A federal judge in Louisiana has blocked President Joe Biden administration’s vaccine and mask mandate at Head Start preschools, granting a preliminary injunction for the 24 states involved in the lawsuit. The mandate was set to begin on Jan. 31. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty said that the injunction will remain in effect until the case is settled. “This issue will certainly be decided by a higher court than this one,” Doughty wrote. “This issue is important. The separation of powers has never been so thin. “Because the Plaintiff States have satisfied all four elements required for a PI to issue, a PI (preliminary injunction) should issue against the Agency Defendants enjoining and restraining the Agency Defendants from implementing the Head Start Mandate.” Defendants in the lawsuit included the U.S. On a subject that is truely dear to our hearts, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said she is working with her agency to hold farmers accountable for improving water quality at a morning roundtable last week. Speaking at Keepsake Plants on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River in Alva, Fried said her office has been focusing on what are called “best management practices” after coming into a situation she referred to as “a mess.” In recent years, Florida agricultural producers have taken a lot of heat for what critics have called an outsized role in contributing to the pollution that can help feed harmful algal blooms and water weed overgrowth. Curbing discharges from farm fields is one way to help the state clean up its water by using commonsense methods like pinpointed fertilizer application and retention basins but it is only a part of the problem. “It's clear that our state has multiple water practices that are threatening our ecosystem, our economy, and unfortunately our way of life,” Fried said. “That's why it is so critical that we come together to take action, protecting our natural resources for current and future generations. Our farmers, our agriculture industry, and my department are committed to working together to do just that.” Best management practices, developed with help from Florida's universities, farmers, water management districts, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other stakeholders, conserve and improve water From Island to Bay, News at Sea Level Volume 7 Issue 13 Production@sunbaypaper.com www.TheSunBayPaper.com January 7, 2022 - January 13, 2022 Right... All Along Cont. pg 10 If you enjoy a good musical, you’re going to love this presentation of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and if you enjoy a good tap dance…. Well, this is right up your alley! Fantastic screen to play adaptation is what you’ll find when you catch this awesome musical. Early in the play, Cosmo sings ‘You can charm the critics but have nothing to eat!’ That’s the shrewd warning from the legendary song Make ’Em Laugh, from the equally legendary 1952 musical Singin’ in the Rain, written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and now being performed “Live” at Broadway Palm Dinner theater. ‘Forget about the hoity-toity critics and the clueless highbrows,’ Cosmo proclaims:’the real duty – and real artistry – lies in entertaining people.’ How true! And Entertained you will be. The unstoppable joy of the musical numbers, as Loren Stone and Alex Fullerton as Cosmo Brown and Don Lockwood, (originally played by Donald O’Connor and Gene Kelly on the big screen) never fail to impress – perhaps especially in “Moses Supposes” as a pompous speech therapist fellow tries to instruct Don how enunciate his vowels and consonants; Cosmo shows up, and soon they have Singin’ In The Rain Florida Agriculture Commissioner on Water Quality Federal Judge Blocks Head Start Vaccines Cont. pg 24 Cont. pg 16 U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty Got a grievance? Offended by someone? Want to settle a grudge? You now have the easy-touse Cancel-O-Matic method. No proof of wrongdoing is needed. No due process. No facing your accuser. No rules of evidence. No trial by a jury of your peers. Just the uncorroborated word of one person, and perhaps an optional petition from an anonymous social media lynch mob. Just tell the employer of your chosen victim that he/she/it offended you with hate speech. Hateful to who? You, of course! You are the center of your universe. You have the power. Before you can say “white supremacy,” that person will be fired. Sweet. Revenge is yours. Bonus features of the Cancel-OMatic: • Your victim is never allowed to defend her/him/whatever-self in a hearing. • Merely by accusing, you must be believed. Your word is the law. • Your victim may be required to attend “wokeness sensitivity” training where she/it/he must apologize and grovel. The best part? He’ll be fired anyway. • Your victim is fired from his job and will probably never work in her profession again. • Other people who might dare to offend you (in ways not yet thought up) will be intimidated. • Everyone will fear to do anything or say anything! You are Master of the Universe. Now, what would you pay? Unfortunately, this is not the latest “Rule the Universe” video game. This is daily life in America. And the Cancel-O-Matic is free. Anybody can use it at any time against anybody. Welcome to the Soviet Union Where everybody fears their neighbors and colleagues, because neighbors may inform on them and cancel their livelihood. Instead of Stalin’s NKVD, we have the emotional teenager in your Cancel Culture Gone Wild! Cont. pg 15 Rain runnoff is another contributing factor in our “clean water” debate
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The Sun Bay Paper Page 3 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 2022 Take the time to measure how long you normally shower, then see if you can cut off about two minutes of shower time. Obviously, a shorter shower means less water is used, but simply cutting out two minutes can save 10 gallons of water. Multiply that by 365 days, and that’s over 3,650 gallons of water saved per year. Multiply that by the number of people in your household, and it really adds up to significant savings in water. Start off with one minute and work your way up to two! One-pot cooking is easy, moneysaving and an eco-friendly way to prepare a home-cooked meal. If you have a rice cooker at home, you can do more than just cook rice in it. Many rice cookers have different settings for slow and even cooking, which is perfect for stews, oatmeal, soup and lots of other grains in addition to rice. Using a countertop kitchen appliance like a rice cooker, crockpot, pressure cooker or newer ‘Insta Pots’ can actually save about 70 percent in energy usage compared to conventional ways