Monthly Archives: September 2017
Flashback Friday: Fort Lauderdale Hurricane
Seventy years ago this month a Category 4 storm slammed into southeastern Florida. The storm since referred to as the “Fort Lauderdale Hurricane” approached the southeast coast of the state as a Category 5 but weakened to a strong Category 4 just offshore around Bimini. The storm killed only 17 people in the state far […]
Hurricane Irma death toll in Florida continues to rise. – Irma now (unofficially) the deadliest modern Florida hurricane
Hurricane Irma according to the official records from the State of Florida has now been responsible for 50 deaths in the state. When you add to this total the 14 deaths in Monroe County not part of the state total or the 11 indirect deaths in Broward due to the nursing home that lost air […]
Porter Airlines expanding service from Canada to Melbourne
Porter Airlines will be adding service from Ottawa and Windsor to Melbourne this winter. The flights mark Porter’s first services from outside Toronto to the US and also state the intent of the airline which largely caters to business travelers in and out Toronto to continue to building its portfolio for leisure fliers. These flights […]
Post- Irma checklist for Florida’s leaders
Florida’s political class with a few exceptions seems determined to put Irma in the rear-view mirror. Can you blame them? A natural disaster whose greatest impacts were largely due to man-made factors for much of the state, the storm now has led directly or indirectly to over 60 deaths in the state – an unacceptable […]
Flashback Friday: The Keys, the railroad and tragic hurricanes
Following Hurricane Irma and its impact on the Keys we look back at the building of the Overseas Railroad, the 1906 Keys Hurricane and of course the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. The building of the Overseas Railroad was one of great engineering feats in Florida’s history – in fact it might actually be one of […]
GUEST COLUMN: Graham-Cassidy is a Category 5 catastrophe for Florida’s families
GUEST COLUMN by Tim Heberlein Hurricane Irma may be over, but Florida’s families will face the storm’s aftermath for months to come. Those with the greatest barriers and least resources before the storm will face the greatest hardships in recovery, especially low-income women and families who have suffered injury, lost wages, and displacement. At a […]
Have Hermine and Irma demonstrated the need for new evacuation routes? Heartland Parkway and other roads worth reconsidering?
The idea of expressway and parkway building in far flung locations has become passe in Florida. Much like the revolts against urban expressways in the 1970’s, recent moves to build what appeared to be roads to nowhere have met stern opposition including on the pages of this website. But is it time for a rethink? […]
Irma proved a disaster for Florida’s heartland – what next?
Often forgotten in any discussion of our state is the inland areas, particularly in the southern part of the peninsula. “The Heartland” as it is dubbed took a beating from Irma, as it has previously from Hurricane Charley which hit in particular Arcadia with a vicious fury. Irma’s damage in the Heartland wasn’t as complete […]
A return to normalcy is the last thing Florida needs – Irma a largely man-made disaster for our state
“Things will return to normal next week,” goes the refrain. Most citizens of Florida long for a return to the normalcy we enjoyed before Labor Day Weekend, 2017 when it became clear Irma might impact our state. That normalcy being sold by the politicians among other is exactly what they want because then once again […]
Irma puts a clear lens on what issues SHOULD matter in Florida – the political class MUST be held accountable
Hurricane Irma did far more damage and took far more lives than it should have in this state. For too long, politicians and other leaders in this state have used cultural issues or items connected to emotion to avoid the real issues that plague a state as unique as Florida. This state IS NOT like […]
The Florida Squeeze 