Atlanta News Edition
of Continental Newstime newsmagazine
VOLUME XI NUMBER 1 MAY 1, 2024
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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.
Atlanta 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 … Senator Jon Ossoff, saying his efforts to improve Georgians’ access to life-saving health care are not new, points to his successful advancement of a bipartisan amendment designed to improve access to breast-cancer screenings for Georgia veterans, his leadership of the state Congressional Delegation’s follow-up with the Food and Drug Administration for information on the shortage of medicines essential in treating cancer patients, and his engagement with the Biden Administration on the importance of maintaining cervical-cancer screening recommendations. Most recently, crediting the influence of the American Cancer Society in reporting that there will be an estimated 63,170 cancer diagnoses in Georgia this year and approximately 18,740 cancer deaths, he has co-sponsored the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Bill, so more Georgia seniors and seniors across the country can take advantage of FDA-approved, early-detection, cancer screenings, to catch cancer in its early stages. Senator Ossoff notes, as well, that he and Iowa Senator Charles Grassley have seen their Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act signed into law this year, to strengthen federal protections against the sexual abuse of children, including on-line exploitation, and have now led the Senate in passage of their Preventing Child Trafficking Bill, designed to close loopholes in coordination between the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department that were revealed in a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Their legislation, endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), underscored the need for specific coordination mechanisms to prevent child trafficking and to meet the specific needs of child-trafficking survivors. Then, too, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation warns that Georgia children are especially at risk of human trafficking given a large international airport, several large sporting venues, and inter-city highways that facilitate quick access. Previously, Senator Ossoff registered concern when the U.S. Justice Department, referencing an international threat assessment, acknowledged that “the growth in on-line child sexual exploitation is outpacing our ability to respond.” In addition, Ossoff insists that, in pressing for a transparent and accountable Federal Bureau of Prisons, he has at once worked for serviceable security-camera systems and measures to stop the entry of public-safety-threatening contraband into U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta and other Bureau facilities, among other reforms. What is more, he has heeded the counsel of Justice Department Inspector-General Michael Horowitz, who has raised the alarm about contraband, observing, “A cell phone in a prison is a deadly weapon. Yet, as our investigative work continues to demonstrate, contraband cell phones have proven to be pervasive inside many federal prisons, a reality that undermines the safety and security of these institutions for BOP [Bureau of Prisons] staff, inmates, and the public.” The National President of the Council of Prison Locals, Brandy Moore White, elaborates: “Inmates can use cellphones to intimidate witnesses, harass victims, and disrupt prison operations.” In the case of Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati at the Metropolitan Detention Center Guaynabo in Puerto Rico, the inmate who ordered the hit on Albarati used a contraband cellphone. But, then, Senator Ossoff reports that the 10-month investigation into corruption, abuse and misconduct at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta netted 800 contraband cellphones, which lend themselves to running illegal drug rings and gang activity both inside and outside the Penitentiary. Consequently, both Ossoff and Senator Grassley have joined to introduce The Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Stopping Prison Contraband Bill, to make the smuggling of a contraband cellphone into a Federal prison a felony, no longer only a misdemeanor. On his part, Senator Rafael Warnock delivered an early Earth Day message emphasizing Georgia’s increasing leadership in the country’s clean-energy economy, and he exhorted Americans to remain committed to the cause of passing down a clean, sustainable, and healthy planet to upcoming generations. Also, he reports that U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Joe Donnelly accompanied him to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis. The Senator shared this impression, saying, “The thing about Pope Francis is that he centers human dignity, particularly the dignity of the most-marginalized members of the human family.” The Senator confesses trying to do the same in his life. He added, “And it’s so important at this moment, in which our country is so divided. We’re seeing world-wide the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment, Islamophobia, bigotry, authoritarian voices that are trying to take advantage of the deep distress that people are feeling in a moment like this.” He and the Pope discussed global issues and the need for peace. Before abbreviating his trip to Rome to return to Washington to consider supplemental national-security funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, plus humanitarian aid for Gaza, the Senator had a briefing and tour of the NATO Defense College, took part in a World Food Programme-led roundtable discussion on the part faith-based organizations are playing in humanitarian and development aid in the world’s crisis zones, and raised the profile of Georgia companies furnishing Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Foods to meet hunger needs the Executive Director of the World Food Programme mentioned to him. Atlanta Congresswoman Nikema Williams, in turn, observes, “American national security and our democratic allies in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific are all under immediate threat, leaving innocent civilians at risk around the globe…. I voted yes to protect our national security, stand with our allies, and defend humanity by delivering desperately-needed humanitarian aid.”