of cooking! If you do just one thing this spring, spend $100 and plant a shade tree in your front yard. This one thing can help your curb appeal and landscaping look better over time, but it also cuts down on cooling costs during the hot summer months. Spending a little more on a mature tree to plant will mean you’ll recoup your costs more quickly. A mature shade tree can cut your air conditioning costs by as much as 40 percent. And every home looks better with a large, beautiful tree in the front yard! Shave Off a Minute The New Pot A Little Shady Sure, it’s great to upgrade your heating and cooling systems at home to be kind to the environment and reduce your utility bills. But those investments can actually improve the resale value of your home, too? According to the trade magazine Remodeling, every $1 in annual energy savings your improvements provide equals up to $20 in home value at the time of sale. For a typical-sized home of around 2,000 square feet, that can be more than $30,000 in added value. The lower the costs to operate a home, the more valuable the home becomes to potential buyers. Rewarding Upgrade Those little disposable hand warmers that are activated by exposure to air may not be recyclable or rechargeable, but there is a use for them after they’ve given you some warmth. While the hand warmers may be non-toxic, they sadly are disposable. Before tossing your hand warmers into the trash, consider using them to deodorize the inside of your shoes. One of the main ingredients in the warmers is activated carbon, which is also a natural deodorizer. And since the mesh pouches let air through, the carbon can easily absorb odor. Warmers Who knew that hours of online video game playing could actually be used to raise money for a great cause? The organization Extra Life unites thousands of gamers around the world and raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Much like the runners in charity marathons, gamers sign up sponsors for tournaments and turn their play into fundraising. To date, over $30 million has been raised to help children in need all over the country. To learn more (and play!), visit extralife.org. Gaming Miracle Over $16 billion is spent during the holiday season on gifts that go unwanted, with the majority of them ending up right in the trash. Charitable organizations like Goodwill, Salvation Army and local charity shops would like nothing more than your unwanted gifts. The reason is simple: You received unwanted gifts in perfect condition, and they can resell those items at a discount and support their good works. New products sell at a premium and more quickly at charity shops. Also consider animal shelters, senior citizen centers, schools, libraries, churches and homeless shelters as places to give. Bonus: It’s also taxdeductible. Danny Seo Deductable
The MSM, Main Stream Media, won’t tell us even if they were smart enough to know. FOX apparently has their heads stuck where the Sun don’t shine…the only news media that has figured out what’s going on…is right on the money and not afraid to report it, is ... NEWSMAX! I keep telling you that Obiden and Obama, backed by Mr. Money… are moving to destroy our Republic and are now in their CHAOS mode of their plan to make America a Socialist Nation! You should know who, by now, Obama’s money man is. He backs all the minority female, candidates, looking for high paying, power jobs. They are not very smart, mostly ignorant of the law, got into Law school or college on an Affirmative Action program of some sort, can’t find a real job so they look for sort of a servitude job…begging for money…they promise to do as he says, and he buys them an election. Just like Willie Brown and your Vice President and her California AG job. Think about this…the Doctors, the CDC, the Hospitals, the patients all report, say, show, that the Omicron version of Covid is more contagious that 19 but is not much more than a common cold and is indeed a “mitigating” virus of sorts…it mitigates Covid-19 making it LESS fatal. No need to do any of what we did for Covid or before the Vaccine. WHY…you ask, then close the schools, why close businesses, why, masks? IT’S ALLABOUT CHAOS AND DISTRACTION! The people will fight all those MANDATES and will be distracted from the other things the scumbags are doing to upset the economy and gain control of America! They are cutting jobs by supplying citizens all those subsistence, non- work incentives, to keep people home…and not at a job. It does not matter what kind of jobs…as long as you are not being productive, by processing chickens, grinding beef, driving and delivering food products, fuel, clothing medicines, not teaching children in schools…the things we need, to live the way we like to live, in a free country…free, for now! Think of this…why all of a sudden did this country go from secure Borders, a working Rule of Law, stable economy with $1.85 per gallon of gas, oil plentiful…to… open, lawless Borders, empty shelves, lawlessness in our cities, criminals roaming the streets, oil reserves being used, instead of replenished (that alone is indefensible), $5.00 a gallon of gas, all in less than a year? Even Jimmy Carter could not do that if he tried! It is a very concerted effort by an entire staff of people to F,,, up a Nation, as bad as Obiden, Obama, his staff and the Money man have done! What staff…you say…well let’s find out what Valerie Jarret is doing now …not even google knows! I’ll bet she is in a very big, decision making, position, in the Obiden Administration. Most all of Obiden’s staff are Obama leftovers and female. That puts forth a strong image doesn’t it? Don’t give me that sexist nonsense. I want men who have fought in a war leading my Country in a war. I have no problem with woman flying F22 fighters, I have a big problem with a female fighting General and people who don’t who they are! My opinion and I’m entitled to one! I wish that somebody would explain to me, where in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, Rule of Law, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures, any place…are the laws that allow a group of politicians to change a Constitutional Republic into a Socialist nation of ANY sort… Marxism, Communism, Islam, Hinduism. Seems to me that any attempt to “change” America to any Socialist Nation is Treason pure and simple and it most probably involves Espionage (T18S793 a & b (eg. - giving the enemy top secret night vision devices and documents), also Sedition T18 Sec 2384 Sedition USC ,”If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. “ therightsidejgarydilaura.com J.Gary DiLaura FBI RED Retired Extremely Dangerous The Sun Bay Paper Page 4 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 202 IT’S ALLABOUT CHAOS…Nothing