San Diego News Edition
of Continental Newstime newsmagazine
VOLUME XVI NUMBER 1 DECEMBER 1, 2024
_______________________________________________________________________________________
This is not the whole newspaper, but a special complimentary, on-line edition of the general-interest newsmagazine, Continental Newstime. The rest of the newspaper includes national and world news, newsmaker profiles, commentary/analysis, periodic interviews, travel and entertainment features, a science column, humor, sports, cartoons, comic strips, and puzzles, and averages 26 pages per month. Continental Features/Continental News Service publishes, on a monthly rotational basis, special, complimentary on-line newspapers: Washington DC News Edition, Chicago News Edition, Honolulu News Edition, Atlanta News Edition, Anchorage News Edition, Boston News Edition, Seattle News Edition, Miami News Edition, San Diego News Edition, Rochester (N.Y.) News Edition, Minneapolis News Edition, and Houston News Edition.
- San Diego News Edition of Continental Newstime
- Editor-in-Chief: Gary P. Salamone
- Continental Features/Continental News Service
- 501 W. Broadway, Suite A, PMB# 265
- San Diego, CA 92101
- (858) 492-8696
- E-mail: info@continentalnewsservice.com
* Congressional News Briefs … San Diego Congressman Scott Peters, numbering among the seven Founding Co-Chairs of the recently-formed, pro-housing YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) Caucus in the House of Representatives, says the group is committed to policies that promote new housing development to address a U.S. housing-supply shortage variously estimated at 4 million to 7 million units, to create affordable housing and relieve the homelessness crisis. Peters concedes, “San Diego is consistently one of the most expensive places to live in the country, and far too many people in our community cannot afford a home or are pushed into homelessness.” Originally a founding member of the San Diego Democratic YIMBY Club, he continues, “This caucus will be essential for fostering pro-housing growth policies that lower costs, help people achieve the dream of home ownership, and create vibrant, walkable, and transit-connected communities.” Even when he served on the San Diego City Council, he supported incentives for construction of low- and middle-income housing in transit-served, walkable locations and he convinced federal officials that processing of federal construction permits could be expedited relying on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) categorical exclusions. The Congressman also cites comments of the CEO of California YIMBY, Brian Hanlon asserting, “The exclusionary land-use regulations that caused California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis are not unique to California—and the housing crisis has spread to every jurisdiction that copied California’s approach.” He adds that the aim is also “to give renters a break on their housing costs. We must remove barriers to housing abundance.” Moreover, with companion legislation introduced into the U.S. Senate, Representative Peters and Virginia Representative Don Beyer have introduced the Childhood Diabetes Reduction Bill in response to a childhood-obesity rate that has more than tripled since the 1970’s, due, Peters declares, to a food system that “is increasingly dominated by overly-processed, habit-forming foods that lack nutritional value. This is not an accident. These ‘ultra-processed’ foods are engineered to create a dependency and to be less nutritious. Americans deserve clear information about what they are feeding their families and not to have junk food aggressively advertised to their children.” What does he say the bill will accomplish? It “will create a clear front-of-package labeling requirement for junk food and prevent these unhealthy foods from being marketed specifically to kids.” The role of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would be to require clear nutrient and health-warning labels for junk foods and to prohibit junk-food advertisements directed at children. The National Institutes of Health would be responsible for pursuing further research on the health effects of ultra-processed foods, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would acquire the mission of establishing a national public-information campaign to raise awareness among children and families of nutrient-warning labels and how physical activity and good-eating habits figure in healthy lifestyles. Senator Alex Padilla and Senator Laphonza Butler, who introduced a bill to name the U.S. Post Office at 180 Steuart Street in San Francisco after former San Francisco Mayor, and late U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein, have announced that, after the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the bill, the measure has been sent to the House of Representatives for action. The Dianne Feinstein Post Office would be located on the Rincon Center’s ground level, off the Embarcadero, with a view of the Bay Bridge. Senator Padilla emphasizes that, as Mayor, Feinstein helped oversee development of the Rincon Center, which included the Rincon Annex, once the City’s largest postal-sorting and -distribution center and now a Designated Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, Senator Padilla has cited the work of UC-San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, specifically its Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, in connection with introduction of the Improving Atmospheric River Forecasts Bill, with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Indeed, Founding Director Marty Ralph is quoted, saying, “The introduction of this act is critically important to advance forecasts of atmospheric rivers to enable more flexible and resilient water management, improved warning around flooding, safer transportation, and overall improvements to public safety. It will also enable reservoir operators to safely implement Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) to save additional water after a storm for the dry summer, or release it if an AR storm is predicted in the next few days.” With atmospheric rivers responsible for an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of annual precipitation in the western U.S. and the cause of most of the flooding in 11 states, the bill would equip and task the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with the job of evaluating innovative observation tools and emerging technologies to improve atmospheric-river analysis, modeling, forecasts, and warnings. While Senator Murkowski has responded to resulting landslides in Wrangell, Ketchikan, Haines and Sitka and pushed the legislation to ensure Alaska has an atmospheric-river observatory like 48 other states, Senator Padilla expresses concern that these “rivers in the sky” carrying water vapor equal to multiple Mississippi Rivers struck more than 50 times from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 and that by 2090 atmospheric rivers are projected to cost $2.3 billion to $3.2 billion and widen almost 25 percent.
