phones for people with any hearing, seeing, or speaking disability — at no charge. According to the 2017 census, 22.5 percent of Broward’s population is composed of seniors and just under 7 percent of non-seniors have a disability, so these additions to the library’s offerings have come at a time of need. They will join the dearly loved but more analogue Books-By-Mail program in offering as many options to as many residents as possible.

June 1, 2019June 7, 2019

Subverting Super Heroes at Boca Art Museum

Look — up in the sky — it’s a bird, it’s a plane! No — it’s the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s new headliner, Beyond the Cape! Comics and Contemporary Art.

The exhibition offers a new look at the relationship between contemporary artists and graphic novels and comic books.

Many of today’s most high-profile artists have been influenced by this genre and the exhibit takes a deeper look at how graphic novels and comics address societal issues of race, class, gender and politics.

“It’s exciting to see younger audiences express strong interest in this exhibition,” Kathleen Goncharov, the museum’s senior curator, said.

Goncharov — aided by Calvin Reid, senior news editor at Publishers Weekly and a comic book expert — has selected an eclectic, playful, and sometimes wickedly burlesque collection of video, photographs, sculpture, prints, and drawings in addition to rare comics and contemporary and historic animation for display.

The installation features more than 80 works by 40 artists, including Christian Marclay, Kerry James Marshall, Elizabeth Murray, Joyce Pensato, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Kenny Scharf and Michael Zansky among others. Works by Takashi Murakami and Yositomo Nara, who specialize in Japanese comics, or manga, are also highlighted.

*Work by Japanese manga artist Takashi Murakami.*

“There is a long history here, in Europe and in Japan, between comics and fine art,” Zansky, whose work is prominently displayed, said. “Comics have a large influence in the culture and on contemporary artists. This exhibit showcases artists who are attracted to (the) quirky visuals and subversive content of adult comics.”

*Michael Zansky’s* Saturn Series, *standing 19 feet high, was created with carved, burnt, and painted plywood.* (Photo by Jan Engoren)

Zansky comes to the world of comics naturally. His father was Louis Zansky, who drew for the circa 1940s Classic Comics series of graphic adaptations of famous literary works. Michael Zansky’s Walking Figure, a 16-foot-high carved, burnt, and painted plywood panel of a giant foot on an octagonal foundation, is based on the Colossus of Constantine, a gargantuan marble statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.

The work is displayed at the entry to the exhibit, next to and juxtaposed with Manuscript, a giant hennaed hand by Indian American artist Chitra Ganesh.

The show looks beyond the 1960s Pop Art movement, led by New York-centric artists such as Andy Warhol and Ray Lichtenstein, and features the “other” art movements from the ‘60s and ‘70s such as the Hairy Who and Bay Area Funk Art. Hairy Who artists Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum, along with works by underground comic book artists such as R. Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, and Mimi Pond are also featured.

A highlight of the show is Chicago artist Kerry James Marshall’s comic series Rhythm Mastr, which documents violence in his hometown. Known for his flat, colorful paintings of contemporary black America, Marshall’s work is in high demand.

Although comics and graphic novels are part of a genre dominated by men, a number of women are highlighted in the show. New York artist Jody Culkin, in particular, raises the feminist bona fides of the exhibit with A Prophetic Drama. The 9-minute animated comic is based loosely on a play about mummies coming to life in the British Museum, written in 1875 by Harriet Hosmer, a celebrated 19^th-century sculptor who also enjoyed dabbling in science fiction writing.

*Snapshot showing a scene from New York artist Jody Culkin’s animated comic* A Prophetic Drama. (Photo by Jan Engoren)

Also featured are Chitra Ganesh, figurative artist Elizabeth Murray and Jamaican feminist artist Renee Cox, known for upending sexist and racist stereotypes with her art. Beyond the Cape! runs through Oct. 6.

June 1, 2019June 7, 2019

Two Faces of The Lion King

Back in the 1960s, vocalist Lou Christie sang a pop tune called Two Faces Have I. In the ‘90s, two famed puppet/mask designers took that concept to create masks for the live stage version of Disney’s The Lion King.

The idea not only worked, it roared.

Since The Lion King debuted on Broadway in 1997, more than 90 million people worldwide have experienced its visual artistry and reveled in its award-winning score.

Based on the eponymous animated Disney film, the stage adaptation features music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice. Six indigenous African languages are spoken throughout the show and extraordinary costumes often exceed the expectations of show planners and audiences.

The Lion King has just passed through South Florida. In mid-spring, the Serengeti was recreated behind the footlights at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. The production, with its array of performers and elegant scenery, completed its run at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami on May 26.