To Do With China Virus Or The Environment Or Anything Esle... JUST THE CHAOS BEFORE THE SOCIALISM TAKE-OVER ATTEMPT! The Right Side Cont. to pg 27 The COVID Narrative Is Changing ... Why? Over the past week or so, the powers that be have begun changing the narrative on the COVID-19 pandemic. I've come across probably a dozen articles in decidedly mainstream news sources that reflect an abrupt about-face on COVID. Throughout the fall and even up until Christmas, the mainstream media was pitching the usual panic porn about COVID: clamoring for third and even fourth "boosters", defending the Biden administration's vaccine mandates and the layoffs and firings of the unvaccinated, cheering for New York's and other cities' vaccine "passport" requirements and, of course, echoing President Joe Biden's apocalyptic prediction that the omicron variant was going to bring a "winter of severe illness and death" for the unvaccinated. Then suddenly, everything started to change. The first article I noticed was in SFGATE, an online San Francisco news source. On Dec. 28, writer Eric Ting published a story in which he noted that COVID-19 cases are "skyrocketing." But that wasn't the story's hook. "Despite the case increase," Ting wrote, "the city's hospitalization numbers have remained mostly flat." Ting quoted public health experts who said that infection rates and hospitalization rates are "definitely decoupling." Epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford told Ting, "If this were like past waves, we'd have seen a bigger (hospitalization) increase by now." Rutherford's assessment was echoed by Dr. Robert Wachter, who ascribes the phenomenon to omicron being a less severe strain of the virus. "If we were mirroring Delta's severity," Wachter said, "we'd see a big impact on hospital numbers by now." An NBC article on Dec. 29 also pushed this new narrative, saying, "The Biden White House, to its credit, is attempting to shift public discourse surrounding COVID from a focus on the total number of cases ... to a reporting of its resulting deaths and hospitalizations." On Jan. 2, Dr. Anthony Fauci was described in The Guardian as being among "a growing body of experts who say hospitalisation figures form a better guide to the severity of the Omicron coronavirus variant than the traditional case-count of new infections." This followed a Dec. 31 New York Times article heralding studies from South Africa and the U.K. showing that omicron was less likely to result in hospitalization. Also on Jan. 2, a Wall Street Journal editorial posited that omicron may end up saving lives by pushing us toward real "herd immunity." On Jan. 3, Dr. Leana Wen (infamous for insisting that "life needs to be hard" for the unvaccinated) wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post titled, "Omicron is bad. But we don't need to resort to lockdowns." Since when? Why the sudden shift? Some writers think it's because omicron has been breaking out in vaccinated people. (This despite Biden's latest distortion that omicron is a "pandemic of the unvaccinated.") Since it's no longer possible to point the finger at the unvaccinated as (sole) disease vectors, it's time to start softening the story.
When the Florida legislature meets in January, it will scour through a range of funding initiatives prioritized in the fiscal 2023 budget proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis. A big chunk of it includes an historic $23.9 billion in proposed funding to education, of which $13.3 billion would go to K-12 public schools serving Florida’s nearly 3 million students. DeSantis' education budget also seeks to allocate $4 billion to fund Florida state colleges and universities, as well as extensive funding to overhaul and expand workforce development programs, grants and scholarships. If approved by lawmakers, it would allocate $1.3 billion to fund Florida’s state colleges and $2.7 billion to Florida’s state universities, with no tuition or fee increases. “Our students and families should not face any additional financial burdens as they are completing their education,” the governor’s budget summary states. It also would allocate roughly $122 million in operating funds to Florida’s historically black colleges and universities, including over $90 million to Florida A&M University, $16.96 million to Bethune-Cookman University, $7.4 million to Edward Waters College, and $7 million to Florida Memorial University. The budget also maintains $20.8 million for the Florida Postsecondary Academic Library Network used by the Florida College System and State University System. This includes $9 million in proposed funding to state colleges and $11.8 million to state universities for e-resources, technical support and distance learning technology. The governor's budget proposal also allocates $602 million to fund the state’s Bright Futures Scholarship Program and $40 million to provide a $300 stipend to each Florida Academic Scholar for both fall and spring semesters. It also would provide $35 million to the Open Door Grant Program to fund school district workforce education institutions and Florida College System institutions. Another priority of the education portion of the budget is to expand the affordability of workforce training and credentialing for Floridians. To do this, the budget seeks to allocate more than $534 million to support workforce education programs, including $15 million for the governor’s Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant Program, which supports pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs for high school and college students. It proposes $560 million in performance funding for state universities, $25 million for two incentive funds for state colleges, and funding for students earning industry certifications in high-skill, high-demand areas at state colleges ($14 million) and career technical centers ($6.5 million). It also would completely overhaul Florida’s workforce training and development system, allocating another $100 million to implement the Consumer-first Workforce System. In addition to apprenticeship programs, technical centers and state college and university workforce development programs, it also would fund two new programs designed to expand Florida’s police force. DeSantis earlier this year invited law enforcement officers from other states or cities impacted by movements to defund their police departments to relocate to Florida. He offered to pay officers a $5,000 hiring bonus, cover their relocation expenses and costs related to exams and other related training programs. Several from New York City have already taken him up on the offer and moved to Florida. The budget proposal would fund this initiative by allocating $25 million to cover