-1-
* State Government News Briefs … Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that, toward hiring 1,000 additional California Highway Patrol officers, the state received more than 11,700 cadet applications just in the first six months of 2024 and graduated another 121 cadets, the largest class in two years; also, the Governor reports that California’s fentanyl task force, with the support of the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, seized 1,541 pounds of illicit fentanyl, a total of 1.7 million-plus pills, having a street value of $11.9 million, across the state and at its ports of entry, in October, fully 204 percent more fentanyl than in the previous month. In addition, during travel to Washington, D.C., the Governor says that he met with President Joseph Biden and senior Administration officials to discuss high-priority matters for California, including approval of pending disaster-relief requests—$5.2 billion to reimburse state and local costs related to the COVID-19 public-health emergency—programs to increase health-care access, and plans to enhance air quality. The meeting with the President followed a meeting with Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti. Also meeting on Capitol Hill with members of the state’s Congressional delegation, including Senator Alex Padilla and Senator-elect Adam Schiff, Newsom says he urged these Members of Congress “to advance efforts that improve the health, quality of life, and well-being of all Californians.” Promising to work with President-elect Donald Trump “wherever there is common ground,” the California Governor sought delivery of disaster-relief aid during the next two months, as well as “environmental protections, and programs that will expand access to health care and reduce homelessness.” He informed that the upcoming Special Session of the state legislature on December 2 and other “preparations” are designed “to proactively address potential federal challenges and legal actions,” and, the Governor says, to protect California values; namely, “fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, immigrant families.” Furthermore, in meeting Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, he raised the issues of water quality, fish habitat, and the status of the San Luis Dam and Reservoir Project, calculated to increase water supply for two million people. Meanwhile, his meeting with Health and Human Services Department officials was designed to obtain approval of waivers to “improve Californians’ ability to access quality health care and reduce homelessness in the state.” One waiver, a tax waiver, would furnish $20 billion over the course of several years to increase Medi-Cal provider reimbursement and, by extension, improve access to high-quality health care. The other waiver is geared to complementing and supporting Proposition 1 efforts to deal with behavioral-health and homeless issues. With regard to the clean-air waivers sought from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association figures that the eight air-quality and climate-regulation rules would prevent 11,000 premature deaths and generate $116 billion in health benefits during the next three decades, while reducing emissions substantially. Besides, the Governor suggests that San Bernardino certainly qualifies as one of California’s crime “hot spots,” like Oakland, San Francisco, and Bakersfield, so the California Highway Patrol is also reinforcing the local Police Department there. What makes San Bernardino a crime “hot spot”? A violent crime rate almost twice the state-wide average, a homicide rate more than three times the state-wide average, and a vehicle-theft rate that continues to be one of the highest in California. Consequently, the CHP “surge” into the city, after only two weeks, has resulted in 64 arrests, recovery of 11 stolen vehicles, the seizure of five illegal guns, and a greater sense of security in the community. Overall, the CHP surges into local communities have produced 3,400-plus arrests, recovery of more than 3,000 stolen vehicles, seizure of more than 190 illegal firearms, and fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Plus, some $267 million in aid to 55 local law-enforcement agencies has translated into more than 10,000 arrests for organized retail theft in only nine-months’ time.
