With cooler temperatures throughout the Sunshine State, more people are likely to head to the woods to enjoy hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is asking the public to assist with Florida panther research and management by reporting sightings of the large feline to the agency’s panther sightings webpage.
The FWC is interested in photos of panthers or their tracks. Anyone lucky enough to capture this large cat on camera is encouraged to submit the picture and sighting location to MyFWC.com/PantherSightings.
“We really value citizen science here at the FWC. People taking pictures of panthers and submitting them to our webpage, helps us to better understand panther range,” said Kipp Frohlich, Deputy Director of the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation. “These sightings also help us with our efforts to better manage human-panther interactions through landowner assistance, outreach and education.”
Biologists have been pleased with the number of reports received through the panther sightings webpage over the last 4.5 years. Since the project began, the FWC has received more than 3,700 reports, of which biologists were able to verify 922 based on photos of the animal or its footprints.Most of the reports came from southwest Florida, however, there were some panthers documented on the east coast near Vero Beach and in central Florida near Orlando.
“We are pleased that so many people are taking the time to share their panther sightings with us. These citizen scientists are providing more ‘eyes in the woods,’ thereby helping FWC monitor the whereabouts of Florida’s state animal,” said Darrell Land, FWC panther team leader. “This is a great way for both Florida residents and visitors to help with panther conservation and management. We encourage more folks to upload their trail camera pictures to our webpage because this information is extremely valuable to us,” said Land.
Biologists are especially interested in pictures of panthers north of the Caloosahatchee River, which runs from Lake Okeechobee to Ft. Myers. There are few sightings or photos of panthers in this part of the state. Currently, the only known breeding population of Florida panthers is south of the river in southwest Florida.
The panther sightings webpage includes information about the animals, including how to identify them, what to do or not do when you see one, and a Google map making it easy to pinpoint the sighting location.
Additional information about Florida panthers, including tips on how to safely coexist with them and the “E-Z Guide to Identify Panther Tracks,” can be found at FloridaPantherNet.org.
Florida residents can also help support panther conservation efforts by purchasing a “Protect the Panther” license plate at BuyaPlate.com. Fees from license plate sales are the primary funding source for the FWC’s research and management of Florida panthers.
To sign up for email updates, including mortality and depredation information, visit MyFWC.com and click on “Sign up for FWC news updates.”
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Public information meetings for I-75/Bee Ridge Road Interchange Improvement project in Sarasota County
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District One, will hold public information meetings for Interstate 75 (I-75) from south of Bee Ridge Road to south of Fruitville Road.
Meetings will be held on:
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Realtor Association of Sarasota & Manatee
2320 Cattlemen Road
Sarasota, Florida 34232
The meetings will be an open house format and will include a brief video presentation that will run continuously throughout the meeting. No formal presentation will be held. FDOT representatives will be available to answer individual questions and receive written comments.
FDOT is preparing design plans for future widening of approximately 3.8 miles of I-75 and reconstruction of the I-75/Bee Ridge Road interchange. FDOT will rebuild the interchange from the existing diamond design to a hybrid diverging diamond interchange (DDI) and southbound off-ramp to Cattlemen Road. The Department will also rebuild the Bee Ridge Road at Cattlemen Road intersection to a continuous flow intersection (CFI). These informational meetings are to present to the public and officials the final design plans for the project. Project documents and other information are available on the project website.
Persons wishing to submit written statements may do so at the meeting or send them to: Richard E. Lilyquist, FDOT Project Manager, 801 N. Broadway Ave, Bartow, FL 33830 or by email at [email protected]. All statements postmarked on or before February 19, 2017 will become a part of the public information meeting record.
FDOT solicits public participation without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Jamie Schley at 863-519-2573 or by e-mail to [email protected] at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (voice).
If you have questions about the project or scheduled public information meetings, please contact the Project Manager, Richard E. Lilyquist, at (863) 519-2224, or by email at [email protected]. You may also visit the project website at: http://www.swflroads.com/i75/beeridgerdtofruitvillerd/.
