DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER


 

Training for the Democrats of Indian River

Voter Protection Team
 

The Democrats of Indian River 2022 Voter Protection Team is recruiting poll watchers again. The team swelled to over 40 members who successfully and enthusiastically worked the primary. We want to double that number for the November Midterm election. Training is conducted by the Florida Democratic Party. A number of days and times are offered. If you are interested in helping ensure that every legitimate vote counts, please click on this link to sign up and to be informed about Zoom training:

https://floridadems.typeform.com/to/eB1DoQhN

Poll watchers will be needed for early voting Oct. 24 through Nov. 5 from 7 am to 4 pm. The general election is Nov. 8 from 7 am to 7 pm. For more information, contact Claudia Martino [email protected]

Democratic Women’s Club



 



DWC Luncheons will resume on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at Bent Pine Clubhouse. Our speaker will be Dr Juliette Lomax-Homier, Ob-Gyn and Regional Dean of the of the Florida State University College of Medicine. Her topic is “The Changes in Medicine-The Doctor Might Not Be In.”

 

Democratic Club of Indian River

 

The next Club meeting will be September 15^th at 6 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 2140 14^th Ave., in Downtown Vero Beach. Please join us! We will be organizing committees to support Cynthia Gibbs for School Board Phase 2 - Gibbs vs Rosario.

We will also be focusing on reaching out to NPA's (aka Independents). We welcome your comments.






 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
 

 

With people pouring into our county, housing prices skyrocketing, developments covering our natural habitats, our water being polluted and wasted, and rising sea levels, I’m afraid for our future.

If Sebastian City Council hired environmental experts to provide an innovative, forward-thinking model with imaginative environmentally sound homes and retain and restore surrounding natural habitats, we may have a chance for our future and cleaner waters. 

Florida’s natural habitats attract tourists, snowbirds, and their millions of dollars to Florida even as those habitats are rapidly being depleted. Only remnants that were carefully preserved remain. 

Annexations must RESTORE what has been destroyed to prevent our fishes, manatees, and other wildlife from further decline. We need innovative visions for a sustainable, biodiverse, interconnected network of green spaces rather than development and “business as usual” decisions.

Our current environment endangers our health. Nutrients from sewage and glorified outhouses/septic tanks, pesticides and fertilizers from lawns and agriculture feed cyanobacteria that produce airborne microcystin toxins that can cause ALS, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, while at the same time killing seagrasses, fish and manatees.

Thus, the developments around the headwaters of the St. Sebastian River, a diverse and historic river that flows into the lagoon, must be carefully designed to bring these precious waters back to the way they were 50 years ago, not adding to this tragedy.  People enjoyed eating fish, shrimp, clams and oysters from our lagoon, waters that used to be crystal clear with abundant seagrasses and aquatic life.

Our current natural lands, ordinances, and policies have failed to sustain nature and us. Visionary annexation experts and scientists can restore abandoned agricultural lands to feed us locally and purchase other land for restoration. Let’s reforest uplands and restore wetlands that have been destroyed. 

Stronger tree ordinances can preserve 15-inch diameter and greater trees that are older than any living human and sequester more carbon dioxide than trees less than 50 years old.

Stop clear-cutting. This adds to heat-island effects and reduces community aesthetics.  Build developments that incorporate trees, which can cool our community by 10 degrees. Let’s expand community native plantings, gardens, forests and recreation for all to enjoy. 

Native plants feed our native insects and birds. Pass stronger landscape ordinances reducing lawn turfgrass to 10% to 15% of a building lot. Encourage planting native trees and plants to reduce fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to save our birds, butterflies and bees. 

Reduce carbon dioxide emissions and bring quiet and peace by prohibiting two-cycle noisy lawnmowers and blowers emitting approximately 242 million tons of pollutants annually nationwide.

Humans thrive in nature. Land and water are scarce. Let’s not waste watering non-native plants. Native plants’ deep roots don’t take exorbitant amounts of water. Turfgrass roots are only 2 inches and require more frequent watering because of evaporation.

In Florida, 64% of our potable drinking water goes on our lawns; in summer, 88%! To prevent run-off pollution, set stricter guidelines missing from existing developments. Restrict or ban all pollutants (pesticides, herbicides, artificial fertilizers) that poison our waters and that native plants don’t need. Prohibit phosphorus and allow only slow-release nitrogen fertilizers. Enforce the June 1-September 30 fertilizer ban as Alachua County does.

Convert all septic tanks to sewer systems, turning our human poop into electricity and nitrogen & phosphorus to sell to countries that have scarce resources. Encourage businesses and consumers to stop using single-use plastics. Ban single use plastic and use reusable bags.

All homes and communities must become environmentally sustainable. The future of our Florida communities need all of us to make it happen. Expert annexation advice, new ordinances, and innovatively sustainable design can help restore our environment.

These steps can result in a vibrant environment that will be lauded as a model for Florida.

 

Richard H. Baker, Sebastian, is president of the Pelican Island Audubon Society.

 

DWCF Training Webinar:  How to Submit Letters to the Editor and OP-EDs with Speaker Steve Bousquet!