* County Government News Briefs … The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is next set to meet at 9 AM on December 10, in Room 310 of the County Administration Center. County Supervisors are scheduled to meet on land use the following day at 9 AM, also in Room 310. When County Supervisors last met on October 23, they addressed land-use issues, as well. On October 22, they approved a report from Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez that showed that 76 percent of expenditures from the Incarcerated Persons’ Welfare Fund went for educational services (academic classes, psycho-social classes, vocational trades, and wellness) and 11.2 percent of expenditures of $5,686,010 went for free indigent goods, including welfare kits, public transportation, and incentive items—all geared to facilitate their successful transition back to their local communities and decrease the rate of return to custody. Also, the Board of Supervisors authorized acceptance of California Department of Social Services funding for Afghan Refugee Supportive Services and Housing Assistance for Ukrainians, having previously approved expansion of Vocational English as a Second Language contracts. Likewise, the Board voted to continue the proclamation of a local emergency stemming from U.S.-Mexico trans-boundary pollution and to continue working with the Local Environmental Justice communities impacted; namely, Imperial Beach, San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, and the Tijuana River Valley. In other action, County Supervisors authorized the Department of General Services to conduct a site search for relocation of the heavily-used Santee Branch Library from its current location on Carlton Hills Boulevard, which occupies about 9,300 square feet, to leased space of about 15,000 square feet, to accommodate patron demand. Among other County business, the Board of Supervisors approved, in principle, a lease of space for the San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center, which serves as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Investigative Support Center for the County and Imperial County, as well as the Regional Threat Assessment Center for both counties mentioned, funding for the lease to be furnished by U.S. Homeland Security grant money. And noting that 67 agencies across California have spent $18 million doing business with a gun vendor that had committed more than 40 federal violations, the County followed the lead of the San Diego City Council to direct Chief Administrative Officer Ebony N. Shelton to develop a firearm-procurement ordinance holding vendors to a standard of responsible firearm sales.
* City Government News Briefs … The next meeting of the San Diego City Council is scheduled for 10 AM on December 9, planned meetings of November 25 through December 3 having been adjourned until that date. When the City Council met on November 18 in Closed Session, it conferred with Legal Counsel on the matter of the case, City of San Diego v. Sea World, LLC, et al., which arises from the failure of the defendant to pay the City past rent and other sums due under a written lease. Mayor Todd Gloria, in announcing the Fourth Annual “Mayor for a Day,” recounts that, when he was 10, he was runner-up in a similar “Mayor for a Day” competition, and now San Diego Unified School District K-12 students who submitted entries of essays or videos by November 29 have an opportunity to share what their priorities would be as Mayor. Gloria observes, “Our young people bring fresh perspectives and bold ideas, and this contest is a chance to see San Diego through their eyes. This experience also gives students a glimpse at public service and an opportunity to consider how they would shape their city to take care of the needs of residents.” In fact, the winner will “shadow Mayor Gloria for a day, experience the inner workings of City Hall, and join the Mayor at the 2025 State of the City address in January.”
* School District News Briefs … The San Diego Unified School District reports that, when the Board of Education last met on November 12, the Board was set to take up a Consent Agenda of such routine and noncontroversial items as approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Simplified Report Agreement between the District and the San Diego Police Department Crime Laboratory; approval of an MOU among the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Diego Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, and the San Diego Unified School District Police Department; and approval of an MOU between the San Diego Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the San Diego Unified School District Police Department, with Internet Crimes Against Children Grant money budgeted for implementation of the MOU. In other business, the Board acknowledges that it must address a $176.4-million budget gap for the 2025-2026 school-year that stems from declining enrollment, the loss of temporary funding, and increasing student needs; and it proposed scheduling of its Annual Organizational Meeting on December 17. However, that Special Meeting is to be preceded by a Regular Meeting of the Board on December 10. The 49-point Superintendent’s Consent Agenda of Acting Superintendent, Dr. Fabiola Bagula included such matters as a variety of agreements to furnish STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and other Academic Enrichment Curriculum; ratification of Accelerated College Program Agreements with the San Diego Community College District to teach college courses on District campuses to District students; and approval of an agreement with San Diego State University to provide Intern Teaching Services District-wide.