UCF Gets $1.3 Million to Fight Zika
UCF scientists received almost $1.3 million in state funds Wednesday to research the Zika virus with the goal of understanding its effects on human health and developing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness.
The funding was part of Gov. Rick Scott’s authorization of $25 million in state funds to develop better testing and prevention for the mosquito-borne virus that authorities say has infected almost 5,000 people in the U.S. and more than 1,000 in Florida. The governor announced 24 grants across Florida.
People infected with Zika can suffer from common flu symptoms, but pregnant women are at serious risk for birth defects thanks to the virus. The spread of the disease prompted Gov. Scott to declare a health emergency in parts of South Florida last year.
College of Medicine researchers Griffith Parks and Bradley Jay Willenberg received UCF’s largest grant — $500,000 – to determine how Zika fends off the body’s innate immune response and how the mosquito’s saliva might act to block the body’s ability to stop the infection.
When a person is bitten by a Zika-carrying mosquito, the virus is met by the body’s “innate immunity,” the first line of defense against pathogens. If that immunity works, the virus doesn’t take hold and the person doesn’t get infected. But Parks has discovered that Zika is adept at fighting off this immunity process by binding to certain proteins in the body. Parks, who is director of the College of Medicine’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, and a virus specialist, said the grant will help his lab identify the molecular process the virus uses for protection as a step to developing a vaccine or drug therapies.
“Viruses are smart and opportunistic,” he said, “and they’ve had hundreds of millions of years to hone their skills against us,” he said.
Parks is collaborating with Willenberg, who in a separate project is designing a mosquito surveillance tool that may assist in the Zika fight. The tool attracts the insects, feeds them a special gold nanoparticle-colored sugar water that diagnoses those carrying a disease, and turns the infected mosquitos a different color as a warning system to residents.
Through that research, Willenberg developed an understanding of how mosquitoes feed and the role their saliva plays in spreading disease. In this new collaboration with Parks, Willenberg will use microscopes and tiny tweezers to remove the salivary glands of mosquitoes and help analyze the interactions between innate immune compounds, mosquito saliva and Zika infection. He and Parks hope that will uncover the mechanisms that maintain Zika infection inside humans despite the activity of the innate immune system.
“This is very interesting and important research because the interactions of the innate immune system with Zika-rich mosquito saliva is the first link in the chain of human infection from a mosquito bite,” Willenberg said.
Recently medical experts have identified Zika infection in pregnant women as a cause of serious birth defects, including microcephaly, a significant reduction in the size of the baby’s head and brain, leading to severe brain impairment.
“We must remain vigilant and continue to do everything we can to help protect pregnant women and their developing babies,” Scott said in announcing the grants. “I look forward to seeing the innovation and progress of Florida’s world-class research institutions as we continue to work together in the fight against Zika and to find a vaccine.”
Parks said the College of Medicine’s research shows the importance of scientific collaboration in addressing a public health issue. “We have an engineer and a virologist who have now become The Zika Team,” he said. “This is a great example of how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You put two perspectives together and the result is better.”
Several other UCF researchers also received funding to tackle different aspects of the disease. They include Qun Huo from the NanoScience Technology Center and Karin Chumbimuni-Torres and Yulia Gerasimove from the College of Science, Department of Chemistry.
Sen. Brandes and Rep. Fischer file pension reform legislation
Bill will require pension plans to increase contributions and reduce unfunded liabilities
Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) and Representative Jason Fischer (R-Jacksonville) jointly filed legislation today to change the methodology used by pension plans in determining appropriate levels of annual contributions. If adopted, many pension plans will be required to increase their annual monetary contributions. The proposed changes will increase the financial strength and solvency of the plans by reducing unfunded liabilities.
