Coral Gables Environment, Politics and Government
January 7, 2007 Leave a comment
Not all butterflies are beautiful.
An Asian butterfly known for ravaging the leaves of young citrus trees has spread from the Dominican Republic to other Caribbean islands and could soon strike fruit producers in Florida, agriculture experts said.
The lime swallowtail butterfly was spotted in the Dominican Republic three years ago
January 1, 2007 Leave a comment
A first step of the new governor of New York was to institute clear steps toward establishing honest government. Would it be that both state, county and local governments take the same interest in good, ethical and open government. One can only hope that Spitzer is successful and that other states learn from this challenge and be driven to change.
Spitzer enacted measures to limit political consideration and mandate ethical behavior by employees of the executive branch.They ban gifts from lobbyists; end personal use of state cars, computers and equipment; prohibit nepotismand ban ex-employees hired by the Spitzer administration from lobbying the executive branch for two years.
Other executive orders ban statewide officials _ including Spitzer _ from appearing in state-paid commercials _ stopping a practice expanded greatly under Republican Governor Pataki, which critics called free campaign ads.
Another measure established a state commission to make sure candidates for judicial appointments are qualified. Yet another order requires many public meetings to soon be broadcast.
December 25, 2006 Leave a comment
Orlando Sentinel–
…the life of a snowbird, formally known as a seasonal resident, and Florida is their top destination.Each winter, hundreds of thousands of retirees leave their
Northern homes and flock to Florida. An estimated 818,000 people age 55
or older came into the state for the peak of the 2005 winter season,
according to a University of Florida study.And many of Florida’s snowbirds are making the move permanent.
Others can’t afford to live here anymore, said Gerry Brissenden,
president of the Canadian Snowbird Association. Rising property taxes
and homeowner-insurance premiums are squeezing some retirees out of the
state.“A lot of Canadians . . . are selling their properties and looking
to Texas and Arizona as other places to go,” Brissenden said. “If you
own property down here, you certainly want to insure it. When you can’t
insure it, you look and say, ‘Do I want to be here?’ “
December 20, 2006 Leave a comment
Dominican politicians know how to get the women’s vote.
President Leonel Fernandez is appealing to Dominican women voters this Christmas. Fernandez, who is expected to seek reelection in 2008, has traditionally garnered the female vote. Now he has announced for Christmas the distribution of 800,000 boxes containing traditional Christmas dinner foodstuffs plus the government will pick up the beauty parlor tab for Dominican women on the 23, 24, 30 and 31 December dates. As reported in Diario Libre, the program was first implemented by the Department for Community Development (DGDC) on occasion of Mother’s Day this year when 226 beauty salons offered discounted hair styling service for only RD$50.
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