1

Politics / NORTHCOM: Russia Close to Persistent Nuclear Cruise Missile Attack Sub Presence

« on: March 24, 2023, 04:33:16 PM »

Russia could have its most powerful and quiet nuclear attack submarines on persistent patrols off either U.S. Coast in the next two years, the head of U.S. Northern Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

In response to questions from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on the threat of Chinese and Russian cruise missile submarines operating close to the U.S., NORTHCOM commander Gen. Glen VanHerck said that the deployments of the Russian Yasen-class nuclear cruise missile attack boats have been deploying more frequently.

“[The risk is] absolutely increasing. Within the last year, Russia has also placed their [Yasens] in the Pacific,” he said.
“Now not only the Atlantic, but we also have them in the Pacific and it’s just a matter of time – probably a year or two – before that’s a persistent threat, 24 hours a day. … That impact has reduced decision space for a national senior leader in a time of crisis.”

Also known by their NATO reporting name Severodvinsk class, the 13,800-ton Yasen-class attack boats are among the most capable submarines in the world. In particular, the three current boats in the class are capable of a special quiet operations mode that make them difficult to detect in the open ocean. In 2018, the lead boat in the class, Severodvinsk, evaded U.S. efforts to find it for weeks, according to press reports.

Navy officials have told USNI News that the service has become increasingly concerned with the efficacy of the Russian submarine force.

The growing ability of Russian submarines to operate undetected in the Atlantic pushed the Navy to reactivate U.S. 2nd Fleet and create a command for anti-submarine warfare across the Atlantic in 2018.

The Russian Navy has planned to build ten Yasen-class attack boats, with the fourth to commission later this year, according to Russian press reports.

The Russians have also recently delivered two new strategic nuclear submarines.

In January, the Russian Navy commissioned the 24,000-ton Borey-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine Generalissimus Suvorov. In July, the Russian Navy delivered Belgorod – a strategic weapons platform fitted with school bus sized nuclear torpedoes that can be fitted with a 100-megaton nuclear warhead.

VanHerck also emphasized the need for the U.S. to expand its operations in the Arctic, as Russia has modernized its assets in the region and China continues to push farther north.

“Russia has modernized their fleet of icebreakers. They’ve modernized their strategic defense along with their submarine forces. China is sailing into the Arctic under the guise of research [missions] and we know they’re doing military operations, surveying the seabed.”

VanHerck said the U.S. is short of assets in the Arctic as Russia and China continue to expand operations.

“We’re not organized, trained and equipped to operate and respond in the Arctic. Infrastructure is a big concern for me, whether that be runway links, whether that be buildings, whether that be weapons storage, whether that be fuel storage,” he said.
“We need persistence that requires icebreakers. We as a nation are in bad shape regarding icebreakers, and I fully support the Coast Guard’s plan. We need to go faster.”

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/23/northcom-russia-close-to-persistent-nuclear-cruise-missile-attack-sub-presence-off-u-s-coasts

It's not like the U.S. hasn't been doing this to them for years in the Arctic, Baltic, and Berents Seas. So...

2

Politics / THE HONEY TRAP

« on: March 24, 2023, 09:17:47 AM »

This is what I've been saying has been happening all this time.

🚨 EMERGENCY: The white woman on the left with the pink hair at a Black Lives Matter protest is an UNDERCOVER POLICE OFFICER from Colorado Springs named April Rogers.

With the help of the FBI, she created a fake identity named Chelsie, and pretended to be a sex worker that was disturbed by police brutality. It was all a lie.

Once she infiltrated local groups in Colorado, she started trying to get peaceful Black leaders to commit a slew of gun crimes. Which they thankfully refused. Over and over again she tried to get people to break the law.

This right here is what we are up against. She's still employed by the Colorado Springs Police.

