tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49392598165057721412024-03-05T10:27:38.755-08:00Palm Beach County Environmental Coalitionannouncements, rants and meeting notes from grassroots organizing in the Northeast EvergladesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-50865117796251834502022-03-21T11:38:00.006-07:002022-03-22T12:40:01.596-07:00Confusion About Craig Frost<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG8J-YbqrVbTO4gNpyR-P2YuoxnEedtc1_r91xaZXbR5HclqgZbV6urrBiR5WaAV_FjWUdXWSJgrWMTFLeeVQ3sskYydlgZfaY8tuVWrBUi5a91-Vh7qGQxaxlODoQQUSY8F7iR8ilYOAuyGtwJNdV8TAgrD7AlPAsfD7FMEDpRwBuXw4kNMr8yeqJYA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiG8J-YbqrVbTO4gNpyR-P2YuoxnEedtc1_r91xaZXbR5HclqgZbV6urrBiR5WaAV_FjWUdXWSJgrWMTFLeeVQ3sskYydlgZfaY8tuVWrBUi5a91-Vh7qGQxaxlODoQQUSY8F7iR8ilYOAuyGtwJNdV8TAgrD7AlPAsfD7FMEDpRwBuXw4kNMr8yeqJYA" width="240" /></a></div><div><b>Tuesday March 22, 2022, is a runoff election in Lake Worth Beach. The PBCEC is asking you to vote and volunteer to get others out, by making phone calls/texts, waving signs, and working your social media network.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>All districts vote. Polls open from 7am to 7pm. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>As you may have noticed by now, there is a problem with Craig Frost. You might have read about it in the newspaper, or gotten mail, calls or text about it. Some of it has gotten confusing, and its possible there is a straight up disinformation campaign attempting to garner support for Frost by making people feel bad for him. Its a pretty weird strategy, but it seems worth taking a closer look at before going to the polls.</div><div><br /></div><div>It should be made clear that, in our opinion, the problem with Craig Frost is not that he didn't answer the <i>Post</i> or <i>Sentinel </i>questionnaires or respond to the requests for interviews. It's not that he has a criminal record (which is very common), or that he said he didn't know about it (which is pretty strange). And it's also not about there being too much trash in the garbage can from the picture there on D Street. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Craig deserves the sympathy and support for his battle with cancer that he has shared publicly. And he deserves respect for his community involvement despite having a criminal record. But that doesn't mean that he should have a position of representing the people of Lake Worth. </div><div><br /></div><div>The problem with Frost as a commissioner has little to do with Craig at all. It doesn't really even have much to do with the Gulfstream. (While that is certainly a project worth scrutinizing from various angles, we feel it is also being overplayed to drive division between neighbors. There is a much bigger picture to be thinking about. <i>Props to former candidate Daniel Morgan—who is supporting Diaz—for giving voice to that position.)</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The problem with Craig is who is behind him, and who he will be beholden to; who is contributing funds, putting up yard signs at the properties they are speculating on, who is pushing for him to get elected in order to further their business interests. The problem is people supporting candidates that will make them more money at the expense of driving people out of neighborhoods in pursuit of the twisted <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">demographics changes that previous commissioners have heralded</a>, and long term impacts to the planet, that shortsighted real estate greed and overdevelopment result in.<br /><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSE4dVYYul-nBxeqCk5_PgW6Jk3YNKX3ipG4XmBWcYlbn4c2Mk-BKJF1oWuqnC6YNqvylYU-mZKqqQ1RCq0PUfNlrj0ZmfxTUCbEpDNnfMl0ojbDCGllEC6j-1UbEeXBGFhji-O4EAjdlVrWYMpIK82856_xxNP6emRAjtSEl8o0iw3fcIinahXArZ-w" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="640" height="770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSE4dVYYul-nBxeqCk5_PgW6Jk3YNKX3ipG4XmBWcYlbn4c2Mk-BKJF1oWuqnC6YNqvylYU-mZKqqQ1RCq0PUfNlrj0ZmfxTUCbEpDNnfMl0ojbDCGllEC6j-1UbEeXBGFhji-O4EAjdlVrWYMpIK82856_xxNP6emRAjtSEl8o0iw3fcIinahXArZ-w=w356-h770" width="356" /></a></div>There is no shocker here. It's not a conspiracy theory. Every election year, we see yard signs pop up in vacant lots. These serve as the initial indicators of real estate speculators attempting to influence election results. </div><div><br /></div><div>Such as is the case of the photo here, property on the corner of D Street and Lucerne owned by real estate speculator Greg Rice displays signs for Frost. (This is confirmed by the PAPA record pictured below.)</div><div><br /></div><div>The campaign contribution forms here show donations from the <a href="https://www.floridarealtors.org/advocacy/pac" target="_blank">Realtors PAC</a> and <a href="http://www.cdsholdings.com/cds-holdings-properties/" target="_blank">CDS Int'l</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>These are the type of entities that funded the commission majority over the past 10 years, facilitating corporate giveaway to developers in the form of variance, zoning increases, "sustainability" bonuses, tax abatements and selective code enforcement policies.</div><div><br /></div><div>In response to having this pointed out, Craig Frost's campaign strategists have attempted to divert attention to a local architect, environmentalist and smart growth advocate, Anne Fairfax, who has donated to the campaign of Reinaldo Diaz. </div><div><br /></div><div>Craig Frost's, pro-development supporters seem to be feigning concern about this supposed conflict to confuse voters on the fence. Or they may be taking a cheap shot at Fairfax, a part-time local <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/lakeworth/2021/05/03/many-lake-worth-beach-residents-against-residential-complex-element/7397212002/" target="_blank">who helped found a group that is challenging downtown development</a>, because she has been an outspoken critic of the CRA planning process, presenting counter visions of development plans that better integrate with the existing neighborhood. (Note: PBCEC doesn't necessarily agree with Fairfax proposals.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEZ1Su5GqW8GcPwV7v88c56kPZLO_J05sTGORokgZvVaxI_JrQmAm9rWYQMzUfPbWCnCu9pAFtkV9WlcMyc37-K-hGgwhCjJ6ptAU3m9-XLXW8CW-sm4NTmBA9vzXQCdlsxWz-4q0yf3r8i4PB2WTrFBBzXql9A5J_1JSDMcdzFlHBTkbVdlVvq_cbtA" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="969" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEZ1Su5GqW8GcPwV7v88c56kPZLO_J05sTGORokgZvVaxI_JrQmAm9rWYQMzUfPbWCnCu9pAFtkV9WlcMyc37-K-hGgwhCjJ6ptAU3m9-XLXW8CW-sm4NTmBA9vzXQCdlsxWz-4q0yf3r8i4PB2WTrFBBzXql9A5J_1JSDMcdzFlHBTkbVdlVvq_cbtA=w381-h295" width="381" /></a></div>While a commissioner's relationship to people in the real estate industry should certainly be scrutinized, activists with PBCEC have worked with both Diaz and Fairfax on local land use issues, and found them to be well-informed and strong allies of greater community control over the direction of development. </div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully that helps you decide how to make your decision tomorrow. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-38236581212331565912022-02-17T23:10:00.014-08:002022-03-13T06:10:11.056-07:00Info on Lake Worth 2022 Elections: District 4 and Ballot Items<i>[UPDATE: There is a runoff election on March 22. The fundraising deadline is March 17th at 11:59 pm. You can donate <a href="https://diaz4lwb.com/">on his website</a>. Please kick in $25 today, and spread the word. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RD4LWB/" target="_blank">Follow his social media</a> for more info on volunteering. With Reinaldo elected, this would give us a more solid commission majority for pro-environmental and community-centered decisions. It's much harder to turn out less engaged voters in a runoff, so we need your help, on the phones, knocking doors, and donating funds, ASAP. <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/lakeworth/2022/03/08/lake-worth-beach-election-voters-approve-single-member-districts/9417991002/">Report on 3/8 Results.</a></i><br />-----------------------------------------------------------<p>As local environmentalists and community activists in Lake Worth Beach may have noticed, our success in re-electing Christopher McVoy for District 2 was not contested by a pro-developer candidate, so he will thankfully continue to hold that seat. It was a major sigh of relief after all the work we put in engaging voters to show up at the polls last year.</p><p></p><p>But the District 4 seat is now up for grabs, as Herman Robinson leaves office. There are three names on the ballot. There are also some important ballot questions to vote on. We succeeded in creating a major shift last year, <a href="http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2021/03/lake-worth-beach-needs-term-limits.html" target="_blank">unseating four developer-backed, socially-conservative candidates</a>, three of which had been in office for a decade+, but the pressure of real estate greed continues to impact commission decisions. </p><p>For example last year, a significant upzoning for the proposed Deco Green development passed in a 3-2 vote, requiring neighbors, environmentalists and local affordable housing advocates to file a lawsuit aiming to send it back to the drawing board for a reassessment of the city's "sustainability bonus" and deeper input from surrounding residents. <a href="https://radeldub.weebly.com/updates/send-deco-green-back-to-the-drawing-board" target="_blank">(Details on that fight here.)</a> Who gets into office this year would have a real impact on decisions like this one, which affects the cost of housing and the quality of life for the low-rise, working class neighborhoods that make up most of the city.</p>Here's a little about the candidates and the ballot items to aid in casting an informed ballot.<div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSz53dyWdLAbZXi-wTsOJeovbWaU1ztFkkr7RZTWXHJfyny1BfyB6y2Cwgfxf6JfDugFgPQxLUOaDJYPPYoELIpOoMP06yto3ry111ElXh1mdpI9XbPnxJIyQtNN7efWi5ZsnOlJBlOHq3oerBmPHrQY50QlzFIs4D7ScO6riJdM-2d7k_iobX-hSPOQ" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="399" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSz53dyWdLAbZXi-wTsOJeovbWaU1ztFkkr7RZTWXHJfyny1BfyB6y2Cwgfxf6JfDugFgPQxLUOaDJYPPYoELIpOoMP06yto3ry111ElXh1mdpI9XbPnxJIyQtNN7efWi5ZsnOlJBlOHq3oerBmPHrQY50QlzFIs4D7ScO6riJdM-2d7k_iobX-hSPOQ=w256-h230" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Diaz works with kids to clean the Lagoon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><i>District 4 candidates</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Reinaldo Diaz:</b> He has an extensive background in land use law and policy, as well as the management of a non-profit, public interest organization. Born and raised in the city, he is the founder of Lake Worth Waterkeeper, advocating to protect water quality in the lagoon and surrounding watershed. He could be an excellent asset, bringing valuable skills and experience to the commission. <a href="https://diaz4lwb.com/" target="_blank">Learn more about him here.</a> The <i>Sun Sentinel</i> did a good write up in their endorsement of him, which you can find <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/endorsement-lake-worth-beach-voters-153600100.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2BQl7-smDGfPCSjaGLAyGSW1cRktj9qiPjzsQc3EBK1Ub0LqqC_D8QcRJ4d6TLQvweQTHyaFgl0KeQUA-n8_flsX5eFRqov4fLN3JTv7uNC8ZFaXC7X-WQC6nBURp_8gEd7EJ3kt1mULTkBtHk9t1GtPIWPis7__m27TZzV_oRNIbKokQSar54oznWw=s558" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="558" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2BQl7-smDGfPCSjaGLAyGSW1cRktj9qiPjzsQc3EBK1Ub0LqqC_D8QcRJ4d6TLQvweQTHyaFgl0KeQUA-n8_flsX5eFRqov4fLN3JTv7uNC8ZFaXC7X-WQC6nBURp_8gEd7EJ3kt1mULTkBtHk9t1GtPIWPis7__m27TZzV_oRNIbKokQSar54oznWw=w301-h166" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Morgan speaks on public health at press event</i></td></tr></tbody></table>Daniel Morgan: </b>As a former employee of the Guatemalan Maya Center, and a current case worker for refugees, he has relationships with central figures in the local community of immigrants, many who have been here decades with little to no representation in the city's political affairs. He was a member of the City's Charter Review Committee. While he is a relatively recent resident of the city, he brings a fresh energy that could be a great addition to the commission. <a href="https://danielmorgan4lwb.com/" target="_blank">Learn more about him here.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv1uQIGSffGFdr0NKyo9GmXdMLag4HkpIienjNdllkz4NiEXWzy11lArjrs54a6qmu41otNZg6e0qNvOo8PdIa2U3LK-_AJBDWbtDzIeC3ntwApEBYUBuMJ8rf8fWAMPLh86XDbBuckJEFH1dh-8cBubs2tvr9Tg0vamF_1xitT0Rq6NYc5TlOdTZIdg=s2448" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiv1uQIGSffGFdr0NKyo9GmXdMLag4HkpIienjNdllkz4NiEXWzy11lArjrs54a6qmu41otNZg6e0qNvOo8PdIa2U3LK-_AJBDWbtDzIeC3ntwApEBYUBuMJ8rf8fWAMPLh86XDbBuckJEFH1dh-8cBubs2tvr9Tg0vamF_1xitT0Rq6NYc5TlOdTZIdg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Every year, we see yard signs pop up in vacant lots <br />during election time, as real estate speculators <br />attempt to influence results. <br />In this case, property owned by Greg Rice, <br />which should be a city park, <br />instead piles up with garbage<br />...and campaigns for Frost. </i></td></tr></tbody></table>Craig Frost:</b> Craig seems like an alright guy, owns a local upholstery business and participates in the neighborhood associations. Unfortunately for him, he has the support of the previous commissioner and is the choice of many from the pro-development, chamber of commerce, real estate speculator crowd. His campaign literature has the tired old cliché about running city hall like a business. According to his campaign's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CraigFrost4LWB" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, he worked at Capri Pizza when he was in high school. They have pretty good pizza, but that's not enough to overlook where his primary support is coming from. </div><div><br /></div><div>When people say "the city should be run like a business," we think the response should be "sure, a nonprofit business, where public interest is the driving force rather than profit-making." To that end, Morgan and Diaz both shine. Frost, not so much.