Sawyer Gipson-Long went five scoreless and Aaron Sabato drove in two to lead the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to a 5-1 week against the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Hammond Stadium Sunday. Making their record for June 14-4

Sabato’s two-run double in the third inning proved to be the difference, as the Mighty Mussels (25-17) capped their big week with a 3-1 victory on Father’s Day. With two on and two out, Sabato laced a 3-2 pitch to the wall in left center at 101 miles per hour.

That followed a leadoff home run by Jeferson Morales, his team-leading fifth dinger of the season.

Gipson-Long and the Fort Myers bullpen did the rest, holding Lakeland (15-26) to two runs or less for the fourth time in six games. Gipson-Long scattered four hits and three walks, fanning six without allowing a run.

7th inning stretch rendition of Take Me Out To The Ball Game

The Mussels’ used four relievers for one inning each to close out the series. Erik Manoah Jr. earned his second save of the series, stranding the tying run at home in the ninth.

Denny Bentley, Steven Cruz and John Wilson each worked a clean inning before Manoah Jr. Cruz struck out two, and Wilson made his Hammond Stadium debut.

The Mighty Mussels’ have started the month of June with a 14-4 record, pitching to a stingy 1.97 ERA while striking out 215 batters in 155.1 innings (12.5 K/9). Perhaps most impressively, they’ve walked the fewest batters (68) in the league this month.

Fort Myers will travel to Palm Beach on Tuesday to begin a six-game series with the Cardinals. All six games can be heard on the Cardinals Baseball Network

Box Score: https://atmilb.com/3qc1sB7

Our next six game homestretch will be against the Bradenton Marauders of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from Tuesday through Sunday, June 29 to July 4, including three consecutive fireworks displays following the July 2 through 4 games to celebrate The Fourth of July.

Tickets range from $9 to $12; purchase them online at www.milb.com, at the box office that opens 60 minutes prior to each game, or over the telephone at 239-768-4210, with parking $10-per-car.

The Mighty Mussels play at Hammond Stadium at CenturyLink Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway.

John Vittas broadcasts every Mighty Mussels home game and will announce many 2nd Half road games as well, with broadcasts beginning 15 minutes prior to the first pitch.

The easiest way to access Mighty Mussels games is to come and enjoy the home game live... but worldwide you can catch them at: www.mightymussels.com that pops up 15 minutes prior to each game, as well as through the MiLB First Pitch App and www.milb.com/fort-myers/fans/audio-listen-live.

Ransomware attacks against municipalities, government agencies and utilities are a mushrooming concern with Florida institutions and individuals experiencing more than their share of criminal and nuisance cyber intrusions.

In February, a hacker remotely accessed a computer for the city of Oldsmar’s water treatment system and briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide, or lye, by a factor of more than 100. A supervisor saw the change and reverted it, avoiding catastrophe.

At least four Florida cities, a sheriff’s department and police department suffered ransomware attacks in 2019 alone. In addition, that same year the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office lost evidence following a ransomware infection and the State Attorney’s Office dropped 11 narcotic cases after evidence was lost in a ransomware attack against the Stuart Police Department.

In October, the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) was victimized by “malicious activity” that hampered its operations for weeks.

A class-action lawsuit lodged June 30 seeks $99 million in damages against a Tampa-based Florida Orthopaedic Institute healthcare for alleged negligence in a ransomware breach of 100,000 to 150,000 current and former patients exposed in an April ransomware attack.

These quick-hit examples don’t include last month’s ransomware shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline or revelations that Russian GRU military intelligence hackers planted malware into voter registration systems in at least two Florida counties – St. Lucie and Washington – prior to the November 2016 election.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the $100 billion Fiscal Year 2022 budget signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday includes $37.5 million to dramatically boost the state’s cybersecurity systems.

According to the Governor’s Office, the money will be allocated to state agencies to enhance cybersecurity and protect Floridians from “cyber threats that can compromise critical state resources and sensitive information.”

More than $30 million of the overall $37.5 million cybersecurity allocation will implement the initiatives recommended by the Florida Cybersecurity Taskforce, including the establishment of the Florida Digital Service within the Department of Management Services (DMS) to address cyber threats and increase cybersecurity training and resources at state agencies.

Florida Chief Information Officer James Grant, a former state representative appointed in 2020 by DeSantis to direct the DMS, in a Wednesday statement praised the governor and lawmakers for “prioritizing key investments” to protect critical Florida digital infrastructure against cyber threats.