@alphabetboys
.pod did the hard work to uncover this. Grateful for the team there.



https://twitter.com/rahiemshaba--/status/1638923980118564867?s=20

The FBI Used an Undercover Cop With Pink Hair to Spy on Activists and Manufacture Crimes

HE YOUNG WOMAN with long pink hair claimed to be from Washington state. One day during the summer of 2020, she walked into the Chinook Center, a community space for left-wing activists in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and offered to volunteer.

“She dressed in a way that was sort of noticeable,” said Samantha Christiansen, a co-founder of the Chinook Center. But no one among the activists found that unusual or alarming; everyone has their own style. They accepted her into the community.

The pink-haired woman said her name was Chelsie. She also dropped regular hints about her chosen profession.

“She implied over the course of getting to know her that she was a sex worker,” said Jon Christiansen, Samantha’s husband and another co-founder of the Chinook Center.

“I think somebody else had told me that, and I just was like, ‘Oh, OK. That makes sense,’” said Autum Carter-Wallace, an activist in Colorado Springs. “I never questioned it.”

But Chelsie’s identity was as fake as her long pink hair. The young woman, whose real name is April Rogers, is a detective at the Colorado Springs Police Department. The FBI enlisted her to infiltrate and spy on racial justice groups during the summer of 2020.

MUST read much more: https://theintercept.com/2023/03/21/fbi-colorado-springs-surveillance/

3

Politics / Clarence Thomas opposes a 'landmark precedent' guaranteeing defendants the right

« on: March 23, 2023, 01:06:06 PM »

Clarence Thomas opposes a 'landmark precedent' guaranteeing defendants the right to counsel: legal columnist

One of the most influential Republicans of the 20th Century was U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, appointed by GOP President Dwight D. Eisenhower. One landmark ruling after another was handed down by the Warren Court, from New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) to Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) to Stanley v. Georgia (1969) to Brown v. the Board of Education (1954).

Another was Gideon v. Wainwright, a 1963 decision guaranteeing criminal defendants the right to legal counsel. Three years later, the protections of Gideon grew even stronger thanks to the Warren Court's 1966 ruling in Miranda v. Arizona. The Miranda warning famously recited in countless police dramas includes elements of both Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v. Arizona, including, "If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you."

Far-right Justice Clarence Thomas, during his 32 years on the High Court, has made no secret of his disdain for the Warren Court. And that includes Gideon v. Wainwright.

In an opinion column published by MSNBC's website on March 19, legal blogger Jordan Rubin explains, "In a 2019 dissent, in which he was joined by Donald Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, Thomas wrote that the justices who decided Gideon decades ago didn't attempt 'to square the expansive rights they recognized with the original meaning of' the Constitution. Of course, we've seen this GOP Court trample rights under the guise of originalism. And while this was only two justices calling Gideon into question, we've learned that precedent only means what the Court's current majority wants it to mean. I recently noted the irony of Thomas and Gorsuch wanting to revisit a landmark defamation precedent, given that doing so could hurt Fox News."

The "landmark defamation precedent" that Rubin is referring to is New York Times v. Sullivan. In that case, the Warren Court unanimously ruled that in defamation lawsuits, the defendant has to prove "actual malice" — the thing that Dominion Voting Systems is trying to prove in its $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News. Dominion, thanks to Sullivan, has a huge burden of proof in that case. And Fox News' legal team is — ironically, as Rubin points out — using, in its defense, a legal precedent that Thomas dislikes.

"But when it comes to further weakening the right to counsel," Rubin observes, "a majority latching on to that idea would be more than ironic: It would be tragic."

https://www.alternet.org/clarence-thomas-2659630477/

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Politics / Missouri Supreme Court refuses to disbar lawyer who sexually assaulted his clien

« on: March 23, 2023, 01:02:44 PM »

Missouri Supreme Court refuses to disbar lawyer who sexually assaulted his clients

An 86-year-old defense attorney will be allowed to keep his law license after the Missouri Supreme Court in a 4-3 ruling refused to disbar him despite having sexually assaulted six of his clients, all women.

Attorney Dan K. Purdy will be "indefinitely suspended from practicing law but allowed to apply for reinstatement after a year," The Kansas City Star reports.