* Weather … The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at San Diego International Airport, as of 10:05 PM on November 26, are clear, with a temperature of 61 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 82 percent, wind out of the north at 4 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 30.11 inches, a dewpoint of 55 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles. The over-night forecast calls for a low temperature of 58 degrees and a 20-percent chance of showers, just as a 20-percent chance of showers is expected on November 27, when the daily high temperature is forecast to be 66 degrees. Look for mostly-cloudy skies from this day through November 30, except on Thanksgiving Day and during the afternoon on November 30, when partly-sunny skies are expected. Daily high temperatures ranging between 70 degrees and 73 degrees and daily low temperatures ranging between 51 degrees and 54 degrees are otherwise anticipated from November 27 through the end of the week. The forecast for December 1 calls for partly-sunny skies and a daytime temperature of close to 70 degrees, and later partly-cloudy skies, with an over-night low temperature of about 53 degrees. Not much of a change is expected the following day. Overall, wind is not said to be much of a factor, with wind direction changing from northwest wind to west wind, then to north wind, next to northwest wind, before changing to east wind of about 5 miles per hour on Thanksgiving night. Wind speed is forecast to increase upward to 10 miles per hour only on November 27.
* Sports … In American Hockey League play, the Gulls return to action on December 4 when they visit the San Jose Barracuda for a 7 PM face-off. Then, the Gulls host the Bakersfield Condors at Pechanga Arena on December 6 at 7 PM. Meantime in the NFL, the 7-4 Chargers visit the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons (6-5) for a 10 AM kickoff (Pacific Time).
A skeptic?
Please E-mail continentalnewstime@gmail.com for a copy of cartoonist Dick Leahy’s newspaper feature, “Great Moments in History.”
One of the questions Ralph Nader is yet to answer about his book, “Let’s Start the Revolution”:
“Can that ‘left/right coalition’ you mention hang together once formed on certain issues when one side fails to rein in its desire to initiate new spending programs and the other side objects that it’s their money that is to be spent?”
-2-
* Proverbs (chapter 28/verse 22): “He that hastes to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.” hastes=hurries.
[A timely warning against get-rich-quick schemes]
A free copy of the Etna, California News Edition of Continental Newstime [dated August 14, 2020] containing the newspaper feature of outdoor writer Lee Snyder is also available by
E-mail request to info@continentalnewsservice.com
*Free
Marion, Montana News Edition
of Continental Newstime newsmagazine
VOLUME I NUMBER 1 AUGUST 17, 2022
_______________________________________________________________________________________
This is not the whole newspaper, but a special complimentary, on-line edition of the general-interest, periodic newsmagazine, Continental Newstime. The rest of the newspaper includes national and world news, newsmaker profiles, commentary/analysis, periodic interviews, travel and entertainment features, an intermittent science column, humor, sports, cartoons, comic strips, and puzzles, and averages 26 pages per month. Continental Features/Continental News Service publishes, on a monthly rotational basis, special, complimentary on-line newspapers: Washington DC News Edition, Chicago News Edition, Honolulu News Edition, Atlanta News Edition, Anchorage News Edition, Boston News Edition, Seattle News Edition, Miami News Edition, San Diego News Edition, Rochester (N.Y.) News Edition, Minneapolis News Edition, and Houston News Edition.
Marion, Montana News Edition of Continental Newstime
Editor-in-Chief: Gary P. Salamone
Continental Features/Continental News Service
501 W. Broadway, Plaza A, PMB# 265
San Diego, CA 92101
(858) 492-8696
E-mail: info@continentalnewsservice.com
* Congressional News Briefs … Marion’s agent in the U.S. House of Representatives, Matt Rosendale, decided he was not going to sugar-coat House Bill 5376. While House Democrats said they were acting to pass the “Inflation Reduction Act,” the Congressman contended that legislation increasing the size of government, raising taxes on hard-working Americans and spending billions of taxpayer dollars on the Left’s Green New Deal was actually an “Inflation Acceleration Act” and he cast a vote against the bill. Warning that the spending would “cripple our nation’s budget,” he noted that the legislation “will also raise an army of 87,000 IRS agents to squeeze more taxes out of already-hurting American families. With frivolous spending and an enlarged, aggressive IRS, the only climate that will be changing over the next year will be the economic climate, and it will get worse.” He offered this solution: “To reduce inflation, Congress must freeze spending, a concept the Left does not understand. Reining in federal spending and reducing taxes to lower inflation will reaffirm confidence in those investing in our economy.” On his part, Senator Steve Daines, commenting on the $739-billion, so-called Inflation Reduction Act of President Joseph Biden and Senate Democrats that he opposed, asserted that Senate Democrats voted against Daines’ amendment to eliminate policies that would increase costs on Made in Montana energy and other amendments that would render the bill “less painful for Montanans.” He characterized, as “supersizing the IRS,’ the plan to hire more than 80,000 Internal Revenue Service agents “to audit