“Gov. DeSantis remains focused on creating a solid foundation of cybersecurity to help combat evolving threats against Florida’s digital infrastructure,” Grant said, praising Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez and the Florida Cybersecurity Task Force for offering “first-of-its-kind investments in cybersecurity will help protect critical state resources and sensitive information.”

During the legislative session, lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 1297, The Information Technology (IT) Security Act, that enacts recommendations from the Florida Cybersecurity Task Force.

The 15-member task force convened in October to provide ways to improve the state’s cybersecurity infrastructure, governance and operations.

Its report outlining recommendations for technologies, processes and personnel needed to protect Floridians’ data was submitted to DeSantis and lawmakers in February.

Under HB 1297, the newly created Florida Digital Service, housed with the DMS, will analyze and remedy cybersecurity risks at state agencies, upgrade IT resources to align with federal guidelines and increase training for state agency IT professionals.

The new law also creates the Florida Cybersecurity Advisory Council within DMS and would fund 15 full-time cybersecurity positions.

John Haughey
The Center Square

“Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts & Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back!”....

While all professional leagues offer concessions to their fans, no sport combines its game and food better than baseball! Even that 7th Inning Stretch standard, “Take Me Out to The Ball Game,” extolls the taste-treat virtues of peanuts and Cracker Jack!

Perhaps the reason food and drink go so well with baseball is the game’s leisurely pace allows fans to savor ball park foods in an equally casual way. You don’t have to gulp your food in 30-second intervals between plays like at football or sneak in a bite or two as basketball players run from one end of the court to the other in seconds, or wear gloves to manipulate your meal like at a hockey game! On top of that, baseball’s love affair with food goes back well over a century, so much so that the mere mention of certain types evokes a trip to the ball park; whenever you hear “Dog & A Beer,” who doesn’t think baseball?

Everything But Mussels

To get your ball park food fix on in the Fort Myers area, head to Hammond Stadium at the CenturyLink Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway to take in a Fort Myers Mighty Mussels game, a minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. The team offers a broad array of menu selections but if crave their signature seafood name, you must go elsewhere – there are no mussels on the Mussels menu!

Let’s start with the obvious – the hot dog – and those at Hammond Stadium are absolutely terrific! Thick, meaty and cooked to perfection, the dogs fill the bun full and are a taste sensation. Owning to the pandemic health and safety conditions, concession personnel serve your dog in a cardboard container with individual ketchup, mustard, and relish servings. At $5 each, you can’t go wrong, but for a real “Bang for Your Hot Dog Buck,” Tuesdays are 2-for-1 dogs and Wednesdays are $1 hot dogs all game!

If you want to step up your hot dog game for a bit more money, the Mussels have scrumptious bratwursts for $6 or go all the way to the top of the dog food chain with an Italian sausage with ample peppers and onions for $8.50. If you feel like a rebel and want to go against tradition, hamburgs and cheeseburgers are $6, veggie burgers $6.50, grilled chicken sandwiches $7, and chicken tenders with fries $7.75.

Rachel Raymer is the Mighty Mussels Operations Coordinator, requiring her to be at every homegame; as such, she experiences more ball park food in a season than many people do in a lifetime! Her personal preference is the Philly Cheesesteak crammed with peppers and onions at $8.

“You don’t find Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches at many minor league ballparks,” Rachel explained, “so its uniqueness alone makes it a fun choice. They are delicious – really Philly and really cheesy!”

Snacks & “Sunday Brunch”

If snacks are more your style, the Mussels have plenty. Peanuts and Cracker Jack are so intertwined with baseball that Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer included them in their 1908 song, “Take Me Out to The Ball Game,” that is now baseball’s official anthem that fans sing out loud each game during the 7th Inning Stretch. It is no coincidence, however, that these two staples are at every baseball stadium for well over a century – the molasses-flavored and caramel-coated popcorn with peanuts Cracker Jack and salted peanuts make you so thirsty that you absolutely must wash them down with one or more cold sodas or cold ones! This is true, by the way, of the salt content in hot dogs. The Mussels sell generous size bags of peanuts for $4 and Cracker Jack for $3, but while the latter still offers a Toy Surprise, those of us who fondly remember the “Buried Treasures” of our youth inside those old Cracker Jack boxes can barely mask our disappointment by today’s sad little prizes.