the cost of the $5,000 bonus payments, which is also offered to new recruits who live in Florida. It also allocates $6 million to fund two educational and workforce development programs: $5 million to a Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program and $1 million to establish an Out-ofState Law Enforcement Equivalency Reimbursement initiative. The funding would cover the cost of law enforcement academies for prospective officers, the State Officer Certification Exam fee and any necessary equivalency training program costs for relocating officers. DeSanits' budget also seeks to spend $100 million to fund workforce development capitalization incentive grants to help recipients purchase of instructional equipment, laboratory equipment, supplies, or other expenses. Florida’s higher education system has been ranked the best in the nation for five consecutive years by U.S. News and World Report. The Sunshine state boasts five of the top 100 public universities in the country, including one in the top 5, and another in the top 20. The University of Florida was just ranked the fifth best public university in the nation by U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best College report. It also ranked ninth best for student outcomes, tying with Stanford and Brown universities. It was also listed among the top schools for undergraduate research and for veterans, and its online undergraduate program was ranked the third best in the country. Florida Southern College was named the best Christian College in the state for 2022 by EDsmart. The Princeton Review’s Best 387 Colleges guide also listed it in its top 20 most beautiful campuses in the nation. Florida’s colleges and universities also provide some of the lowest tuitions in the U.S. for public four-year institutions, the governor’s office notes. Bethany Blankley The Center Square The Sun Bay Paper Page 5 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 2022 DeSantis’ Budget Allocates $4 Billion to Florida State Colleges and Universities
The Sun Bay Paper Page 6 In recent months, European gas prices have risen as much as 700%, leaving millions of citizens vulnerable to a dangerously unstable grid and burdened with high electricity costs heading into this winter. Disruptions from this energy crisis have been felt by households and many industries that rely on affordable power to provide goods and services. Until the recent escalation of Russia’s confrontation with NATO over Ukraine, the Biden administration’s solution to Europe’s energy crisis had been to implore Russia to send more gas to Europe. EU member states are already dependent on Moscow for roughly 40% of their gas supply. Initially, the White House made a deal with Germany, letting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline move forward. As part of an effort to repair relations with Germany, this decision allows Russia to tighten Putin’s grip over European energy security at the expense of our strategic partner Ukraine. Fortunately, German regulators refused to approve the pipeline, effectively delaying the certification of the project before July 2022. As part of the growing confrontation with Europe and the U.S. over Ukraine, Russia has further cut gas exports to Europe. Thus, geopolitics and energy security in Europe is front and center of the U.S. national security interests. We need a multi-phase strategy to protect U.S. interests while supporting our European allies in their time of need. The Administration should champion liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. We are in a military face-off with Russia regarding Ukraine that worsens by the day. Moscow has upped the pressure by repeatedly using energy as an economic weapon. This signal would create certainty in the global market by providing predictability of supply while also providing geopolitical and national security benefits. As the world’s premier energy producer, America has enormous potential to impact both national and international security. The U.S. is set to become the world’s largest LNG exporter by the end of 2022, an impressive milestone for a nation that began exporting just six years ago. Calcasieu Pass and Sabine Pass Train 6, based in Louisiana and Texas respectively, will soon come online and export LNG to many nations. Poland is an ally on the front lines of the military confrontation with Russia. It is also committed to reducing its dependence on Russian gas. Poland will soon import over a third of its gas supply from the U.S., and no longer fear that Russia will shut off its energy supply as it has done in the past. Other European nations have also signed supply contracts with U.S. producers to diversify their gas supply. Fortunately, the U.S. is already moving in this direction. Gas has generated considerable income in 2021 for U.S. oil and gas producers. This positive trend will be necessary for a successful energy transition. Now is not the time to undermine this progress by restricting U.S. LNG exports. Providing our allies with an alternative to Russia and Qatar strengthens U.S. national security. Notably, the price of U.S. LNG can encourage lower prices from other gas producers. From a climate point of view, less U.S. LNG on the market means higher global prices and increased global use of coal plants to produce electricity. U.S. LNG exports influence geopolitics beyond Europe. The U.S. has recently become China’s secondlargest LNG supplier. Despite geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing, China has recently committed to a significant volume of long-term supply contracts of U.S. LNG, lowering the US trade deficit with China. Finally, U.S. LNG can reduce global carbon emissions – an important international and national security policy objective. A 2020 ICF International study examined U.S. LNG exports to Germany, China, and India and calculated the climate benefits. For these three countries, the study found that “using U.S. LNG or imported pipelined gas for electricity generation produces on average 50.5 percent lower GHG emissions than electricity from coal.” Therefore, the transition from coal to natural gas overseas provides a proven climate solution to meet energy demand while addressing the risks of climate change. Some disagree, but I believe that curtailing U.S. LNG exports would set back, not advance, the U.S.’s climate goals. This process will not be easy: first, U.S. LNG exports may drive up domestic U.S. gas prices if supply and demand for gas do not synch carefully, depending on how energy markets respond to price changes. Second, producers, transporters, and owners of U.S. natural gas have a responsibility to develop plans for a low-carbon, clean energy future. Climate change is real. Renewable energy must play a more significant role in reducing carbon emissions. The public and shareholders alike believe the US private sector should be doing all it can to reduce carbon emissions and significantly minimize methane emissions. Fortunately, while the private sector has made progress in dealing with gas leaks, more can be done throughout the supply chain. The U.S. is blessed with abundant natural gas and oil. Soaring energy costs for our allies require policies that support – not hinder – the safe and responsible production, transportation, and export of American natural gas. Richard D. Kauzlarich U.S. Natural Gas is Critical to Strengthening America’s National Security January 7, 2022 - January 13, 202
