2022-07-28 E-Edition

A business a buzz

A new study shows that the Florida beekeeping industry generates an estimated $93 million in total revenue.


DOWN A LONG DIRT ROAD lined heavily with native subtropical vegetation, a small white house appears. This home in rural Lee County belongs to Dennis Riggs, president of the Beekeepers Association of Southwest Florida. This is also home to thousands of what Mr. Riggs calls “the No. 1 insect in all of creation”: the tiny but mighty honeybee. Mr. Riggs, […]

The queen is the thing in the life of bees



In bee life, it’s good to be queen. For a drone, not so much. For a worker bee, it’s downright exhausting. Together they make up a colony of 20,000 to 80,000 bees that is so socially complex that scientists consider them “superorganisms,” functioning as a single biological unit instead of individual bees. The concept is explored in articles for the […]

Scientists cautiously hopeful for state’s coral reefs



When the federal agency singularly devoted to research science identifying our natural resources and threats to them announced last week that coral reefs in the Florida Keys could be saved and restored, many people were inclined to celebrate. Perhaps a little too early. The announcement — in a news release from the USGS, the United States Geological Survey — was […]

Getting a real pet



There’s nothing like a pet. Not a nice safe little pet. Not a kitten or a chick or a rabbit or a puppy dog. Not even a fashionable big pet like a Kentucky thoroughbred. We have all of that. No, I mean a snorting, sullen creature that emerges from the wilderness to remind you of two things: One, you are […]

Have a library card? Visit Florida state parks for free

Floridians looking for an inexpensive way to get a dose of the great outdoors before school starts should check out the Real Florida Reader Day Pass. The no-cost pass, available to those with a public library provides free park admission to Florida’s State Parks. Florida has 175 state parks that showcase the state’s natural and cultural resources. With the Real […]

The most self-destructive force in the world



Without a doubt, the climate-obsessed green movement is the most stupidly self-destructive force in the world today, leaving a trail of irrationality and folly wherever it goes. Consider its recent record of destroying the country of Sri Lanka, making Western Europe needlessly vulnerable to Vladimir Putin’s energy blackmail and stoking higher energy prices in the U.S. that have contributed to […]

Florida unemployment rate dips to record low in June



Despite increased concerns about layoffs and a looming recession, Florida’s unemployment rate dipped to a record low in June. The state Department of Economic Opportunity released a report that said the June rate was 2.8%, down from a revised 2.9% in May. The June number represented 303,000 Floridians unemployed in a workforce of 10.633 million. The June rate was a […]

Disrespecting nature is a bad — sometimes dangerous — idea



(Note: Capt. Kirk is on leave for a while. In the meantime, enjoy a version of this classic from 2019.) Having just returned from a bit of summer traveling, Nancy and I got to see many new areas of our great country. The trip served to reinforce my opinion that respect is a major component of the world we live […]

Seven questions to ask when buying a baby bird



A frantic new bird owner recently posted pictures of a pair of 7-week-old macaws, asking for advice on how to feed and care for them. Macaws at that age aren’t even close to being weaned, but the seller probably persuaded the buyer that hand-fed birds bond more closely to their people. That’s a dangerous myth. Few new bird owners have […]