Podcasts about hurricane charley

Send us a Text Message.This week, we're rolling through August 2004, where history meets hilarity!

In this episode of The Kid Factor, Barb delves into a topic close to every parent's heart: nurturing financial independence in their children. A recent survey reveals that 9 out of 10 parents prioritize financial independence for their children's adulthood, making it a top concern.We begin by exploring the significance of financial independence and the long-term benefits of early financial education. Recognizing the impact of such education on a child's future, Barb shares insights on why starting early is key.The episode unfolds with actionable steps tailored for different age groups, ranging from 6 to 26. For the youngest, we discuss foundational steps like introducing money through play and establishing basic financial skills and experiences. As the age group progresses, topics shift to budgeting, savings accounts, part-time work, and even discussions about investments.For the older age brackets, we address more advanced concepts such as responsible credit card use, discussions on student loans and college funding, and encouragement for entrepreneurship and side hustles/gigs. The ultimate goal is to equip your children with the tools needed for financial success as they transition to adulthood.Throughout the episode, Barb emphasizes the importance of family meetings, communication, and shared experiences. The benefits extend beyond financial literacy, fostering stronger family bonds, resilience, and a mindset geared towards achieving goals.In closing, Barb encourages parents to take these small steps today, recognizing that they lay the foundation for a future of financial independence. The journey towards a financially empowered family dynasty starts with each of us. Until next time, stay empowered and keep crafting your family's financial legacy. Introduction Welcome to The Kid FactorIt's NOT Your Fault... facts and current statisticsSegment 1: The Importance of Financial IndependenceConcerns about your children's financial independenceHow to make money matters fun with kidsSegment 2: Age-Appropriate Strategies for Ages 6-10: Building Financial FoundationsGames and stories for kids and parentsTips for in-home activities and In-Real-Life (IRL) Actionable ActivitiesSegment 3: Age-Appropriate Strategies for Ages 11-15: Expanding Experiences Generating Money Habits, Savings Accounts and Fostering Delayed Gratification Preparing to Drive and the Financial Responsibilities Associated with the Privilege of DrivingGo to The Kid Factor Official Instagram & DM us to get your FREE List of 33+ Emergency Expenses You & Your Kids Should Be Preparing For put "33 Emergency Expenses" in the subject line  https://www.instagram.com/thekidfactorofficial/Segment 4: Age-Appropriate Strategies for Ages 16-18: Preparing for Financial Independence Budgeting for expensesCreating gig opportunities and turning skills into marketable opportunitiesSegment 5: Age-Appropriate Strategies for Ages 19-26: Transitioning Into AdulthoodAdultingEstablishing Credit WorthinessStudent Loans and DebtGoal-setting and planningSegment 6: 10 Actionable Strategies for Families to Implement To Overcome Some of the 25-plus Time-WastersFamily Budgeting SessionEducational Professional & Personal DevelopmentWeekend AdventuresShared HobbiesVolunteer OpportunitiesFinancial Literacy SessionsRegular Family MeetingsTravel PlanningPhysical ActivitiesCreative TimeWrap-Up5 Movies to Consider:The Ultimate Gift - based on the best-selling novel by Jim StovallTucker - The Man and His Dream  - based on the life of Preston Tucker and his American dreamThe Rookie - based on the real life story of Jim Morris and his 1999 bet with his team who went from worst to firstRacing Stripes - an award-winning film with the storyline of a Zebra with the heart of a CHAMPION and a Dream to run in Kentucky's most prestigious horse race. Little Red Wagon - based on the real life story of 8-year-old Zach Bonner who lives in Tampa with his realtor mom Laurie and teenage sister Kelley. In 2004, in the wake of Hurricane Charley, Zach uses his beat-up toy wagon to collect water, food and clothing for families left homeless by the storm. Emboldened by his success and the attention he is receiving from the local media, Zach battles bureaucratic hurdles to start his own charity, the Little Red Wagon Foundation,Call to action - A SPECIAL OFFER for THE KID FACTOR FAMILY...IMAGINE DOUBLING THE SPENDING POWER OF EVERY DOLLAR YOU HAVE!Schedule a CALL  with Barb and learn how you can double your paycheck - this week & Every Week!... click to learn more…https://my-TranzactCard.com/v90Watch the videos, Learn more about what is coming and Get your $25 MEMBERSHIP NOW to take full advantage of this game-changing opportunity TODAY!FYI... the $25 LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP offer has been extended for a limited time… after it expires...it will be $25 annuallyMORE TO COME THIS WEEK...Go to The Kid Factor Official Instagram & DM us to get learn LEARN HOW TO GET DOUBLE the VALUE of every dollar you spend through your bank accounts and through your credit accounts...  in the subject line put "TELL ME MORE"   https://www.instagram.com/thekidfactorofficial/ Connect with Barb!Chat with Barb https://calendly.com/barbvLinktree: https://thekidfactor.fun/linktreeWebsite: https://www.thekidfactor.fun/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKidFactor/ | https://www.facebook.com/groups/thekidfactorfamilyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekidfactorofficial/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barb-v-81497547/Thank you so much for joining us today!If you enjoyed this episode, please submit a rating and review and share it with a friend. Together, we can inspire more people to utilize The Kid Factor!Let's keep the conversation going! We would love to hear from you and your wants, needs, and goals and support you along the way! Head over to our website at https://www.TheKidFactor.Fun, where we connect, collaborate, and celebrate each other while sharing more about money, business & entrepreneurship, and personal development. Can't wait to see you there!Make sure you pick up your FREE PDF TIPS FOR RAISING FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT KIDS. DO YOU OR YOUR CHILD WANT TO WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK?Classes are forming NOW!Contact Barb today to learn about our publishing program and scholarships!Schedule a Chat with Barb https://calendly.com/barbv IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES... YOU"RE NOT ALONE>>>Website: https://www.nami.org/HomePhone: NAMI HELPLINE 800-950-6264 or TEXT "helpline" to 62640In 2020, the nation took a significant step forward with the enactment of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, a bill NAMI advocated for that created a nationwide three-digit number (988) to assist people experiencing a mental health or suicidal crisis. This number is now available in communities across the country.NAMI recognizes that other organizations have drawn distinctions between what diagnoses are considered “mental health conditions” as opposed to “mental illnesses.” We intentionally use the terms “mental health conditions” and “mental illness/es” interchangeably.A mental illness is a condition that affects a person's thinking, feelings, behavior, or mood. These conditions deeply impact day-to-day living and may also affect the ability to relate to others. If you have — or think you might have — a mental illness, the first thing you must know is that you are not alone. Mental health conditions are far more common than you think, mainly because people don't like to, or are scared to, talk about them. However:1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24A mental health condition isn't the result of one event. Research suggests multiple linking causes. Genetics, environment, and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events. Biochemical processes and circuits and basic brain structure may play a role, too.None of this means that you're broken or that you, or your family, did something “wrong.” Mental illness is no one's fault. And for many people, recovery — including meaningful roles in social life, school, and work — is possible, especially when you start treatment early and play a strong role in your own recovery process.THERE'S HELP & HOPE...

