Boston Marathon Explosions leave 3 Dead, Over 130 Injured

Two explosions near the finish line of Monday's Boston Marathon killed "three and injured more than 130," according to Time Magazine (http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/15/boston-marathon-horror-twitter-erupts-with-word-of-explosions-at-the-finish-line/), while Boston's CBS affiliate, WBZ-TV, places the number of injured at over 140.

The explosions went off near the race's finish line at 2:50 p.m. as "thousands of runners were finishing the race," WBZ-TV went on to report. One of the dead was an 8-year-old boy.

Upon learning of the bombings, President Barack Obama issued a brief statement. "We will find out who did this and we will hold them accountable," President Obama said.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the bombings.

Multiple Explosions At Boston Marathon

There were multiple explosions today in Boston. The first two were at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the third at the JFK Library. NBC reports 2 dead, at least 23 injured (as of 5:04 p.m. EDT).

According to a CNN tweet, Boston PD "is urging people to stay home and avoid large crowds." CNN's website also reports 2 dead, 28 injured ( http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/15/explosions-near-finish-of-boston-marathon/?on.cnn=1 ).

Will write more later...

Judge To Florida DEP: Issuing Permit Wrong

When the Florida Department of Environmental Protection decided to issue a permit for the Highlands Ranch Mitigation Bank in Clay County, Florida, Connie Bersok objected. Bersok, the DEP's top wetlands expert, warned that the "controversial project...would damage the environment" (Judge upholds suspended wetlands expert, blasts DEP for permitting controversial project, Tampa Bay Times).

The resulting loss of wetlands would have had an adverse effect on the environment, since the 300 acres are "considered vital to soaking up floodwaters and recharging the aquifer," according to St. Petersburg attorney Tom Reese. Bersok was suspended from her job because of her objection.

To read the Tampa Bay Times' article, go to http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wetlands/judge-upholds-suspended-wetlands-expert-blasts-dep-for-permitting/2114754

Tuition Break For Undocumented Immigrants' Citizen Children

The Florida House has approved extending in-state college tuition to the citizen children of undocumented immigrants. However, U.S. citizens with undocumented parents were granted this right under a 2012 federal ruling.

To read more, go to the Tampa Bay Times article at http://blogs.tampabay.com/news/education/college/florida-house-okays-giving-citizen-children-of-undocumented-immigrants/2114940

Worker's Rights in Florida

While most Florida workers are aware that Floria is a "Right To Work" state, many may not be completely aware of what that means.

According to the state website (http://MyFlorida.com), Article 1, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution states, "The right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization. The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged. Public employees shall not have the right to strike." (http://myflorida.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1065/related/1/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMzY1OTYwNzA4L3NpZC9wTTQyRklubA%3D%3D).

So, while working Floridians may be allowed to work without joining a labor union, these same workers are not allowed to strike.

Another legality facing Florida workers deals with work and meal breaks. While many federal and state laws deal with working conditions, some things are not regulated by laws but by customs or agreements between companies and workers. According to the United States Department of Labor, the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) "does not require breaks or meal periods be given to workers." (http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/faq.htm) The FLSA does state, however, that some states may legislate these breaks, but that in states that don't legislate breaks, these breaks may be part of an agreement between employer and employee.

This is where Florida fits in. The state, in its wisdom to promote business (and, as many would point out, possibly exploit workers), has made absolutely no provisions or allowance for Florida workers to work or meal breaks, unless that worker is a minor. (http://myflorida.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/985/related/1/session/L2F2LzIvdGltZS8xMzY1OTYwOTg3L3NpZC9wTTQyRklubA%3D%3D)

Any Floridian wanting to contact Govenor Rick Scott or their legislators, check out the following links:

Govenor Rick Scott: http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor/;

State Senate President Don Gaetz: http://www.flsenate.gov/Offices/President/Message;

House Speaker Will Weatherford: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4399&SessionId=73;

to find your Florida state senators: http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/;

to find your Florida representative: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx.

Miami Beach Man Dies Over Slow Ambulance Response

A Miami Beach man died March 5 after an ambulance took 31 minutes to go the 2 miles from the fire station it was housed at to the man's home. The man's wife called 911 at 9:05 a.m.; the ambulance arrived 31 minutes from the nearby fire station, according to the Miami Herald.

The complete article may be found at http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/20/3297228/miami-beach-ambulance-takes-31.html#storylink=cpy or at Health News Florida (http://health.wusf.usf.edu/post/fire-rescue-delayed-man-dies).

Op-Ed: Michael Mayo about Gay Marriage

Michael Mayo, a columnist for the Sun Sentinel, made sense in his April 1 column for the paper. In it, he states that "If two consenting adults want to get married, they should be allowed to do so, no matter the race, creed, color, religion or gender/sexual orientation of the two parties." He then expands on that, in that he is not including marriage between people and animals or adults with children. He also states that he does not mean "three, four or seven" people.

There are many people who are offended by the thought of gays and lesbians marrying. There are still people who object to interracial marriages. But disallowing gay marriage - or any other rights offered to any other group of consenting adults - is keeping the entire GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) community at what can be considered the 3/5ths rule. Prior to the Civil War, and even in years afterward, African-Americans were counted as 3/5ths of a person. Even after blacks were legally considered "whole" people, many whites still thought of them as 3/5 of a white. Now, it seems, those in the GLBT community are frequently considered as 3/5 of a heterosexual person.

This is wrong. Mayo points out that if a same-sex couple gets married in the state of New York, then moves to Florida, that couple is not afforded the same rights as a male-and-female married couple would. I personally know one same-sex couple who married in Connecticut, then moved back to Florida. They had hyphenated their last name so that, rather than being "Jane A" and "Susan B," they were legally "Jane A-B" and "Susan B-A." They went to change their driver's licenses to reflect that change and were told that they would have to go to court here in Florida and pay for each of them to have their names changed. Had they been John and Susan, it would have been a non-issue.

I digress. To read Michael Mayo's entire column on Gay marriage, please go to http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-04-01/news/sfl-mayo-gay-marriage-20130401_1_gay-marriage-2008-state-constitutional-amendment-straight-married-couple.

One last thing: If this were your brother, sister, son, daughter, or parent, you'd want that person to have full rights. Please keep that in mind.