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Ballot Questions:</i></div><br />Voters in Lake Worth Beach also will decide <a href="https://lakeworthbeachfl.gov/government/voting-and-elections/">four ballot questions.</a> <br /><br />Question 1 is about term limits: <b>Vote Yes. </b><div>The city currently has none. This item would limit commissioners to two consecutive three-year terms in one seat, and 12 consecutive years in local office. You wanna go longer than that, you gotta take a break for a term. There are mixed feelings among some about term limits for higher office, like in Congress or the State Legislature because of "losing institutional knowledge and shifting power from novice legislators to entrenched lobbyists and staffers," as the <i>Sun Sentinel</i> Editorial Board put it. But it's very different on this level. We want a variety of voices coming into the commission.<br /><br />Question 2 is about runoff elections: <b>Mixed feelings, but <i>No.</i></b></div><div>The reality of local elections is that a very small number of people actually show up for them. A candidate should be able to show that they have 51% of the those votes, without the runner up being made to feel that they are wasting time or money, and being pressured to concede. On the other hand, a run-off candidate conceding may offer insight about that person, so you can take note of it in case they come back and ask for your vote in the future. Either way, the fact that it happened in 2019 isn't reason to worry too much, as it doesn't happen often enough to warrant stress over which way you vote on it. Flip a coin, leave it blank, not a major concern.<br /><br />Question 3 single-member districts: <b>Vote No</b></div><div>This would result in each commissioner being elected only by voters in that district. Currently they run city-wide (or 'at large'), and all voters vote in every race. Single districts may make sense in larger cities, where there are vast differences from one district to another, but in Lake Worth it is misguided. It would most likely exacerbate the existing segregation in this small town, where the wealthier, whiter pockets hold a concentration of votes. Districts 1 and 2 may become easier elections to win for community activists and grassroots folks, but easier doesn't always mean better quality. And securing broader community representation for districts 3 and 4 could become much more difficult, which would make the campaign for mayor higher stakes, concentrating developer influence on what would become the primary swing commission vote. This would further polarize the town along race and class lines, rather than pushing us out of our comfort zones to cross town and work in various neighborhoods to figure out solutions to common problems in this relatively small geographic area. </div><div><br />Question 4 fill a commission vacancy before the next election. <b>Vote Yes</b></div><div>This is basically a low-stakes technical issue. As the <i>Sun Sentinel</i> put it in their endorsement: "Unfilled seats disenfranchise residents, leaving them without a voice."<div><br />That's our two-cents on the matter. We encourage folks to make up their own mind, and then get out in the streets and engage with your community. <br /><br />Oh, and if you still have a Vote By Mail ballot, mail it soon or bring it directly in to the Supervisor of Elections office. If you are undecided up until the end, bring your mail-in ballot with you to the polls, otherwise you will have to vote by provisional ballot, which slows down the final election results.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lake Worth, FL, USA26.6167555 -80.0684479-1.4426998798457618 -115.2246979 54.676210879845762 -44.912197899999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-60291017513521782272021-03-04T07:57:00.005-08:002021-03-04T08:50:37.574-08:00Lake Worth Beach needs term limits... Until then we can vote them out on March 9<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdW8QcpkssOSf6mceXC7GBJZoeI4tQPGUkWs98C3UUV76Zz3JbBkRjBDOXCdh1r9xXs-0rS5w6-WUyVCuEmeQuVfJTNoN-S3v8xNGV1hQVTormzSK3ndN9aXAOQGcQuEajPkKxZ5ry7bj/s1896/LWB+term+limits+vote+them+out+FRONT+2-22-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1896" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdW8QcpkssOSf6mceXC7GBJZoeI4tQPGUkWs98C3UUV76Zz3JbBkRjBDOXCdh1r9xXs-0rS5w6-WUyVCuEmeQuVfJTNoN-S3v8xNGV1hQVTormzSK3ndN9aXAOQGcQuEajPkKxZ5ry7bj/w600-h408/LWB+term+limits+vote+them+out+FRONT+2-22-21.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQev7zbQ5lgs0bE-WbH_IvymZtG8WBWBItwlTW1-6XTprDFLMFXPcecFDq1xGHJNzLH1_9MWS5QvxxWzSez-TqluSsufjK4JUX3df_icHOzIt0OZN2p-q7XJsb6ZLfTBWTH3PH25nLxfIH/s1896/LWB+term+limits+vote+them+out+BACK+2-22-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1896" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQev7zbQ5lgs0bE-WbH_IvymZtG8WBWBItwlTW1-6XTprDFLMFXPcecFDq1xGHJNzLH1_9MWS5QvxxWzSez-TqluSsufjK4JUX3df_icHOzIt0OZN2p-q7XJsb6ZLfTBWTH3PH25nLxfIH/w619-h399/LWB+term+limits+vote+them+out+BACK+2-22-21.jpg" width="619" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition has devoted much time and energy over the past 17 years to pushing back against the interests of developers in the Lake Worth area seeking to overpower the interests of the local residents in this community that is predominantly a collection of low-rise, </span><a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">working class coastal neighborhoods</a><span style="text-align: left;">. </span></div><p></p><p>But development and real estate greed in what is now called Lake Worth Beach is not just about pavement and pollution, its also an <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_justice" target="_blank">environmental justice</a></i> issue.</p><p>Even the 2010 census (which was thought to have significantly under counted immigrant residents) reported that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Worth_Beach,_Florida" target="_blank">60% of the city was made up of Black, Latinx and Indigenous people</a>, largely from Central American and Caribbean countries, many of whom have been making their homes in Lake Worth since fleeing wars and repression in the 1980s.</p><p>While there has long been a tension between the residents of the city and the people seeking to maximize profits through real estate investments, that has come to a head in recent years, with an increased effort to push people out by <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">abusive code enforcement policies</a>, even exploiting the pandemic to <a href="https://cbs12.com/news/local/utility-shutoffs-to-resume-in-lake-worth-beach" target="_blank">shut off unpaid utilities</a> of these same residents and their families.</p><p>This commission has sought to refute these claims on a very superficial levels, using red scare tactics reminiscent of the McCarthy-era, claiming that the community activists monitoring and exposing these efforts are just getting in the way of progress.</p><p>If greed, racism, exploitation and evicting families to make room for high-rise luxury condos are the definition or progress, then the <i>PBCEC is proud to join residents standing in the way of it.</i></p><p>While we are not endorsing candidates in this election, as shown above, we are seeking to educate the public about the <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">current incumbents</a> and show an example of those who are running for their seats. In that spirit, we note the following:</p><p>In District 2, <b>Christopher McVoy</b> is a former City Commissioner with a solid record of voting favorably on issues of climate, environment and water quality, as well as social concerns related to immigrant rights and racial justice. His main opponent, Carla Blockson, claims to be independent of the current commissioners but was appointed to fill the District 2 commission seat by the incumbents listed above <i>after the election cycle had already started, </i>and is seen driving around town in the <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">current mayor's</a> personal golf cart.</p><p>In District 3, <b>Kim Stokes</b> and <b>Drew Martin</b> both have strong track records and vocal commitments to community activism for environmental and social concerns. Their <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">main opponent</a> has generally voted as a shill for developers for the past 10 years.</p><p>In District 1, <b>Sarah Malega</b> has expressed concerns surrounding development, affordable housing, immigrants rights and police accountability. Her only opponents has a 20 year legacy in public office as a <a href="https://whoisscottmaxwell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">deceptive far-right bigot</a> (<i>for example, <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190616/nearly-1000-immigrants-in-palm-beach-county-have-ids-sheriff-has-fraud-concern" target="_blank">speaking out recently against community IDs</a> intended to ensure the safety of undocumented residents</i>). He led efforts to shut down a day labor resource center, disband a police oversight board, and end the city's energy conservation program. While he once appeared independent on development issues, he has long since proven to be a tool of developers. Not to mention, he's a MAGA hat-wearing <a href="https://gopclubpb.org/2018/08/scott-maxwell-featured-at-september-lunch/" target="_blank">chairperson of the Palm Beach Republican Party's Political Committee</a>. </p><p>For Mayor, <b>Betty Resch</b> has joined her neighbors in opposing a multimillion dollar handout to developers threatening to forever change the character of the downtown neighborhood she lives in. While we have had disagreements with Resch in the past over some development issues, it is quite clear that the <a href="https://www.floridabulldog.org/2019/03/lake-worth-uses-cops-code-enforcement-in-brazen-effort-to-get-rid-of-citys-poor/" target="_blank">current mayor</a> is a right-wing PR agent for real estate flipping junkies, and it's long past time to kick these fiends and their pushers out out of town. </p><p>That's our two-cents on the matter. We encourage to make up your own mind, and then get out in the streets and engage with your community. </p><p>Oh, and if you still have a Vote By Mail ballot, bring it directly in to the Supervisor of Elections office. Its cutting it too close to mail it.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-55055115266994023922019-03-25T19:43:00.002-07:002019-03-25T19:43:57.446-07:00Environmental activist challenges notorious settlement between Lake Point and South Florida Water Management District for violating Florida’s Sunshine Law<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaLiV6C-kHVc4nYHVA_AjWJ_cjGfTDgYi5fkEZqu0eDUQZgCb_pQRQG_DW4xxMl4a-LzSShNsIuIka_KnSOsfATLYiWcynxVpEPhEsecRthmnFMmuFKxeZGHKZZkdppoylHX7iEJcTZ1m/s1600/Lake+Point+rock+mine.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="640" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaLiV6C-kHVc4nYHVA_AjWJ_cjGfTDgYi5fkEZqu0eDUQZgCb_pQRQG_DW4xxMl4a-LzSShNsIuIka_KnSOsfATLYiWcynxVpEPhEsecRthmnFMmuFKxeZGHKZZkdppoylHX7iEJcTZ1m/s400/Lake+Point+rock+mine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lake Point Ranches development on the south side of Kanner Highway one
mile east of Lake Okeechobee in this photo taken in November 2013.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><b><a href="http://floridafaf.org/files/2019/03/Petition.pdf">Read the full lawsuit, filed March 11, 2019, here</a></b> </i><br />
<br />
After
years of contentious litigation involving a suit filed by Lake Point
Phase I, LLC and Lake Point Phase II, LLC against the South Florida
Water Management District, the District’s Governing Board held a meeting
with its General Counsel Brian Accardo behind closed doors to discuss
the case. Moments after the closed-door meeting concluded, and without
advance release of the settlement agreement or public discussion
regarding its merits, the District’s Board voted unanimously to settle
the case on terms that were at the time undisclosed. <i>[<a href="http://www.defendmaggy.com/" target="_blank">Additional background on this case can be found here</a>.]</i><br />
<br />
According
to a lawsuit filed Monday, March 11, 2019, the first day of “Government
in the Sunshine Week,“ this sort of ceremonious pageantry to formally
accept an agreement that had already been decided upon entirely behind
closed doors blatantly violates Florida’s open government laws.What
actually transpired in that “shade meeting” is not known because the
District has refused to release the transcript of the closed-door
session with its attorney, in spite of a legal requirement that it do so
as soon as the litigation was concluded.<br />
<br />
In fact, the
District was so anxious to keep the discussions that took place behind
closed doors top secret, it sued an environmental organization,
Everglades Law Center, for having made a public records request for a
copy of the transcript. Initially the District claimed the transcript
could not be made public because there was still on-going litigation
between Lake Point and another party. In later pleadings, the District
claimed that the transcript must remain secret not only until all the
related litigation ends, but forever, because the closed-door meeting
included discussions of what had happened at a prior court ordered
mediation, and such “mediation communications” are confidential.<br />
<br />
The
complaint filed earlier this month on behalf of local activist Pangioti Tsolkas
alleges that the District’s Board “privately decided to settle the Lake
Point litigation, as well as the specific terms upon which the lawsuit
would be settled.” This, according to Tsolkas, is antithetical of
Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Law, which requires public business
to be conducted in the public, not behind closed doors. Tsolkas says
the settlement agreement obligates the District to buy a minimum of
50,000 tons of rubble mined by Lake Point, whether the excavated
materials are needed or not, and allows Lake Point to sell water, a
concept contrary to the basic premise that Florida’s water is a public
resource managed for the public’s benefit.<br />
<br />
According to
Marcy LaHart, the attorney representing Tsolkas, “while avoiding the
uncertainty of litigation is often in the public’s interest, the lengths
to which the District has gone to keep secret its reasoning behind
entering the Lake Point settlement agreement is unprecedented.