“Many pension plans in Florida are dangerously underfunded, bringing into question whether they will be available to our police, firefighters, first responders, and public employees who rely on them for retirement,” stated Senator Brandes. “This legislation will prevent pension plans from playing games with their funding formulas, and bring about fiscally prudent funding practices in these important programs.”
“We’ve made a promise to our teachers, first responders, and hardworking public servants that in exchange for their sacrifice we would help support them in retirement,” stated Representative Fischer. “For far too long faulty assumptions and pie in the sky numbers have put that promise at risk. This bill will put us on a path to fiscally responsibility by pegging the state retirement calculations to the real world.”
The legislation, Senate Bill 632 and House Bill 603, change the way pension plans determine their assumed return rates for investments made by plans. The legislation would implement recommendations from a 2014 report from the Society of Actuaries, urging the use of more reasonable rate-of-return assumptions by plans to avoid unfunded liabilities that accumulate over time. This legislation follows reforms by Senator Brandes in 2013 and 2015 that increased transparency in pension funding levels, and required more updated actuarial assumptions be used when projecting future plan costs due to plan participant mortality. Senator Brandes and Representative Fischer have also collaborated this year on pension reform legislation designed to prevent underfunded local plans from entering the Florida Retirement System.
For more information on SB 632 and HB 603 please visit http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0632.
Florida Forest Service invites teachers to apply for forestry tour
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and the Florida Forest Service announced today an exciting summer learning opportunity for Florida’s educators. The Florida Forestry Teachers’ Tour will bring 45 teachers from across the state to Fernandina Beach to learn how forestry works in Florida while earning 30 Continuing Education Units. Applications are due Friday, March 10, and the event will be held June 20-23.
“This four-day event immerses teachers in the collaborative forestry effort to keep Florida’s forests healthy, renewable and sustainable for future generations,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam.
Participating teachers will experience all aspects of forestry practices, from the planting and growing processes to the mills and final products. They will also learn how the forestry industry addresses environmental concerns and how foresters work to meet the needs of Florida’s communities and the environment. All lodging, meals and tour transportation are provided.
“The Florida Forestry Teachers’ Tour enables teachers to engage in the social, technical, economic and ecological aspects of sustainable forestry in Florida, providing a wealth of diverse, hands-on experience to bring back to the classroom,” said Jim Karels, Florida State Forester.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects of wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FloridaForestService.com.
For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
Florida leaders, elected officials call on Sens. Nelson and Rubio to reject Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
During a press call today, Florida leaders and elected officials called on Sens. Nelson and Rubio to reject Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court. Neil Gorsuch has made clear that he’ll put the interests of the wealthy and powerful above the rights of ordinary Americans. This nomination poses a unique threat to the rights of women, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and working families.
Shevrin Jones, State Representative:
“Americans count on the Supreme Court to protect the rights of all people, not just the rich and powerful. Judge Gorsuch, though, has repeatedly ruled in favor of big corporations, hurting working people and everyday Americans. If Gorsuch is confirmed to the bench, we’d see him sacrifice the rights of working people, stack the deck against consumers and in favor of corporations, and restrict access to health care for women and millions of poor Americans. Judge Gorsuch was hand-picked by powerful institutions for his loyalty to a judicial ideology that sacrifices the interests of ordinary Americans.”
Daisy Baez, State Representative:
“When I was serving in the Army, I took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution. When I became a U.S. citizen, I took an oath to defend the Constitution. And when I was sworn in as a state representative, I took an oath to defend the Constitution. So here I am, defending the Constitution! Americans need a Supreme Court that will protect our Constitutional rights and promote justice for all, including American immigrants. Unfortunately, Judge Gorsuch will be anything but a fair-minded judge who protects all Americans. He’s tried to make it harder for Americans to hold big corporations accountable, and he would be a rubber stamp—not the check the judiciary is supposed to be—for Trump and his administration.”