Dear Doctor: Just how much of a role do personality traits have in determining how long someone will live? Recent news reports have suggested that they're important, but the explanation didn't really make that much sense to me. Dear Reader: The idea that the way we view or interact with the world around us can affect our health is an intriguing one, and several studies have taken on the topic over the years. Since we're not sure which of these you're referring to, we'll look at a couple of the most recent ones. Researchers in Italy who studied a group of 29 elderly men and women aged between 90 and 101 said their findings suggest that mental outlook plays a significant role in wellbeing. This is a departure from other approaches to the topic of longevity, which have focused on genetics. Despite the typical health issues you would expect to see among individuals of this advanced age, the subjects of the study were found to have more self-confidence than their younger relatives, who were also included in the study. Using questionnaires and interviews, the researchers concluded that the elderly group, who had more positive feelings about their lives than their younger relatives did, exerted greater control over their lives and surroundings. They achieved this by being stubborn and domineering, personality traits that the researchers tied to their longevity. They also had strong ties to family, to their homes and land, and to their spiritual practices. Thanks to this blend of resilience and optimism, the group of elders appeared to have struck a balance that helped them weather the many challenges they faced over the decades. And while lifestyle factors like diet and exercise were not the focus of this particular study, the researchers agreed that they are also quite likely to play a role. Another study, this one based in England, analyzed the health and lifestyle data of 500,000 individuals ranging in age from 37 to 73. The researchers wondered whether being neurotic would have an effect on the length of an individual's lifespan. When they looked at the broad category of neurosis, they found a "weak correlation" between being neurotic and a shorter lifespan. However, when they separated the data into subcategories, they got a surprise. It turned out that neurotic individuals who self-reported their health as either fair or poor actually had longer lifespans. Neurotic individuals who said they were in good or excellent health didn't get the same boost to longevity. In this study, the conclusion was not that the neuroses themselves extended an individual's life. Instead, the personality traits associated with being neurotic led people to be more aware of their aches and pains, and to be more aggressive in seeking medical care. With more frequent assessments and screenings, serious conditions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease would be caught earlier and would thus be more responsive to treatment. For those of us who are neither neurotic nor 90year-olds living in rural Italy, there are still useful takeaways from the studies: Have regular medical checkups, be vigilant about basic screenings, and strive for a positive outlook even in trying times. Eve Glazier, M.D. and Elizabeth Ko, M.D As a general principle, you are free to distribute your property as you see fit via a will or trust. But in Florida law, there is a critical exception for “homestead” property, i.e., your primary residence. Article X of the Florida Constitution provides special protections and restrictions on homestead property. The protections include an exemption from any forced sale to pay off your creditors. In other words, even after you die, your creditors cannot force your family to sell your homestead to pay off a debt. This ensures your family will not be kicked out of their home. But this brings us to the special restrictions on homesteads. Article X also states that a homestead “is not subject to devise,” except as provided by law, if the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child. In plain English, your ability to transfer your homestead property upon death is limited as follows: ● If you are married without children, you can only leave the homestead to your spouse. ● If you have children, you can only leave the homestead to your children, but your spouse retains a “life estate” in the property, meaning he or she can continue to live in the house as long as they pay the bills. ● During your lifetime, you cannot mortgage, sell, or give the homestead to anyone other than your spouse without their consent, even if your spouse is not a coowner of the property. Electing to Take One-Half of the Property Instead of a Life Estate A separate law, Section 732.401 of the Florida Statutes, further explains that the surviving spouse may opt-out of the life estate and elect to simply take a “one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common.” The remaining half then goes to the deceased owner's children or other descendants. Why would a surviving spouse elect to do this? A common reason is that the widow or widower may simply not be in a position to carry the property financially. A life estate basically requires the surviving spouse to pay all of the costs to maintain the property for the benefit of the children. By electing to take a onehalf interest instead, that effectively cuts the surviving spouse's financial obligation in half. But it is important to note there is a six-month deadline for making this election, starting from the date of the homestead owner's death. A Florida appeals court recently issued a decision, Samad v. Pla, on this point. In this case, a widow sought an extension of time to file her election. While such extensions are permitted, the petition seeking an extension must still be filed within the six-month window. Here, the widow failed to do this–she waited until about eight months after her husband's death–so the court ruled the petition was filed too late. As you can see, Florida's rules governing homestead property are somewhat complicated. A