Regardless of whether entering the settlement agreement was a good thing
or a bad thing, every penny the District will spend implementing the
agreement and complying with its terms is the public’s money, and the
public has a right to know why their public officials chose to settle
the case when and how they did.”<br />
<br />
<i>Media inquiries contact Marcy LaHart, marcy@floridaanimallawyer.</i><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-84302719431183077642018-10-18T05:44:00.000-07:002018-10-18T05:59:45.454-07:00PBC Green Party Activist Samson Kpadenou Running for FL House of Representatives<b>The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition urges you to get active in the District 87 race</b><br />
<br />
<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dPn-DRzpMRoZCp66Nfe4r0LthnqkgaJ2zcT5K3x2FHNb4IQFPHCLLtA7fK0hJkt1VUA9JUBQ3KCBbLnarOGkcj5lZc0xG4WiluimfqGsp6-JZ_mSRyFT_S5Ffz1mXeynbYGOZE-lr8r-/s1600/Samson2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="683" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dPn-DRzpMRoZCp66Nfe4r0LthnqkgaJ2zcT5K3x2FHNb4IQFPHCLLtA7fK0hJkt1VUA9JUBQ3KCBbLnarOGkcj5lZc0xG4WiluimfqGsp6-JZ_mSRyFT_S5Ffz1mXeynbYGOZE-lr8r-/s320/Samson2018.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>See a map of District 87 below</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Samson LeBeau Kpadenou is running as a Green candidate for the Florida
House, representing District 87. Learn more at <a href="http://samson2018.com/" target="_blank">Samson2018.com</a>. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's rare
that an authentic grassroots community activist steps forward to engage
in an electoral system dominated by corporate interests. This campaign represents one of these rare moments.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Samson
(who many of us know as LeBeau) has been involved with the PBC Environmental Coalition and
other environmental/social justice efforts for several years, attending
meetings, hearings and demonstrations. He is the co-chair of the county and state Green Party, which had been one of the most active organizations in the PBCEC, offering support for local efforts to challenge over-development for the past two decades. On top of that, District 87 includes the northwest portion of Lake Worth, a long-time stronghold of environmental activists in South Florida.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>In his own words:</b></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDDPaa-HNFGv-l2gbk64-MFovFZIdxnjdm6FeLJvxDvUPArf5nvVKWmiK9PyH_L2M4iUThKAqfy_WzZ0UZNZ95cgnEstFcofmkLM-_1q775TC3p-VS5m2uyKbpvhbB-MjP-AzEjW8BVg7/s1600/Samson2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="400" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDDPaa-HNFGv-l2gbk64-MFovFZIdxnjdm6FeLJvxDvUPArf5nvVKWmiK9PyH_L2M4iUThKAqfy_WzZ0UZNZ95cgnEstFcofmkLM-_1q775TC3p-VS5m2uyKbpvhbB-MjP-AzEjW8BVg7/s200/Samson2018.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">As American discontent and deep
political corruption and ineptitude in both of the major parties spilled
onto our front pages and news feeds, I realized that almost across the
board our political system had been corrupted to serve the wealthy few
over the working many. I discovered that we have few honest actors in
our government. I observed that our political class with their ivy
league and business school degrees are no smarter than us, just better
connected. I suddenly knew that if the people did not come together,
hold government accountable and take our government back, things could
only get worse for average Americans.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span>
</div>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">When I became civically engaged I
found it to be my passion. I joined organizations that were fighting to
make the political process answer to the people, or founded them where
necessary. I began attending city and county commission and school board
meetings and speaking out to them about issues that most impact our
communities, like immigrant protections, environmental racism and
gentrification. I took several trips to Tallahassee to argue for union
rights, fracking bans, protections from wage and tip theft, public
school funding and more.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I currently serve as co-chair to the
Green Party of Florida and the Palm Beach County Green Party. I am the
founder of Black Lives Matter Palm Beach County and the treasurer of the
Palm Beach County Democratic Socialists of America. I am also an active
member of the Palm Beach Tenants’ Union and the League of Women Voters.</span></blockquote>
<b><a href="https://cbs12.com/news/kyc/state-representative-district-87/samson-lebeau-kpadenou-green-party" target="_blank">Check out a great interview with him from CBS Ch 12</a></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SamsonFor87/" target="_blank">Follow and share his Facebook campaign page</a></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Here is a map of District 87. Please reach out to any friends and family who can vote and are residents in these neighborhoods. <a href="http://samson2018.com/" target="_blank">Contact his campaign to volunteer.</a></i></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfW5NS4GZCZBjA3sumVYgOJeVsyytxKh_DgKilSi6wyR8wolxsP_M72nq7SkkWQUonr9LepjQyEXXy6B2Z6gixopoLec4qNAK_ykVvs87JaWUKqkIFynXkPPouUnw_srZc1iHRrseMfXh/s1600/FL_HD_087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfW5NS4GZCZBjA3sumVYgOJeVsyytxKh_DgKilSi6wyR8wolxsP_M72nq7SkkWQUonr9LepjQyEXXy6B2Z6gixopoLec4qNAK_ykVvs87JaWUKqkIFynXkPPouUnw_srZc1iHRrseMfXh/s1600/FL_HD_087.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>FL House of Representatives, District 87</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dPn-DRzpMRoZCp66Nfe4r0LthnqkgaJ2zcT5K3x2FHNb4IQFPHCLLtA7fK0hJkt1VUA9JUBQ3KCBbLnarOGkcj5lZc0xG4WiluimfqGsp6-JZ_mSRyFT_S5Ffz1mXeynbYGOZE-lr8r-/s320/Samson2018.png" style="display:none;">
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-54341281174510304142017-02-27T21:19:00.002-08:002017-02-27T21:29:09.943-08:00March 1st: Defeat the Racist Riviera Beach Bleach Plant PlanOn February 9th, residents of Riviera Beach and environmental justice activists across the county <i>were successful</i> in compelling the Planning and Zoning Board to make a recommendation that would <a href="http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2017/02/feb-9th-meeting-on-massive-bleach.html">stop the Odyssey proposal and to encourage the City Counsel to deny any future plans to locate in the City of Riviera Beach.</a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNybQagZ8gw6bi6q_4IYcwKwmK4SHKhZfJ8swjHlZM52HrGQZfyTYqaToXFPB2-9sQJbiaA08VW0m0HbFP-MAPbK-GqN2bqXfPDZ3U3JjqWkbOJ9eaFRYhOJAJYl3xeaAR82pUkJh77aLN/s1600/odyssey+bleach+plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNybQagZ8gw6bi6q_4IYcwKwmK4SHKhZfJ8swjHlZM52HrGQZfyTYqaToXFPB2-9sQJbiaA08VW0m0HbFP-MAPbK-GqN2bqXfPDZ3U3JjqWkbOJ9eaFRYhOJAJYl3xeaAR82pUkJh77aLN/s1600/odyssey+bleach+plant.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Odyssey bleach plant in Tampa, FL</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
T<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_988174833" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">his Wednesday, March 1st</span></span>, 6pm at <a href="http://www.rivierabch.com/content/25795/27108.aspx">Riviera Beach City Hall,</a> the City Counsel meeting will take a final vote on the matter. But residents are concerned that the Counsel will pass this
proposal in spite of the Planning and Zoning Board's conclusion.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The proposed site is zoned General Industrial with a "special
exception" requirement which means that the plan can only be approved if
it can show that it will do no harm to the community.<br />
<br />
The site is
adjacent to a large apartment complex, surrounded by low-income,
African American residential areas, schools, churches, and a large food
company. All of these are within the 1/2 mile evacuation zone
required by the US Emergency Responder guidelines for facilities
handling liquid bleach, which is a code 1791 product. This requires an
evacuation plan and a hazmat plan. <br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Odyssey's proposal for a Riviera facility is to store eight 40,000 gallon tanks
at the Riviera Beach site, and distribute sodium hypochlorite by rail
and by tanker truck throughout Florida. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
It appears that the
initial scheme was intended to move quickly on Odyssey's site plan and
application for a "special exception" without informing or requesting
input from local residents, without doing and environmental
impact study, and with no safety plans in case of catastrophe.<br />
<br />
While this fight is taking place primarily in Riviera, the facility involves transport plans as well, meaning that all people concerned about this health hazard coming through in large tanker trucks should come to speak out against the public health threat of chlorine exposure throughout the county.<br />
<br />
Opposition has come from local and regional groups including, the Riviera
Beach Citizens Resources and Planning Counsel, the Federal Gardens
neighborhood group,the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition and the
Green Party of PBC. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-25735936106160238672017-02-07T07:02:00.002-08:002017-02-07T07:42:30.382-08:00Feb 9th Meeting on Massive Bleach Storage Facility Next to Residents of Riviera Beach<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGk22ny6SwUCB1FPHIsZKB6Ci6qDwfLKK97iNQcc3YpA_K3yC1Ng_k5sicTeDsbhgHXLaQveFS9mASS4CXh0yuASB1zzt3TLqBsQzKkK-X63p6FypUd6r0-wiLJ_wWp18VqBEU3gcU9g_/s1600/Riviera+Beach+bleach+plant+tampa+site.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGk22ny6SwUCB1FPHIsZKB6Ci6qDwfLKK97iNQcc3YpA_K3yC1Ng_k5sicTeDsbhgHXLaQveFS9mASS4CXh0yuASB1zzt3TLqBsQzKkK-X63p6FypUd6r0-wiLJ_wWp18VqBEU3gcU9g_/s320/Riviera+Beach+bleach+plant+tampa+site.JPG" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From the <a href="http://rivierabch.com/filestorage/24577/24756/25061/25107/25113/32144/Planning%26ZoningBoardMeetingPacket.2.9.2017.pdf">Environmental Assessment</a> by ERMI</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Riviera Beach <a href="http://rivierabch.com/filestorage/24577/24756/25061/25107/25113/32144/Planning%26ZoningBoardMeetingPacket.2.9.2017.pdf">Planning and Zoning Board</a> (P&Z) will be voting on approval for a massive bleach storage and distribution center this week, Thursday, Feb 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers in Municipal Complex at 600 West Blue Heron Boulevard, 33404<br />
<br />
News of the proposed facility, which seeks to store and 40,000 gallons of bleach and transport tankers during all hours of the day, only surfaced in December, and has received minimal coverage aside from a single story last month from <a href="http://cbs12.com/news/local/plan-to-put-chemical-factory-next-to-homes-daycare-in-riviera-beach">CBS 12</a>.<br />
<br />
The conditions for approval (which can be viewed in the <a href="http://rivierabch.com/filestorage/24577/24756/25061/25107/25113/32144/Planning%26ZoningBoardMeetingPacket.2.9.2017.pdf">P&Z packet</a>) say the plan must show that it will not harm
the public interest, but the Environmental Assessment report conducted by a consulting firm, Environmental Risk Management, Inc (ERMI), lacks a cumulative impact
assessment which shows all the other industrial facilities surrounding
Riviera, all of which individually swear they are doing no harm, but
collectively pose an environmental justice nightmare where racism is
undeniable. <br />
<br />
The Environmental Assessment also gives minimal information about impacts from a large accident in transportation, both on public health and on the waterways which drain into a sensitive and already overburdened coastal ecosystem. <br />
<br />
The bleach plant would sit adjacent to a residential community, including home day care facilities.<br />
<br />
PBCEC supports residents of Riviera Beach in asking the P&Z Board to conduct a series of public meetings to fully inform the community of this proposal.<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-75991040925241359722016-12-28T22:34:00.000-08:002016-12-28T22:34:20.192-08:00Mass Civil Disobedience to Stop the Sabal Trail Pipeline from crossing the Suwannee River<span class="_4n-j _3cht fsl"><i>The following is a call to action from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1764465233879461/">Sabal Trail Resistance</a> in North Florida: </i></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULrd3jnKSJZcrEdvotS4DaNMJqvVoVP3uo1Pg-CVXD4wd4yd8TOAixyGbtaIGcM-Sf1atmUjyKNrcG9ILMCqgU4Ax3ig_YyzWs88NIisPIJ5ElYbwXIBUaHJ7CEm4oHnEeXI5iFIMKsPC/s1600/ST+blockade+at+Santa+Fe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgULrd3jnKSJZcrEdvotS4DaNMJqvVoVP3uo1Pg-CVXD4wd4yd8TOAixyGbtaIGcM-Sf1atmUjyKNrcG9ILMCqgU4Ax3ig_YyzWs88NIisPIJ5ElYbwXIBUaHJ7CEm4oHnEeXI5iFIMKsPC/s320/ST+blockade+at+Santa+Fe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="_4n-j _3cht fsl">Join us in putting a wrench into the gears
of the pipeline machine. This will be a mass sit-in to stop the Sabal
Trail fracked gas pipeline construction from drilling under the Suwannee
River in Live Oak, FL.<br /> <br /> Schedule:<br /> <br /> Friday, Jan 13th, 4 -
6pm, we will hold a direct action and know your rights training for all
participants (not just people risking arrest), at Water is Life Camp.
For location see: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/WaterIsLifeCamp/" rel="nofollow"><span>www.facebook.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>WaterIsLifeCamp/</a> (Please do not bring dogs.)<br /> <br />
Saturday, Jan 14th, 11am, we will gather at the Suwannee River State
Park parking lot. Please plan to carpool as there is a $5 fee per car to
park here. We will march on the drill site at 1pm sharp.<br /> <br /> Sunday, Jan 15th, 8am till release, solidarity rally a<span class="text_exposed_show">t jail and/or courthouse which may be holding water protectors. [Locations TBA]<br /> <br /> Additional Details:<br /> <br />
</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5yP7FqgWmQnMw9J2f6UcYS53IqUzKYy7LXZsGPB1jVtkGr6SXrpW-zOjvN0WkE08fXi96jQmAAb0DnLYbcckrHRYunzzx_yFwyglFtVwnsdlL7wwU74FdGZqymeW3D_hOZ2s-nmuud_5/s1600/sbal+trail+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5yP7FqgWmQnMw9J2f6UcYS53IqUzKYy7LXZsGPB1jVtkGr6SXrpW-zOjvN0WkE08fXi96jQmAAb0DnLYbcckrHRYunzzx_yFwyglFtVwnsdlL7wwU74FdGZqymeW3D_hOZ2s-nmuud_5/s1600/sbal+trail+map.jpg" /></a></div>
There are several options for camping in the area, including two free
encampments and additional public and private campgrounds in the area.<br /> <br />
Not everyone who attends needs to risk arrest, but we ask all to
consider their role in making this a successful event. It will be a
"power in numbers" moment.<br /> <br /> There will be clear zones for higher risk and lower risk participants.<br /> <br />
We will plan to avoid the risk of felony charges for the mass action,
and anticipate any arrested will be released by the following morning.