Introduction Bill Johnson is a nationally recognized leader in healthcare, public safety, and emergency management. He is the former Director of the Palm Beach County Division of Emergency Management. Throughout his nearly 11-year tenure, he guided the County in its response to several major disaster incidents, including COVID-19 (2020), Tropical Storm Isaac (2012), Hurricane Matthew (2016), Hurricane Irma (2017), and Hurricane Dorian (2019). He led the Division to become one of few local programs in the nation to become an accredited emergency management program. Prior to Palm Beach County, Bill worked as the Assistant Director for the Broward County and Miami-Dade County emergency management departments. Bill has been deployed to numerous major disasters including to New York City's Emergency Operations Center to assist with incident command after the 9/11 “Attacks on America” (2001), to Lee County after Hurricane Charley (2004), to Monroe County after Hurricane Irma (2017), to Calhoun County after Hurricane Michael (2018), and to the FEMA Region IV RRCC in Atlanta after Hurricane Ian (2022). He is a registered nurse, Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM), and was a certified paramedic for 28 years. Key positions: • Public Health Advisor (IMT), U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (DHHS) • Director, Palm Beach County (FL) Division of Emergency Management • Assistant Director, Broward County (FL) Emergency Management Division • Director – Emergency Management, URS Corporation • Assistant Director, Miami-Dade County (FL) Office of Emergency Management • Assistant Director, Miami-Dade County (FL) Office of Trauma Services Contact information: Twitter: @BillJohnsonRN LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/billjohnsonrn

An interim report submitted to the Florida Building Commission says that Southwest Florida coastal communities impacted by last September's Hurricane Ian were “ill-prepared” for the storm surge and flooding, despite lessons on wind mitigation learned from Hurricane Charley 18 years earlier.  Ian was the costliest storm in Florida history, killing 156 people and causing an estimated $109.5 billion in damage in Florida.  Only an estimated half of that will be covered by insurance.Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sat down with the report's co-author and another extreme events scientist who produced early catastrophic models on Ian for insurance companies.  They discussed how this new research shows some of the same patterns of destruction seen in prior storms, that Florida hurricanes are not getting stronger or more frequent, how elderly and poor residents are disproportionately hurt, potential changes to the state building code, and why a new approach to mitigation is needed.    Show Notes New lessons are emerging from Hurricane Ian, the high-end Category 4 hurricane that made landfall near Fort Myers Beach on September 28, 2022.  An interim report by a team of scientists supported by the Florida Building Commission showed Ian's tropical storm-force wind field was 2.3 times the diameter of 2004's Hurricane Charley.  The greater resulting storm surge of 13 feet impacted high population areas living in both elevated and on-grade homes along hundreds of miles of canals and coastal frontage.  (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-44-dynamic-duo-ian-hit-hard/) Findings: The report evaluates specific building code-related impacts to structural performance, including breakaway walls relative to code provisions, placement of the coastal construction control line, evidence for surge-induced floor slab uplift forces, and performance of common roof cover and wall cladding elements. Dr. David O. Prevatt, one of the report's co-authors, is a Professor of Civil & Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida's Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.  He is part of the Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) Network of researchers and product engineers that conducts surveys to assess building performance after each hurricane.  Its evaluation was used in the interim report and captured Hurricane Ian's damage patterns and storm surge.  Dr. Prevatt said Ian was not a design level wind-event, meaning its wind speed on land of about 120 mph was below the building code standards of 154-160 mph for Lee County, where it made landfall on September 28, 2022.“The severe damage we saw was really the flooding, in particular the manufactured homes on Fort Myers Beach and mostly older slab-on-grade homes,” said Dr. Prevatt.  “The good news, if there is any that we can draw from this, is that recent construction built to the recent Florida Building Code standards performed well, even in areas where they were impacted by the 13-foot high storm surge.”Yet, Ian destroyed or severely damaged about 20,000 homes in a wide path from Lee County on the Gulf Coast and inland across central Florida to Daytona Beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast.    Dr. Prevatt said he saw the same patterns of damage in Ian that he saw in the previous six years from Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, and Michael.  “It's one of the saddest parts for me.  If we don't harden our communities or retreat and move them away from these intense events, we will repeat what we've seen here five, 10, 20 years down the road,” said Dr. Prevatt.    Dr. Karthik Ramanathan is Vice President of Research at Verisk, the worldwide data analytics and risk assessment firm.  He led the catastrophe modeling team that estimated Hurricane Ian's initial insurance and reinsurance losses at between $42 billion to $57 billion, not including federal flood insurance losses.  The firm's catastrophe or extreme event models not only help insurance companies determine adequate insurance premiums to the assessed value of risk and speed adjusters to the hardest hit areas right after the storm but “can also act as excellent platforms for you to test out the impact of mitigation measures,” said Dr. Ramanathan.  “As David said, the performance of manufactured homes or mobile homes continues to be a major issue, even 30 years after Hurricane Andrew, although a lot has been done to strengthen them,” said Dr. Ramanathan.  “We saw a colossal amount of damage to manufactured homes.  Older and middle aged homes also saw significant damage.”  He and his team spent a week in South Florida after Hurricane Ian made landfall, surveying damage in both coastal and inland counties.  Some inland counties he noted had “pretty staggering” claim losses similar to coastal counties near Ian's landfall.“Even on the wind side, some of these inland counties saw a significant amount of claims, primarily coming in from roof damage.  And to me, it's mind boggling, seeing the same state which sort of pioneered wind design, not just in the United States, but across the world, is seeing some of the same issues 30 years on in an event like Ian,” said Dr. Ramanathan.  New Approaches to Mitigation: Host Miller noted that mitigation often poses a quandary for homeowners and policymakers.  “We're looking at construction costs going through the roof if we build stronger.  