Video Essay: Florida Bay Facing Ecological Ruin

As Everglades restoration slows to a crawl, Florida Bay, at the state's southern tip, is feeling the pinch. Miles of canals aimed at draining the swamp for development and farms are depriving the bay of much-needed freshwater.

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Plan Your Vacation Wisely

Gas prices are passing $4 a gallon and other prices are starting to rise now, too. How can you fit a luxury like a nice family vacation into this kind of straining budget?

Plan your vacation wisely and you can have a really fun, relaxing vacation that seems like a luxury without spending luxury prices.

Planning your stay at a vacation rental, like Florida vacation rentals is one good approach. These types of rentals -- rather than a hotel -- can save you money. These rentals, such as exotic Florida Keys vacation rentals, offer nice amenities, but also probably have a kitchen. Stop by a local grocery. Enjoy local flavor without the hassle -- and cost -- of pricey restaurants.

The site through these links offer such rentals, often listed directly from the owner, saving middleman fees.

Say you get one of the listed Orlando vacation rentals, that will save you money that would probably be more enjoyably spent having some extra fun at Disney or the other theme parks there.

Plus, you'll probably be able to relax more and feel more at home at one of these rentals instead of a more-cramped hotel room.

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Help To Book Your Orlando Vacation

Orlando is second only to Las Vegas when it comes to hotel room availability. With so many choices, how do you select the right option for you and your family among all those Orlando Hotels?

The OrlandoHotels.com website may be able to help. You plug in your arrival and departure dates and the site searches more than 400 hotels.

The site also uses Google Maps so you can clearly see the attractions and neighborhoods around the hotels.

OrlandoHotels.com says it guarantees the lowest rates and will save you up to 70 percent.

Plus, the site highlights deals right on the homepage.

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It's Not To Early To Think About a Winter Florida Getaway

Sure, it's hot and humid now. But these summer days will slip away before you know it and you'll be wanting a warm weather getaway for you and your family.

Why not take that trip to Disney World you've always talked about doing. It's not to early to start planning now to get the best deals on
Disney World Tickets.

Orlando Fun Tickets can provide you the lowest discount ticket prices -- guaranteed.

Right now, go online and purchase one of their special Disney Your Way passes and receive a free upgrade on certain tickets.

Orlando Fun Tickets is an authorized, full service ticket provider for Disney and the other theme parks. In fact, while you're on their site, look over all of their great deals on Universal Studios and the other family attractions throughout Orlando, Florida.

Go online or call Orlando Fun Tickets toll free at (866) 225-4712.

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Years Later, Court Upholds 'Vote-Swapping' Sites Famous From 2000

In a decision stemming from a dispute during the controversial presidential election of 2000, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that so-called "vote-swapping"
websites are protected by the First Amendment.

A number of these websites sprung up in the last weeks of the 2000 campaign between George W. Bush and Al Gore that allowed third-party supporters of candidate Ralph Nader in swing states to strategize with major-party voters in "safe" states about "trading" their votes to avoid handing the election to their least-preferred candidate.

Ultimately, more than 90,000 voters in Florida voted for Nader. Bush prevailed in a Supreme Court decision which found he won Florida -- and the presidency -- by just 537 votes.

The sites were quickly shut down when then-California Secretary of State Bill Jones sent letters to operators of a website threatening to prosecute them for what he called "vote-buying," even though no money or other type of financial benefit changed hands.

The ACLU of Southern California and the National Voting Rights Institute represented website operators Alan Porter (voteswap2000.com) and William Cody (voterexchange2000.com) and two individual voters, Patrick Kerr and Steven Lewis.

The case, originally filed in November 2000, argued in part that the threats by Jones violated the First Amendment rights of the website operators and exceeded the scope of Jones' authority under California's election code. The National Voting Rights Institute is now affiliated with Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy, research and advocacy center.

The Ninth Circuit's ruling now establishes that the activities that Secretary Jones attempted to squelch "are at the heart of the liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment" and cannot be prosecuted under vote-buying statutes. The decision will be an important precedent protecting the right of website operators and voters to maintain and use such sites in future presidential elections.