If you plan to participate in civil disobedience, please consider having
funds available for bail/bond (or having your network assist in
fundraising.)<br /> <br /> If arrests occur, we believe that a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessity">"necessity defense"</a> exists, which explains that "the degree of harm actually caused
[will be] a reasonably proportionate response to the degree of harm
threatened."<br /> <br />
<span class="_4n-j _3cht fsl"><span class="text_exposed_show">This legal defense strategy explains that laws can and should be broken
when there is a real, imminent risk occurring... For example, peircing
an aquifer that millions rely on for drinking water to transport a
hazardous substance for private profit.<br /> <br /> We encourage all who
participate to request a public defender, retain their right to speedy
trial and demand a trial by jury to present their defense. <br /> <br /> <a href="https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com/contact/stop-the-suwannee-river-crossing/">More details on Sabal Trail Resistance can be found here</a>.<br /> <br /><a href="https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com/supporters-of-str/"> A list of other STR supporters can be found here.</a></span></span><br />
<span class="_4n-j _3cht fsl"><span class="text_exposed_show"></span></span><br />
<span class="_4n-j _3cht fsl"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />
Note: This is one action in a series of many to occur before and after.
This one action is aimed at building broader support and creating a
higher level of pressure on the system to stop this pipeline. If you can
only make it out for one weekend this month, make it this one.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-78191392883004828562016-11-18T07:16:00.000-08:002016-11-18T07:16:46.080-08:00Reflections on Beating Back Biotech in the Northeast Everglades<b>An inside look at how Earth First! has helped keep a
burgeoning biotech economy at bay for more than ten years in the venture
capitalist mecca of Palm Beach County</b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #7a7a7a;"><i>by Panagioti Tsolkas / <a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2016/11/17/reflections-on-beating-back-biotech-in-the-northeast-everglades/">Earth First! Newswire</a></i></span><br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<i>“…I guess it’s sort of an
anti-technology backlash, anti-globalization. I don’t think that’s a
prevalent attitude in this county.” </i>–Bevin Beaudet, Scripps Program Manager for Palm Beach County,<i><a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/biotech/2005-01-04-biotech-protest_x.htm"> USA Today</a>, </i>January 2005</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQ1Njj9lf4KHbKaZm6Qucn1uc63NFOeTdXN3N_tY3clQKW-R17zQL1hiuIxwpMyg0ap_7mpwf_29goMRmx9IdJ1Ua5BfW8V0tGyAyvMxXLwP8lVjW1cInt28FTQmDY4usGpijsUX8dSag/s1600/biotech+clowns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQ1Njj9lf4KHbKaZm6Qucn1uc63NFOeTdXN3N_tY3clQKW-R17zQL1hiuIxwpMyg0ap_7mpwf_29goMRmx9IdJ1Ua5BfW8V0tGyAyvMxXLwP8lVjW1cInt28FTQmDY4usGpijsUX8dSag/s400/biotech+clowns.jpg" /></a>Twelve years ago, when I joined the effort to stop the planned biotech
city in the county where I lived, I didn’t anticipate that we could
outlast—in some cases even <a href="http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/namesake-of-former-vavrus-ranch-in-palm-beach-gard/ngXpY/"><i>outlive</i></a>—our
opponents. But that may be the case for our rag-tag group of grassroots
activists in a decade-plus fight against the industry’s plans in South
Florida.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
In 2004, then-Governor Jeb Bush called biotech an “unstoppable train”
while unveiling his plans to plow through 6,000 acres of swamp, forest
and farm for a <a href="http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/the-great-slurp-6318541">biotech city</a>.
Two years, several lawsuits and a couple dozen headline-making protests
later, his plan lay near-dead in the swamp water of the Northeast
Everglades. Scripps, the primary company associated with the plan, did
finally drag itself up and open the doors on “Phase I” of their
laboratories on a local university campus with a mere 10, 000 square
feet of lab space; a minuscule fraction of their initial plan.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
Within the last several years, Scripps, the state’s <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/the-biotech-bonanza-jeb-bush-hoped-for-didn-planned/NeMvA91XgAatC3Ekoe6xRL/">model for the speculated biotech boom</a>, has shown <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/scripps-merger-fiasco-highlights-us-funding-woes-1.15557">deep internal cracks</a> in its bureaucratic operations and <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2013/10/14/these-challenges-kept-biotech-growth.html?page=all">financial stability</a>.
With the operation in disarray and opposition still on the move, the
next few years could spell the end for what I viewed over ten years ago
as a biocentrist’s wildest nightmare...</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2016/11/17/reflections-on-beating-back-biotech-in-the-northeast-everglades/"><i>CONTINUE READING FULL ARTICLE ON THE EARTH FIRST! NEWSWIRE </i></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-82385667629009500752016-11-01T10:10:00.002-07:002016-11-18T06:56:59.006-08:00JOIN US NOV. 19TH - SAVE THE BRIGER - STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH NO DAPL & AND STOPPING THE SABAL TRAIL PIPELINE <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When a forest is destroyed and replaced with corporate interests it creates the demand for pipelines and all the destruction that comes with it! The Fight for water doesn't stop at Standing Rock, North Dakota - It doesn't stop at the Sabal Trail Pipeline - It stops when we all get together against the corporate interests who are destroying the planet for more </div>
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strip malls, housing developments, and seedy deals made by politicians.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Scripps Biotech, United Technologies, and Kolter aren't just the run of the mill corporate interests. Scripps is a Biotech corporation that has plans for an animal testing facility, United Technologies is in the business of military weapons and was responsible for the cancer cluster in the acreage, and Kolter has proven time and time again they have no interest in preserving what makes Florida unique and great with their destructive methods of development.</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/331110377224596/?active_tab=discussion">Join us Nov. 19th to Save the Briger and Protect our Water!</a></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4oH23xgU_gNfZREMD2-j5xSOH-YtcmEv9_3n5mc8u13uoAy4rELsLM8v1ySTPvX7nji5xVP2REv9GhPQs1tPCJtU3bUBc3tbOB77AOU8CB360Qxdaa78DOaMQE2c1rhNymyh7hjO00cw/s1600/Nov+19+2016+Briger+flyer+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4oH23xgU_gNfZREMD2-j5xSOH-YtcmEv9_3n5mc8u13uoAy4rELsLM8v1ySTPvX7nji5xVP2REv9GhPQs1tPCJtU3bUBc3tbOB77AOU8CB360Qxdaa78DOaMQE2c1rhNymyh7hjO00cw/s400/Nov+19+2016+Briger+flyer+front.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-58977153860605106782016-08-20T12:11:00.001-07:002016-08-20T12:11:36.944-07:00Candidate forum on the Ag Reserve for the County Commission Election<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">The Interfaith Justice League and the Palm Beach County Environmental
Coalition is holding a candidate forum on the Ag Reserve and other environmental
issues for all candidates for the County Commission on <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1989802296" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Thursday August 25</span></span>, at
<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1989802297" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">7:00 p.m.</span></span> at Congregation L'Dor Va-Dor, 3475 Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach,
Florida on the northeast corner of Woolbright and Military Trail next to
Enterprise Leasing.</span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">
<div>
</div>
<div>
The format will be as follows: Each candidate will make an opening
statement and then a follow up statement after all the candidates have spoken to
respond to the others. We will then take questions and comments from the
audience and we will conclude with each candidate making a closing
statement.</div>
<div>
</div>
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-31757873904269435892016-08-19T08:48:00.002-07:002016-08-19T08:48:26.649-07:00PBCEC Supports the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons' Rally Against Toxic Prison Slavery in Coleman, FL on Sept 10 <h2>
Rally to End Toxic Prison Slavery in Solidarity with Upcoming Nationwide Prison Strike</h2>
<br />
<span style="color: #7a7a7a;"><em>Re-posted from <a href="https://fighttoxicprisons.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">FightToxicPrisons.org</a></em></span><br />
<br />
Sept 9th is the 45th anniversary of the Attica Uprising in New York,
where national attention was drawn to the problem of prisons in this
country. This year there will public demonstrations in support of
prisoners who have a called for a coordinated national work strike in
response to extreme abuses they face, including toxic environments,
discrimination and literal slavery based on the 13th Amendment which
wrote prison slave labor into the U.S. Constitution.<br />
<br />
The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP) is calling for action in solidarity with the <a href="https://iwoc.noblogs.org/post/2016/04/01/announcement-of-nationally-coordinated-prisoner-workstoppage-for-sept-9-2016/" target="_blank">IWW Union’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC)</a> and other prisoner-led groups in planning activities around Sept 9th.<br />
<br />
We are spreading the word to our prisoner contacts to invite friends
and family on the outside to participate in these necessary efforts to
address the violations of civil rights and environmental justice that
still occur behind bars.<br />
<br />
The primary FTP event will occur on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/136891890086076/?active_tab=highlights" target="_blank">Sept 10th at 10am in front of the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) of Coleman</a>, located at 846 NE 54th Terrace, Wildwood, Florida 34785.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Coleman FCC and rock mines" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-736" height="280" src="https://fighttoxicprisons.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/coleman-fcc-and-rock-mines.jpg?w=1000" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_736"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><em>FCC Coleman, which warehouses over 7,000 prisoners, surrounded by mining operations.</em></figcaption></figure></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone" data-shortcode="caption" id="attachment_736" style="width: 863px;"></figure>
This location is the largest prison factory in the entire country,
producing material goods for government agencies nationwide. Much of the
very furniture which accommodates the offices of the bureaucrats that
we live under is made by prison slaves at this facility.<br />
<br />
Federal Prison Industries, also known as UNICOR, has over $34 million
in contract obligation coming out of Bureau of Prison (BOP) facilities
in Florida. This is <a href="http://government-contractors.insidegov.com/l/47372/Unicor-Federal-Prison-Industri-in-Coleman-FL" target="_blank">three times higher</a> than any other state in the country.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>In addition, this prison is also home to one of the most famous
political prisoners in the world, Native American activist and warrior,
Leonard Peltier, who has been incarcerated over 40 years for his
participation in the 1973 stand-off at the Pine Ridge Reservation and
the liberation struggle of his people who experienced genocide and
witnessed ecocide at the hands of the government who now holds him
prisoner.<br />
<br />
Also, it’s no coincidence that FCC Coleman is surrounded by a vast
wasteland of rock mining operations, an industrial activity with a
record of creating giant toxic ponds across Florida. <a href="http://bl.ocks.org/anonymous/raw/669869d67aa8d0786a77d5cdd3c02426/#9" target="_blank">Prisons all over the country</a> are coupled with environmentally hazardous land uses that threaten prisoner’s health.<br />
<br />
As another example of this, the federal Bureau of Prisons is now proposing to build <a href="https://fighttoxicprisons.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/proposed-half-a-billion-dollar-federal-prison-plan-in-east-kentucky-not-a-done-deal/" target="_blank">a new maximum-security prison and slave factory</a>
on top of a former strip mine site in the coalfields of Letcher County,
Kentucky. Any federal prisoner could at any time find themselves
transferred to this prison, subjected to the health risks associated
with a site where the air, water and soil are polluted by decades of
coal mining and processing, which is still ongoing in the surrounding
mountains.<br />
Along with putting prisoners on a toxic site, the prison would also
impact local people who live nearby, turning their community into a
prison town. Construction alone will waste $444 million of federal tax
dollars which could be used to address the crushing poverty that so
often forces people into prisons in the first place.<br />
<br />
The proposed site also sits a mile from a rare pocket of eastern
old-growth forest that is home to dozens of Appalachian plant and animal
species listed as threatened or endangered.<br />
<br />
We feel that the existence of this industrialized, slavery-based
system of mass incarceration stands as a primary obstacle to universal
goals of freedom and harmony with the earth. Its continued existence is
among the ultimate symbols of injustice in this country.<br />
<br />
Stop Prison Slavery!<br />
No New Toxic Prisons!<br />
End Mass Incarceration!<br />
Defend the Earth!<br />
Free All Political Prisoners!<br />
<br />
<em>For more information on Sept 9th, Letcher County and other related issues, encourage your contacts on the outside to visit<a href="https://fighttoxicprisons.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"> FightToxicPrisons.org</a></em><br />
<br />
<em>Also, for additional reading on the topic of toxic prison slavery, <a href="https://fighttoxicprisons.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/exposing-toxic-work-conditions-inside-texas-prisons-and-end-prison-slavery-by-malik-washington.pdf" target="_blank">check out these recent writings of Texas prisoner organizer Malik Washington.</a></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-84864170538793140762016-03-15T00:23:00.004-07:002016-03-15T00:23:59.330-07:00Briger developer Kolter embroiled in lawsuit over construction defects in Palm Beach GardensProtestors were seen once again in front of Kolter's downtown West Palm office last week, but it wasn't PBCEC or Everglades Earth First! This time is was residents of the San Matera condo in Palm Beach Gardens fighting over construction defects at a Palm Beach Gardens condominium complex which are at the center of a $40 million lawsuit. We extend our sympathies to people who got ripped off by the crooks at Kolter. <a href="http://therealdeal.com/miami/2015/03/16/five-years-on-kolter-signature-homes-lawsuit-continues/"><b>Read more here.</b></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-76031839866064055632016-02-25T20:25:00.000-08:002016-02-25T20:25:55.487-08:00Reportback from PB Gardens Candidate Forum<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9qLerdLtajW-lv8Fm8HkckDuHsRKn99LIz-nNQiOzWdLu_IfrZg3eP4ENLr0vSjTCuThoYd6G-mU-7Cru4il4-ioX8foBq0OOGP2AedmDlZP44TaW0eX5mR2DSX8gxEQLykXk9nM5uXQ/s1600/scripps+briger+candidate+forum+flyer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9qLerdLtajW-lv8Fm8HkckDuHsRKn99LIz-nNQiOzWdLu_IfrZg3eP4ENLr0vSjTCuThoYd6G-mU-7Cru4il4-ioX8foBq0OOGP2AedmDlZP44TaW0eX5mR2DSX8gxEQLykXk9nM5uXQ/s1600/scripps+briger+candidate+forum+flyer.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from the flyer handed out</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our presence was noticed. Thanks to the folks who came to help hand out flyers and hold a banner out front of the event.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We got over 200 flyers out to Gardens residents at the library and people attending the forum.<br /></div>
<div>
At
least one person noted that he had also received the
mailer we sent in December, and encouraged us to keep him and his
neighbors in Palm Beach Country Estates in the loop as the development creeps further west, closer to their community.</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_extra">
We
had a brief encounter with law enforcement, which resulted in library
staff explaining that we could request permission to table any time we
want out front of the high traffic library (for future reference...