small and medium-size businesses and assert control over the lives and finances of Montanans.” He termed a subsidy for “rich people” the provision to offer $7,500 tax credits to individuals making up to $150,000, so they can purchase expensive electric vehicles. Considering the bill “a slap in the face of Montana families,” the Senator added, “The Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend bill is bad for Montana families, bad for Montana energy jobs and bad for Montanans’ pocketbooks.” Working with Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth and Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono, Senator Daines has introduced bipartisan legislation, known as the BABES (Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening) Enhancement Act, to require the Transportation Security Administration to clarify and update guidance, every five years, on handling breast milk, baby formula, and other related nutrition products based on consultation with leading maternal-health experts. Calling the legislation a “Bill to Support Montana Moms,” Daines informs that companion legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives, and the measure is endorsed by such organizations as the March of Dimes and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Senator Jon Tester, in turn, as the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, announces that the $792.1-billion Defense Appropriations Bill earmarks almost $182 million for Montana priorities, saying, “This legislation will keep America safe by investing in Malmstrom Air Force Base, giving our troops a well-deserved pay raise [4.6 percent], ensuring our servicemen and women are well-equipped with the most up-to-date technology, and shifting resources towards programs that’ll maintain our fighting edge over adversaries like China and Russia.” For example, over in Columbia Falls, uAvionix is due to receive $7 million to develop Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial System communications. In addition, he reports that, for Montana, the American Rescue Plan Act means $266 million to deliver high-speed Internet to rural areas of the state, something that is “one of the biggest keys to success for Montana’s students, families, and small businesses.”
* State Government News Briefs … Governor Greg Gianforte has expressed the view that the Montana Supreme Court, after upholding a district-court order temporarily blocking three pro-life bills he signed into law—the Court should not delay bringing into line its 1999 ruling in Armstrong v. State with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision finding that there is no constitutional right to abortion and that the states are entitled to restrict abortion. In other developments, the state legislature has highlighted a recent report by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology that acknowledges findings of the Department of Environmental Quality that the ingestion of too much manganese through drinking water may be harmful, at the same time the Bureau notes that the mineral, naturally present in many common foods, is essential for proper nutrition and that too little may be harmful, as well. Some research shows that adults and children drinking water with high manganese concentrations for sustained periods may suffer from memory and attention problems and motor-skill deficits. But, since most Montanans tap groundwater supplies for their drinking water, they mainly avoid high levels of manganese. Those that do not? The Bureau’s Ground Water Assessment Program reports that 7 percent of the water samples it tested exceeded the recommended health-standard limit for
-1-
adults and children older than 6 years of age. Checking 3,858 water samples from across the state, the Bureau gives assurance that manganese concentrations were low and safe for 85 percent of the well samples it analyzed and that lower concentrations were recorded in samples from western Montana aquifers; higher concentrations, in the eastern part of the state. Specifically, certain aquifers near Flathead Lake, north and west of Great Falls, and in the Missouri River Valley yielded more samples with elevated manganese concentrations. The Safe Drinking Water Act categorizes manganese as a secondary water contaminant, like iron, pH and sulfate, meaning it is safe to drink, but may damage water equipment and transmit an unpleasant odor and taste. The state legislature reports that 380 Montana schools, to date, have tested water fixtures for the primary water contaminant, lead and are implementing remedies for contaminated fixtures.
* County Government News Briefs … The Flathead County Board of Commissioners [Brad W. Abell, Pamela Holmquist, and Randy Brodehl], at its last meeting on August 11, considered six different lakeshore permits, including one at McGregor Lake, one at Flathead Lake, and another at Whitefish Lake; conferred with Erik Mack, of the Planning & Zoning Office, who reported an uptick in zoning violations; discussed giving authorization to publish a Notice of Public Hearing on Road Abandonment concerning an unnamed portion of road off Highway 93 West; took up the matter of authorization to publish a Call for Bids for the estimated $120,000 Fall, 2022 Pavement Striping Project; was due to hear from Liz Wood, of Mountain Climber Transit, on ridership increases, and from Ashley Cummins, Director of the County Library, who reported approximately 1,000 daily patron visits system-wide and who provided an update on the Library Board vacancy; planned to meet with Sheriff Brian Heino; and, among other County business, was tasked to sign a Behavioral Health Hospital Provider Agreement with Logan Health.