"In September 2020, Purdy made sexual advances toward four clients in a Vernon County jail interview room, including touching and kissing, that were confirmed by video provided by the Vernon County Sheriff's Office," The Star reports. "Each woman was later interviewed by officers and told them Purdy’s advances were unwanted."

In addition to jail interview roos, Purdy's sexual advances took place in court and in his car. All were locations where his clients might have felt uncomfortable to complain.

"Purdy's clients either did not know or did not realize they could repudiate his sexual advances," Justice George W. Draper III wrote in the majority opinion.

There are seven justices on the Missouri Supreme Court, four appointed by Republican governors, three by Democratic governors. Four are men, three are women.

The ruling was not along party lines.

"In my view, neither the race, gender, ethnicity, nor age of an attorney should be taken into consideration to determine appropriate discipline," wrote Justice Zel M. Fischer in his dissent. "In my view, Mr. Purdy's conduct, which was clearly and explicitly depicted in the video evidence, warrants disbarment."

"As recognized by the principal opinion, not only did Mr. Purdy sexually assault six female clients, he 'exhibited a continued pattern or practice of improper and disturbing conduct, which continued, even after the present case was filed against him,'" Fischer noted.

https://www.alternet.org/missouri-supreme-court-refuses-disbar/

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General Discussion Forum / Edward G. Gardner, co-founder of Soft Sheen Products and beloved philanthropist,

« on: March 23, 2023, 06:56:36 AM »

Edward G. Gardner, co-founder of Soft Sheen Products and beloved philanthropist, dead at 98

Edward Gardner’s early efforts at making Black hair care products started in the family kitchen, with his wife’s pots and pans.

He was not always successful.

“He melted wax in one of the pans,” said one of Mr. Gardner’s four children, Terri Gardner. “We never got the wax out of the pan. It had to go out in the alley. ... My mother let him know that the pans were off limits because we needed to eat.”

Mr. Gardner persevered, later moving to his garage in the West Chesterfield neighborhood, and by the 1980s, owning one of the largest and most successful Black hair care companies in the United States, Soft Sheen Products. Mr. Gardner died Monday at his home, where he spent all but four of his 98 years, his family said.

“He was born with the inner vision to see the world differently, but more importantly, to see and make a difference to what he saw,” said another of his children, Gary Gardner.

Mr. Gardner, the son of a warehouse worker and a seamstress, had to overcome much in his early years. He stuttered as a child.

“He got teased a lot,” Terri Gardner said. “He overcame it. He made his own way.”

Mr. Gardner graduated from Fenger High School. He served in the Army during World War II and later took advantage of the GI Bill to get a bachelor’s degree at Chicago Teachers College, now Chicago State University, and a master’s in education from the University of Chicago.

He taught for several years in Chicago Public Schools and was also an administrator. On the side, he would deliver hair care products out of the back of his car to South Side beauty salons. Beauticians would tell him what they liked, didn’t like or what they wished they could buy. That gave Mr. Gardner an idea, and he began experimenting.

Gary Gardner described the goings-on in the family kitchen as “somewhere between a science lab and a cooking experiment.”

“He started off on [his wife’s] stove. She transitioned him to the basement,” Terri Gardner said.

It took 15 years for the business to thrive, but the company that began in 1964 would eventually expand across the Midwest and then the nation — perhaps best known for the product, Care Free Curl.

“We went from small mom and pop to a major player in the business,” said Gary Gardner.

Mr. Gardner sold the business in 1998. Despite the success, Mr. Gardner never moved from his neighborhood. The house in which he died Monday was two houses down from the home where he grew up, his family said.

Mr. Gardner was a well-known philanthropist and activist.

He donated tens of thousands of dollars to causes that sought to end gun violence; to that end, he helped create the nonprofit organization Black On Black Love.

“If there was a violent event where someone was at the hospital and needed help, he would write a check to that family,” Gary Gardner said.

He helped elect the city’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983 — loaning the Washington campaign his creative staff as well as helping fund a voter registration campaign.