We're looking at property insurance premiums rising because perhaps we haven't,” she said.   Less than two weeks after Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida's east coast with modest winds but a large storm surge, creating additional flooding and tremendous coastal erosion.  Nearly 50 oceanfront homes, condominium buildings, and hotels in Volusia County either collapsed into the surf or suffered severe erosion damage.Dr. Prevatt said the same conditions have actually existed for thousands of years in Florida.  “We have the same hurricanes today.  They are no more intense.  They're not larger, nor are they more frequent than the hurricanes that have moved over the last 5,000 years.  So what is happening?  We have more construction.  We have more people building on barrier islands.  Barrier islands are called barrier islands, I think, because they were meant to protect the mainland shoreline from the storm surge, from these damages.  And they're meant to move the sand with the wind.  Hurricanes are natural hazards.  This is just how things are,” said Dr. Prevatt.Florida's population, he points out, is four times what it was in the 1970's.  “We really have to stop and ask ourselves, ‘How much further?  How much money?  How much federal effort should we put into securing and holding on with our own biting nails, to small pieces of land, as opposed to leaving and understanding what is happening on a natural basis?',” Dr. Prevatt asked.“We are building in areas where we are not supposed to build,” Dr. Ramanathan agreed, noting a Florida Department of Environmental Protection report on designated critically eroded beaches.  “And further, we are building in a manner that is not necessarily resilient by putting homes on slab foundations.  It is what led to a disaster that, according to my humble opinion, could have been 100% mitigated.”Part of the mitigation challenge is that 65% of Florida's homes were built prior to Hurricane Andrew.  “New construction may be adding 2% or 3% to our housing inventory per year.  So we're just not at scale to really impact future changes in our mitigation,” said Dr. Prevatt.  He said what's needed is “research that will actually retrofit houses at scale, not one house at a time, (but) one neighborhood at a time, one town at a time.”  Doing so will involve looking beyond the Bell Curve of statistics and instead disaggregating the data.“And what you're going to find is that the majority of this damage, disproportionately high percentages, are going to fall on the least able in our society.  The poorest, the minorities, the black communities, and the tribal communities.  These are the people who have been wiped out.  And the retirees.  Did you know that over 65% of the fatalities in Ian were over 60 years of age?” Dr. Prevatt pointed out.Recommended Building Code Changes: The interim report will be updated to address questions by the Florida Building Commission that will lead to a final report, which can inform future code changes.  Dr. Ramanathan believes the commission can make additional changes to the Florida Building Code beyond those mandated in recent sessions of the Florida Legislature.    He said he would like to see more durable screened enclosures on homes “because if you have to replace a screened enclosure, you're looking at a claim to the magnitude of about $5,000 or $6,000 or probably higher with inflation.”  He said he'd also like to see required window protection across Florida, regardless of whether the home is in a designated wind-borne debris region, “which don't cost a lot to install.”  Finally, although manufactured homes fall under federal HUD standards, he said states can add local amendments.    “I hope, as David said, if the foundation designed for manufactured homes can be looked at closely and even more importantly, if they can be enforced to the same degree as some of the other regular single family home enforcements take place in Florida, I think it will go a long way in mitigating damage following such events,” said Dr. Ramanathan.  Dr. Prevatt said he wouldn't look to the Florida Building Code for short-term changes, but rather a bigger picture of how to create a resilient community born in the 22nd Century.  “I would spend my time in the interdisciplinary research between the economics, urban planning, and engineering analysis that will be necessary for us to re-site our coastal residential communities inland on a macro level.“  Included in that would be converting coastal land to other uses, finding ways to buy-out private properties, and moving entire communities to safer areas, he said. “If we engineers continue to do the same type of research for the next 20 years in the same type of way, we will still end up with the same result.  We have to think way bigger, we have to be grand, we have to be bold, and we have to go out there and do this.  This is a moonshot moment.  This is the time that Florida needs to step up and change it all,” said Dr. Prevatt.Dr. Ramathan said Verisk does a lot of community outreach, through its work with extreme event models.  “In fact, one of our missions is to promote global resilience.  Because insurance, the way I look at it, is the best form of mitigation if used properly,” said Dr. Ramanathan.Host Miller pledged to work with the “dynamic duo” of guests and the listening audience to expand the outreach of this critical scientific research to better educate local, regional, and state policymakers, as well as federal officials.Links and Resources Mentioned in this EpisodeInterim Report: Survey and Investigation of Buildings Damaged by Hurricane Ian (University of Florida Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment, April 17, 2023)Dr. Prevatt slide presentation of Interim Report to the Florida Building Commission (May 10, 2023)Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance Network, November 17, 2022) (Scroll down to the “Documents” section and click “View Data” to reveal the three PVRR PDF reports)Priority Research Areas: Hurricane Ian (StEER Network, November 16, 2022)Estimated Industry Insured Losses to Onshore Property for Hurricane Ian (Verisk, October 2, 2022)Florida Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting on the Champlain Towers South Condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida |video of meeting | Florida Building Commission meeting materials (The Florida Channel, January 24, 2023)Critically Eroded Beaches in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection, June 2022)Florida Designated Wind-borne Debris Regions (Florida Building Commission, as of December 2020)Early Lessons from Ian's Damage (LMA Newsletter of 12-5-22)Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program (FEMA, December 21, 2022)Ian Was Costliest Florida Hurricane (LMA Newsletter of 4-10-23)All of Florida is at risk of hurricanes. So why aren't impact windows or shutters required statewide? (Sun Sentinel, February 5, 2023)Florida Building Commission** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to LisaMiller@LisaMillerAssociates.com **The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers' Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State.  Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs.  On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041.  Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome!  Date of Recording 2/18/2023. Email via info@LisaMillerAssociates.com   Composer: www.TeleDirections.com  © Copyright 2017-2023 Lisa Miller & Associates, All Rights Reserved