could be a great general outreach spot).</div>
<br />
A local activist from PB Gardens, who has come to several meetings and
protests, went inside the well-attended event and got in a question about
development, with much support from the audience.<br />
<br />
Let's keep the pressure on!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-30384987983641108062016-02-22T05:26:00.003-08:002016-02-22T05:40:05.477-08:00Join PBCEC in Protesting Scripps at Palm Beach Gardens Candidate Forum<div class="clearfix _5xhk">
<div class="_4bl7">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span content="2016-02-25T14:30:00-08:00" itemprop="startDate">Thursday, February 25</span>, 5:30 PM - 8 PM</b></span></div>
</div>
<span class="fsl">at </span><span class="_5xhk" id="u_jsonp_3_y">Gardens Branch, Palm Beach County Library, 11303 Campus Drive Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410</span><br />
<br />
<span class="fsl">Tell Palm Beach Gardens Political Candidates to
address the issues of Scripps' toxic biotech waste, United Technology's
cancer clusters and the destruction of endangered species habitat in the
Briger forest for animal testing labs.<br /> <br /> The candidate's forum begins at 6:30pm. <br /> <i>It is sponsored by local Republican and Democratic Party groups, as well as the PBC Tea Party and other groups, so we anticipate a large crowd attending.</i></span><br />
<span class="fsl"><br /> </span><br />
<span class="fsl"><b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/807092759437045/">Please spread the word via this event page</a></b><br /> </span><br />
<span class="fsl"><br /> More info on the forum here:<br /> <a href="http://pbgwatch.com/2016/01/pbgwatch-to-co-host-council-candidate-forum-225/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://pbgwatch.com/2016/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>01/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>pbgwatch-to-co-host-council<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>-candidate-forum-225/</a><br /> <br /> More on Scripps and Briger<br /> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/savethebrigerforest/?fref=ts" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>savethebrigerforest/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>?fref=ts</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-73585793661971953032015-11-23T21:30:00.001-08:002015-11-24T10:53:14.983-08:00PBCEC's Invitation to Residents Neighboring the Briger Forest for Dec 5th Rally Against Corporate Cancer Clusters<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i>The following letter was sent by a local homeowner with support from PBCEC on 11/24/2015 to thousands of residents in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and unincorporated Palm Beach County who live in communities surrounding the Briger property. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/921093131310314/">[Details on Dec 5th Rally can be found here.]</a></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Greetings
Neighbor,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
am a homeowner in Palm Beach Country Estates. I’m sending this letter to ask
for your help in protecting our community from over-development and hazardous
pollution. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Surely
you’ve noticed that construction has begun in the Briger Tract forest on Donald
Ross Road, across from the FAU campus.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The current development plan
entails clearing almost the entire 683 acres of forest</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> on both sides of I-95, for
homes, corporate offices, animal testing labs and biotech research. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What
you have not likely heard is what these corporations will <i>actually</i> be
doing. </span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What hazardous materials will they be researching with? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What kind of waste will they create?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How will they dispose of it?</span><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How could this effect
property values?</span></i></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As
you also may have seen in the news over the years, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Phase II of The Scripps Research Institute intends to deal with
high-level pathogens and toxic substances</b> such as anthrax, Mad Cow disease,
radioactive materials and genetically engineered organisms. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
the past several months, <i>USA Today</i> has done a series exposing high-level
“biolabs” and the frequency that they experience unreported accidents or
operate without transparency nationwide. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Their
report listed Scripps’ facility on the Jupiter FAU campus as a problem facility</b>
with regard to failures in disclosing information needed to safeguard the
public.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">On top of this is the
addition of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) into the development plan for
Briger. </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">UTC
is at the top of the suspect list for bringing a cancer cluster to the Acreage
with their repeated toxic spills causing water contamination in Western Palm
Beach County. While they have attempted to dodge responsibility for this, they
cannot deny their record of repeated environmental violations.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I
am including links below for more info on Scripps and UTC so that you can
follow up with your own research.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But
hope is not lost<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">… yet.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After
communicating with the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC), I
learned that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the plan for development
was supposed to require a Hazardous Waste Management Plan</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(HWMP).</b> And while they initially broke
ground last year without this plan in place, a series of legal challenges by
PBCEC has forced them to produce one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Unfortunately
the HWMP is inadequate, but it is a starting point to raise concerns. As you
read this letter, PBCEC is heading for another legal challenge about this issue.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While
our County Commission—and the developers who control it—have been saying that
Briger development is a done deal, the truth is that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the fight is far from over</i>. They have cut a deep scar into the
forest, but 500+ acres remains, and they have not yet broken ground on
laboratories or corporate facilities. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Each
step of the process will require additional permits.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
developers expected to begin construction in 2011, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">due to protests and legal challenges, they didn’t get their bulldozers
in until 2015. </b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Scripps plan has been defeated before, when it was proposed out west on Northlake
Boulevard. That was stopped in 2006, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after</i>
construction started. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This development
can be defeated again.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">If
neighbors of the Briger forest can stop these developers from putting our
families’ health at risk and dropping our property values, we will also save
endangered species in this forest and stop the torture of primates, cats, dogs
and other animals in the labs.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>Here’s how you can get involved:</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Join the PBCEC in protest
on Dec 5<sup>th</sup> at 10am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b>We
will meet at the intersection of Donald Ross Road and Parkside Drive. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(There is public parking nearby in the
Abacoa town center.)</i><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Donate to support the
legal battle against development permits on Briger.</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.pbcec.net/"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">www.pbcec.net</span></a><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>(The
‘donate’ link is on the upper right-hand side of the webpage.) or <u>send a
check</u> made to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Palm Beach County
Environmental Coalition</i> at 822 North C Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460.<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you have any questions, you can email <a href="mailto:pbcenvirocoalition@gmail.com">pbcenvirocoalition@gmail.com</a> o<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">r call (707) 902-3262</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you in advance for your support. I look forward to seeing
you at the protest next month.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Sincerely,</div>
<i>[Signed by a homeowner of Palm Beach Country Estates in Palm Beach Gardens]</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Link to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">USA Today </i>BioLab
report showing problems at Scripps existing facilities:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/search/biolabs/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">http://www.usatoday.com/search/biolabs/</span></b></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Link to details about UTC and its subsidiaries being fined millions of
dollars in penalties from environment cases in the US over the past two decades</b>,
along with other violations related to labor, human rights and consumer protection:</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;">www.corpwatch.org/section.php?id=14</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 15.0pt;"></span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-74262622709494875602015-11-04T20:50:00.000-08:002015-11-20T09:59:37.193-08:00Welcome to Palm Beach Gardens:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3>
<span style="color: #666666;"><i><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;">Beware of Cancer Clusters and Killer Cops</span></i></span></h3>
<i style="color: #666666;"><br /></i>
<i style="color: #666666;">by Panagioti Tsolkas</i><br />
<div>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZG5hWWY73O0GJVNKkinsG_N74nE0KF_oy-S1yexUhqaHv1Yn0KkSIC9Sj4TEyiOj732G21MIbFdSqpSJwozKN5d8igt62wsOhUn-QgVsCZE-XTonG-V2marbbHLwlC_zCqSyFos-nQTb/s1600/img_0049_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZG5hWWY73O0GJVNKkinsG_N74nE0KF_oy-S1yexUhqaHv1Yn0KkSIC9Sj4TEyiOj732G21MIbFdSqpSJwozKN5d8igt62wsOhUn-QgVsCZE-XTonG-V2marbbHLwlC_zCqSyFos-nQTb/s320/img_0049_2.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
PBCEC is hosting a demonstration on December 5th 2015 to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/921093131310314/">"Defend Briger Biodiversity from Corporate Cancer Clusters"</a></div>
<br />
The group has been protesting plans to destroy the Briger forest to build a biotech city since 2009. One year ago, in November 2014, developers broke ground and have cleared over 100 acres despite all efforts to protect this unique forest which is home to many threatened and endangered species.<br />
<div>
<br />
Now the site is slated to become the home of a shady biotech research development which will generate <a href="http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-fight-for-briger-forest-continues.html">high-level toxic waste</a> without public transparency, including facilities operated by <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/brain-cancer-rate-girls-town-shot-550-defense-contractor-blame/">United Technologies</a> the most likely suspect in bringing a cancer cluster to the Acreage.</div>
<div>
<br />
<div>
This development could not have happened without the City of Palm Beach Gardens’ approval, and specifically the actions of the Gardens police, who <a href="http://evergladesearthfirst.net/2014/11/13/activists-find-flaws-in-permits-and-plans-for-land-clearing-and-relocation-of-endangered-plants-and-animals/">arrested protesters to literally clear the path for the bulldozers last year.</a><br />
<br />
In October 2015, this same police department was responsible for the senseless and brutal killing of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/29/us/corey-jones-shooting-death/" style="text-align: center;">Corey Jones</a><span style="text-align: center;">, a young black musician from Boynton Beach whose car broke down in Gardens.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgo32CkU6GMuoUyBk4dFJADFGIcIifBJgHjubj5NgPA_gIG_jzjSCHtiSX_pks9bfFSx4Lv4Gm7cUvGbdZiflQNLEJmVxJGdFkv3vvdtd1IkBv87pSbjgqg6qIj90kt6FxwTQGQT09NlP/s1600/grandiflora-cop-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgo32CkU6GMuoUyBk4dFJADFGIcIifBJgHjubj5NgPA_gIG_jzjSCHtiSX_pks9bfFSx4Lv4Gm7cUvGbdZiflQNLEJmVxJGdFkv3vvdtd1IkBv87pSbjgqg6qIj90kt6FxwTQGQT09NlP/s320/grandiflora-cop-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The same system that is paving over rare forest habitat for corporate profits is putting cops on paid vacations for committing racist murders. This is not a local phenomenon—it’s happening all over the country.<br />
<br />
It is critical that environmental activists nationwide to make these connections, to view police brutality as an environmental justice issue and to stand in solidarity with movements against state violence.<br />
<br />
PBCEC has a strong history of challenging issues of environmental racism, <a href="http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2010/02/environmental-racism-and.html">some of which can be found in the links here</a>. In relation to Scripps and biotech plans, PBCEC worked with residents of the Limestone Creek, a historic black community, to <a href="https://palmbeachscripps.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/the-battle-brewing-in-limestone-creek/">defeat plans for a Scripps spin-off biotech waste site in their Jupiter neighborhood.</a><br />
<br />
Please educate yourself on the realities of racist, violent police, and how this impacts the communities who are often also most impacted by environmental injustice and pollution. The success of an environmental movement to fundamentally change the society we live in must recognize these connections to grow stronger.<br />
<br />
<i>For more info on the connections between police accountability and the earth defense come to this event:</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>The Ecology of a Police State</b><br />
December 5th 8pm in Lake Worth<br />
Stonzek Theater <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/471133696422334/">(Click here for details)</a><br />
Participate in an evening of short films and discussion about the intersections of environmentalism, mass incarceration and the criminal justice system.<br />
<br />
$5 - $10 donation at the door (no one turned away)</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-78217372997891079902015-11-04T19:43:00.002-08:002015-11-04T19:43:48.858-08:00TOMORROW MORNING: Support Everglades Earth First! activists on trial blockading road used for construction in Briger Forest.<br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">Message from Everglades Earth First!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">Come out and </span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">support three Everglades Earth First! activists who are facing trial</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;"> this week for blockading a road used for construction in Palm Beach Garden's Briger Forest.</span></div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqxzGV8o9oYTYApQGaznMDYfWcgrAXpyYCEe7EFJeyDfllCdK9xQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for briger protest" border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqxzGV8o9oYTYApQGaznMDYfWcgrAXpyYCEe7EFJeyDfllCdK9xQ" /></a><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">There will be a press rally at 7:30 am before court begins. </span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">To learn more about the lockdown and the campaign to Scrap Scripps/Save the Briger Forest, click the links below.</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">Everglades Earth First! Media:</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><a href="http://evergladesearthfirst.net/2014/11/13/activists-find-flaws-in-permits-and-plans-for-land-clearing-and-relocation-of-endangered-plants-and-animals/" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>evergladesearthfirst.net/<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>2014/11/13/<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>activists-find-flaws-in-per<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>mits-and-plans-for-land-cl<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>earing-and-relocation-of-e<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>ndangered-plants-and-anima<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>ls/</a><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;">News Channel 5:</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px;" /><a href="http://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/palm-beach-gardens/environmental-protest-closes-friday-classes-at-the-meyer-academy-in-palm-beach-gardens#Activists%20protest%20development%20in%20PBG%2C%20prompting%20school%20closure" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.76px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.wptv.com/news/<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>region-n-palm-beach-county/<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>palm-beach-gardens/<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>environmental-protest-close<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>s-friday-classes-at-the-me<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>yer-academy-in-palm-beach-<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>gardens#Activists%20protes<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>t%20development%20in%20PBG<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>%2C%20prompting%20school%2<wbr></wbr><span class="" style="display: inline-block;"></span>0closure</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-12071462646176761082015-08-15T01:16:00.001-07:002015-08-18T00:01:31.828-07:00Call to Resist the 450th Celebration of Genocide and Ecocide in St. Augustine, FL on Sept 8th 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aGHa9o-ZwGf1J5Qthj0ilogbKCQmZS2BtgcUBeRZ5QxUtlTgFElsMeTC-ockpPRUspIMHr9QWskrTmjsso4mngR9tvbFieypsGBs8rTdCYb0orJhFW2eQllTZ6hCCbNiKkgRR8OgMCxv/s1600/turn+back+pedro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aGHa9o-ZwGf1J5Qthj0ilogbKCQmZS2BtgcUBeRZ5QxUtlTgFElsMeTC-ockpPRUspIMHr9QWskrTmjsso4mngR9tvbFieypsGBs8rTdCYb0orJhFW2eQllTZ6hCCbNiKkgRR8OgMCxv/s400/turn+back+pedro.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Visit <a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/">Resist450.org</a> for details and launch location</i></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Palm Beach County Environmental
Coalition has joined the </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Resist 450 Coalition</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">,
consisting of statewide and national organizations. </span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The following statement comes from Resist 450:</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We are planning to
demonstrate our opposition to the City of St Augustine’s commemoration, which
is honoring and re-enacting the landing of Pedro Menendez on <b>September 8<sup>th</sup></b>.