qualified Fort Myers estate planning attorney can answer any questions you might have regarding what happens to your home after your death. Contact the Kuhn Law Firm, P.A., at 239-333-4529 today to schedule a free consultation with a member of our estate planning team. Rules Pertaining to Bequeathing Your Homesteaded House in Florida ASK THE DOCTORS Studies Offer Insights Into How Personality Traits Affect Aging Sun Bay Paper Available Do you like this News Paper? Interested in having your own Franchise in your hometown or in taking over this one? Call Bobby at: 239-267-4000 Low Tide High Tide Fri, Jan 7 Tide Set One 03:33 AM 2.17 ft 11:13 AM -0.30 ft Tide Set Two 05:57 PM 1.51 ft 11:06 PM 0.89 ft Sat, Jan 8 Tide Set One 04:42 AM 1.77 ft 11:48 AM 0.03 ft Tide Set Two 06:24 PM 1.67 ft ----- --- Sun, Jan 9 Tide Set One 06:11 AM 1.38 ft 12:38 AM 0.62 ft Tide Set Two 06:54 PM 1.87 ft 12:22 PM 0.36 ft Mon, Jan 10 Tide Set One 08:03 AM 1.15 ft 02:05 AM 0.33 ft Tide Set Two 07:27 PM 2.03 ft 12:56 PM 0.66 ft Tue, Jan 11 Tide Set One 10:02 AM 1.12 ft 03:17 AM -0.00 ft Tide Set Two 08:02 PM 2.13 ft 01:31 PM 0.92 ft Wed, Jan 12 Tide Set One 11:46 AM 1.21 ft 04:16 AM -0.30 ft Tide Set Two 08:40 PM 2.23 ft 02:10 PM 1.15 ft Thu, Jan 13 Tide Set One 09:21 PM 2.30 ft 05:07 AM -0.52 ft Tide Set Two ----- --- 02:52 PM 1.28 ft Tide Chart
The Sun Bay Paper Page 8 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 202 Guest Editorial These past few years have been challenging, hard and, with the influx of the omicron variant this Christmas season, seemingly never-ending. It's been nearly two years since we began what was to have been a two-week pause to stop COVID-19. Since then, we've endured lockdowns, masking, sickness, death, fear, overwork, underwork, government stimulus, vaccine creation, the fast-tracking of new antiviral technology, work from home, school closures, supply-chain snafus, tight political elections, protests and rapidly changing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just to name a few items. The list is ever-exhausting. The one thing that is certain is that life's twists and turns can't always be predicted, and its pace is fast and getting faster. This is not going to change. This week, Gallup poll's annual update contained key findings. I am going to highlight a few and use them to think broadly about what might happen, not in the near term but over time. "The percentage of Americans who reported being a member of a church, synagogue, or mosque fell to a record-low 47 percent, according to a March 2021 Gallup report," the update said (polls conducted 2018-2020, 6,117 adults, +/- 2 points). This is the "first time in Gallup's trend since the 1930s that less than half of U.S. adults have claimed such membership." While fewer than half of Americans said they are religious, more than half said they believe in the power of God. They are just not sure that that power comes through a religious institution created by humans. As reported in September by Gallup, "Trust in the federal government's handling of international problems has fallen nine percentage points since last year to a record-low 39%, and now matches the level of trust for its handling of domestic problems -- one of only a few times that has occurred" (Sept. 1-17, 1,005 people, confidence level +/- 4 points). Trust in institutions has been falling for a while, but this precipitous drop seems unlikely to return to over 50% anytime soon. Most of us truly believe that our government is not only fallible but incompetent. Gallup reported in October that "the vast majority of Republicans (75 percent) identify as conservative; Democrats are divided, with nearly as many describing their political views as moderate (37 percent) or conservative (12 percent) as describing them as liberal (51 percent)" (Sept. 1-17, 1,005 adults, +/- 4 points). Republicans may be tighter ideologically but they have managed to continually put politics over policy and ego over generosity. In doing so, they have become as mean-spirited as the Democrats in their messaging. A sure loss for Republicans. Gallup also reported in October that a little over a third (36%) of people "in U.S. have a 'great deal' or 'fair amount' of trust in mass media" (Sept. 1-17, 1,005 adults, +/- 4 points). "This includes 68% of Democrats, 31% of Independents and 11% of Republicans." While Democrats might still overwhelmingly trust mass media, this percentage will likely fall as the fallout over the political, pandemic and personal biases in reporting become more and more evident over time. We are mistrusting, disbelieving and disheartened. We have been told by both political parties that the other is evil, and that our party is right. Many of us have succumbed to cynicism and disillusionment. What have we learned? That when we expect the worst of others, that is often what we get. We all have grievances; we all have suffered losses; we all have experienced heartaches. If we try to pit our grievances against others, we will find ourselves in a losing battle. If we instead look for the better angels -- both within ourselves and, more importantly, within others -- possibly, just possibly, we will be able to see the light of God that shines in all of us and encourage it to shine even brighter, leading the next person to allow their light to shine as well. In 2022, let's look forward to a spiritual revival. One in which the goal is to help our neighbor, not by helping him realize how terrible he is as a person but by helping him realize what potential he has. That everyone has value; that everyone has a calling; and that our job on this earth is to help others see the light in themselves, as well as our light in ourselves. That is something to look forward to in the new year. Jackie Cushman Quote of the Week If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor. -Eleanor Roosevelt Letters To The Editor To the Editor, This ever revolving idea that says "hey we just need to elect the right person and all the ills will be fixed" has become that which defines insanity. IE continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results because we never have good candidates to choose from, it’s always been the lessor of two evils... Until we stop playing the game of divide and conquer that Democrats and the rest are players in we will continue to get the same results. A billionaire from NY changed how people pay attention to politics and became a man of the working people... it actually happened and the opposition … ie: liberals, fought him for 4 years not accepting he won, now when people don’t accept that Joe Biden got more votes than Barrack Obama it is not okay... How about we all start working on the local level and change the system from the bottom up. Start at the local school boards, pay attention at what your Mayor stands for, your council members etc.. It’s time for me and you to get involved Nathan Rebikton PHONE: (239) 267-4000 MAIL: 16970 San Carlos Blvd. #160, Ft Myers, Fl 33908 E-MAIL: production@sunbaypaper.com WEBSITE & DIGITAL VERSION: http://www.sunbaypaper.com The Sun Bay Paper To the Editor, All this hoopla about the Jan 6th attack on Congress... is BS (See attached photo) Tony Salsamini Ed Note: There is a double standard...we included your photo below