"Technology changes the way politics work, but it doesn't alter the basic principles of democracy," says Peter Eliasberg, of the ACLU/SC. "Voters of any political persuasion should be able to meet like-minded voters wherever they are and organize for their candidates without threats to their freedom of speech."

"The court's decision today recognizes the importance of the Internet as a low-cost means of political communication and a vibrant forum for debate about the presidential election," says Lisa Danetz, senior counsel at Demos.

This is the second ruling by the 9th Circuit Court that protects the rights of vote-trading websites. In 2005, the appeals court overruled a federal district court that had dismissed the case shortly after the 2000 election. Today's decision confirms that vote swaps are constitutionally protected.

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Survey of Hurricane Preparedness Finds One-Third On High Risk Coast Will Refuse Evacuation

According to a new survey of people in high-risk hurricane areas conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security, one-third (31%) of residents say if government officials said they had to evacuate due to a major hurricane this season, they would not leave. This is an increase from 2006 when 23% said they would not evacuate.

The survey was conducted in eight states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas—and only included residents of counties within 20 miles of the coast. The poll included a special sample of the New Orleans metropolitan area.

The top reasons people give for not evacuating involve issues of safety and security. Three-quarters (75%) say their home is well-built and they would be safe there. Over half (56%) feel that roads would be too crowded, and slightly more than one in three (36%) feels that evacuating would be dangerous. One-third (33%) worry that their possessions would be stolen or damaged while one in four (27%) say they would not evacuate because they do not want to leave their pets.

“Public officials need to be concerned that the further we get from the severe hurricanes of 2005, the less willing people are to evacuate,” says Robert Blendon, professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Officials need to remind people that many homes are vulnerable to major storms. They also need to ensure safe evacuation routes are available and the public is aware of them.”

These findings are based on interviews conducted June 18 - July 10, with 5,046 adults in high hurricane risk counties in eight states.

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Home Prices Drop and Housing Markets Cool

Global Insight, a company for economic and financial analysis and forecasting, has released the first-quarter 2007 update of its study, House Prices in America. The updated U.S. housing valuation analysis shows a widely dispersed drop in single-family home prices, resulting in a continued decline in the incidence of overvaluation in the nation's housing market.

The overall number of single-family housing units deemed to be overvalued fell from 17% in the fourth-quarter 2006 to 14% (revised). Meanwhile, in terms of single-family asset value, the percent deemed to be overvalued fell to 25% from 33% (revised) in the prior quarter.

Nationally, single-family home prices increased in the first quarter at an annualized rate of 2.2%. On a year-over-year comparison, however, prices are up only 3.0%, further normalizing the market with the weakest gain in a decade. Nearly 50% or 157 of the 317 metro areas in the study experienced price declines in the first quarter, accounting for 38% of all single-family units and half of all single-family real estate assets in the nation.

The most highly concentrated declines, while widely dispersed, occurred in areas that had experienced the most dramatic run-up in overvaluation, including California, Florida, New York, and New England. The industrial Midwest was hit hard by the cutbacks in automobile manufacturing. The most dramatic declines among the nation's large metro areas were seen in California's Central Valley. Sacramento Calif., where prices fell by 8.2% inthe past year and 10.0% since 2005, experienced the greatest decline among the nation's large metro areas.

Prices were most resilient in the Pacific and Mountain Northwest, most of Texas, and the Carolinas.

Markets identified in the study as overvalued decreased to 54 metroareas in the first quarter, down from 62 metro area markets (revised) in fourth- quarter 2006. The nation's most overvalued markets are now Bend, Ore., and Prescott, Ariz., highlighting the precarious nature of the price resiliency in the interior West. Meanwhile, the most undervalued markets continued to be in Texas, specifically Dallas (24.9%) and Houston (22.1%).

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Gas Prices Mean You Should Find Somewhere To Save

Gas prices are out of sight this summer and they could go higher.