The show that packed those two venues combined the talents of Disney Theatrical Productions with the redoubtable capabilities of Julie Taymor, the show’s director, costume designer, and —with Michael Curry — mask co-designer.

*Julie Taymor, director of* The Lion King *and co-creator of the masks used in the stage show.* (Photo courtesy of Broadway World)

Taymor is the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical. Curry is owner and operator of Michael Curry Design, which creates live performance-oriented devices for Cirque du Soleil, Super Bowl shows, the Olympics, and was the creative force behind New York City’s millennium event in 2000.

With a nod to Christie’s song title, the masks for most lead characters are attached to the top of the actors’ heads, meaning their faces as well as their animal avatars can be identified. The masks drop to cover faces when characters reveal their more animalistic sides.

Background performers are fitted with more stylized devices or puppet-style gear, including bicycle-like equipment for herds of running gazelles; stilts and neck extensions for giraffes, and a vast amount of rigging and structuring for elephants. The stampede, critical to the plot, is artfully crafted in a manner that defies explanation. But it appears so real and works so well in the show.

Taymor said once she discovered she needed to show both the human and animal traits of The Lion King characters, she labored to convince Disney of her concept. That involved creating three versions of the character Scar, three Zazus, and two Timons, and presenting all to Disney’s then-CEO, Michael Eisner. He gave the thumbs-up.

The musical is a sweet love story between a father and son — Mufasa, the lion king at the opening and his son and successor, Simba. Later comes the sweetheart tale of the mature Simba getting to know his betrothed, Nala.

*Masks used in* The Lion King, *on display at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.*
(Photo by Dale King)

Taymor explained the imagery of the masks. “Obviously, Mufasa is the sun. That’s why you have the circle [the song, Circle of Life]. He’s very much about symmetry and radiation, the sun god. Simba and Nala are in that world of Mufasa.” Of her experience with The Lion King, Taymor said: “It’s the most fun thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

June 1, 2019June 7, 2019

Gray Skies Ahead – Cities face new realities in hurricane prep

The Atlantic hurricane and storm season officially starts on June 1, and lasts through the end of November.

The 2019 hurricane season is projected to be relatively smaller, with scientists from the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project predicting 13 named storms, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes this year — fewer in number than in previous seasons, but just as dangerous to our region.

All it takes is one hard landfall to cause major damage here — not only to our own homes and property, but to many of the essential services and infrastructure we count on our local community governments for.

Given the widespread acceptance at the local, county, and even state levels of the realities of climate change and the rising sea levels South Florida is experiencing, are local city governments better prepared to respond and recover from a major storm?

***

Most Florida cities have improved, even streamlined their preparedness planning over the years. Planning, after all, the most important aspect of facing a storm, surviving it, and recovering from it — and Florida’s cities have had plenty of practice in preparing.

But in recent years, there are three key elements local governments have been implementing with more regularity. It starts with emergency operations preparation, coordination between departments, and public-safety communications. With better training in place now and better planning from responders, emergency supplies and materials are readily available before, during, and after a hurricane.

Most city websites, if not all, have massively improved providing essential information to citizens. Implementing mobile alerts and text messages makes information and updates more frequently available for local residents. Most of the time, these media play a supplementary role to the usual way we get local info — either by email or snail mail from the utility company. But during storms and hurricane situations, mobile alerts and texts are taking a more prominent role in counties and municipalities getting official word out about basic facts that save lives and help their residents stay safe: what plans and services are in place if evacuation becomes necessary, and also when it’s not necessary, and what is being done as a storm happens.

Government assistance has become more effective as well, according to local officials. Funds are more available for relief and recovery and for housing for those in need.

***

In these times of budget cuts and belt-tightening, is there enough staffing for city departments?

Ideally, when threatened by a hurricane, the last thing we expect are staffing shortages. Communities are supposed to provide safe havens, and when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, there is indeed safety in numbers. But some cities have struggled with having enough staff to assist with such hands-on work as shelter operations, and probably will continue to struggle. Even the American Red Cross, which used to staff all shelters in emergency situations, said they are unable now to provide the same level of staffing.

Organization, especially the coordination of official efforts, is key in making sure people are prepared for evacuation before a major storm. Are people going to listen to their local leaders and depart in a timely manner? Will shelter capacities be adequate for those who decide to stay?

Valid questions, anyone would agree, as beachfront cities like Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Delray Beach, and more are trying to be proactive in their planning. But coordination among cities and counties isn’t what it could be, and with state and federal officials wading in along with nonprofit organizations, sometimes it seems as though the agencies that are supposed to help are the most in need of it.