This re-enactment of Spanish conquistadors landing on present-day
Florida is
comparable to celebrating Adolf Hitler’s return for Jewish people. This
ill-conceived landing will be at <b>the Mission Nombre
de Dios, 27 Ocean Ave,
St Augustine, FL 32084 at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1552753333" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">9:00am</span></span>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We are welcoming everyone to join us at sunrise that morning as </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">a
group of conscious canoeists and kayaktivists</span> paddle
out to meet the re-enactment as we show our support for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and to uphold our
responsibility to bring awareness that Mother Earth is the source of life not a
resource for exploitation. Others will gather at the shore with signs and
banners during the re-enactment.</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/pedro-menendez-de-aviles/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Pedro Menendez</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">
impersonator represents the European colonial mentality of domination and
privilege. This misguided and illegal belief is empowered by the Catholic
Church’s papal bulls, which directed Christians to <i>“capture, vanquish, and
subdue the saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ,”</i> to <i>“put them into
perpetual slavery,” </i>and<i> “to take all their possessions and property.”</i> As <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/30/pope-francis-schedule-for-us-visit-released/29509825/" target="_blank">Pope Francis</a></span> is traveling the world <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10845" target="_blank">apologizing to Indigenous Peoples for the Church’s actions</a></span>, the City of St Augustine is still celebrating these acts of
terror and theft. We, the Resist 450 Coalition, intend to show that we do not share
the same values as those that are attempting to glorify the colonial mentality.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The <span style="font-size: 13pt;">City of St Augustine essentially became <span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2015/07/25/prisons-ecology-and-the-birth-of-an-empire/" target="_blank">a prison town for Indigenous Peoples</a> </span>who were held at the </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/castillo-de-san-marcos/" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue,'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,'Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 13pt;">Castillo de San Marcos</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">. The origin of the City of </span>St Augustine became the foundation for the abrogation
of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the blueprint for ecocide throughout the world.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This moment in history marks the beginning of what has become the United States Empire, built on genocide, ecocide, theft,
slavery, war and exploitation of the Earth for profit. The "Doctrine of
Discovery" is the root of the system that has brought the entire planet to the
point of </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/02/world/ipcc-climate-change-report/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">irreversible climate change</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">, <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/" target="_blank">unprecedented period of mass extinction</a></span><span style="color: #1652ca;"> </span>and the moral
deterioration of society.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This and other activities will take
place as part of a </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/register/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">week long camp from <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1552753334"><span class="aQJ">Sept 5 - 9</span></span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">,
where Indigenous Peoples, activists and individuals wanting to be on the right
side of history are invited to come together to promote peaceful solutions to
assure the survival of the future generations of all life by addressing
environmental, cultural and social justice issues. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">If you cannot attend the event in St.
Augustine, the Resist 450 Coalition asks that you participate in planning
solidarity demonstration in your own community. The </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://www.immihelp.com/visas/schengenvisa/spanish-consulates-usa.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">list of cities with Spanish Consulates</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">
offers an appropriate opportunity to deliver the message to <i>"Renounce
the 450th celebration of Spain's genocidal war criminals and the doctrines that
promote the destruction of Nature for profit." </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The Resist 450 Coalition also invites
donations to assist in the planning of the camp and demonstrations. </span><span style="color: orange;"><a href="https://resist450.wordpress.com/supportdonate/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Donations can be made by clicking here.</span></a></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="411" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/75KyBGREC20" width="676"></iframe></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-48587710606380736752015-07-29T10:54:00.001-07:002015-07-29T10:54:08.831-07:00PBC Environmental Coalition Supports the Prison Ecology Project... You should too!Earlier this month a Lake Worth-based organization, the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC), submitted a
public comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that
provides input on the agency’s <a href="http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ej2020/">EJ 2020 Action Agenda Framework</a>,
highlighting the lack of consideration for environmental justice among
the millions of prisoners in the United States. The comment was
co-signed by the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, along with 92 other social justice, environmental and prisoners’ rights
organizations from across the country.<br />
<br />
HRDC has also announced the beginning of its Prison Ecology Project, an effort to organize at the intersection of mass incarceration and environmental pollution, and has <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/prison-ecology-project/x/11485634#/story" target="_blank">launched a fundraising campaign</a> to build off the recent EJ 2020 comment and fight against a new federal prison on endangered species habitat in southern Appalachia.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="413" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cUZm6-5S-UI" width="620"></iframe><br />
<i>Please share this video with your local activists and social media networks</i><br />
<br />
“It’s encouraging to see the EPA attempting to increase the
effectiveness of protecting vulnerable communities that have been
overburdened by industrial pollution, but a significant component is
missing when impacts on millions of prisoners and their families are
ignored,” said Panagioti Tsolkas, coordinator of HRDC’s <a href="http://nationinside.org/campaign/prison-ecology/">Prison Ecology Project.</a><br />
<br />
HRDC’s comment elaborates on examples nationwide which illustrate a
clear need to protect prisoners as a population that faces extreme
environmental justice impacts. For example, prisons and jails built on
or near landfills, toxic waste dumps, Superfund cleanup sites and coal
mining sites, or that are vulnerable to natural disasters such as
flooding and environmental hazards like contaminated water. <a href="https://www.humanrightsdefensecenter.org/media/publications/EJ%202020%20HRDC%20Prison%20Ecology%20comment%20to%20EPA%20with%2091%20sign%20ons%20FINAL_1.pdf">The comment filed with the EPA can be found online here</a>.<br />
<br />
According to the comment submitted by HRDC, there is overwhelming
evidence that the population of people in prison represents one of the
most vulnerable and uniquely-overburdened demographics in our nation.
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The comment notes that prison populations are <a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/income.html">almost entirely low-income</a> and that black, Hispanic/Latino and Native Americans are <a href="http://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/rates.html">consistently overrepresented in every one of the 50 states.</a><br />
<br />
Environmental permits which fail to meet the environmental justice
standards set in place 20 years ago may violate the Civil Rights Act.
Title VI of the Act explicitly prohibits discrimination by government
agencies that receive federal funds; if an agency is found in violation
of Title VI, that agency may lose its federal funding. The prison sector
should not be an exception.<br />
“Those unfamiliar with the conditions in America’s prisons may balk
at our allegations but the EPA cannot claim to be among the uninformed,”
Tsolkas stated.<br />
<br />
On February 5, 2015, Tsolkas conducted an interview with an EPA
representative from Region III who explicitly stated that environmental
justice guidelines have not been applied to prisoners for the purpose of
permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act because the EPA
uses data that fails to take prisoner populations into account.<br />
<br />
EPA Region III, which encompasses the Mid-Atlantic, conducted an
initiative in which numerous prison inspections by the agency resulted
in enforcement actions between 1999 and 2011, ranging from issues
surrounding the disposal of hazardous waste to violations of air and
water standards, primarily due to prison overcrowding. The Department of
Justice’s Office of the Inspector General has also cited various
violations of health, safety and environmental laws, regulations and
Bureau of Prisons policies specifically related to industrial operations
within federal prisons.<br />
<br />
Yet the EPA has never cited the health and safety of prisoners
exposed to such environmental conditions as a factor in prison
inspections or in the permitting of new facilities.<br />
<br />
“Ironically, prisoners are frequently counted for the purpose of <a href="http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/pathfinder.html">gerrymandering voting districts</a>,”
observed HRDC executive director Paul Wright. “So why are we missing
the mark in terms of environmental protections for those forced to live
inside toxic prisons, such as facilities built on coal mining sites or
waste dumps?”<br />
<br />
_____________________________<br />
<br />
<strong>About HRDC:</strong><br />
The <a href="https://www.humanrightsdefensecenter.org/">Human Rights Defense Center</a>,
founded in 1990, is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting
human rights in U.S. detention facilities. HRDC publishes Prison Legal
News (PLN), a monthly magazine that includes reports, reviews and
analysis of court rulings and news related to prisoners’ rights and
criminal justice issues. PLN has around 9,000 subscribers nationwide and
operates a website (<a href="http://www.prisonlegalnews.org/">www.prisonlegalnews.org</a>)
that includes a comprehensive database of prison and jail-related
articles, news reports, court rulings, verdicts, settlements and related
documents.<br />
<br />
<strong>About the Prison Ecology Project:</strong><br />
Over the past six months HRDC’s <a href="http://nationinside.org/campaign/prison-ecology/">Prison Ecology Project</a>
has been conducting extensive research, public records requests,
interviews and reviews of Environmental Impact Statements and
Environmental Assessments to understand how environmental justice
criteria has been applied to prisoner populations, and how criminal
justice and environmental issues intersect.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-65260479389506746872015-07-22T08:16:00.003-07:002015-07-23T17:08:09.418-07:00The Fight for Briger Forest Continues, Opponents Site Biolab Hazardous Waste as the Next Battleground<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Heavily-Redacted
Documents from Scripps Biotech Give Local Residents Cause for Alarm in New Construction Plan</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvK9XerrMEujt0k6vjlwdxps_qvmM40x7BjSqwHiOFaN6QS958zOLQyi5HdykvcC-wIhUCouPhxFIOF4MbwohRtpwZrbsDJF5Vk5d5vG8rmd9pRw5hc-uNffhmX_4bLb4myD0l3lG0ZuH5/s1600/CDC-microbiologist-in-BSL3-enhanced-CDC-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvK9XerrMEujt0k6vjlwdxps_qvmM40x7BjSqwHiOFaN6QS958zOLQyi5HdykvcC-wIhUCouPhxFIOF4MbwohRtpwZrbsDJF5Vk5d5vG8rmd9pRw5hc-uNffhmX_4bLb4myD0l3lG0ZuH5/s320/CDC-microbiologist-in-BSL3-enhanced-CDC-photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Palm Beach Gardens,
FL –</b> Yesterday, the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) filed
an amended challenge to the South Florida Water Management District’s (SFWMD)
first proposed construction permit intended specifically for the biotech
facility on the Briger forest. </div>
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While a portion of the Briger has been under construction
since November of last year, the development was limited to roads and clearing
for the Alton residential area. This <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6TlWTWa1h34dkFYSHA3MU85VHJUbklRUURBcFBwa1BrNVkw/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">permit modification challenged by PBCEC</a> is explicitly aimed at constructing in an
8-acre area for a road called Pasteur Boulevard which would be the access way
for Scripps Phase II, a biotech laboratory facility handling high-level
hazardous materials. </div>
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A recent <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/biolabs/" target="_blank">series of reports by <i>USA Today</i></a> exposed heavily redacted
documents regarding the materials used by Scripps Biotech’s existing Florida
facility. PBCEC activists say they found this very troubling.</div>
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“They don’t want us to know what they’ll be handling,
disposing, and transporting in our community. It’s a big red flag for those of
us who live in the area, and anyone who uses the Intracoastal for recreation,” said
Sandra Quirk, a resident of Palm Beach Gardens who joined PBCEC in asking for
an Administrative Hearing on the issue. Over 200 other residents across the
county also signed the initial PBCEC petition to SFWMD on the Pasteur Blvd
permit.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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According to PBCEC’s Amended Petition for the Administrative
Hearing Regarding Permits for Scripps Phase II Unit 2C—Pasteur Blvd: </div>
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<i>The Permit Modification No.