The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season doesn't begin until June 1, but we're already getting some early indications of what to expect. The first hurricane forecasts of the year are coming out.  In our hurricane season preview, the meteorologists discuss the factors that will impact the number of storms that form this year, including El Nino, La Nina, Saharan dust, and water temperatures. Wonder what names the storms will be given? The team reveals those as well, plus what happens when the initial list of 21 names gets exhausted. They also discuss how to better warn people as the storms approach the coast and share their most memorable hurricane stories.  Related episodes In the sky with a hurricane hunter: Part 1 In the sky with a hurricane hunter: Part 2 Hear from the man who's been on 70-plus hurricane hunting flights Uncovering the mysteries of ancient hurricanes Hurricane Sandy: Looking back at the superstorm 10 years later What went right and wrong with Hurricane Ian: forecasts and communication About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Across the Sky, our Lee Enterprises Weather podcast. I'm Matt Holliner, covering weather for all of Lee's Midwest websites, apps and social media accounts. And I'm joined by my fellow meteorologist Joe Martucci with a press of Atlantic City in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Sean Sublette with the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia. And for this episode, guess it's just April. Hurricane season does not begin until June 1st, but we're starting to get some indications, some early signs of what we might expect this hurricane season of course, we've got to get through severe weather season first, but we know there's lots of interest once we get to this time of year and we start to get warmer temperatures, even in the Midwest where I am, my goodness, 80 degree weather. But then you start thinking, wait a minute, with warmer weather, so comes warmer sea surface temperatures and you start looking to the Atlantic. And when we get an early season surprise this year and then what about the peak of Atlantic hurricane season? So we're going to start to share some of our thoughts. What's going to help this season, what's going to hinder it, and what are we ultimately going to get? So, guys, what are some of your initial thoughts as we look ahead to hurricane season? Of course, with you guys being closer to the coast, the impacts a little bit higher as well. Yeah, I mean, you know, we are the press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City is smack dab on the Jersey Shore here. Many of us, you know, very, very cognizant of Superstorm Sandy, which I just can't believe. But it was 11 years ago here, you know, looking at the Colorado State University forecast, they're kind of like the gold standard, along with the National Hurricane Center for these forecasts fairly average for this compared to climatology. So, you know, 13 named storms averages 14.46 hurricanes. The average is 7.2 major hurricanes. That's category three. Four or five hurricanes is a to average is three. I think we can certainly take, you know, a little bit of a sigh of relief that we're not being forecasted to be above average, especially over the past couple of years. You know, I think El Nino is really the player for this. You know, after three winters in a row with a La Nina and we talked about that in our winter forecast episode back in November, you know, we're transitioning into an El Nino that's warmer than average waters along the equatorial Pacific, basically to tell people to go off the coast of Peru. And your temperatures are above average. That should stifle some tropical development. You know, at the same time, waters generally in the North Atlantic are above average. That's been the trend for the past couple of decades. We don't see that going away any time soon. So that can really help to fuel some storms. You know, to be honest, not you know, for us at the Jersey Shore, I think, you know, Sean would say something similar. We never let our guard down. That being said, you know, it could definitely be in a more impactful area like the Gulf Coast or Florida. Yeah. I mean, to that point, you know, anywhere in the Middle Atlantic and southeast coast always needs to be mindful during hurricane season. And, you know, these exercises and the folks at Colorado State have been doing this for 40 years now. These exercises in seasonal hurricane forecasting are very important so that we get a better understanding of how the ocean and the atmosphere kind of react in this way and what kind of seasons do they produce. You know, I, I don't know if you guys get this, but I still get a lot of like, well, why bother doing this if it only takes one? Why do you care? Well, one thing we need to understand the ocean and atmosphere better, too. Insurance companies are really interested in this kind of stuff, you know, even if just an individual homeowner or an individual business owner may not care that much or this might not change their preparation to beginning of the season, it's still important in the longer term understanding and ultimately for business impacts as well. Right now we like to tell people no matter what the outlook is, if one hits your backyard or you get flooded out or whatever, then it's been a bad season for you. I think the classic example of this is Hurricane Andrew in 1992, when that was during a very otherwise relatively quiet season. But obviously, Andrew, the impacts of Andrew in South Florida are still being felt today, which is, you know, 30 years later. So that's I think the key here is that this is important. It shouldn't change preparation, I think, for anybody. But it is nice to see, you know, for me, I'm really curious because as you said, you were coming off of three consecutive La Ninas. Now we're all the numerical guides is just screw seeming like we're going to get an El Nino. And that tends to inhibit hurricane development, doesn't prevent it, but of course, it backs it off a fair bit. But at the same time, we've got very high temperatures with respect to normal of the water and the Atlantic. So there's also this kind of academic idea in my head. So which one of these things is going to win out? You know, and I think to make sure that we're clear for people who aren't familiar, you know, when we're talking about El Nino, we're talking about above normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. But we're also seeing above normal season temperatures in the Atlantic. But what the thing is, the Pacific being a larger body of water, when you get those above normal sea surface temperatures and I'm sitting right now, we're in a neutral phase, to be clear. We've come out of landing and we're in a neutral phase. But already we're seeing a warming trend like the Pacific is getting ready to transition to El Nino. I think that's the question is how quickly does that occur? Because when