* School District News Briefs … The Marion Elementary School District, with the library closed during the summer due to remodeling, plans a Back to School Kick Off Event on September 1, with school starting on September 6. Earlier this month, the District posted a notice that it was hiring for full-time teaching positions in physical education and in the sixth-grade classroom. The School Board is scheduled to meet again on September 12. Meantime, in the Kalispell Public Schools District, Flathead High School announces that classes resume either on August 31 or September 1, depending on the grade level.
* Sports … The Flathead High School Boys Varsity Football Team is set to play Skyview on August 27 at 7 PM and is due to visit Gallatin on September 2 for a 7 PM kickoff.
* Weather … The National Weather Service reports that current conditions 17 miles west-southwest of Kalispell, as of 3:15 PM on August 17, are sunny, with a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 15 percent, barometric pressure of 29.95 inches, visibility of 10 miles, wind out of the south-southeast at 3 miles per hour, and a dewpoint of 36 degrees. The over-night forecast calls for clear skies, northeast wind of 3 to 5 miles per hour and a low temperature of about 55 degrees. Tomorrow, look for sunny skies, with a daily high temperature of about 91 degrees, calm wind becoming east-northeast wind of about 6 miles per hour in the morning. Thursday night, expect mostly-clear skies, with a low temperature of about 56 degrees and northeast wind of 3 to 6 miles per hour.
* Community Calendar … August 19—Pachyderm Meeting of Flathead County Republicans (12 Noon-1 PM) at the Eagles (37 First Street W, Kalispell); August 27—Pheasants Forever Chapter #138 Banquet (5 PM-9 PM), at the Fairgrounds; September 16/17—Quilt Show, at the Fairgrounds; September 17—Glacier Rabbit Show, at the Fairgrounds; September 30—Kalispell Ski Swap, at the Fairgrounds.
Dry Tortugas [Reprinted and Updated] by Lee Snyder
Named “Las Tortugas” (the turtles) by 16th-century Spanish explorers who found the harmless reptiles nesting on its shores, the Dry Tortugas is a collection of several sandy spits and tree-dotted islands. Fort Jefferson, once famous as a 19th-century “American Devil’s Island,” remains one of the world’s largest brick structures. The red brick fort is most famous as the jail where Dr. Mudd was held after treating Lincoln’s assassin for a broken leg.
Fort Jeff, past National Monument, is now part of Dry Tortugas National Park, which, together with the water and island reefs, is one of this nation’s most remote and unique units of our National Park system. While sharks are still occasionally found swimming in the moat, tourists are more likely seen snorkeling around the fort’s outer boundary viewing a dazzling array of fish, coral and sponges. Today, the Coast Guard’s close scrutiny of increasing public pressure allows visitors to see what underwater Florida is supposed to be. Divers claim the park waters are the liveliest anywhere in the state. “Little Africa,” an unspoiled section of coral reef near Loggerhead Key, the largest island in the chain, boasts expanses of staghorn and elkhorn coral more like those found in Caribbean than in Florida waters.
Nearly 27,000 people—mostly fishermen, yachtsmen, and divers—visit the park by boat each year.
But, for a six-week period, the bulk of the visitors attend for another reason. Spring in the Tortugas is definitely a birdwatcher’s delight. Florida’s peninsular shape is like an appendage reaching out into the ocean. Its islands are the first safety offered travelers crossing the Gulf of Mexico…. The “funneling effect” allows for close inspections of the birds in their most colorful breeding plumage—an opportunity that draws enthusiastic birders from all over the world….On any given spring day in the Tortugas, birders with four, five and six hundred birds on their lists are found. Listers with seven and eight hundred on their lists are usually there as guides, having visited the islands years before. But, even so, an errant species from South America, the Bahamas or Cuba could fly by adding to all lists.
-2-
FIND OUT MORE
Continental Features/Continental News Service
501 W. Broadway, Plaza A, PMB# 265, San Diego, CA 92101
(858) 492-8696
Copyright © 2023 Continental Features/Continental News Service – All Rights Reserved.