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* State Government News Briefs … Governor Brian P. Kemp has announced signing, into law, of House Bill 1015, sponsored by Representative Lauren McDonald, with co-sponsors including Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, and pushed by Senator Bo Hackett in the Senate, to build on passage of House Bill 1437 that reduced the state income-tax rate to 5.49 percent. Touting the further tax-rate reduction to 5.39 percent for the 2024 tax-year as “the largest state income-tax cut in Georgia history,” the Governor notes that the Office of Planning and Budget figures that Georgia taxpayers will save about $1.1 billion in 2024 and about $3 billion during the next 10 years. The Governor remarks, “Washington, D.C. politicians are currently working to raise taxes on hard-working Americans, but here in Georgia we are keeping to our commitment to grow our economy and opportunity for the people of our state, not government. As a result of conservative budgeting and our pro-growth, business-friendly environment, billions of more dollars will now be kept in the pockets of hard-working Georgians, rather than being devoted to creating more government bureaucracy and red tape.” Another bill the Governor signed into law lowers the corporate income-tax rate to match this individual income-tax rate. Governor Kemp reminds that, when he first campaigned for Governor, he vowed that his Administration “would work to develop the entirety of our state and that includes ensuring that Georgians in rural parts not only have access to good-paying jobs, but also quality and affordable health care.” Toward that end, he has signed, into law, House Bill 82, expanding the Rural Physician Tax Credit to include dentists; House Bill 872, expanding cancelable loans for health-care professionals to dental students agreeing to practice in rural areas; and, among other legislation, House Bill 1339, increasing the total limit on tax credits for donations to rural hospital organizations to $100 million. With respect to education policy, the Governor has approved Senate Bill 233, establishing a Promise Scholarship of $6,500 for the individual economically-disadvantaged student in an under-performing school, so that student has increased freedom of school choice, while increasing the tax credit for donations to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education, toward strengthening public schools, supporting teachers, and securing classrooms. Likewise, the Governor has approved House Bill 409, increasing the penalty for passing a stopped school bus and directing school districts to consider discontinuing bus stops where students must cross a road having a speed limit of 40 miles per hour or more; and Senate Bill 395, directing schools to maintain a supply of opioid antagonists like Narcan and authorizing personnel and visitors to possess opioid antagonists, as well.
* County Government New Briefs … Fulton County Commissioners have announced that, with April 22 the last day to register to vote in Georgia’s General Primary/Special Election on May 21, 2024, the advanced voting period is currently in progress and runs through May 17, including weekends, except for Mother’s Day. Three of the seven Absentee Ballot Drop Box sites are located in Atlanta, and 13 of the 36 polling places are located in Atlanta. And commenting on the 10-day “pause” in animal-control services, County Commissioners say that County Animal Control continued to accept dogs from Atlanta residents, whose calls for services represent about 55 percent of the County’s workload, while Commissioners awaited execution of an intergovernmental agreement by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and authorization of payment for services. When County Commissioners last met on April 17, they not only restored animal-control services to the City of Atlanta, but heard a presentation by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA’s quarterly update. Also, County Commissioners were set to take up an agenda including approval of contracts with Destination Tomorrow, Inc. totaling $100,000, to support the Wellness Journey Program’s comprehensive HIV testing program designed to increase awareness, reduce stigma, improve access to testing services and address any barriers to a healthy productive lifestyle; and, among others, with A 2nd Chance Monitoring, not exceeding $2 million, for pretrial electronic monitoring during the period May 1, 2024-December 31, 2024. County Commissioners were poised, as well, to consider approval of a County Anti-Nepotism Policy proposed by fellow Commissioner Bob Ellis.