If peanuts and Cracker Jack are not for you, the Mussels sell chips for $2, popcorn for $3.50, French fries at $4 and cheese fries for $5, a wonderful hot large pretzel for $5.50 with sides of cheese and jalapenos an extra $1 each, and nachos with cheese for $6, along with various ice creams. Of course, with all this food, you need to wash it down, so the Mussels provide bottled water and tea, Gatorade and Pepsi products, and Harmon Killebrew Root Beer in the $4 to $5 range.

But, like with hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack, baseball games scream out BEER – for adults only, of course – and the Mighty Mussels provide a broad array of selections and prices. Domestic drafts are $6.50, 16-ounce metal bottles are $7, and craft draft go for $7.50 but those are just the top of the beer iceberg!

As with hot dogs, the Mussels sell draft beers 2-for-1 on “Two For Tuesdays,” have $1 cans and $2 drafts on “Thirsty Thursdays,” and each game has the “Strikeout Batter of The Game,” where they select one opposing player each contest and if that unfortunate guy whiffs, 12-ounce drafts are $2 for the next 15 minutes! If you prefer something stronger, there is full bar services, including a “Happy Hour” for all Friday homegames that lasts from 6 to 7 p.m.

For your best overall bang for your food buck, the Mussels present new this season a “Sunday Brunch”
Before every Sunday homegame at just $10-per-person from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Savor all-you-can-eat eggs, sausages, meatballs, veggies, pancakes and more, along with desserts such as chocolate chip cookies, cakes, brownies, cinnamon rolls, and other assorted delicacies! Along with the food, Mimosas are $2 and Bloody Mary’s $5.

Recap: Promotions & Tickets

All Mussels 2021 homegames are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m., with Sundays at Noon, with each having its own special promotion. “Two For Tuesdays” feature 2-for-1 hot dogs, draft beers, and sodas.

Wednesdays are “Senior Nights” with discount admission prices as well as “Dollar Hot Dogs.” Thursdays are “College Night” with all college students with IDs purchasing tickets for $5, along with “Thirsty Thursdays” with $1 beers and $2 drafts. Fridays are a “Happy Hour” from 6 to 7 p.m., with fireworks after the game.

Saturdays are “Bark in The Park” where fans bring their dogs to the contest while receiving terrific promotional giveaways. Sundays are “Sunday Brunch” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., for $10 on top of your ticket, with kids running the bases after the game.

The Mussels are home again Tuesday through Sunday, June 15 through 20, versus the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Tickets range from $9 to $12; purchase them online at www.milb.com, at the box office which opens 60 minutes prior to each game, or over the telephone at 239-768-4210, with parking $10-per-car. The Mighty Mussels play at Hammond Stadium at CenturyLink Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway.

Gary Mooney

Florida and the Feds can’t agree, so a lawsuit lodged by the state demanding an immediate resumption of cruise-line sailing will proceed.

And that’s a victory for Florida’s $8.1 billion cruise industry and a defeat for government-overreach, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

“We’re going to be sailing hopefully very soon,” DeSantis said during a Miami news conference, noting it is pressure from Florida that is forcing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to relax restrictions on the cruise industry.

“Had we not done what we did by suing, you would not be talking about sailing right now. The CDC was not moving. They were not budging. They were non responsive,” he said. The CDC’s April conditional-sale order update requires 95% of cruise ship passengers and 98% of crew be vaccinated and ships undergo 60 to 90 days of preparation and test sailing before resuming full operations, is “an absolute farce.”

The state’s lawsuit, filed in April against the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) contends the order is “unlawful,” outdated and has left the state’s cruise industry pier-side since last March.

On May 12, state and federal attorneys argued before Merryday in Tampa with Florida’s lawyers seeking to an injunction against the conditional-sale order to resume sailing immediately.

On May 20, Merryday ordered all parties into mediation until June 1. After several days of discussions, including an 11-hour session on May 27, that effort ended Tuesday.

“We were in mediation with them. They were very unreasonable about some of the things that they were asking,” DeSantis said, expressing confidence the state will win its lawsuit and, if it doesn’t, would continue to appeal because the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals now has a majority of judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.

“There’s not been a single elected official in this country who’s done more to liberate the cruise lines from a bureaucracy that is totally out of touch, and that, quite frankly, is exercising authority that they do not possess, under the law,” DeSantis said.

The CDC’s order – supported by the cruise industry because a vast majority of their customers will not board the ships without assurances crew and fellow passengers are vaccinated against COVID-19 – runs afoul with a bill signed into law by DeSantis banning businesses or institutions from requiring proof of vaccination, or “vaccine passport.”

Under the new law, if a cruise operator violated the law, it would have to pay up to a $5,000 fine on a per passenger basis.