Sunset Photo Contest Photo’s taken in the highest resolution will look crisper and cleaner so we suggest you take them in the best res. your camera allows! Winners will be awarded Bragging Rights, knowing they won amongst all the entries that week, we save unused submissions for future consideration but if you didn’t win, you can always submit another! Simple contest rules: 1) Photo must be taken in Lee, Collier or Charlotte County. 2) Photo must include: location where the photo was taken from. Include your full name phone # in your email. 3) You can only submit photos you yourself, have taken and have full rights to, it must be previously unpublished & by submitting any photo, you are giving Sun Bay Paper full rights to publish in print and on the internet. send to: production@sunbaypaper.com For this weeks photo we received a great picture taken by: Gerald (JERRY) Hunsburger 26000 block, Bonita Beach Rd., Bonita Beach * ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIALS
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Administration for Children and Families, which were attempting to make toddlers wear masks and require staff and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 31. “This latest attempt by the Biden administration to centrally plan the daily lives of Americans in the name of mitigating COVID-19 is perhaps the most absurd so far,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “The federal government simply has no legal authority to order twoyear-olds to wear masks all day at preschool.” States involved in the suit where the mandate will now be blocked are: Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. “This is another victory for the rule of law,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said. “Yet another court has said no to this abuse of power and executive overreach. These mandates are garbage and we will continue to stand for the rule of law.” The lawsuit claims a mandate related to Head Start is beyond the authority of the Executive Branch and is against the law, violating the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA) Notice-and-Comment Requirement, the Congressional Review Act, the Nondelegation Doctrine, the Tenth Amendment, the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine, the Spending Clause and the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1999. “Once again the federal executive branch has overstepped its legal authority to make laws and once again a federal court has agreed with the State of Alabama that such overreach is unconstitutional and should be stopped,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “In a rare New Year’s Day order, the Western District Court of Louisiana enjoined the Biden administration from enforcing its vaccine mandate for Head Start workers and its mask mandate for toddlers. The order affects 24 states, including Alabama, which brought suit against the mandate. This victory will help ensure that numerous Head Start programs will continue to operate rather than have to fire teachers and cut back services to children. And this win will forestall the nonsensical and damaging practice of forcing masks on 2-year-olds.” Jon Styf The Center Square The Sun Bay Paper Page 10 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 202 Federal Judge Blocks Head Start Vaccine, Mask Mandate in 24 States Roe V. Wade Hindges on Dobbs vs. Jackson Is abortion a legal issue or is it a moral issue? It’s both, and that’s why it’s almost impossible to resolve. I’ve always thought that abortion would divide us well into posterity, but perhaps not! Permit me to put an optimistic spin on the future of this issue. In December, the Supreme Court heard a Mississippi abortion law case, “Dobbs vs. Jackson.” The Court is being asked to validate the Mississippi ban on abortion after 15 weeks, allowing for certain exceptions. Validating “Dobbs” could be a death blow to Roe v. Wade, and many pundits predict that’s what will happen. The Constitution is silent on the issue of abortion and that automatically raises concern. And it’s been argued for decades that the Roe decision relied on an improper interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause. In the Roe ruling, SCOTUS took great liberty by applying a broad interpretation of “due process” that includes the “right to privacy.” And it somehow concluded that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability was protected by that right to privacy. Additionally, “Roe” and supporting Supreme Court decisions rely on “viability” as an important benchmark. But many argue that viability is too arbitrary because Constitutional rights can’t be tied to the status of everchanging technology, science, and life-saving procedures. How about the Founders’ intentions regarding abortion? James Wilson signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He was also an original Supreme Court Justice. His statements are commonly considered representative of the Founders’ collective intentions. Wilson explained: “In the contemplation of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb.” Apparently, many Founders believed natural rights do attach to the unborn. More recently, the late liberal Justice Ginsburg supported proabortion policies but criticized the Supreme Court’s legal reasoning in Roe. The late conservative Justice Scalia agreed that Roe was a bad decision, and despite his personal beliefs, he stated he could agree to the constitutionality of states individually legalizing abortion. If “Dobbs” is upheld, Roe v. Wade would be irrelevant, and individual states would once again have the responsibility for abortion legislation. A common bipartisan criticism of Roe is reflected in this statement from Professor Kermit Roosevelt, a supporter of abortion being a constitutional right: “As constitutional argument, Roe is barely coherent…” Clearly, the Roe ruling is one of the most controversial in our history, even among those who support its conclusion. Most Americans aren’t comfortable with where Roe has taken us – e.g. full term abortions in some jurisdictions. Nor are Americans comfortable with prohibiting abortions under any-and-all circumstances. I believe most Americans, conservative and