you get above normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, what happens is there's increased wind shear across the Atlantic. And when there's more wind shear across the Atlantic, higher level winds that tears up these storms and makes it harder for them to form. So typically when you have El Nino, you see reduced tropical activity in the Atlantic and it's the opposite. La Nina and the Pacific causes enhanced tropical activity in the Atlantic because of the reduced wind shear across the Atlantic. So it's an opposite effect. LA Nina enhances Atlantic hurricane season. El Nino causes it to typically be lower. But the catch this year is we're seeing above normal sea surface temperatures in Atlantic. So you're absolutely right, Sean, Which one of these is going to win out? And I think what it's also going to come down to is how quickly does El Nino form, if it holds off a little bit and doesn't get going? You know, we don't really see a true El Nino set up and that increased wind shear until September or October. You know, watch out for July and August. I think, because the water is definitely going to be warming up and there's not much wind shear and then we could get some activity. No, it was remarkable how quiet August was last year. I would be surprised if we had the same results again this year. So, you know, for people who are or who are going to continue to monitor this in the months and weeks ahead, and it's how quickly do we get El Nino to actually set up in the Pacific, the sooner the better, because that will increase the wind shear and make it less likely that hurricanes will form. But if it takes longer, then I think we have to watch out. You reminded me mad about how quiet we were for a while here with our tropical systems. I believe we went and here we go again. Now, from July 2nd to September 1st, we had not one storm. And typically August is when you really ramp it up. We had nothing. We ended up calling on the second. Then we had Danielle in September. I believe at that time I believe I believe maybe you guys know, was it the only time we in Tropical history we were without a named storm in August? They remember that. I feel like that was a nugget that seems to stick in in my head, at least in the modern era, at least in the satellite era. I think that's the case. Again, like you said, I'd have to go back and look it up. My sense and see if you all remember this. The way I do it was that there was a little more Saharan dust in August, the window and or we were in a phase of the Mad Julian oscillation, which also did not favor tropical development. And that's just off the top of my head. I can't remember that for certain, but I think those two things kind of put a little squashing on the activity in August of last year in a time that would otherwise be fairly act. No, you're 100% right on the dust, Shawn. And I remember that not only for the reason you said, but Florida. There was a lot of there was a haze in the sky from Florida, from some of that dust as well. And I'm actually looking at the it's called the United States Drought Monitor. And you'll look at Florida. I do believe some of the reason why Florida is in drought right now is because of that dust last summer, which really helped to dry things out. And they didn't get a lot of rain starting back to last year. And I'm looking at now a year ago, 21% at this time Florida was in drought, now it's 66%. And there was that increase throughout the summer and fall of last year, which got them to that point. So, yeah, I mean, and again, you know, that that was good, that we were that we were quiet, you know, relatively quiet through August. But then we went to September, got to made up for that really quickly because we had Danielle, Earl, Earl, Fiona Gaston in her mean, we even had a tropical depression in there. And Ian of course that that's that that's pretty close to the Mount Rushmore of most significant hurricane impacts you'll see And what is it with the ice storms, by the way? I mean, we've noticed this, right? For some reason, the ice storms tend to be the have whether it's just a statistical freak or whatever. But the ice storms, I think, have been more retired than any other storm. You know, when we go through it alphabetically, you know, we have we have these lists of storms. You know, it's repeated every six years or these six list because people like where do they name these things anyway? Well, there are six main lists for the Atlantic hurricanes. So they're you know, they're repeated every six years. And every once in a while when a storm is especially bad, causes a big loss of property and or there are fatalities. The name is retired because it's such an impactful event. The name doesn't want to be repeated. And that's done by the World Meteorological Organization. And Ian was retired from last year. And do y'all remember what was the other one that was retired last year? Yeah, that was Fiona. Diana. Yes. Yeah. Which was just like two weeks before Ian did a lot of damage in the Canadian Maritimes of all places. Yeah, Yeah. I think it was the most costly storm to hit Canada. If I recall. Right, and that's a big reason why I was being retired. It was also damaging in the Caribbean, not really an impact to the U.S., but they don't get you. Typically the cold water kicks in and these things dissipate before they actually make landfall in Canada. But that one did not happen. It was moving fast and came in, I think only as a category one, but a category one in Canada is a big deal. And so I I'm pretty sure I read that it was the most costly storm. Yeah. And to your point, we always have to be careful about saying only quote unquote category one, because there's still so much water with these things as well. You know, this goes back to the we could speak for like three or 4 hours about the surfer Simpson scale, right. About impact. And don't don't get so locked in with the category when it comes to impacts because they can rain like like crazy and be quote unquote only a cat one and they could do massive amount of flooding, even though it's only a cat one. I mean, Sandy was a cat one transitioning to an extra tropical cyclone as it came onshore, the Jersey Shore. And you know, all this I mean, Joe, you know about this way more than I do, buddy. But yeah, yeah. These things, no matter what their category, they do damage. You know, Sandy, of course, was well, it wasn't technically a cat one at landfall as opposed tropical cyclone. Just to speak on behalf of my New Jersey brethren, our last landfalling hurricane was back in the 19 tens. We have not had a landfalling hurricane since then. Going back to that, I though, Sean, we've had 13 ice storms retired. That is the most and we had three this decade in Aida, which was the year before. And then Iota. Oh, yeah. Do you want to. Yeah, I don't think we should count that though. Because of what? Because it wasn't the ninth one. Because that whole weird Greek alphabet thing. Wow. Yeah. I mean, do we want to go down that rabbit hole? Well. Well, the other thing is that we don't, you know, we don't do the Greek alphabet anymore. If we run out of names, there's a new. There's a second debris list. So if we run out of the primary