Instead of exempting the cruise industry from the law, DeSantis would rather spend state money defending it because he is running for president in 2024, say his two declared 2022 gubernatorial Democratic challengers,

John Haughey
The Center Square

Ed. Note: Requiring any US resident to disclose their medicals records is illegal... PERIOD...

THEY ARE CALLED HIPPA LAWS.... so if you think otherwise .... LOOK IT UP!

Black Lives Matter?

Not to other Black people!

Blacks couldn’t care less about other blacks and statistics prove it…stats don’t lie, people lie!

Looking at web site after web site, they all show the same things…blacks commit the greatest crimes on other blacks and whites are mostly responsible for most crimes on whites. AND ... Black people commit a higher percentage of crimes on whites than white people do to black people.

Fact…Some 95% plus of the criminals, who are incarcerated, are either Black or Illegal Aliens.

Fact…Over 80% of all Black children are raised by single parents…take a guess which parent!

Now, the Radical left…let’s call them what they are…Marxists, Obama Socialists, Communists, take your pick, are coming out of the closets and making their move…big time!

What does that have to do with BLM or ANTIFA? It has to do with the overall plan to destroy your Constitutional Republic, and jam Socialism down your throats!

Problem is… many people are too ignorant or just not paying attention to understand what’s happening…

Socialism is where there is no personal ownership of business, except for those close to the Rulers. They are called Oligarchs.

In this new America that Hussein Obama is forming…the Rulers (him and his friends) will decide what Rights you will have as there will be NO Constitution, no Equal Rights, no “right to bear arms”, no Free Speech, no Freedom of Religion as State and Church will be ONE…as it is in Islam… only he decides who gets what jobs, who gets what house, Rights, food, transportation …he will decide everything!

Every single thing Obama is doing, through his puppet Howdy Doody Obiden, is aimed at destroying our Republic! To “change America” is to “Destroy America”, in furtherance of his cause…Islam… all of which is
Sedition, Treason, Espionag.

Obama has committed every crime a former public office holder could possible commit against the Office that took him from a Net Worth of $250,000 to $10+ million in 8 years… Barack Hussein Obama… I got your number Hussein!

If you disagree… I want you to put pen to paper and write down all the good things that have happened to America by closing the construction/operation of the Keystone pipeline.

Then write how reducing “Oil Production” has benefited our economy.

Explain how reducing coal, fossil fuel use has benefited ANYTHING and start with the production of power plants that were coal fired…which WAS 45% of our power production. That was reduced to 15 coal plants by Obama! Explain how that helped relieve the power loss to millions in Texas a few months ago!

Explain how Wind and Solar came through in the Texas debacle!

Then do the same for “opening the Border”.

Then explain how rejoining the Paris Accord will help America.

While you’re at it, include the WHO, World Health Organization…how valuable they were in fighting CHINA 19.

Open Borders, free everything…cell phones, money, food, housing…all elements of communism.

How many times do you have to be slapped across the face by Obama before you wake up and smell the BS? How Many?

Soon, Comrade, if you don’t get rid of those “leaders” who are spending us into oblivion, releasing prisoners so that they can vote and kill our children while they wait…your children will be wearing Burqas and praising Allah, or in their graves!

Why do you think they wanted the schools closed? They are up to no good behind your backs…that’s why!

They are ridding the schools of the old books, curriculums, pictures of Freedom Fighters like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and replacing them with…?

You had better get off your asses, parents, and get involved, see what the NEW school books from which they will be teaching…which form of Socialism…Marxism, Islam, Communism…which would you prefer?

Some people really amaze me, they really do.

China’s Wuhan, houses labs that irrefutably were “working” with, weaponizing, a very dangerous Covid virus 19. People who worked in the lab. .as scientists, escaped and obtained asylum in your country.

They tell stories on how they helped to create that weapon, how it was weaponized, how those who questioned anything were killed…and this “president” is going to “start” to look into where Covid 19
originated?!

This president (with a small “p”), out of pure disrespect for him, and NOT the office… couldn’t find his own arss with his own two hands and while he’s looking, he wants us to believe (from President Harry
Truman), “you can pick up a piece of shit from the clean end and not get your fingers dirty”.

Let convicted criminals, like Herman Bell, out of jail, allow arson, looting, armed assaults…then wonder why crime is so bad…blame Trump. Allow Portland and Minneapolis and Chicago and Ferguson, to burn…then ask “golly gee, what’s happening”?

ENFORCE THE LAWS!