Cheap Universal Studios Tickets will help take the sting out of the pain at the pump as you and your family drive this summer to your Florida vacation.

Orlandofuntickets.com offers discounts on a variety of Universal Studios ticketing options. Get one day and multi day tickets for Universal Orlando. The site advises that multi day tickets include CityWalk passes and are usually the best value. (CityWalk is Universal's nightime entertainment attraction.) Children under three years of age are free.

And if you buy your discount cheap Universal Studios tickets at Orlandofuntickets.com, you can order conveniently and securely online so you don't have to wait in long admissions lines.

Orlandofuntickets.com also offers personalized help for you to plan the best vacation you and your family can have this year! For the lowest prices and always best personal service, visit Orlandofuntickets.com.

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Finding a Great Hotel Deal In Orlando

Okay, you're ready to plan a vacation to Disney World, Universal Studios -- or another one of the great attractions in Orlando, Florida.

But where to stay? You have many choices, maybe more than you know. Visit this site first when it comes to hotels in orlando.

Orlando hotels offer prices that fit every budget and proximity to every kind of Orlando attraction. Over 50 million visitors travel to Orlando hotels each year to experience the theme parks, cuisine and shopping that Orlando has to offer.

Check out their Top 10 hotels in Orlando. Find deals like the Seralago Hotel & Suites, right now starting from $51, or go upscale to the Worldquest Resort starting at $170 per night.

Whatever your vacation and budget, visit Orlando.com first to find the right hotel to make your stay the best.

Go online or call toll free at (800) 675-2636.

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Site for Everything Fun In Orlando

We all know that Disney World is only the beginning of the fun Orlando, Florida has to offer.

Where can you go to get Disney World Tickets, as well as passes to Universal Studios, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, and all of the other parks and attractions -- including all of the great dinner shows that Orlando has to offer?

Orlandofuntickets.com is the your one stop shop! They are the ultimate source for discount tickets for Disney World and all Orlando theme parks, dinner shows and attractions. When planning your vacation to Orlando, the most expensive and intimidating factors in your planning process are the endless options of admission tickets. Let Orlandofuntickets.com take the hassle out of your fun.

OrlandoFunTickets.com also has the lowest discount prices for all Orlando dinner shows including Arabian Nights discount tickets, Medieval Times discount tickets, Pirates Dinner Adventure discount tickets, as well as all of the other major theme parks including Sea World tickets, Kennedy Space Center tickets, Universal Studios tickets, and more. For the lowest prices and always best personal service, visit Orlandofuntickets.com or call toll free at (866) 225-4712.


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Orlando Villas for U.K. Travelers

Coming to an Orlando vacation from the U.K. is a long trip, so of course you want your excursion to be perfect.

That's why Lowery's and their offer of a Villa in Orlando is your ticket.

Lowery’s Thinkflorida Web service is meant to be a one-stop shop, especially for U.K. travelers.

Check them for the latest news in Florida real estate, attractions and travel. Thinkflorida provides car rental car, ticket service and an online booking for private pool homes, condos and townhomes in the Disney area.

Think about this: the UK customer may not be aware on how cheap it is to rent a villa for your entire party. Where many would consider a $20 per night per person a "deal," it could only cost you less than $10 per person per night if you would rent the unit directly.

Lowery's has been in the Florida vacations business for 60 years. Its main office is in Northampton in the U.K., but they also have maintained an office in Florida in Kissimmee, near Disney for more than 20 years.

If you travel from the U.K. to Florida, it pays to check out Lowery's Thinkflorida.


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Vacation Homes Near Disney World

So have you heard about Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain?

It's the newest Disney World attraction, towering over Disney's Animal Kingdom Park.

Or how about The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Epcot?

With so much going on, why not consider vacation homes near Disney World.

It would make a great home away from home.

A deposit is all that's required to hold a vacation home and nothing else will be charged until 15 days prior to your reservation, at that the remaining balance will be due. All homes are just 8.5 miles to Disney, and even during peak times it will won't take you longer than 15 minutes to get to and from the park.