He was a part-owner of the Chicago Bulls, and for many years, attended every home game.

It bothered him deeply that when he saw construction projects on the South Side, often the workers weren’t Black.

“That drove him to anger,” said Gary Gardner. “He rallied his troops.”

And in 2012, at the age of 87 and walking with a cane, he led a protest down Western Avenue, his son said.

“All he needed to know was that you thought he couldn’t do something, and that would make him do it even more,” Terri Gardner said.

In addition to his son Gary and daughter Terri, survivors include two other children, Guy and Tracy, his wife, Bettiann, seven grandchildren and a great-grandson.

A private family service is planned. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Chicago State University: www.csu.edu/foundation/donate.htm.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2023/3/22/23651715/edward-gardner-soft-sheen-philanthropist-dead

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General Discussion Forum / New mosquito species reported in Florida

« on: March 22, 2023, 07:34:49 PM »

Another new mosquito species has made its way across the tropics into Florida, making a permanent home in at least three counties. Scientists are concerned because of the rate of new mosquitoes arriving in Florida and the potential for them to transmit mosquito-borne diseases.

This species was first discovered in Miami-Dade County in 2018 by UF/IFAS faculty while they hunted for other nonnative mosquitoes. Since then, thriving populations have been recorded in Miami-Dade, Collier and Lee counties. Scientists are concerned there hasn’t been enough research on the species and their potential disease risk.

“There are about 90 mosquito species living in Florida, and that list is growing as new mosquito species are introduced to the state from elsewhere in the world,” said Lawrence Reeves, lead author of the study and an assistant professor and mosquito biologist at the UF/IFAS research center in Vero Beach.

Mosquitoes are among the most studied insects because they can transmit diseases. However, there are large gaps of knowledge, said Reeves.

“That’s particularly true for species from the tropical forests, where mosquitoes are diverse and understudied,” he said. “Introductions of new mosquito species like this are concerning because many of our greatest mosquito-related challenges are the result of nonnative mosquitoes, and in a case like this, it’s difficult to anticipate what to expect when we know so little about a mosquito species.”

Globally, there are more than 3,600 types of mosquitoes. When a new mosquito is found in Florida, it could be any of these species. Reeves and his team used DNA analysis and other tools to not only discover they had found a new mosquito species, but to identify it as Culex lactator.

Culex lactator is found in Central America and northern South America and is a member of the Culex group of mosquitoes. This group includes important species that transmit the West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses, but it is unclear whether Culex lactator will contribute to the transmission of these viruses in Florida.

Every year, Florida faces challenges from mosquito-transmitted diseases like West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus and others, explained Reeves.

“It’s too early to know whether Culex lactator will exacerbate these challenges, but the implications are often difficult to predict because not all mosquito species are equally capable of transmitting a particular virus or other pathogen,” said Reeves.

Each mosquito-borne virus is transmitted by only certain mosquito species, said Reeves.

“We need to be vigilant for introductions of new mosquito species because each introduction comes with the possibility that the introduced species will facilitate the transmission of a mosquito-transmitted disease,” he said.


Reeves collects mosquitoes with an aspirator from a site in Florida.
The initial specimens of Culex lactator were collected in 2018 from rural sites in southern Miami-Dade County, south of Florida City, followed by additional adult and immature specimens collected through 2022 in the same locations. Each set of mosquitoes were collected from traps set by associate professor Nathan Burkett-Cadena, doctoral student Kristin Sloyer and Reeves while looking for other recently introduced mosquitoes.

In 2022, scientists with the Collier Mosquito Control District and Lee County Mosquito Control District found Culex lactator in their counties, indicating that Culex lactator has likely spread from its initial point of introduction.

Currently, Culex lactator is known to live in Collier County – south and west of Naples – Lee County, west of Fort Myers, and in the Homestead area of Miami-Dade County, though it may have also spread elsewhere in the state, said Reeves.