It don’t take a genius to figure it out…get rid of the radical left…they are killing your souls!

VOTE THEM OUT!

therightsidejgarydilaura.com

J. Gary
DiLaura
FBI RED

Retired
Extremely
Dangerous

Going to a musical has always been a trip down memory lane for me, my mom loved musicals, I remember her always singing as she did her chores around the house.... always!

So when we have a chance to, we love going to musicals, especially ones that are meant/written to be a musical, I can remember watching West Side Story, the King and I, and Elvis movies.... as one comedian said, "he sang so well they just let him sing all his lines....."

I swear, at one point when I was a kid, it seemed to be all we watched, Beehive is that kind of musical, where the music and singing is the whole play! It's an exciting and colorful salute to the powerful female voices of the 1960s, from the earliest part of the decade of fun and innocence to the unrest of the mid ‘60s and finally to the era of women discovering their own empowerment.

This cast of talented women will have you singing along and begging for more!

Beehive brings you along a journey through song, while documenting the dramatic changes that America underwent during the ‘60s. The talented cast sang and danced to hits made popular by the Chiffons, the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, Connie Francis and much, much more, including some 40 beloved songs that take you back in time to the look, sounds and feel of the 1960s such as My Boyfriend’s Back, Son Of A Preacher Man, Me and Bobby McGee, R-E-S-P-E-C-T and so many others!

Broadway Palm is continuing to follow CDC guidelines while providing a delicious meal and exceptional entertainment in a safe and socially distanced environment. The buffet was open and fantastic, the menu a la carte was awesome, and my favorite 'Macaroon' cookies were great as usual.

It is important to note that Broadway Palm is asking guests that are not fully vaccinated to wear a face mask while not eating or drinking, but I didn't see many masks being worn.

Beehive: The 60s Musical is playing at Broadway Palm now through June 26, 2021.

Performances are Wednesday through Sunday evenings with selected matinees.

Tickets are $48 to $73. Children and group prices are available.

Tickets are now on sale and can be reserved by calling (239) 278-4422, visiting BroadwayPalm.com or in person at 1380 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.

If you are looking for a good time night out... we highly recommend this Musical!

Remember to tell them Bobby from SunBay Paper sent you!

Memorial Day is different than Veterans Day where we celebrate all Veterans who have served our country. While, Veterans Day belongs to all Veterans. Memorial Day is about the heroes who gave their lives in service to our great nation. Most important, it’s a time to remember the women and men who never returned home to their families while fighting for ours.

Memorial Day’s History

Depending on who you ask, Memorial Day’s history and meaning is sometimes forlorn in our busy lifestyles. At the same time, the history of Memorial Day isn’t being taught to the next generation. For this reason, let’s have another look at why we observe Memorial Day each year. In other words, so that we can pass this history and tradition onto the next generation of Americans to honor our fallen heroes.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day and began during the Civil War period. Historians argue that graves of soldiers were decorated long before the Civil War period. However, in the late 1860s, national cemeteries were established for the fallen soldiers of the Civil War which had claimed more lives than any other conflict in U.S. history. As a result, after the war ended in 1865, many Americans began decorating the graves of the dead with flowers and reciting prayers for the fallen.

Consequently, on May 5, 1868, Gen. John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for Decoration Day to be observed annually and nationwide. On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield delivered a speech at Arlington National Cemetery where more than 5000 Americans decorated the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers with flowers and flags.

Disputed Birthplace of Memorial Day

It’s disputed exactly where and who first began the tradition. In fact, several cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day which has been the subject of several studies. However, in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Namely, because there was a community-wide event held 100 years earlier on May 5, 1866, which the town businesses closed, and the residents decorated the graves of soldiers.

While the story of Waterloo may be true, the decision to make it the birthplace has been the subject of dispute by many historians. For example, women in Savannah, Georgia decorated Confederate Soldiers’ graves in 1862 with flowers according to the Savannah Republican. Furthermore, in 1863, the cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was decorated and a ceremony was held at the grave sites. Finally, many scholars argue that President Abraham Lincoln was the actual founder of Memorial Day with the Gettysburg Address and commemoration at the graves of dead soldiers in 1863.

Traditions and Observations

Memorial Day is now observed on the last Monday of May each year since it became an official federal holiday in 1971. Cities and towns across our country hold ceremonies and decorate cemeteries to remember our heroes. In addition, active military and veterans hold parades in our largest cities to remember the fallen. In particular, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. are historically among the largest gatherings.