50-00610-S-24 for Unit 2C – Pasteur Boulevard is the first permit to be
directly tied with Scripps Phase II for the biotechnology parcel of the
development on the Briger Forest. Thus, our concerns regarding the lack of a
Hazardous Waste Management Plan are relevant to this permit and must be
addressed before the construction proceeds. Upon receiving confirmation of an
Administrative Hearing, we will present evidence that biotechnology facilities,
especially those rated biosafety level 3 and 4 (as is the Scripps Jupiter
facility), regularly pose threats to public safety, and as such a rigorous
Hazardous Waste Management Plan is necessary before construction of any aspect
of Unit 2C (“Scripps Phase II”) begins.</i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Along with submitting samples of <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6TlWTWa1h34SFdBTWxiUHByX0g0bldlT3MybmtpUUpPelVN/view" target="_blank">Scripps’ redacted documents from the <i>USA Today</i> biolab report</a>, the group has also presented maps indicating that the
drainage off the property <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6TlWTWa1h34b29CMjhRa0JxaUxBTDdQaVF0aWNub1pSV1Nz/view" target="_blank">flows
into the Intracoastal Waterway</a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6TlWTWa1h34b29CMjhRa0JxaUxBTDdQaVF0aWNub1pSV1Nz/view" target="_blank">. </a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-87097931793301294712015-05-13T10:17:00.002-07:002015-05-20T11:13:08.975-07:00Bird Walk and Next PBCEC Meeting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ILqIaYals66YsjvZoLIbHGd_XwbJh9cjQfBRWMPipfFNOTTYHdE6EWpPI3ROKx-hg0SHVeSObxjLXbxZK90poAeuADyQdskanheUqpWsUlMedI7TShrRHnlwP8FGMuEiU79PQs2rdy2A/s1600/Birdwalk_final-page-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ILqIaYals66YsjvZoLIbHGd_XwbJh9cjQfBRWMPipfFNOTTYHdE6EWpPI3ROKx-hg0SHVeSObxjLXbxZK90poAeuADyQdskanheUqpWsUlMedI7TShrRHnlwP8FGMuEiU79PQs2rdy2A/s400/Birdwalk_final-page-001.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i><i>Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition invites you to our...</i><br />
<h3>
Bird & Nature Walk at Frenchman’s Forest Natural Area</h3>
All Welcome - Especially Children and Families<br />
Saturday June 6th at 8 a.m.<br />
<br />
Make sure to bring:<br />
• water<br />
• walking shoes<br />
• a hat<br />
• binoculars if you have them!<br />
We will bring natural bug spray and snacks <br />
<br />
Meet at Frenchman’s Forest 12201 Prosperity Farms Road, Palm Beach Gardens<br />
Questions? Call 561-503-5743<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0TNN2TH7ILNHkuJQ93RVyh4uJbp8W_0T0ywUGaKT44tuQugaFTxoTiafk3WyqCgJvyy66U_rXy0du0s2OYhC2Fw8lIHlU4Pf_UntWNpTR3wm2g072fySSbFPHz2Tzm35ANKRjN7n0u4I/s1600/Birdwalk_final-page-002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0TNN2TH7ILNHkuJQ93RVyh4uJbp8W_0T0ywUGaKT44tuQugaFTxoTiafk3WyqCgJvyy66U_rXy0du0s2OYhC2Fw8lIHlU4Pf_UntWNpTR3wm2g072fySSbFPHz2Tzm35ANKRjN7n0u4I/s400/Birdwalk_final-page-002.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<h3>
Join the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) in the fight to save the Briger Forest</h3>
<h3>
<br /><i>The next PBCEC meeting is June 3rd, 2015</i></h3>
Its not too late to save the remaining 500 acres of the Briger Forest’s endangered species habitat from destruction.<br />
<br />
When: 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month<br />
Where: the Gardens Branch Library,<br />
11303 Campus Drive PBG, FL. <br />
<br />
Text “BRIGER” TO 84576 to get notice of important upcoming meetings and public hearings at City Hall and the South Florida Water Management District.<br />
<br />
<b>You Can Take Action Today!</b><br />
<br />
Call the Mayor and tell him to preserve the Briger Tract (located off Donald Ross and 95) as an educational resource for our children.<br />
<br />
Mayor Eric Jablin (561) 799-4102 ejablin@pbgfl.comUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-48023100311106729592015-04-28T10:32:00.000-07:002015-04-28T10:32:08.390-07:00Protest Against Private Prisons Tomorrow: GEO Group’s Gulags Grasping for Green Approval<br />
<span style="color: grey;"><em>Come out to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1580739082180951/?ref=22&feed_story_type=22" target="_blank">GEO Group Shareholders meeting protest in Boca Raton</a> and bring an environmental message about the private prison industry's greenwashing. See below for some ideas.</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: grey;"><em><a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire" target="_blank">From the EF! Newswire</a></em></span><br />
<span style="color: grey;"><em> </em></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/04/Greenwashing-the-Gulags-meme-UPDATE.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Greenwashing the Gulags meme UPDATE" class=" wp-image-42597 alignright" height="240" src="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/04/Greenwashing-the-Gulags-meme-UPDATE-1024x769.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
All the LEED certifications in the world can’t cover up the constant flow of atrocities associated with <a href="http://www.sent-trib.com/news/for-profit-prisons-pose-moral-dilemma/article_80c03918-df84-11e4-9b2d-d315ec041df8.html">prisons-for-profit</a>, but that’s not going to stop them from trying.<br />
<br />
Last month GEO Group garnered attention from the Human Rights Defense
Center (HRDC) #GreenwashingTheGulags campaign for announcing that they
had taken advantage of a <a href="http://geogroup.com/GEO_Facility_Gets_New_Look_While_Saving_Water">publically-funded grant program to promote water conservation</a> by installing a native landscape plan at the Desert View Modified Community Correctional which they run in <a href="http://www.hesperiastar.com/article/20150223/NEWS/150229936/10054/NEWS">drought-stricken Adelanto, California</a>.
Of course, the labor for the project was completed by prisoners, and
now, where there was once just some dirt, there are well-arranged rocks.
The landscape even includes rocks that were painted blue to spell out
“GEO.”<br />
<br />
<span id="more-42596"></span><br />
Despite the new rocks, GEO still draws over 140,000 gallons every day
to operate that 700-person facility alone. Never mind the nearby
1,300-bed Adelanto Detention Facility they also operate to house
immigrant prisoners.<br />
<br />
You can do the water math yourself, it’s not too complicated. The
average prisoner requires about 200 gallons of water per day (well, a
recent <a href="https://www.humanrightsdefensecenter.org/action/news/2015/hrdc-files-comment-opposing-federal-prison-siting-former-coal-mine-kentucky/">Environmental Impact Statement</a> for a proposed federal prison actually put it at 214 gallons, but I’m trying to keep the calculations simple here.)<br />
That’s <i>more than double</i> the average that someone uses outside of a prison, according to the scientists of the <a href="http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html">U.S. Geological Survey</a> who says that a person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day in their home.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Oh, about that Adelanto Detention Facility, <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140430005928/en/GEO-Group-Announces-640-Bed-Expansion-Adelanto-Detention#.VS9hMpNp96Z">GEO expects to complete 640-bed expansion</a>
and begin intake by July 2015. That’s a total capacity of 1,940
immigrant prisoners awaiting deportation, being forced to use an extra
194,000 gallons per day more than they would if they were at home with
their families. (If they are <a href="http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/immigrant-dies-in-geo-group-facility-after-three-weeks-of-ignored-symptoms-says-attorney-6930614">lucky enough <i>to make it out alive</i></a>.)<br />
<br />
You’ll be shocked to learn that GEO Group, the second largest private
prison provider in the world, didn’t list these statistics among their
website’s <a href="http://www.geogroup.com/green_initiatives">“Green Initiatives”</a> and <a href="http://www.geogroup.com/sustainability_tips">“Sustainability Tips.”</a> (And they definitely didn’t put this issue on the agenda for their <a href="https://dropgeo.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/protest-the-prison-profiteers-at-geo-groups-2015-shareholders-meeting/">shareholders meeting later this month</a>.)<br />
According to the “Going Green” portion of their site, “[f]or several
years, The GEO Group has been tracking and analyzing its facilities’
utility efficiencies on a monthly basis.” But you’ll probably never be
able to find out the results of that, because for the past 10 years GEO
has also been fighting to be <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/12/will-private-prisons-ever-be-subject-open-records-laws">exempt from public records laws</a> that require other government agencies to disclose what they are doing.<br />
<br />
But the most repulsive portion of GEO’s greenwashing is in their incessant bragging about <a href="http://www.geogroup.com/leed_certifications">LEED certifications.</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/04/CCA-meme-TN-womens-facility1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="CCA meme TN womens facility" class="alignright wp-image-42623 " height="180" src="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/04/CCA-meme-TN-womens-facility1-300x169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
LEED
(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certifications are
allegedly based on “environmental factors including but not limited to
the sustainability of the site, the efficient use of water, energy,
material and other resources, the quality of indoor air and <i>overall environment</i>,
and the use of innovative and environmentally friendly technologies and
strategies.” [Emphasis added by author. That’s right, it says <i>quality of the</i> <i>overall environment</i>.]<br />
<br />
Never mind that private prisons are consistently under-staffed (New Mexico found for-profit facilities <a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2012/feb/15/new-mexico-continues-to-let-understaffed-private-prisons-slide-on-most-contract-violations/"><i>understaffed by 10% or more</i></a>) by consistently under-paid employees (<a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2005/sep/15/texas-prison-expert-pays-the-price-for-telling-the-truth/">a report from Texas</a> showed “private prison guards were paid <i>28% to 37% less</i>
than state prison guards”); or that these facilities don’t have to tell
you what actually goes on behind their walls; or that they are <a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2011/mar/15/legacy-of-corruption-geo-buys-off-the-florida-political-establishment/">bastions of corruption</a>. Just take their word for it when GEO says they deserve these LEED certifications.<br />
<br />
In October 2011, Blackwater River Correctional Facility (BRCI),
located in Milton, Florida, became GEO’s first LEED Certified project to
receive a Gold Certification… But it didn’t come easy. The story of
BRCI reads like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Hiaasen">Carl Hiaasen</a> plot.<br />
<br />
In March 2011, <a href="https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2011/mar/15/legacy-of-corruption-geo-buys-off-the-florida-political-establishment/"><i>Prison Legal News</i></a>
released an extensive reported on the scandal that led to the
construction of BRCI, which was opened at a time when there was excess
bed space in Florida’s prison system and it was not needed… Wait, that
doesn’t sound very environmental.<br />
<br />
The deal sparked a federal investigation into the potentially illicit
conduct in connection with the legislative process involving BRCI,
centering around former Florida House of Representatives Speaker Ray
Sansom, who resigned in February 2010 amid a state criminal and ethics
investigation.<br />
The main thrust of that state investigation involved allegations that
Sansom had falsified the 2007-08 state budget to insert $6 million in
appropriations for the construction of an aircraft hanger for Jay Odom, a
prominent contributor to the Florida Republican Party.<br />
<br />
GEO Group, incidentally also a major contributor to Florida
Republicans, gave $85,000 to the Republican Party of Florida from 2006
through 2009, plus tens of thousands of dollars in donations to state
Republican Party PACs and individual Republican candidates.<br />
<br />
<strong>But certainly not all of GEO’s LEED certified prisons could be scandal-ridden, right?!</strong><br />
<br />
Well, let’s take a peak at a few example:<br />
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
There’s the ever-expanding drought-ridden immigrant death trap, <a href="http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/immigrant-dies-in-geo-group-facility-after-three-weeks-of-ignored-symptoms-says-attorney-6930614">Adelanto Detention Facility</a>, which we discussed earlier, designed to LEED Silver Standard.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
Then there’s the <a href="http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-05/news/fl-private-immigration-jail-20130105_1_illegal-immigrants-deutch-human-rights-abuses">Broward Transitional Center</a>,
next to an animal shelter and across the street from a massive
landfill, made famous by hunger strikes and young immigrant activists
who infiltrated the facility to reported substandard medical care among
detainees. None of the numerous <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/dogged-by-complaints-prison-operator-geo-group-kee/nRHZ8/">news reports</a> about that facility seemed to notice the Silver LEED certification. But if GEO says it, must be so.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
The Aurora Detention Facility in Colorado is supposedly certified to LEED Silver Standard as well, but the <a href="http://www.afsc.org/event/immigrant-detention-center-vigil-aurora-co">American Friends Service Committee</a>
who were protesting the facility’s extended contract and expansion
wherein $23 million more taxpayer dollars would go to GEO each year,
they didn’t seem to care about the LEED certification either. I mean,
you can’t even legally <a href="http://www.ext.colostate.edu/sam/rainwaterbills.pdf"><i>collect rainwater</i></a> in Colorado. How green could the prison really be?!</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
Then there’s New Castle Correctional
Facility, where you might not even be able to read this article thanks
to GEO, who has also apparently taken to <a href="http://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/publisher-sues-private-operator-of-new-castle-correctional-facility">banning publications such as Prison Legal News</a>
(PLN) critical of private prisons in some of its LEED certified
facilities. According to PLN editor Paul Wright says, “We’ve been
critics of the private prison industry since our inception… at this
point you’ve got a private for-profit corporation using the power and
authority granted by the government to crush the free speech of the
independent media.”</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
I also found no mention of GEO’s LEED certification of at Karnes Detention Center, although I did find <a href="http://www.texasprisonbidness.org/immigration-detention/sexual-abuse-extortion-and-harassment-women-alleged-ice-family-detention-camp-">reports of sexual abuse, extortion and harassment of female detainees</a>.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
Apparently the <i>quality of the</i> <i>overall environment </i>doesn’t include civil liberties<i>.</i> Come to think of it, the immigrant mothers detained at Karnes Detention Center near San Antonio who <a href="http://www.texasprisonbidness.org/immigration-detention/immigrant-mothers-hunger-strike-karnes-family-detention-center-say-they-face-i">told reporters</a> that they faced retaliation after <a href="http://www.texasprisonbidness.org/immigration-detention/immigrant-mothers-begin-holy-week-hunger-strike-karnes-city-family-detention-l" target="_blank">declaring a hunger strike</a> last week to protest the conditions in which their children are being held didn’t mention the LEED certifications either.<br />
<br />
GEO even indicated that this specific facility was going to be more humane than other immigrant detention facilities. <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/A-new-kind-of-detention-center-for-immigrants-3404501.phphttp:/www.mysanantonio.com/search/?action=search&channel=news%2Flocal%2Ftexas&inlineLink=1&searchindex=gsa&query=%22Sarwat+Husain%22">Sarwat Husain</a>,
president of the San Antonio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, wasn’t convinced: “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a
