From Spidey and me!

True story, Thanksgiving day 2016, my wife called me and said "there is something big in the backyard!"

And yes there was, sans mask.

Interesting, if long read on the psyche of Ron DeSanctimonious

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Our own Gov. Ron DeSantis romped over his colorless Democratic opponent Charlie Crist, and left our state — which had once been a perky purple — a bright, suppurating, blood red. Liberals in our state have begun pulling down their window blinds when they watch MSNBC. Volvo dealerships are going to take a hit. With DeSantis taking Miami-Dade County, with his iron grip on the Legislature, it’s game over for us in Florida for the foreseeable future.

And yet. It may not seem to those of my persuasion as if the crazies have taken over. True, we still have, may always have, the unctuous Marco Rubio, the venal Rick Scott, the frat rat Matt Gaetz — 2020 election deniers all. But speaking for myself, the rout by DeSantis doesn’t quite feel like it’s part of some vast, vicious red tide.

Why is that? As your occasional Designated Senior at this paper, I’ve kept a grandfatherly eye on the antics in this state. As a kind of side hustle, I began covering DeSantis from the start, before he made a national name for himself. I did so with rising concern, sometimes with horror, once in a while with grim appreciation. It’s what he does, and he’s learned to do it with skill at an early age.

I’d like to offer one man’s view of what might await us Floridians in the next couple of years, now that we have a twice-elected governor, flushed with success, headed for higher places. Though I’m not a political reporter, just a humble country essayist, let me put it through the lens of a subject I have some interest in, education.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/11/17/why-gov-desantis-won-landslide-i-think-hurricane-handshake-helped-column/

TAMPA — Could a solution to traffic lights going dark in big storms come from the Florida sun? The city of Tampa is looking to find out.

In a pilot program, the city has installed 84 solar panels on the surface of a downtown sidewalk near the intersection of Jefferson and Cass streets to soak up the abundant sunlight and power the traffic signal there.

These solar panels are on the sidewalk stretching along Cass Street in downtown Tampa.
These solar panels are on the sidewalk stretching along Cass Street in downtown Tampa. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ]
Next to that solar-paneled stretch of sidewalk is a tall white cabinet that contains the necessary equipment and is printed with an explanation for curious passersby.

“This intersection is powered by solar energy and will continue to operate even if the electricity goes out,” it reads. “The signal stays on.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2022/11/18/hurricanes-knock-out-traffic-lights-could-tampa-solar-sidewalk-change-that/

TAMPA — Elsie Perez suffers from acute renal failure and receives dialysis three times a week. Every month she frets over how she will make ends meet.

“Everything has gone up and it is very difficult to live in these conditions,” said Perez, 54, a Mexican-born mother of two adult children.

Perez is a Democrat but now she regrets it. She pointed to the unique challenges she faces with inflation and the economy.

“That’s why I voted differently,” she said.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/2022/11/18/florida-republicans-won-latino-vote/

Turnout Was a Big Problem for Democrats in Major Florida Counties
Only about half of the Democrats showed up for Tuesday's election while around two-thirds of Republicans voted.

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In Miami-Dade County, there are 135,229 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but more Republicans showed up: 61% of registered Republicans voted and only 46% of Democrat registered voters.

There are 106,299 more registered Democrats than Republicans in Palm Beach County. 55% of registered Democrats showed up and 66% of Republicans showed up.

The same thing happened in Central and North Florida in several major urban areas. There are 53,156 more registered Democrats than Republicans in Hillsborough County but only 39% of Democrats showed up and 44% of Republicans showed up to vote.

In North Florida’s Duval County, there are 31,173 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but 65% of Republican voters voted compared to 49% of Democrats.

https://www.nbcmiami.com/decision-2022/turnout-was-a-big-problem-for-democrats-in-major-florida-counties/2906393/

as Space Force plane X-37B returns


Half asleep I heard "something" but not enough to get up to see what it was. I miss the Shuttle coming home, when we would all wait with with anticipation for the boom.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2022/11/13/sonic-boom-rips-across-florida-space-force-plane-x-37b-returns/



It was just after 5 a.m. when her house rumbled awake. Her hens squawked. Her cats scattered. Her dogs hid under the covers. And Nancy Planeta sat straight up in bed, wondering: What was that sound?

People across Florida were awoken early Saturday morning to the sound of the X-37B returning to Earth after a record-breaking 908 days in orbit.

Reports of a sonic boom were widespread, from Titusville to Tampa, as the U.S. Space Force autonomous vehicle touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County at 5:22 a.m.

Planeta, who is 52 and lives in northern Pasco County, scoured Facebook and local news sites for answers in an early morning haze. Garbage dumpster collection? Gunshots? Exercises at MacDill? Her father worked with the Air Force, she said, so once she had recovered from the initial shock, she was quick to recognize the boom as sonic. Her animals took longer to gather themselves.

Migrant workers already leaving Florida’s Hurricane Ian cleanup. They came to work after the disaster. But many are struggling to make ends meet.

CAPE CORAL — Joel Lopez was prepared to spend another year sleeping in his car. His family was back in southeast Mexico. The work was here, in the waterside homes thick with the smell of mold begging to be torn off walls and backyards where uprooted lanai screens wilted into swimming pools.

Lopez, who does not have permanent legal status, had driven to Fort Myers from Houston. It was the latest stop on a career of chasing natural disasters across the United States.

In his experience, he could make far more money cleaning the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ian than he could in a regular construction job in Arkansas, where he’d first landed in the country 10 years ago. The payoff would be worth another 12 months of back pain.

https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2022/11/11/migrant-workers-leave-florida-ian-cleanup/

The Majestic Princess cruise ship arrived at Circular Quay, having sailed from New Zealand.

About 4,600 passengers and crew were aboard the ship when it docked - meaning around one in five had Covid.

The outbreak is reminiscent of the Ruby Princess cruise ship Covid outbreak of early 2020, where at least 900 people tested positive and 28 died.

Marguerite Fitzgerald, the president of cruise operator Carnival Australia, said a large number of cases started to be detected about halfway through the 12-day voyage.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-63605824