liberal, understand and accept several exceptions to abortion bans that reflect the lack of clarity in extreme and difficult life decisions. If Roe is invalidated, the result won’t precisely reflect my interpretation of America’s preferences, but perhaps it’s as close as we’ll get right now. American citizens might see to it that we take a break from the arguing, even if the mainstream pro-abortion folks squirm in their seats, while pro-life purists insist on planning future campaigns. Hopefully Americans will tell those pursuing further skirmishes to “hush” for a while, saying “let’s see how this works out.” Americans are seeking and finding common ground, but the politicians refuse. Invalidating Roe (if it happens) will put the onus of dealing with abortion back with the states where it belongs. “Pro-Roe” folks will no longer have the legal permission that has led to over 62,000,000 U.S. fetal deaths and began allowing full-term abortions in several states. Nevertheless, the abortion industry will continue, but will be under greater restrictions. Maybe that’s the best solution that supporters of compromise (like me) can hope to achieve in the world of 2022. Let’s hope it happens and then we should borrow the vision expressed by Supreme Court Justice Brandeis when he applauded the value of “the laboratory of the states” for “experimenting” with controversial policies. Either way, we’ll know the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs by approximately late June 2022. Finally, I hope that someday we can have a serious discussion about the definition of human life. And the question about “when life begins” must be included. myslantonthings.com Steve Bakke, Fort Myers Cont. from pg 1 Angel Nevin and her friend and classmate Jade Smith, left, wait for their signal to ring their hand bell as children from the Anderson Grove Head Start program in Caledonia, Miss., ring their hand bells to accompany several patriotic songs, Tuesday at the Capitol in Jackson, Remember this cartoon from a couple years ago?
The Sun Bay Paper Page 11 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 2022 A prominent bright spot in today’s political scene is the movement to take the education of our children out of the hands of the influential school boards operating with little input from parents. It’s time that parents know the political desires of these candidates. The secrecy behind party affiliation on school boards must end. Andrew Atterbury and Juan Perez Jr. writing at Politico news, say Republicans across America are pressing local jurisdictions and state lawmakers to make typically sleepy school board races into politicized, partisan elections in an attempt to gain more statewide control and swing them to victory in the 2022 midterm elections. Tennessee lawmakers, last October, approved a measure allowing school board candidates to list their party affiliation on the ballot. Arizona, Florida, and Missouri legislators are weighing a similar measure. It is likely to spread to other states and increase voter turnout. Kenneth Marcus, the Education Department Civil Rights Chief under former Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, has called for school board elections to be part of an effort to “end critical race theory in schools.” This latest effort to thrust school board elections into partisan affairs come as education was a primary issue in the significant upset election of Glenn Youngkin as Governor of Virginia. He campaigned on the promise to give parents more say in their children’s education, including classroom lessons in history and race. Republicans are openly embracing parental rights as a key factor shaping policy in DC and many statehouses. There has been a significant underestimation of parental frustration with their leftist school systems. Including political party labels in school board elections seems like a common-sense reform, say, Atterbury and Perez Jr., that would give voters more information and likely enhance voter participation and local accountability. While all of this is good news, the Democrats are mounting a greater effort to literally destroy the democracy we have known here for almost 250 years. The Democrat Party has challenged the legitimacy of every presidential election in this century. They blamed a corrupt Supreme Court for their 2000 year defeat, they blamed crooked voting machines in 2004 and Russian interference in 2016. Left-wing news outlets such as NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and others lie to Americans that democracy is under siege when in fact it is under siege by them. These people embrace a dark view of the American people, which is not unique in our history. J. Peder Zone writing in RealClearPolitics (12/29/21), said the Democrat Party’s 19th-century roots show Southern planters and Northern political machines ran them. Today their current status is as the party of global elites. The Democrat Party has long been a hierarchical outfit where those at the top promised to act in the best interest of those below them. The Democrat Party has kept votes in line by playing on the fears of the population. Today it should be obvious to everyone that they are playing the climate change card and the pandemic card most effectively. In the years following World War II, the Democrats gradually changed the groups they pretended to speak for, says Zone. Workingclass whites were out once marginalized groups were in, but their DNA remained the same. “They continued their uneasy relationship with the give and take of American democracy; convinced that their policies were unassailable, they argued that moral failings-stupidity, racism, and greed explained why we have two parties.” It should be obvious now that they are doing everything to be the only party as they have hoped to stack the Supreme Court and pass legislation to take all state voting under the control of Washington DC through now dormant HR 4. We admit that Republicans have not always performed admirably, but their constant embrace of limited government power always restrained any impulse to run every aspect of our lives. The gigantic falsehood of the Democrat Party that Republicans dislike Black Americans is belied by the GOPs strong support for racial justice and the fact that America is by every measure less racist than it has ever been despite the outrageous claim the Marxist Democrats promoting Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, the 1619 project and Wokism in general. It should be evident that in the Democrats’ quest for power, they have no qualms about destroying the country as it was originally founded. Dr. Jay Lehr and Tom Harris Paying More Attention to School Board Elections
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