An Orlando vacation home is a great place to spend Christmas, Spring Break, or even your summer break. Orlando is home to an amazing 52 theme parks. Attractions into Orlando are constantly adding new features and offerings.

If you haven't been to Orlando in three years or more, come back to see what's new!

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Watch the TV Ad the Florida Bar Doesn't Want You to See

Steven Miller says his message issimple and direct: If you want out of your marriage, his flat-fee, no-frills divorce law practice is the answer. It's a message Florida BarAssociation apparently doesn't want Floridians to hear.

Miller, founder of DivorceEZ, a Plantation, Fla., law firm, submitted language for a new 30-second television commercial to the Florida Bar for mandatory review. Within weeks, the answer came back: The ad is a "verbal depiction" whose language promises a particular result -- both of which are banned in legal services advertising.

Miller disagrees. The ad reveals the realities of many married couples seeking divorce. "If you and your spouse hate each other like poison and want to get out of the hell hole you call a marriage, you've come to the right place," the ad begins.

"You and your spouse are reasonable people. You agree on how to divide your property and debts. DivorceEZ can help..."

Florida consumers can view the banned commercial here.

"Sure it's a tongue-in-cheek jab at the process, and the bar doesn't like that. But I simply want to inform people about an affordable alternative to greedy, billable-hour lawyers," says Miller, a 22-year veteran Florida and Massachusetts trial lawyer who launched the service in 2006. "The Florida Bar is supporting lawyers who get $300 or more an hour to create and perpetuate an acrimonious situation."

DivorceEZ.com counsels clients and files divorce papers in Florida's 67 counties. Unlike divorce attorneys who bill more the longer a divorce lasts, or self-help centers, paralegals or document preparers who aren't attorneys and legally are not allowed to provide advice or represent clients, DivorceEZ.com's $249 service provides a fast path to an amicable split. In most cases, no court appearance is required, Miller says.

"Our message is poignant, direct and the honest truth about divorce," he says. "We take the hassle out of divorce and set you free to get on with your life."

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Analysis Reveals Ways to Reduce 'Friendly Fire' Incidents

One of the most tragic consequences of war is "friendly fire": casualties that result when warfighters mistakenly fire on their own or allied troops. The causes and possible mitigators of friendly fire are being studied by a group of human factors/ergonomics researchers at the University of Central Florida and at the Air Force Research Laboratory. Their findings, to be published in the April issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, include a taxonomy by which troop teamwork could be strengthened to reduce confusion and error.

Although precise figures are hard to pin down, it has been estimated that 17% of deaths during Operation Desert Storm were attributable to friendly fire. "Whatever the absolute numbers," the researchers say, "friendly fire incidents occur and will continue to occur." But they believe that human factors research and analysis can provide information and methods that can reduce the likelihood of such incidents.

They began their investigation by examining the literature on friendly fire, then used a human-centered approach to understand errors and create the taxonomy. It contains a list of questions that draw attention to ways in which teamwork breakdown could occur. They concluded that in the absence of adequate shared cognition – the sharing of information about the dynamic, ambiguous, and time-stressed battlefield environment – warfighters can have problems interpreting cues, making decisions, and taking correct action.

"The battlefield is one of the most difficult operational environments within which to perform cognitive tasks," the researchers state. "[T]herefore, breakdowns in shared cognition are inevitable."

Although technological solutions, such as combat identification systems (e.g., Blue Force Tracker), have been implemented to enhance shared cognition and prevent friendly fire incidents, other factors, such as sleep deprivation and visual misidentification, can still lead to human error. In addition, these technologies can fail or simply be unavailable. What's needed, the researchers say, is a better understanding of specific failures of teamwork, including information transmission, team behavior, and team attitude. "Human solutions cannot be ignored, such as better teamwork...and training to improve communication, coordination, and cooperation."

The researchers believe that this taxonomy can help in the analysis of trends in friendly fire incidents or near misses, leading to recommendations and solutions to improve teamwork in order to minimize risk.

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