* City Government News Briefs … Mayor Andre Dickens reports that the Atlanta Food Access Investment Initiative, supported by ACE (Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs) and Invest Atlanta, was one of 16 public-private partnerships the Rural Development office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture selected to receive funding under its America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative—in this case $2.97 million—to promote equitable food access and economic empowerment in under-served communities in Atlanta. The Atlanta Food Access Initiative can make low-interest loans of up to $150,000 to food businesses committed to locating in such under-served communities as the Bowen Homes Choice Neighborhood and the Thomasville Heights affordable-housing community, beside awarding grants of up to $75,000 and furnishing technical assistance. In other developments, the Mayor explains that the non-profit organization, Capital Good Fund has been awarded an Environmental Protection Agency grant of $156 million as the lead applicant, on behalf of Atlanta, Savannah and Decatur, for the Georgia BRIGHT Communities initiative, for the purpose of reducing energy costs and pollution in low-income communities through the installation of rooftop solar units. It is anticipated that, over the course of five years, an estimated 20,000 households will be powered by solar energy and that the Solar for All program will create good-paying jobs, too. Today, between 11 AM and 1 PM, the Human Relations Commission is scheduled to meet in City Hall, City Council Committee Room 2, and the full City Council is due to meet on May 6 between 1 PM and 5 PM. Meetings of the Zoning Committee, the Community Development/Human Services Committee, and the Transportation Committee are upcoming on May 13, 14 and 15, respectively. When the City Council last met, Council President Doug Shipman nominated Christine B. Lloyd, a retiree from the Atlanta Police Department and from the Georgia Air National Guard, for appointment to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board; and the Council considered a number of Ordinances amending various Land Use Element provisions of the 2021 Atlanta Comprehensive Development Plan, reviewed various Resolutions proposing all-way stops and other transportation-safety improvements, and, among other business, took up a proposal authorizing the Mayor to apply for all state and federal grant money for projects at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during the 2024 federal fiscal-year.
* School District News Briefs … The Board of Education of the Atlanta Public Schools District, with Erika Y. Mitchell serving as Chair, plans to meet next on May 6 between 2:30 PM and 8 PM. When the Board last met on April 9th, it amended the terms and extended the employment contract of Interim Superintendent, Dr. Danielle S. Battle; heard presentations on such matters as student-outcome-focused governance and an update on Charter and Partner Schools; and approved a Consent Agenda including authorization to contract with Georgia State University to provide credentialing for District educators.
* Weather … The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at Fulton County Airport-Brown Field, as of 3:53 PM on Thursday, April 25, are fair, with a temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 31 percent, variable wind of 5 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 30.10 inches, a dewpoint of 45 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles. The forecast for tonight calls for partly-cloudy skies becoming overcast, with an over-night low temperature of 59 degrees and light and variable winds. Expect daytime temperatures to range between 79 and 84 degrees and over-night low temperatures to range between 59 and 63 degrees from April 26 through April 30, with mostly-sunny skies anticipated on April 29 and otherwise cloudy, partly-cloudy or mostly-cloudy skies. Winds will shift from east-southeast to southeast two days, to south, then to west-southwest and range between 8 and 11 miles per hour. On May 1, look for mostly-sunny skies, a daytime temperature of 86 degrees, west-northwest wind of 8 miles per hour, and an over-night low temperature of 63 degrees. The forecast for Thursday, May 2 calls for partly-cloudy skies, a daily high temperature of 86 degrees, west-northwest wind of 9 miles per hour, and an over-night low temperature of 62 degrees.
* Sports … The Braves wrap up a three-game road trip against the Mariners today, before an off day tomorrow.
* Middle East Cable Flashback
Palestinian Autonomy [Condensed and Edited] by Mike Maggio
… Israeli settlers, who from the start have been against any settlement with the Palestinians, have taken a lesson from their enemies by burning tires in the streets and setting up roadblocks. Their fear: that the Palestinian police force that is supposed to take over when the Israeli army withdraws will be hostile toward them. Their concerns have been heightened by the recent killing of Israeli settlers, and public opinion within Israel has begun to shift in their favor. Palestinians, on the other hand, have been protesting the continued assassination of their “activists,” and some are going so far as to demand a denunciation of the autonomy agreement signed by Israel and the PLO on September 13 and a return to the intifada. Meanwhile, rumors abound that the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel have agreed to a delay in the withdrawal of Israeli troops, scheduled to begin December 13…. The PLO publicly insists that the December 13th start date is “sacred” and refuses any compromise on the issue fearing that it would lead to an erosion of Palestinian public opinion, but some PLO factions are unwilling to rush into self-rule when the risks for failure are greater than those for success…. With public opinion leaning against peace on both sides of the autonomy quagmire and with Secretary of State Warren Christopher publicly hinting his support for an extension of the deadline, actual implementation of the deal by the December 13th [1993] deadline seems like a long shot.
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* 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
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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
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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.
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