list, we don't do this alpha, beta gamma stuff anymore. Yeah. Which I think is probably much better, but I think people got a little too attached to the Greek letter, like, Oh, we're going Greek, you know. You know, all the fraternity memes come out on Twitter with with the hurricanes and all that good stuff. And then a serious point, You know, what do you do when you have a Greek alphabet storm that was tremendously impactful and, you know, it gets brought up for a vote to be retired because there's no other Greek letter. I think that was part of the impetus for doing it. If it was. Yeah. Why do you suppose the original impetus, the impetus that's a good that's a good vocab word for it for our Across the Sky podcast listeners, I think with that that was such a great word, Sean. I think, well, we'll take it. That also starts with I know, yes it does it also, but I will retire for a little bit after that. I and we'll come back in just a minute. Everybody here, thank you for listening. And we've got to in just a second on the across the Sky bond. And welcome back, everyone, to the Across the Sky podcast. Come out with new episodes every Monday. And we do thank you for listening. You know, we have seen our audience steadily grow. We just had a meeting about how things are going with the big bosses and they were happy with the podcast, so we do appreciate it. If people weren't listening, we would have been canceled. We have not been canceled. We are continuing and if you enjoy the podcast, also give us a wherever you listen to your podcast, give us a review, give us a rating that helps as well. So do thank you for tuning in and this week's episode all about hurricanes. And the main reason we decided to do a hurricane themed episode, even though it's April and kind of get into the peak of severe weather season, is because Colorado State usually comes out with the first forecasts for the Atlantic hurricane season every year. And they just came out with the one for 2023 and we mentioned it at the top of the episode. But to recap their forecasts for this Atlantic hurricane season beginning June 1st, 2023, and going through November 30th, they're calling for 13 named storms. And of those 13 named storms, that includes tropical storms and hurricanes. Of those 13 named storms, six becoming hurricanes and two becoming major hurricanes. And compare that to a normal year, we typically see 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. So they're basically going one number below the average. And in their reasoning for it, they're conflicting issues with the forecast. So we do expect El Nino to form and wind shear, more wind shear than usual across the Atlantic. So that should hold down activity. But the problem is we're seeing above average sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic. So which one wins out? And because we're thinking maybe El Nino could end up setting up actually this summer, even before the fall, where they're leaning with El Nino running out just slightly. Just slightly. So basically a near-normal season. But I guess that is better compared to what we dealt with in 2020 and 2021. Now, 2022 was actually near normal, but it was looking like it was going to be above normal season. I think everybody definitely had some PTSD after 2020 and 21 to blockbuster years, so we kind of caught a break a little bit. But I tell you what, people in Florida, I don't think they caught a break last year with Ian coming through. So again, that was another example of how, you know, it was especially we went through that quiet August and nothing was going on and then, boy, did things change. So that's why you can't let your guard down, even though it's technically being forecast right now. And there are other forecasters come and we'll see how this all plays out with still, when you're talking about a near average hurricane season, that does not mean you need to go through the motions of not preparing for a hurricane, because we could absolutely have multiple landfalls in the US, you know, and that's the thing we can't forecast is where these things are going to occur. Are they just going to be out in the middle of the ocean or are they going to make landfall and we can't say that this far out. So, guys, what else are you thinking about this upcoming hurricane season? I'm thinking about some of the the changes that the Hurricane Center has put out every year. They put out this this memo that says what's new and what's updated for the season. And, you know, in terms of the forecast cone, I think that's always the the the sexy one. That's the one that that we think about the most here. Not much of a change with that forecast cone. There's been a little bit of an adjustment towards a narrower cone 60 and 72 hours out. But we're really talking like a matter of like miles. And then at 96 and 120 actually expands like three miles at 96 hours, five miles at 120 hours. And that cone and I love to talk about this because I feel like it's time that we need to change the definition of the cone. Right now. It's where the center of the storm is with 66% confidence. And I just think we're so good at forecasting the track and even the intensity of hurricanes, we can make that 75% or something higher. You know, I, I think people believe that that forecast cone is 100% certainty and it's not. So I always like to get on on that. I think we do such a good job. I think it's time to become a little more confident and expand it. I think there's a lot of merit to that argument. Joe. I think know, after last year and what happened with the end, there was a lot of people revisiting the cone and what the cone really meant. And we realized, I think we always realize this to a point that people misunderstand the cone. They just don't understand it the way we think they understand it. There's certainly a lot of value in there, but I try to tell people it's an important thing but is not the only thing. I mean, if you think about the last ten or 15 years since the cone has really been very highly visible in forecasting your public facing forecast, I mean, we push the cone out all the time and we haven't done a good enough job. I mean, not three of us, but I think the community needs to do a better job at saying impacts are not limited to the cone. Sing along if you know the words, the impacts are not limited to the cone. All right. This is our best guess of where the center is going to be. And yeah, near the center, that's where the wind is going to be. The most ferocious. But impacts extend far away from the cone, especially storm surge. Especially storm surge. I think this is kind of what we need to to drive home even more. You know, we keep working. It's a work in progress. Right. But back to your point about the historical probabilities, Joe, I think we have reached a point where we can do something that's a lot more dynamic. But this is where we feel with 75% confidence or whatever percent confidence, this is where it's going to be in this timeframe. You know, the other thing I'd like to see this is tougher, but start when we were Hurricane center puts these things out. And of course we've got a new hurricane director, Hurricane Center director from Virginia, which is, you