 

Steve Bousquet, Editor of the Sun Sentinel’s OP-ED and Letters to the Editor page will speak to DWCF Members on how to write and submit an OP-ED or Letter to the Editor. This should not be missed, as this is the best chance we have to engage, educate, and influence the public-at-large by telling the truth without spin!   Date: September 18th  Time: 7-8 PM ET Register for Webinar Here

"To remain silent is to be complicit in the face of increasing injustice, racism, xenophobia and intolerance we are currently witnessing today."

        - Roberto Mukaro Borrero


 

To submit letters to the TCPalm use this link:
https://static.tcpalm.com/forms/?wid=q1jkscld1v7h87e

 

 

FEDERAL
 

The top law enforcement agency made the revelation in a 36-page court filing on Tuesday as they responded to former President Donald Trumps's request to have a third-party individual, a so-called “special master”, review the documents gathered from his south Florida private club and residence on August 8th.

DoJ outlined the classification of some of the documents found at Mar-a-Lago, the attempts that Trump’s staff supposedly made to hide documents from the FBI as well as the disorganized way the documents had been stored.

“In some instances, even the FBI counterintelligence personnel and DOJ attorneys conducting the review required additional clearances before they were permitted to review certain documents,” the agency said in its filing.


This photo submitted by the department shows documents with the marking, “contains sensitive compartmented information up to HCS-P/SI/TK."

 

 



 

STATE

NASA Will Re-Attempt a Launch of the Artemis 1 Mission on Saturday

ASA’s mission management team has made the decision to re-attempt a launch of the Artemis 1 Mission’s Space Launch System on Saturday afternoon, saying a faulty sensor was to blame for the scrub this past Monday.
The space agency’s 322-foot-tall (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) is currently standing proud on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but hopefully for not much longer. After reviewing the data from Monday’s scrub, NASA’s mission management team has decided to proceed with the mission, telling reporters on Tuesday evening that the next launch attempt will occur on Saturday. NASA had previously selected Friday September 2 and Monday September 5 as possible launch days, so the decision to attempt a launch on Saturday came as a complete surprise. 

At the briefing, Marc Berger, a meteorologist with the U.S. Air Force’s Weather Squadron, assessed a 60% chance of a weather violation occurring within the launch window. Sounds discouraging, but Berger said the afternoon showers are likely to be sporadic and that they “tend to have a lot of real estate between them,” so an opportunity to launch will likely present itself within the two-hour window. Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said that, in the event of scrub caused by inclement weather, another launch attempt could be made within 48 hours.

George Dvorsky

 

LOCAL


GIFFORD HISTORICAL MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER

A Gifford nonprofit has received a state grant toward its $5 million fundraising goal to build a cultural center at the Historic Macedonia Church that houses a history museum. The project was awarded $493,000 of the $500,000 maximum available from the Florida Department of State’s Florida African American Cultural and Historic grant program. "The grant is seed money to at least get started with consultants and architects," said Jonnie Mae Perry, CEO of the Gifford Historical Museum & Cultural Center in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The nonprofit needs $5 million to begin construction and hopes the cultural center will be open by 2024-25, Perry said. Plans include a restaurant, banquet hall, art studios and an expansion of the current exhibits and pieces on display in the museum.





The center's mission is to preserve and celebrate Gifford's history and African-Americans throughout the county through enrichment and educational programs, Perry told the commission. "Our vision is to restore the heart of Gifford, to bring back the dignity of Gifford and the pride of Gifford by enriching culture, diversity and respect," Perry said.

https://www.tcpalm.com/picture-gallery/news/local/indian-river-county/2019/08/08/community-beginnings-display-gifford-historical-museum/1945899001/
 
Treasure Coast Newspapers



 

ORCA Relocates Indian River Lagoon Research Facility to Vero Beach

ORCA has bought the 6,500-square-foot building, a former radio station at 1235 16th St. in Vero Beach and expects to be fully moved in by the end of the year, said Edie Widder, the nonprofit's co-founder and senior scientist.  

The building will be named the D.J. Rainone Research and Science Building, in honor of a Vero Beach resident who "possessed an incredible love for the ocean and whose estate kicked off the capital campaign that made the purchase of the building possible," according to an Aug. 22 announcement from the nonprofit.

YARD SIGNS and bumper stickers for Joanne Terry, who will challenge Bill Posey for US House District 08 seat, are available in the Democrats of Indian River office at

2345 14th Ave, suite 7
Vero Beach 32960



We also have yard signs for School Board Candidate Cindy Gibbs.




We have not yet received yard signs for Charlie Crist. 


 

CALENDAR



Thursday, September 1, 2022

7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council, 22 S. Orange Street, Fellsmere, FL 32948

For agenda and meeting information go to www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil



Tuesday, September 6, 2022

9:00 a.m. – Vero Beach City Council, City Council Chambers, City Hall, 1053 20th Place, Vero Beach, 32960

For agenda and meeting information go to https://covb.org/AgendaCenter

You can watch here: https://www.covb.org/341/CTYVB-13---City-of-Vero-Beach-Official-T



Thursday, September 15, 2022

6:00 p.m. – Democratic Club of Indian River Monthly Meeting. Heritage Center, 2140 14^th Ave., Downtown Vero Beach