Talk of ‘massive, massive’ teacher pay raises in Florida next year — an election year | Steve Bousquet

Former Gov. Rick Scott, fighting an anti-education image in advance of his 2014 re-election, pushed for a $2,500 pay raise for teachers in 2013. Fellow Republicans were resistant, but they went along on a $480 million pay package. And as it turned out, after labor negotiations and pay raises for non-instructional personnel, the actual bump was considerably less than $2,500 in many counties. ... Read More

EFCA Now Considers Premillennialism a Non-Essential

The denomination drops end times doctrine from its statement of faith in a move to “major on the majors” and “minor on the minors.” The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) changed its position on end times theology, voting this summer to drop the word “premillennial” from the denomination’s statement of faith. Many of the 350,000 people who belong to EFCA churches still believe Jesus will return to earth to reign as king for 1,000 years, but the denomination... Read More

Your Home Is a Legacy in the Making

Christie Purifoy invites us to join God in cultivating places of beauty and peace. For years, my friend Kristin privately prayed for a garden with “one towering oak tree,” where she and her husband might create a place for others to rest and retreat. When they recently purchased a home in their native Southern California, the land surrounding it surpassed her own secret desires. Their new home sits on acres of land with lush succulent gardens and is lined with over a dozen mature... Read More

America Needed Spies During World War II. Many Missionaries Were Ready and Willing.

They regretted some of what they were asked to do, but they thought defending democracy was worth it. William Eddy was one of the most effective intelligence officers in American history. During World War II, he was among the first to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the nation’s first permanent espionage agency. After the war, he helped found the CIA. He was also a decorated veteran of World War I and, in civilian life, an educator, devoted husband, and father. But none of... Read More

CBD massages now offered by salons and chiropractors, but buyer beware

Kyle Nevius, a chiropractor physician in Naples and former president of the Florida Chiropractic Association, said the interest for CBD massages has been “overwhelming.” Yet, customers should be vigilant: He said CBD “should be administered by health providers who can give advice, based on their health issues and prescriptions they may be taking. ... Read More

Costs rising as Fort Lauderdale tries to dam its water crisis

Since October, the city has spilled more than 600,000 more gallons of raw sewage in 15 unauthorized discharges that are subject to $54,000 in penalties, state officials said. They include two in March from a twice-broken 44-year-old pipe that spilled about 300,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Rio Mary Rita waterway near the 2800 block of Northeast 36th Street, the state said. ... Read More

Gov. Ron DeSantis to clean water advocates: Keep pushing legislators on conservation issues

“Just keep talking about it and keep letting your legislators know that you appreciated the work of last session, but you’d like to see momentum continue,” DeSantis said during his appearance at the Save Our Water Summit in Bonita Springs on Wednesday. “I think we probably have a lot of momentum now. But I think that will add to the momentum and I think it’s just going to be like, going forward, this is something that pretty much most people are going to agree needs to... Read More

Florida up first when global warming’s killer bugs invade America | Fred Grimm

Perhaps, you can avoid the unnaturally tepid waters that nurture dreadful bacterium. Tropical mosquitoes — already the deadliest scourge in human history — will be tougher to elude. Warmer temperatures will extend the range of vectors that transmit malaria, Zika, West Nile, dengue, Chikungunya, various encephalitides and yellow fever. Mosquitoes, doing most of their killing in the tropics, already cause 700,000 to a million deaths a year. ... Read More