Tuesday, October 28, 2014

“Former Reagan chief of staff Donald T. Regan said an astrologer had set the time for summit meetings, presidential debates, Reagan’s 1985 cancer surgery, State of the Union addresses and much more. Without an O.K. from the astrologer, he said, Air Force One did not take off.” ~From the NYT obituary of White House astrologer Joan Quigley

Hannah was nominated by Dr. Connie Mariano, the Medical Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists to represent FL based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine. During the three-day Congress, Hannah will join students from across the country and hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners talk about leading medical research;be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what is to expect in medical school; witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies; and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” said Richard Rossi, Executive Director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. “Focused, bright and determined students like Hannah Lowe are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her.” The Academy offers free services and programs to students who want to be physicians or go into medical science. Some of the services and programs the Academy plans to launch in 2014 and 2015 are online social networks through which future doctors and medical scientists can communicate; opportunities for students to be guided and mentored by physicians and medical students; and communications for parents and students on college acceptance and finances, skills acquisition, internships, career guidance and much more.

The National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists was founded on the belief that we must identify prospective medical talent at the earliest possible age and help these students acquire the necessary experience and skills to take them to the doorstep of this vital career. Based in Washington, D.C., the Academy was chartered as a nonpartisan, taxpaying institution to help address this crisis by working to identify, encourage and mentor students who wish to devote their lives to the service of humanity as physicians, medical scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.

The Big Coppitt property and building plan was always for operations’ personnel in the lower Keys. It was not anticipated that the Finance Department would be there. I did a review of the original plans and the plans that were modified to meet the demands of the Finance Department employees who did not want to commute to the headquarters location on Marathon. I attended the Board meeting at which this issue was discussed and pointed out that the Board had the opportunity to design an organizational structure and footprint that was efficient and cost effective, using the surplus space at the Marathon location. Instead, they opted to spend about $500,000 more to expand the building beyond its reasonable site capacity, while leaving the Marathon headquarters only partially utilized. The scheme is so absurd that in order to meet the County Code for minimal parking, employees will need to park three deep.
Any organizational design consultant will tell you that the ideal management structure has the CEO flanked by the Operating and Finance department heads with their respective staffs nearby. This permits efficient and cost effective interaction on operational and finance decisions.

Think about it, operating locations in the lower, middle and upper Keys with the management team, support departments and aerial assets in Marathon. It makes perfect sense unless you let the tail wag the dog.
While I have sympathy for the employees who are affected by the move, this happens all the time in both the government and private sectors. We have Sheriff Department and County employees who make long commutes every day. Car and van pooling are options, as is the option of finding new employment without the travel burden. Expecting the taxpayers to pay any incremental amount, given Mosquito Control’s already inefficient cost structure, is simply wrong. ~Walter Drabinski

Asian carp

The pearly white flesh—complicated by a series of bones—is said to taste like cod or described as tasting like a cross between scallops and crabmeat. They are low in mercury because they do not eat other fish. To make the fish more appealing to American consumers, the fish have been renamed silverfin or Kentucky tuna. Volunteer efforts to increase the popularity further include making and selling carp-based dishes and using the entrails to make fertilizer.

Some have thought to collect the carp eggs for caviar, since one bighead carp was found with over 2 million eggs. Two million eggs from one fish could fill two jars of caviar, which would be quite valuable. This is only true, however, in the case of a fish from which people would eat eggs. As of now, there is no market for carp eggs in America, though there is a movement that is trying to increase the popularity of carp eggs in Europe.

The United States (and virtually all other countries) require a myriad of tests and often quarantine prior to bringing in a foreign animal.

I can’t legally cross state lines in the United States with a horse or cow without a health certificate signed by a USDA accredited veterinarian stating that the animal has been inspected and found free of infectious disease.  In most cases blood tests are also required.  In fact I can’t legally cross the Snake River and ride my horse in Idaho without a health certificate and a negative blood test for Equine Infectious Anemia.

I’m not complaining; the United States of America , the States of Idaho and Washington as well as the other 48 states take the health of our livestock very seriously, and we have a very good record at keeping foreign animal diseases out of our country.  I am happy to do my part to maintain biosecurity in our animal population.

If I am a resident of Liberia incubating Ebola, to enter the United States all I need to do is present a valid visa, and lie when asked if I have been exposed to Ebola.  Within hours (no quarantine required) I can be walking the streets of any city in the United States I feel very fortunate to live in a country that values our animals so highly

Then he announced his plan for millions of illegal aliens’ amnesty.

Also don’t forget one of the leading Conservatives running for office told us: “They come here for love”. ~Jeb Bush

What has changed to cause Republicans to so drastically oppose any immigration reform? I know. It’s their stated goal to reject anything President Obama proposes in order to make his presidency look bad. The country suffers because of Republicans’ hate.

Schwartz had been a long term employee of FKMCD. It would not be proper for me to comment on his work ethic. But we can consider a couple of interesting events in Mr. Schwartz’s employment history. Perhaps we can draw some conclusions as to Mr. Schwartz’s motivation for his posting.

Mr. Schwartz applied for appointment to the FKMCD board at the same time that Mr. Goodman applied. You might find it interesting, or even amusing, to know that as a part of the application process, Mr. Swartz was interviewed by the editorial board of a local newspaper. During that interview he bragged that he knew where waste and inefficiencies existed in FKMCD, and that he was best qualified to remedy that waste and inefficiency. The editorial board rejected Mr. Schwartz.

After an extensive vetting process, Mr. Goodman won that appointment.

Subsequently Mr. Schwartz was asked to share his information concerning waste and inefficiency with FKMCD management. Mr. Schwartz stated that he “didn’t want to talk about it.” But when FKMCD management began effecting economies, Mr. Schwartz was a vocal opponent of the economies. At one point he warned that the employees were being overworked and that further economies would lead to employees falsifying their reports and they would engage in a work “slowdown”.

At another point, while still in the employ of the FKMCD, Schwartz applied for a position on the employee’s retirement board. He was rejected. Not long thereafter, he retired.

It certainly appears that Mr. Schwartz was a disgruntled employee, and blames Mr. Goodman for his perceived injustices. It is puzzling that Mr. Schartz, in his posting, would complain bitterly that the FKMCD is doing a better job today than it did in the past, with less expense to you and me, the taxpayers of Monroe County.

It’s worth noting that when Mr. Goodman was appointed to the Board, he became a hands on commissioner. In order to learn the realities of the problems facing FKMCD and its staff, he accompanied many of the various staffers during the course of their duties.

Mr. Goodman was a prime mover in the economies that the FKMCD now enjoys. Contrary to Mr. Schwartz’s suggestion, FKMCD is doing a sterling job. Working with various suppliers and vendors they have and are developing new products to keep the Keys healthy, comfortable, and it’s mosquito population under control.

It’s worth noting that there has not been a single reported case of Dengue fever or Chikungunya for the last 3 years. That’s just about the time that FKMCD set about becoming a more efficient and more effective public health utility.

That’s also just about the time that Phil Goodman was appointed to the FKMCD Board. Monroe County needs Phil Goodman on the Board, please vote for him.