Tony Lima, Executive Director of SAVE:
“Freedom, opportunity, and equality for all are essential principles of the American Dream. Americans have often turned to the Supreme Court to uphold those values and reject policies based in bigotry and discrimination. But Judge Gorsuch would turn his back on LGBTQ rights. His ruling in Hobby Lobby, which allowed corporations to refuse to offer birth control as part of healthcare coverage, raises serious red flags. And Gorsuch has criticized those who turn to the courts to protect LGBTQ rights! We insist that our Senators stand up for Floridians and fundamental American and constitutional principles and say no to Gorsuch.”
Damien Filer, Why Courts Matter Coalition spokesperson:
“In the system of checks and balances designed by our country’s founders, the Supreme Court plays a crucial role in defending the promises of the Constitution. But that only works if we have Supreme Court justices who are willing to do so. When we don’t, we can see disastrous results, like the Supreme Court’s conservatives voting to gut the Voting Rights Act, and opening the door to politicians making it harder for people to vote. Americans have made it clear that they are willing to stand up to our new president when he betrays our constitutional values. The Senate has a responsibility to ensure this nominee won’t be a rubber stamp for President Trump, especially when Trump’s actions threaten fundamental principles like religious or reproductive freedom, the rights of workers and the rights of all Americans to breathe clean air. We urge Floridians to get informed, get engaged and get active and let Senators Nelson and Rubio know this nominee is simply out of touch with mainstream American values.
Orlando men arrested for stealing fuel with counterfeit credit cards
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam today announced that investigators with his Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement made two separate arrests in the Orlando area for filling unlawful bladder trucks with fuel purchased with stolen financial information. A “bladder truck” is a vehicle that has been retrofitted with hidden tanks that hold high volumes of fuel.
Law enforcement officers arrested Alain Michel Montenegro Perdomo, 34, of Orlando after he allegedly filled his bladder truck that was estimated to hold more than 800 gallons of fuel. Investigators also recovered 23 counterfeit credit cards from Montenegro’s possession. Montenegro was charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel, which is a third degree felony; fraudulently obtaining fuel, which is a second degree felony; and possession of 23 counterfeit credit cards, which is a second degree felony.
Law enforcement officers also arrested Gustavo Diaz Correa, 40, of Orlando. Investigators observed Diaz allegedly filling an unlawful bladder truck that was estimated to hold over 200 gallons. Investigators recovered one counterfeit credit card from his possession. Diaz was charged with unlawful conveyance of fuel, which is a third degree felony; fraudulently obtaining fuel, which is a second degree felony; and credit card forgery, which is a third degree felony.
Both Montenegro and Diaz were booked in the Orange County Jail.
The Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement protects Florida’s agriculture and consumers through law enforcement in support of all the regulatory aspects of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For more information, visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
ICYMI: WWSB: Gov. Scott fights to cut fees for seniors, veterans and businesses
“Gov. Scott Fights to Cut Fees for Seniors, Veterans and Businesses”
WWSB (ABC) – Tampa Bay, FL
January 31, 2017
To view the clip, click HERE.
FDLE makes arrest in 2014 murder case
Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Artavistus Lyndrel Ware, 34, on charges of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with a victim, witness or informant, solicitation to commit murder, solicitation to commit tampering and burglary. A Glades County Grand Jury indicted him last Thursday.
Ware is accused of having Mario Monroy Hughes murdered on Jan. 31, 2014. Hughes was shot to death in his Moore Haven, Florida home days before he was scheduled to testify against Ware in an upcoming drug case, and agents believe Ware had him killed to keep him from testifying.
Even without the testimony of Hughes, Ware was convicted on the drug charges and sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was serving his sentence at Calhoun Correctional Institution in Blountstown, Florida before being brought back to Glades County yesterday to face murder charges.
He was booked into Glades County Jail. The case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit.
Sen. Nelson will vote 'no' on DeVos
Sen. Bill Nelson announced today that he will be voting against the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education.
“I will be joining my Republican colleagues Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski in voting ‘no’ against Betsy DeVos,” Nelson said.