“Culex lactator is physically similar to mosquito species already known from Florida. It looks like other more common mosquito species,” said Reeves. “Because of that similarity, the presence of Culex lactator in an area can be easy to miss.”

Reeves and his team stress it’s important to monitor for Culex lactator as it is likely to spread within the state into areas that are environmentally suitable.

Florida’s proximity to the tropics and climate conditions make it ideal for nonnative mosquito species. Scientists are concerned about the rate and frequency of new species establishing in Florida. As many as 17 nonnative mosquito species are established in the state. Researchers stress that the detections of nonnative mosquito species are increasingly frequent, with 11 of 17 nonnative species first reported in the past two decades, and six of these 17 detected in only the past five years, said Reeves.

The mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus – among the most important disease vectors in the United States – like Culex lactator, are nonnative species, introduced from the tropics.

“Climate change may improve the chances of tropical mosquito species becoming established once they make it to Florida if the state becomes warmer,” adds Reeves. “Increasing storm frequency and intensity could also blow in more mosquitoes and other species from the Caribbean, Central America and elsewhere.

 https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2023/03/22/uf-ifas-study-new-mosquito-species-reported-in-florida/

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General Discussion Forum / Only in America part 2

« on: March 22, 2023, 11:22:34 AM »

Predator Pastor Confronted At The Pulpit By Brave Abuse Victim



 

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General Discussion Forum / Uncovering the massacre of Greenwood, OK a century later

« on: March 22, 2023, 04:43:17 AM »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KTPXc_gscao&feature=shares

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General Discussion Forum / REVISED FLORIDA TEXTBOOKS LEFT RACE OUT OF ROSA PARKS HISTORY

« on: March 21, 2023, 10:30:03 AM »

In an effort to pass muster in Florida, a textbook publisher omitted references to race in history texts, even when it came to Rosa Parks.

Samples provided to PEN America by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and confirmed by The New York Times showed two proposed versions of textbooks from Studies Weekly, a publisher whose curriculum is used in 45,000 schools across the country.

The version of the publisher’s first grade textbook currently in use speaks directly to the discriminatory law in Alabama that Rosa Parks broke in 1955. The initial revised version, however, stated only that  Parks “was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin.” A second revised text said only that she “was told to move to a different seat.”

It is unclear which of the new versions was officially submitted to the state for review. The company told the Times it was responding to Florida’s new standards, including the so-called Stop W.O.K.E. act.

The Florida Department of Education told the Times it rejected the publisher over a bureaucratic mistake, but also said textbook changes to omit race went too far and “would not be adhering to Florida law.”

“This is how fear is destroying public education in Florida,” said Jonathan Friedman, director of Free Expression and Education Programs at PEN America. “Although Studies Weekly textbooks were rejected, and although it’s not clear which of these revised versions were officially submitted, we have to stop and recognize that even textbook publishers have grown this skittish of running afoul of Florida’s new education laws. Vague laws are causing confusion for public education — and Florida’s students will be done a disservice by such an anodyne, censored version of the history of racism in America.”

The changes reflect struggles to understand and comply with a new tangle of educational gag order laws in Florida. PEN America filed an Amicus brief supporting a challenge to Stop W.O.K.E., saying the law had a “profound chilling effect” on educators across the state. Among other things, the law prohibits educators and employers from discussing advantages or disadvantages based on race.

The initial textbook version also said Fred Korematsu, who resisted Japanese internment during World War II, was treated differently “because of how he looked.” The second revised version said only that he was treated differently.

Meanwhile,  the initial revision of a fourth grade textbook from Studies Weekly said that segregation initially referred to belief systems that “African American were not equal to anyone in their community.” The second revised text says “many communities in the South held on to former belief systems that some people should have more rights than others in their community.”

Although the second revised text still refers to “Black Codes,” it explains they applied to “men of certain groups.” It says segregation laws required separate entrances and facilities “for use by different groups of Americans.” The term “African American” is no longer used whatsoever.