***

Beyond the immediacy of safeguarding human life, how are cities managing sewer systems overburdened with rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, and worsening flooding?

South Florida’s sewage systems are already strained, given their antiquated state, the ever-increasing population, and the slow and expensive progress that’s been made both on shoring up the infrastructure in place and building new treatment plants and storage wells. Many cities’ water and sewage treatment plants are inadequately prepared to handle heavy rains, which often leads raw sewage released into our streets and homes. That means maintenance is a must, and some local infrastructure needs emergency upgrading.

But local communities, which have largely led the charge in figuring out how climate change affects them and seek ways to address it, can’t afford to wait until the wet season to prepare for disasters. Building construction codes and regulations to prevent flooding are being toughened, with some local regulations now requiring homes and buildings to be constructed to higher flood-protection levels.

South Florida’s deteriorating infrastructure and restrained local budgets will make it more difficult to cope with the many ways climate change affects our area. Still, however much more intense storms and hurricanes are, however worse the flooding and other dangers hurricanes bring, the story for South Floridians is the same every year: Be prepared, stay alert, follow the news, and heed information provided by local officials.

June 1, 2019June 7, 2019

Family Guide to Cool Summer Fun

If you’re not up for braving the South Florida heat this summer, these local venues offer family-friendly activities available during the quiet — and less hot — afternoon and evening hours.

OUTDOOR FAVORITES

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

Gumbo Limbo’s environmental complex in Boca Raton is an indoor / outdoor nature center with several aquariums and exhibits. A variety of group programs, including guided nature trail walks, sea turtle talks, and animal feedings, are offered throughout the week. A popular activity that only takes place on summer nights is the Turtle Walk and Hatchling Release, where participants have the opportunity to learn about Florida’s native sea turtles, walk to the nearby beach, and watch a nesting Loggerhead or see baby turtles race for the sea.

View Gumbo Limbo’s calendar of events for information on how to register.

Where: 1801 N. Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton

When: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation); free parking

Details: GumboLimbo.org

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

Favorite activities at Birch State Park range from live animal presentations to guided mangrove and trail walks, and all are excellent opportunities for families to explore Florida’s natural ecosystems and wildlife, and learn about the history behind this local state park. The two-mile loop surrounding the natural habitat is bike- and rollerblade friendly, while the Intracoastal Waterway allows for easy access to fishing and makes for a perfect sunset-viewing picnic spot. Birch State Park offers paddleboard rentals for those looking to visit Fort Lauderdale’s stretch of beaches along A1A. In addition, the park is home to Camp Live Oak, an immersive nature program for children ages 5-13, as well as a variety of scheduled tours, educational classes, and events.

Where: 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale

When: Every day, 8 a.m. to sunset

Cost: $6 per family/group vehicle

Details: FloridaStateParks.org/HughTaylorBirch

Bark Beach at Spanish River Park

Release the leash and let Fido roam free on the sands of Spanish River Park’s beach! Bark Beach is sectioned off from the rest of the park to ensure dogs don’t run too far and other park visitors remain unscathed by licks or wet paws. Summer hours are conveniently scheduled in the early morning and late afternoon. Bark Beach is open to all families of Boca Raton who have purchased a dog permit at their nearest community center. A single weekend pass is also an option, allowing unlimited access to Boca’s best dog-friendly beach from Friday through Sunday.

Where: 3001 N. State Rd A1A, Boca Raton

When: Friday through Sunday, 7-9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to sunset

Cost: Bark Beach dog permit required; $11 weekend pass; parking $17 weekdays, $19 weekends OR free with annual beach pass

Details: MyBoca.us

INDOOR DESTINATIONS

Children’s Science Explorium

Located inside Boca’s Sugar Sand Park, the Children’s Science Explorium is a must-visit attraction. Activities during the summer include a variety of interactive, science-geared exhibits and exciting educational programs. The Grab ‘n’ Go Eco Pack gives young children and their families the opportunity to embark on a scavenger hunt throughout Sugar Sand’s nature trails and explore the park’s plants, birds, and insects. Kids-only activities include the one-week Summer Science Camp — open to youngsters in grades kindergarten through 5th — and the after-hour Friday Nights @ the Museum, featuring a cool experiment and movie night! Check the events calendar in early June for a list of summer exhibits and more info on registering.

Where: 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton

When: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation); free parking

Details: ScienceExplorium.org

Young At Art Museum

What’s one thing that makes the Young At Art Museum unique? Through its program YAA for ALL: Access to Lifelong Learning, the museum has developed special programs and events for children and adults with autism and other disabilities. In addition to its pre-scheduled classes and exhibits, the YAA opens one hour earlier every second Sunday of the month, giving exclusive access for families with disabled children. Specialized activities include the Sensory Studio Art Class, which creates a warm and friendly environment of hands-on art-making alongside specially trained staff members.