know, cool for out here guy from from Cape Spring, which is where I used to work many moons ago anyway, to to put some place on a map that is clear. Like we know it's not going here. You plop a big map of the Gulf Coast and you put like, I don't know, let's say New Orleans to Brownsville. That's green. We know absolutely it's not going there. We know that or incorporate something like that. Because one of the things I think a lot of the social science is teaching us as people want to know when they can start paying attention. They want to know when it's safe, not just they want to know when the threat ends. They want to know when they're safe. And I don't know the best way to do that. That's again, that's a social science question, but I think there is some value in that. If we can do it the right way. Now, John, I think you're absolutely right about letting people know when you don't have to worry anymore, because oftentimes, you know, we start watching these things. You know, when they come off of Africa as a little tropical wave. And basically we have to tell everybody, look, this has the potential to develop, but we really do not know if this was just going to curve out in the Atlantic, if it's going to make its way in the Caribbean, maybe the Gulf. And so basically have to tell everybody, like the whole East Coast, it has to be on standby for this one. But that's very early on. And so people and of course, that gets lots of buzz on social media. And then, you know, especially once you do get a story, it looks like it's going to go into the Gulf. Then we have to say the whole Gulf Coast has to be on alert because there's still a lot of uncertainty where this is going to go. And so then everybody in the Gulf Coast gets all worked up and it's on social media and starts to get nervous. But inevitably, that's why you have to keep following the updates. Don't see one forecast, especially when it's five days out and think, Oh, that's it, it's going to change. They're going to be adjustments. There's going to be greater confidence in where that storm is going to go and wherever is the most likely past five days out, four days out. That is likely going to change. Unfortunately, That's why we give you a range of possibilities. But I think you're very right, John. At some point, as you get closer and closer to the landfall, the folks that are going to be feeling the impacts, the number does get smaller. And so letting people clearly know like this area, like Louisiana on West does not have to worry about this storm, like making that very clear, because sometimes I do think that gets lost because then people stop hearing about their location and but they're still concerned because they were never given the all clear. And until somebody hears that all clear, then you get an unnecessary number of people that are overly worked up anxious. They making unnecessary preparations. So yeah, I do think that just as important as messaging, who needs to prepare and who is going to feel the worst impacts, letting people know who is not going to be impacted. And you're absolutely right, that needs to happen as well. Yeah, and there's been a couple of options out there to change. You know how the cone looks. I've seen some like things where like the cone is like really dark in the where the best forecast is and then, you know, gets a little lighter as you spread out to show some more ideas of the impacts, you know, because anywhere in the cone is at the same you know, has the same you should be concerned anyone within that cone, even if you're not in the middle in the hurricane center, did a good job a couple of years ago. Maybe you guys remember what year it is. But removing that line, you know, that connects those dots. Now there's the dots sometimes like in my forecast, I don't even show the dots. I just show the cone. But but that was a good call. You know, it's a lot of social science stuff that we keep getting better at and really was triggered a lot by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005 year. You know, just just looking at some other updates to the Hurricane Center. And I just had it and then I lost it. Hold on. Give me one second, everybody. We're going to do this in real time. So for that, Joe, I think you know what's worthwhile and a big question that a lot of people get, you know, is this is our outlook episode for the upcoming hurricane season. One of the big questions that always comes up is what names are on the list? Oh, yeah, because remember, there are there are six lists that rotate. So if your name is does come up one year, you're going to have to wait six years for it to come up again. But we do have this year's list, so I'm just going to run down from a through W what the names are and see if your name is on the list number A And I know the problem is if you have a name low in the way down the alphabet, sometimes we never get to that name unless it's a really active hurricane season. So maybe especially if you have a w the W we don't want to get to the W storm, but we do have it on the list, so let's just run through it real quick. Most likely we will get an Arlene that is Storm one, number one. And also by the way, remember these these names alternate between female and male. So it's a female name then a male name, a female name, then a male name, and then next year and we'll start with a male name and go to a female name. So Arlene is number one, and then it's Brett. The sea storm is Cindy. Then we have Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harold, I believe it's e Dalia. I've got the pronunciation guide up here to the ice storm. So a little bit tricky one e dahlia Jose at Tia, I believe it's Katia is how it's pronounced. Lea Margot The end storm is Nigel. Then we have Ophelia, Phillipe, Rena, Sean We've got a Sean on this year's list. I hope we don't make it to the storm, but John as a possibility might use your name this year. Hammy events. And the storm is Whitney. You know, I actually like this this list this year because most of these are pretty easy to pronounce. There's some years where there are some that are real tough and there's lots of discussion. Exactly how do you say this? And I'm glad the Hurricane Center comes out the pronunciation, guys, because some years their names are a little bit tougher than usual. And this is an international list of names. It's the World Meteorological Organization. It puts together these names. So that's why it's not just us names. It is names from around the world. And that's why you sometimes hear some unusual odd names, and especially when it comes to the ice storms, because so many have been retired, sometimes have to go and find some rather unique names. But that is the list for 2023. If either one of you had your names retired, I don't think so. I think I haven't even looked at Hurricane Matthew. Yeah, Yeah. Hurricane Matthew was retired. Okay, That's right. So let's say currently Matt is not on. They probably haven't added Matt to the list. They probably like that die with Matthew. Yeah, but I don't know. There's been a similar Hurricane Joseph because I've got the list of all six years. I don't see Joseph up here. There's a Josephine Josephine. Yeah. And Jose. Yes. Very