Studies Weekly has stated that it is reverting to its first revised version of the new textbooks that include references to race, and that it may try to win over individual districts after its rejection by the state.

https://pen.org/florida-textbooks-rosa-parks-history/

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Sports Forum / Hey CIAA fans!

« on: March 21, 2023, 07:48:38 AM »

What can you share with me about Breon Hagans? You PM me if you want. Thanks.

11

Politics / Idaho poised to allow firing-squad executions in some cases

« on: March 21, 2023, 06:48:53 AM »

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho is poised to allow firing squads to execute condemned inmates when the state can't get lethal-injection drugs, under a bill the Legislature passed Monday with a veto-proof majority.

Firing squads will be used only if the state cannot obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections — and one death row inmate has already had his scheduled execution postponed multiple times because of drug scarcity.

The move by Idaho lawmakers is in line with those by other states that in recent years have scrambled to revive older methods of execution because of difficulties obtaining drugs required for longstanding lethal injection programs. Pharmaceutical companies increasingly have barred executioners from using their drugs, saying they were meant to save lives, not take them.

Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little has voiced his support for the death penalty but generally does not comment on legislation before he signs or vetoes it.

Only Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina currently have laws allowing firing squads if other execution methods are unavailable, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. South Carolina’s law is on hold pending the outcome of a legal challenge.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/idaho-oks-veto-proof-bill-execution-firing-squad-97994174#:~:text=BOISE%2C%20Idaho%20%2D%2D%20Idaho%20is,with%20a%20veto%2Dproof%20majority.

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General Discussion Forum / Someone help me with this...

« on: March 20, 2023, 09:38:04 AM »

If I put something negative out there on a particular platform and people reach for it and use it for harm, how am I responsible for the actions/choices people make to use my "something" to hurt people when I can't control what other do/choose to do? I only have control over me, not others. I don't have the power to force/make anyone do anything. How does that work??

13

General Discussion Forum / Clever!

« on: March 20, 2023, 09:08:31 AM »

 

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General Discussion Forum / A Florida town, once settled by former slaves, now fights over "sacred land"

« on: March 19, 2023, 05:18:43 PM »

The land in question is where I and my siblings went to school. The clear faction there have been trying to encroach on the tiny enclave for years. The Maitland police have to travel through Eatonville to get to part of their city because it is walled off from Eatonville and part of their city land (Black families) is on the Eatonville side.

"This is sacred land," said N.Y. Nathiri, a third-generation resident of Eatonville, Fla. "It's special for us. It's who we are. And we're not going to let them take it away from us, no."

Nathiri heads the association to preserve the Eatonville community, a town founded in 1887 by Joe Clark. That it even happened was remarkable. After the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved African Americans flocked to central Florida to work. White property owners refused to sell them land, until Clark convinced two White Northerners with homes in the area, Lewis Lawrence and Josiah Eaton, to make available plots they could buy in what became Eatonville, one of the first Black towns to incorporate.

"There was a lot of resistance from the surrounding communities," said Everett Fly, a landscape architect, "because if they could incorporate, that meant that they could vote. They could have their own law enforcement. They could manage their own business."

Fly has spent more than four decades researching Black towns. "By 1915, there were less than 60 incorporated Black towns in the entire United States," he said.

And how many of those are left? "I think probably 20, 25 is all that's left," said Fly. "More than 90% of it is about racism. It's everything from, 'Oh, it's not important,' or 'They won't know the difference if we move them out or erase them, no one's gonna do anything.'"

Eatonville today is struggling. The median income is around $27,000 a year. A Family Dollar is the only store. There's no supermarket, no gas station, no pharmacy.

What's different about Eatonville is perhaps the anthropologist and noted writer Zora Neale Hurston, who grew up there. She was the great teller of Eatonville's story. "What we have the ability to do here is to leverage the genius of Zora Neale Hurston and the authenticity of Eatonville as a cultural and historical space," said Nathiri.

"Zora tourism" exists already, with the Zora Neale Hurston Museum. The Zora! Festival (which Nathiri's preservation group puts on every year) regularly attracted over 50,000 people before COVID. Fewer now.

