Hurricane Guide

Magical Whimsy

Floridians love their staghorn ferns, which thrive in the Sunshine State


AT FIRST IT WAS FUN, HE RECALLED — back when Thomas Hecker worked for the new Naples Botanical Garden stewarding a variety of plants that included ferns. Staghorn ferns in particular (Platycerium spp), with 18 known species in the world, almost inadvertently became one of his central early duties. Not because they’re hard to grow, but because some of them […]

FWC: Boaters should pay better attention, wear life jackets



A report on boating accidents in Florida shows that boaters are too often failing to meet basic safety standards. Boat operator inattention or not maintaining a proper lookout was the leading cause of accidents in 2017, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data showed, while falling overboard and drowning was the leading cause of death. Eighty-one percent of those who […]

The living blues



I knew a man in a Mississippi town who watched his mother shoot his father and lay a bad man down. A sharecropper working cotton for a white farmer in the mid-1930s, his father had beaten up his mother one time too many, he recalled. She used a .38 pistol and buried him in the corner of a farm field. […]

Soft skills are critical for career success

FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE COLLEGE

You have the education, experience and hard skills needed for your career. But what about your soft skills or your emotional intelligence? How do they impact your ability to be successful? Let’s define what is meant by soft skills. Employers not only look for the skills needed to do the job (hard skills), they are also searching for professionals who […]

Wear purple on June 15 to highlight elder abuse

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15 and the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida is asking the community to wear purple that day to raise awareness of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. “We associate the color purple with dignity, respect, and royalty,” explains Sherry Young, prevention coordinator. “Wearing purple on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is another […]

Thank Republicans for your right to try



Imagine the horror of learning you have a terminal illness for which science has not yet come up with a treatment. Now imagine receiving the same diagnosis, and then learning a promising new treatment exists that could save your life — but you can’t get access to it thanks to governmental obstacles. That is the nightmare that befell Andrea Sloan, […]

The big hysteria



One of the rules of our politics is that it’s permissible to accuse the Trump administration of anything, and the claim that it “lost” 1,475 migrant children fits the bill. It has lit up social media and made the debate over a new Trump policy of “zero tolerance” at the border even more hysterical than it would be otherwise. The […]

Pedestrians, bikers: Beware autonomous vehicles on sidewalks



As if we as pedestrians don’t have enough to deal with when taking a walk, run, or bike ride, another element is soon to be added: delivery bots. Motorists frequently fail to stop where indicated and encroach into crosswalks, and sometimes obstruct pathways by parking illegally, making sidewalks and bike paths unsafe. Delivery bots are a version of autonomous vehicles […]

Thunder trauma

What can you do if your pet is fearful of storms? 5 ways to help him stay calm


Loud wind and hail attacked the house. Branches crashed onto the roof and deck. The power flashed on and off. Tim became hyperalert, trembling and glassy-eyed. Nothing Christie said got through to him. He bolted off the bed, tore through the house and ran outside. Christie found him huddled in a corner of the yard, behind some trees, as far […]