Where: 751 SW 121st Ave, Davie

When: Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cost: $14 for adults/children; $12 for seniors and Broward County residents; $11 for military families. Membership and group rates available.

Details: YoungAtArtMuseum.org

Museum of Discovery and Science

In addition to its array of science exhibits and children’s Discovery Camp, a distinctive feature of the Museum of Discovery and Science is its in-house IMAX 3D theater, which presents a number of documentaries and Hollywood films. With numerous showtimes throughout the day, as well as wheelchair-accessible and sensory-friendly screenings, this theater is a great pick for families. This summer, the Museum’s featured exhibit, Hall of Heroes, immerses visitors in the superhero world of crime-catchers, Batmobiles, spy gadgets, and more.

Where: 401 SW Second St, Fort Lauderdale

When: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Cost: $17 for adults; $16 for seniors; $14 for military families and children ages 2-12; free for children ages 1 and under; parking $6-$10. Museum membership rates available.

Details: MODS.org (Note: The IMAX 3D Theater has its own hours and admission fees. Please visit the MODS website for details.)

May 1, 2019May 13, 2019

A Shared Moment in Time

Like Tibetan sand mandalas, which are swept up and scattered on the water, the Temple of Time is about the moment, the process, the creation, and the transitory nature of life itself.

The beech-plywood temple on Sample Road, created by artist David Best, is the first of five public art installations in Coral Springs and Parkland that are part of the series Inspiring Community Healing After Gun Violence: The Power of Art.

The two cities, in partnership with the Coral Springs Museum of Art, were awarded $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to fund the projects, which aim to use art to help heal the community after the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.

With help from local residents, the Balinese-like temple rose from the site of the old City Hall over a two-week span in early February, and opened to the public one year after the Feb. 14 school shooting that left 17 dead and as many injured.

What Best, his crew and community members created was an object of great beauty out of shared loss.

The temple, where visitors are encouraged to leave mementoes and write messages directly on the raw wood, has transformed into a repository of the community’s hopes, fears, wishes, and dreams.

The Temple of Time, said Best, is a way of honoring the time it will take for the community to process the feelings it shares from a common tragedy.

The California-based artist has dedicated his life’s work to designing and building ornate yet ephemeral temples for communities that need healing.

In what some might say is a paradox, the 35-foot-high, non-denominational structure will be set on fire and destroyed in May. It is Best’s hope the community’s grief over the shootings and the loss of life on 2/14 and in the aftermath will dissipate with the flames.

Best began creating temples in 2000, as a way to honor a friend killed in a motorcycle accident, and he and his 14-person Temple Crew have become known for the elaborate structures they’ve built at the annual Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Best recently spoke about his work to the Miami New Times: “I make an empty structure — it doesn’t mean anything; it’s just a pretty shape. And then people come, and they put in their religion, their faith, their anger. Whatever they’ve got, they put it [in the temple], and they develop their mythology. It doesn’t matter what we believe. It matters what they believe.”

The Temple of Time in Coral Springs is very nearly covered with the inspirational and heartfelt messages visitors have left on the carved mosaic-like scrollwork. “Tell the sun and stars hello for me. We love you, Gina Rose,” reads one of thousands of personal notes. Another states: “Hate, anger, fear, indifference, and jealousy will never win.”

Hand-painted rocks emblazoned with “MSDStrong,” “A Little Bit of Gratitude Goes a Long Way,” and “There is Always Hope,” adorn the temple altars along with stuffed animals, photos, religious trinkets, hand-drawn hearts, flowers, and a brown manila envelope full of shredded bully testimonials from students at Pioneer Middle School.

Particularly poignant is a photograph from 18-year-old Meadow Pollack’s kindergarten teacher saying, “Proud to have been your kindergarten teacher, Meadow.” A senior at Douglas, Pollack was among the 17 killed by a lone gunman at school that day.

On a cool weekday morning in March — the installation is open every day from 7am until dusk — the temple was alive with visitors. Jonathan Koota, a massage therapist and Coral Springs resident, came with friends Lynne Mass, of Delray Beach, and Judy King, of Pompano Beach. They walked quietly through the temple, discreetly taking photos and reading the temple’s messages of love and hope to their grandkids. Lanie Hyman Shapiro visited the temple in February. The Coral Springs woman called the temple “an amazingly powerful and intricate” tribute to MSD’s 17 victims. “It’s a place to come together, to reflect,” Shapiro said. “It’s a place to begin a catharsis.”