But Eatonville would like to leverage something else: 100 acres of land, ten minutes from downtown Orlando, half an hour from Disney World, valued at more than $20 million in 2019, certainly worth much more now. Nathiri said, "As a small community of 2,500, it's sitting on the largest undeveloped parcel of land in Orange County. It's sitting in a very sweet position geographically."

Nathiri's opinion is that Eatonville's survival will depend on who wins the fight over this land, which is as closely tied to its past as it is to its future. The trouble is, the town doesn't own it, and never has. Once, it was part of a 300-acre campus that occupied about 40% of Eatonville. The land was donated by philanthropists to a trust, which operated the Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School, a private boarding school established in 1899 to provide vocational education to Black students in the segregated South.

In 1951, the Orange County School Board bought Hungerford from the trust that owned it, for a little over $16,000. The school board got all 300 acres, but with an important restriction: the land still had to be used for the education of Black children. 

Vera King went to the Black public school there. For 30 years, she worked at the High School that was built on the site. Now it's gone, too, along with 200 of those 300 acres. "If we aren't careful, Eatonville is going to be extinct," she said.

King, an 85-year-old Eatonville native, resents what happened when the Orange County Public Schools started selling off parcel after parcel of the Hungerford property, getting the courts and the trustees – again and again – to cut the number of acres required to be used for educating Black kids, until it it's now … zero.

"They really profited from it, from those sales," said King.

The Orange County School System was paid nearly $8 million in those deals.

Julian Johnson, who wears a shirt bearing the hashtag #LandBack, is not the only Eatonville resident who thinks the Orange County Public Schools ought to just give the land to Eatonville as a kind of restitution. "This is economic justice that we're fighting for," he said. "Land is economic justice. It's about demanding it back. You've done the people wrong, over and over."

So, with those last hundred acres set to be sold on March 31 to a developer for $14 million (well below their last appraised value), Johnson helped to mobilize for a showdown. The only control Eatonville has over what gets built is through its zoning and planning. Last month, the town council met to vote on changes that would clear the way for a new "community" of more than 350 homes and apartments. Derek Bruce, an attorney for the developer, told the council meeting, "Once the project is built out, it'll offer shopping, dining, entertainment options for residents and visitors to partake and enjoy."

The packed room didn't see it that way.

N.Y. Nathiri said, "Quite simply, this development will erase this living, thriving historical community."

Another speaker, Otis Mitchell, said, "For y'all to come and put all this stuff up here and think we as Black people going to be able to stay here? Shame on yourself."

Julian Johnson stated, "The streets are talking, the people are talking, and the people are angry and furious."

And Lilly Shaw told the council members, "We're gonna be outnumbered. I want you guys to vote no."

They did.

But the developer can still buy the site and build, so long as it's something consistent with Eatonville's vision for the town's survival.

In a statement to "CBS Sunday Morning," the Orange County Public School System reaffirmed its commitment to go ahead with the sale: "OCPS is proceeding with the sale that honors the contract with the purchaser," they wrote.  No word yet from the developer.

For Eatonville residents, a lawsuit may be next.

A last stand in a losing war? Not if they can help it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eatonville-florida-residents-fight-over-land/

15

General Discussion Forum / Does neatness count?

« on: March 19, 2023, 04:15:59 PM »

When I was single and to this day, I always kept a neat space because I like clean neat spaces. I hang up my clothes, fold them when they come out of the dryer, never leave unclean dishes in the sink especially overnight, do laundry at least 3 times a week. I make the bed up when we get up everyday. If I don't do it, the wife does it. Shoot, even the bills that I carry in my wallet/pocket are by denomination small to large. Bills paid early, doctor's appointments regularly, etc. These are traits that I hope rub off on the younger people, but in many cases, it just doesn't sink in. Our beautiful attractive well-paid (wealth manager with a major brokerage firm) granddaughter's place looks like Hurricane Irma visits her regularly.  What is it with young people and being neat?