At the same time, instead of parades some folks will observe Memorial Day in a different way. Many will observe Memorial Day by simply enjoying some time off from work. Many families will have a barbecue or party to remember the fallen. Likewise, some Americans will take a trip to unite with family or friends they have not seen for a while. Memorial Day for some is simply the beginning of Summer. Above all, we must remember why we are lucky enough to have these traditions. Frankly, it is because of the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom.

My Final Thoughts

In short, in appreciation it is never too late to give something back to those who sacrificed it all. Sometimes, even the small things we do can make a difference. For example, a few years back, around Memorial Day while driving by an old cemetery I noticed some of the flags had fallen over. So, I decided to stop and pick up the flags and put them back at the headstones of the fallen soldiers. Small as this was, it made me feel pretty good inside. Hopefully, if their family visited the gravesite, it made them feel good as well. And, I remember thinking, hopefully a long time from now, in a similar situation someone might come along and do the same for me for serving this country.

Finally, in 2000, Congress passed, and President George W. Bush signed into law, “The National Moment of Remembrance Act.” The National Moment of Remembrance Act “encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3:00 local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.” I would encourage all Americans to educate the next generation about the history of Memorial Day and give something back to the country which provides them with so much freedom and opportunity. God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.

John McGeever 

Millions of Brits had their location tracked without permission. A government report revealed the tracking, which was intended to find out whether being vaccinated against COVID-19 resulted in people being more willing to spend time away from home.

The report discloses 10% of British mobile phone owners were included in a study that used cell tower data to track approximate locations …

The Telegraph reports.

A report from the SPI-B committee of Government scientists admitted that data from one in ten peoples’ phones were tracked in February, without their owners’ express knowledge.

The figures were used by researchers at Oxford University, who carried out studies for the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), which advises the Sage group of Government scientific advisers […]

By comparing the movements of the vaccinated people against a different control group the scientists found that their “average pre-vaccination mobility increased by 218 meters [sic]”.  

The government defended the action by saying that user privacy wasn’t compromised as data was anonymized, and locations were approximate.

[The data source was] a company that collected, cleaned, and anonymized the data.

“The data is at cell tower rather than individual level and the researchers were granted access to the dataset under a research contract with ethical approval provided to the researchers from the University of Oxford, working on behalf of SPI-B”.

A Government source said: “This analysis is at the cell tower level of anonymised data and is therefore not individual surveillance.”

While it’s true that locations derived from cell tower data is far less granular than GPS data, it can still be accurate to less than a thousand feet within cities. It’s worth noting that the claimed mobility difference is smaller than the resolution of the location data, so may well be meaningless.

I’m struggling to see how the study could have been carried out in a totally anonymous fashion. At the very least, the government would have to take phone numbers provided for the purpose of scheduling vaccination appointments and flagging those numbers as belonging to vaccinated individuals. So while the researchers may have received anonymized data, there has to be a point at which the phone numbers and vaccination status were held by the company conducting the study.

I should note I wouldn’t have any issue with this personally, and would gladly consent, but it does seem to me that consent ought to have been sought.

Ben Lovejoy

9to5mac.com

In accordance with Major League Baseball and Lee County health and safety guidelines, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels have revised their health and safety protocols for the 2021 season.

Effective for the team’s next homestand beginning on June 1 – Hammond Stadium capacity will increase from 28 percent to approximately 90 percent. While most of the venue will return to full capacity, socially distant “pods” will remain available in Sections 101 & 201. 

Hammond Stadium fans will no longer be required to wear masks. However, masks, social distancing and hand sanitizing is still recommended and encouraged.

Some Mighty Mussels employees will still be required to wear masks and gloves. All food and beverage products will be prepared and served in accordance with CDC, FDA, American National Standards Institute and Servsafe standards.

Credit card and touchless payments are still recommended at all points of sale. The no bag policy and daily health monitoring standards remain in place.

The organization continues to strictly adhere to MLB’s policies for players and on field staff. Therefore, autographs are still prohibited.

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will always make the health and safety of their fans and staff a priority, while balancing the enjoyment and satisfaction of all guests.

The Mighty Mussels look forward to welcoming all members of the community to their remaining 54 home games.

The Mussels celebrate “The Office” Night this Friday, June 4 – featuring a Meet & Greet with Kate Flannery, who played Meredith in NBC’s hit show. In addition to the two homestands in June.

Three fireworks shows highlight Independence Day Weekend – with 7pm games scheduled for July 2nd, 3rd & 4th

Tickets and group deals are available now on MightyMussels.com or by calling (239) 768-4210