2020-07-02 E-Edition

VOTE

The primary and the presidential elections approach. Some parts of Florida are seeing record numbers of voter registrations.


It’s not like once upon a time, back when they said things like, “No siree, Bob, it sure isn’t.” The 2020 election season is a two-engine beast, a primary (Aug. 18) and general election (Nov. 3) historically different from those in previous years, in part because it’s so easy to vote now — a spectacular American opportunity hurtling toward Florida […]

Sea turtle nesting season in full swing across state



Baby sea turtles flying through the air? Fanciful and comical as that idea sounds, it actually takes place sometimes at Juno Beach during the height of sea turtle nesting season. “By the end of peak season, because we have so many nests, we’ll start seeing turtles digging up other turtles’ nests just because there are so many on the beaches,” […]

American animals



We have, or have had, ducks that sit on dogs. We’ve had chickens that play with ducks and cats. We’ve had cats that ride on horses, sleep with dogs and lie still while ducks and chickens peck and scratch in the dirt around them. We have goats that live with ducks, and another goat that thinks he’s a horse. If […]

Wanted: Folks to help count butterflies during annual tally

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers will participate in the North American Butterfly Association’s 45th annual butterfly count, which helps researchers monitor butterfly population trends throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico as well as the effects of weather and habitat loss. The count at the estates this year is 10 a.m. to noon Friday, July 24. Each […]

Using the heat to make stuff to eat — naturally



It seems like the season’s heat couldn’t wait to ambush us right after the summer solstice on June 21. During the middle of the day and afternoon it has been, as the saying goes, hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk. For those of you who know me, I like to try different challenges. So I actually put […]

Scent sense

Dogs put their noses to work to learn how to identify and detect the COVID-19 virus


If there’s anything most people know about dogs, it’s that they have an incredible sense of smell. We’ve put their sensitive noses — which have up to 300 million scent receptors compared to our measly 6 million or so — to work sniffing out drugs, explosives, truffles, cancer, turtle eggs, jaguar scat and contraband fruits, plants and meats. Now they’re […]

Pets of the WEEK

These animals are available for adoption at the Animal Welfare League, 3519 Drance St., Port Charlotte. All animals are microchipped, neutered and current with their shots. We are open by appointments only. All of our adoptable pets are on the AWL website (www.awlshelter.org). If you see a pet that you would like to meet, call to make an appointment. We […]

Make your pet a star! Enter our annual contest

One of our favorite projects at Florida Weekly is the Pet Lovers special edition that features — what else? — pictures from you, our readers, of the furry, slithery, slobbery, whiskered, feathered, hoofed, amphibious or otherwise non-human companions that help make your lives complete. Enter your favorite shot (one entry per person, please) by using the contest tab on the […]

Florida researchers awarded $15 million to study Alzheimer’s



A Florida Alzheimer’s research center has been awarded a five-year, $15 million grant, which partly will focus on further understanding dementias in diverse populations. The 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, or 1Florida ADRC, is a University of Florida-organized consortium of leading research institutions aimed at making Alzheimer’s and related dementias treatable, preventable and one day curable. The grant comes from […]