duck and smells like a duck, it’s a duck,” she said. “It’s just a
glorified prison.” She made no mention of gratitude for the LEED
features that undocumented friends or family members may one day wind up
forced to witness.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/03/14/148538183/ice-opens-immigrant-detention-center-in-rural-texas">Lisa Graybill</a>,
legal director of the ACLU in Texas, “It really begs the question of
why they spent so much money constructing a facility like this when we
know that there are alternatives, and less expensive ones?”<br />
<br />
And I would add to that, more environmentally-friendly ones.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KSCcX5JjjkQ?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span class="embed-youtube" style="display: block; text-align: center;"></span><br />
<em><b>A Note about LEED</b></em><br />
<br />
<em>The LEED certification process of the U.S. Green Building Council has been <a href="http://www.communitysolution.org/pdfs/NS18.pdf">coming under heat</a> for several years in what some environmental groups have called <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/the-four-sins-of-leedwashing-leed-green-buildings-that-perhaps-arent-really-green.html">LEEDwashing,</a>
a play on the term greenwashing, indicating the short-sighted and
narrow tendencies of developers painting themselves as
environmentally-friendly to gain public relations points and negotiate
permit approvals for controversial projects.</em><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-60586511360940246572015-04-05T12:51:00.000-07:002015-04-05T12:51:32.457-07:00Sat April 4th 8:00AM: BIRD WALK IN FRENCHMAN'S FOREST<br />
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Sat April 4th 8:00AM:</strong> <strong>BIRD WALK IN FRENCHMAN'S FOREST</strong></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
<b><a class="button located" data-mce-href="https://evergladesearthfirstdotnet.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=454&action=edit#" href="https://evergladesearthfirstdotnet.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=454&action=edit#" id="geolocation-add-toolbar-button" title="12201 Prosperity Farms Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, USA">12201 Prosperity Farms Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, USA</a></b></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVuU9Ar57pznd2EMlwxIHDPJXBDdGw793bIGMw-C59Vp7SKqYXmYTvc4eJ8LjcaQ-jiG3yE_-TBOz7olPtM1ul2ord3aGp-lyhl9IILifFSeOWhnCTMNs9GL-3uK2Pun8x6MHqVQ7-e-4/s1600/Bird+watch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfVuU9Ar57pznd2EMlwxIHDPJXBDdGw793bIGMw-C59Vp7SKqYXmYTvc4eJ8LjcaQ-jiG3yE_-TBOz7olPtM1ul2ord3aGp-lyhl9IILifFSeOWhnCTMNs9GL-3uK2Pun8x6MHqVQ7-e-4/s1600/Bird+watch.png" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
<b>
</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
8:00AM Saturday, April 11<sup>th</sup>
12201 Prosperity Farms Rd., Palm Beach Gardens 33410
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On the morning of April 11<sup>th</sup>,
Everglades Earth First! Will be leading a bird walk to highlight the
biodiversity or Souther Florida and the destruction of the Briger
Forest, which shares much of its ecology with Frenchman's Park.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bring walking shoes, a hat, and
binoculars, if you have them! There are 114 documented species of
birds in the park. Questions: comtact Ruddy at <span class="skype_c2c_print_container">(707) 902-3262</span><span class="skype_c2c_container" dir="ltr" onmouseout="SkypeClick2Call.MenuInjectionHandler.hideMenu(event)" onmouseover="SkypeClick2Call.MenuInjectionHandler.showMenu(this, event)" skype_menu_props="{"numberToCall":"+17079023262","isFreecall":false,"isMobile":false,"isRtl":false}" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_c2c_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr" skypeaction="skype_dropdown"><span class="skype_c2c_textarea_span"><img class="skype_c2c_logo_img" src="resource://skype_ff_extension-at-jetpack/skype_ff_extension/data/call_skype_logo.png" /><span class="skype_c2c_text_span">(707) 902-3262</span><span class="skype_c2c_free_text_span"></span></span></span></span> or
<a href="mailto:evergladesearthfirst@riseup.net">evergladesearthfirst@riseup.net</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You can visit our website at
scrapscripps.info for more info on the campaign.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Suggested donation $5-10. Wheelchair
accessible</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4939259816505772141.post-71076380227375769662014-12-09T21:59:00.000-08:002014-12-09T21:59:04.726-08:00Protest Calls Attention to Clearing of the Briger Forest, Despite Police Interference<em>by <a href="http://palmbeachscripps.wordpress.com/2014/12/10/protest-calls-attention-to-clearing-of-the-briger-forest-despite-police-interference/"><span style="color: #274e13;">Everglades Earth First!</span></a></em><br />
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<a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10801517_10152816896280928_3136914036456463746_n1.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="10801517_10152816896280928_3136914036456463746_n" class="alignright wp-image-1378" height="320" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/10801517_10152816896280928_3136914036456463746_n1.jpg?w=319&h=500" width="204" /></a>On Friday, December 5, over 50 activists gathered for a rally outside of the Briger Forest in Florida’s Palm Beach Gardens. The group was protesting the Scripps Phase II project, which is currently clearing the 681-acre forest for the construction of a biotech city, complete with animal testing labs and shopping malls.<br />
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The Briger Forest is a unique mosaic of scrub, flatwoods and wetlands. Florida has more endangered and threatened species than any other continental state, and the habitat found in the Briger Forest is increasingly rare, as so much of Florida’s southeastern corridor has been paved over for development. There are at least 13 species of plants and animals listed for protection likely present in Briger.<br />
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Altering the rush hour traffic and neighboring communities to the destruction happening right behind the treeline, Friday’s crowd sang chants, flew flags, swung banners, and displayed signs in solidarity with the wildlife inside. The two-hour protest was completely peaceful, with the exception of one element: the police. Despite the fact that this was a legal gathering of families, students, activists and children engaging in free speech activities, Palm Beach Gardens police—many undercover—surrounded the protest, blocked traffic, followed vehicles, covertly filmed protesters, prohibited participants from accessing public roads, and used loudspeakers to shout their opinions and drown out the chants of the crowd.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-clearing.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Protesters are told they cannot protest on the public roads in front of a recently-cleared section of the Briger. Only days ago, the area directly behind this fence was dense with trees, shrubs, and animal life." class="size-full wp-image-1407" height="275" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-clearing.jpg?w=676" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<em>Protesters are told they cannot protest on the public roads in front of a recently-cleared section of the Briger. Only days ago, the area directly behind this fence was dense with trees, shrubs, and animal life.</em></div>
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<a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-cop-1.jpg" sl-processed="1"><img alt="grandiflora cop 1" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1408" height="219" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-cop-1.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-cop-2.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Police prevent the public from getting footage of the leveled section of forest visible from the road." class="size-full wp-image-1409" height="218" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/grandiflora-cop-2.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<em>Police prevent the public from getting footage of the leveled section of forest visible from the road.</em></div>
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This was not surprising to Everglades Earth First!ers, due to past experience, and in light of a Palm Beach Post article released the day of the protest. In the article, titled <a href="http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/palm-beach-gardens-chief-briger-protest-could-enda/njLrN/" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #274e13;">“Palm Beach Gardens Chief: Briger protest could endanger people,”</span></a> the police chief claimed that he was concerned about Everglades Earth First! causing harm to businesses and individuals, based on the fact that we posted a link to a book called <em>Ecodefense</em> on our website. <br />
<a name='more'></a>The police chief is referring to the fact that an article written by the Fire Ant <a href="http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2014/06/anarchists_claim_attack_on_scripps_development_we_spiked_the_trees_in_the_briger_forest.php" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #274e13;">about a claim of sabotage in the Briger Forest</span></a> was shared on <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">evergladesearthfirst.net</span> last June, and that the tactic referred to in the article was also mentioned in the book<em> Ecodefense</em>. When EEF! reposted the article, we included a preface stating “this tactic is not one that Everglades Earth First! would engage in.” If we are to follow the Police Chief’s logic, we would come to the conclusion that he himself is a radical environmental activist, since he has browsed our website, clicked on links, and shared content he found with a local newspaper.<br />
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The purposes of the Police Chief’s accusations seem to be two-fold. First, they’re an attempt to discredit Everglades Earth First!—a reaction to the fact that our demonstrations and messaging are steadily gaining large amounts of public support. Second—and much more importantly—these accusations are intended to draw attention away from the actual crimes being committed in the Briger: the illegal, unpermitted clearing of rare forest.<br />
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On November 13, <a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2014/11/13/clearing-of-rare-south-florida-forest-begins-for-development-of-biotech-city/" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #274e13;">we published an article outlining the current clearing of the Briger Forest</span></a>, which is taking place without proper permits and despite a lack of adequate assessments of environmental risks the project poses. Flaws and failures in the permitting process include: (1) endangered species habitat cleared for an access road which does not exist on the original permit from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD); (2) missing basic details about land clearing in the City of Palm Beach Gardens operations permit, such as how many acres were cleared for this unplanned access road; (3) violations of permit conditions requiring adherence to a habitat management plan which requires relocation of 100% of listed species on site.<br />
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Not to mention, the permit’s validity is currently under challenge in the 4th District Court of Appeals, where a pro-se petitioner is fighting for the Due Process right of an administrative hearing which was denied to her by the SFWMD. In the meantime, habitat is being destroyed by road building and wetland drainage occurring as you read this, while the police and other government entities do everything they can to hide that fact from the public.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/sfwmd-picture.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="South Florida Water Management District's photo of the perimeter of the Briger from Grandiflora Ave, November 20, 2014. This photo shows a section of the Briger approximately 300 feet from the beginning of the clearing." class="size-full wp-image-1410" height="240" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/sfwmd-picture.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>South Florida Water Management District’s photo of the perimeter of the Briger from Grandiflora Ave, November 20, 2014. This photo shows a section of the Briger approximately 300 feet from the beginning of the clearing</em>.</td></tr>
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Since the last article was published, members of the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) have filed complaints about the illegal clearing to the SFWMD. The SFWMD responded by pretending that the clearing wasn’t actually taking place, which they tried to prove by taking a photo of the forest from the area where the clearing was permitted to begin days later—despite the fact that the essence of the complaint was that the clearing was occurring <em>where</em> and <em>when</em> it wasn’t supposed to.</div>
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<a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/brigerclearing2.jpg" sl-processed="1"><img alt="Photo of the clearing of the Briger, taken on November 9, 2014" class="size-full wp-image-1403" height="213" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/brigerclearing2.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a><br />
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<em>Photo of the clearing of the Briger, taken on November 9, 2014</em></div>
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The fact that they continue to argue that no clearing had occurred before the permitted time is preposterous—almost surreal. We had photo and video evidence of excavators destroying the Briger from the inside, which was completely disregarded. And <a href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2014/11/07/update-three-arrested-at-everglades-ef-briger-forest-blockade-jail-support-needed/" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #274e13;">our November 7 blockade successfully prevented heavy machinery from entering the forest</span></a>. We very much doubt the earth-destroyers were headed in there to do some early morning birdwatching…<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/image_00018.jpg" sl-processed="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="An activist stands in a cleared section of the Briger Forest, December 4, 2014" class="size-full wp-image-1404" height="239" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/image_00018.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<em>An activist stands in a cleared section of the Briger Forest, December 4, 2014</em></div>
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<a href="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/img_1243.jpg" sl-processed="1"><img alt="Workers clearing the forest: December 9, 2014" class="size-full wp-image-1405" height="213" src="https://palmbeachscripps.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/img_1243.jpg?w=676" width="320" /></a><br />
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<em>Workers clearing the forest: December 9, 2014</em></div>
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By our estimates, they have almost completed removing the 58 acres of trees, shrubs and burrows sectioned off for the first round of clearing. We are deeply saddened by the destruction of this unique forest, but we are determined to stop Scripps and Palm Beach Gardens from following through on their plans to level the entire 681 acres. While it is a tragedy to lose this habitat, if we can keep this land unpaved, the surrounding forest will be able to reclaim it in time and possibly return it to suitable habitat for the protected species who dwell nearby. We will continue to fight through the legal system, and to imagine halts of construction; but to make those efforts count, it is vital that we garner support from those in the community. Last week’s protest brought us more outside support, and was perhaps the largest Briger Forest protest since the campaign began. But we can’t stop there.<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/563861287079754/" sl-processed="1" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #274e13;">This Friday, December 12, join us at the Briger Forest!</span></a><br />
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