close which is going to be Jose's on the list this year is on a list for this year. So I was going to ask you, though, Matt, to have you guys covered those storms with your name and your career like Sean, have you had? No, because Sean came up because there was another storm that was retired and that name and I forget what storm, but there was an S storm that was retired, I want to say, six or 12 years ago. And then CNN was added to the list. I'd have to go back and look to see what names retire, but that hasn't been on the list that long. Would it be kind of odd to cover a storm with your name? I'm going to go. Yeah, I remember doing it with a hurricane, Matt. Now, to be clear, I was in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time. I was working at the Fox station out there because this this storm occurred in late September, early October of 2016. And so I was in Cincinnati at the time. So I was not being directly impacted by it, but when you have a storm that's impacting the US, every meteorologist in the country is going to talk about it. So I was certainly talking about it. And I think what helped me is though, my my legal name is Matthew. Everybody calls me Matt. So it didn't seem that odd that say, Hurricane Matthew wasn't like I was directly repeating my name. And everybody was like, Oh, hey, Matt, what's the situation with Matthew? And so it sounded a little bit different. I think that that helped making that statement as as odd because of it being Matthew instead of Matt. And everybody called me Matt. So it wasn't wasn't too hot. And especially because I didn't have to talk about all the times, it hasn't directly impacted me. And I just looked up Hurricane Stan in 2005 was retired and then my name went into there, Sean. And so Stan knew it was Rick. Sandy was retired the Oh, you're asking and you said Stan was 2005. Sandy, of course, was retired too, but that was 12 was 2012. Yeah, right. So that 423 that doesn't cycle in. So it had to be Stan in oh five. Gosh. And I guess before we we wrap up this episode kind of go around the horn and talk about our most memorable hurricane experience. I know from again, they start to wind together after a while, you know, and I know some people that were, you know, directly impacted by storms. And I've covered, you know, so many, but most of them indirectly. But I would have to say my most memorable experience is one that actually I was covering blow by blow and actually experienced at the same time. And that was Hurricane Hanna in 2020 that moved over Deep South Texas. And again, that was a great example of it was just a Category one. But my goodness, were there some tremendous impacts now where it actually made landfall? Hurricane Hanna You know, I was in the Rio Grande Valley at the time, which is Deep South Texas, Brownsville, McAllen are by the most notable cities down there. Now. It made landfall north of there. Technically, the eye came in just north of the four counties in the valley. But what this storm did is after it made landfall, I took a dive to the south and west. So it did move over our viewing area and the Rio Grande Valley and the winds were incredible, even though we were technically again, it was already inland, but the winds of this thing was cranking and we weren't even in the most populated part of the valley. It wasn't even in the area with the worst winds. But how much wind damage there was from this was impressive. So I can't you know, it was hard to imagine, like if this had been a category four, Category five, I mean, it was already just tremendously windy. But I think ultimately, despite the wind damage, the amount of tree damage was done in roof damage. My apartment had shingles removed. There was actually a leak that developed in my apartment. You know, all these things that end up happening. But ultimately, again, it wasn't It it wasn't the wind that was the worst part. As bad as it was, it was the amount of rain, because what happened is the storm just slowed down and it basically almost stalled out just to the southwest down in Mexico and just kept rotating, though. And these rounds of rain kept coming in. And even in these rain bands, there were some embedded tornadoes like technically the hurricane itself that passed with these rain bands on the backside of it had some little weak circulations. Well, weak tornadoes popped up on the backside of it. And just the rounds of rain, the flooding that we saw, you know, until you go through a hurricane, you've actually lived through it. You realize how long they last oftentimes. And just all the different impacts and all the different things. I mean, that's why it's just the most fascinating weather out there, because you can have tornadoes within the hurricane and the flooding in the wind. It was truly an incredible experience. But one was enough. I hope I'm okay not covering with being through another hurricane. That was that was good. Good for me. Yeah. So for me, it goes back the first time I was in was a first verse incarnation of Hurricane Charley in August of 1986. We were scheduled to go on vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and and we knew it was coming. Of course, this is 86. All you had was television and radio, and we didn't even have the Weather Channel at my house in Richmond. So I remember this very well because we decided to go anyway, even though the hurricane was was coming in. And as we were going out the back door to get in the car to drive from Richmond into North Carolina, my mom's like, Should we still go? She looks at me. I'm six years old, weather geek. She looks at me. Should we still go? I'm like, Well, it's too late to decide now. Let's go. And we went. It was we made it. I mean, we rode it out. We got down there before. Before we had the biggest impacts that actually pushed back off shore. But that was a windy day for sure. We didn't go anywhere that day. And then the rest of the week, the weather was just kind of air, but that was the first when I was legit in in terms of a legit tropical system. And ironically, because I covered a lot doing through my TV days, I didn't go down to the shore. We always sent somebody else to go cover them at the coastline. I was doing most of the anchoring from the studio, so I haven't been in that many of them. But in terms of other impacts, Isabel is is also one of the the top ones here recently in Virginia. But, you know, all of our big flooding events here in Virginia are tropical systems. If you go back to Agnes Haight and Hazel, Hazel was big in the fifties, but Agnes Camille left over from one in 85. It's all about the water here now. Yeah. And for me, there's not one weather event I can think of that puts sometimes tears in my eyes. Then Superstorm Sandy. In 2012, we were without power for without a week. We knew some people who had power loss for more than two weeks. It was a storm, you know, famous for its left turn right into Brigantine, just north of Atlantic City here. And the destruction you saw on our barrier islands was tremendous. And I think the one part that separates New Jersey from other coastal states is that our whole shore is a barrier island and it juts out into the water. I shouldn't say the whole shore of a 90% of the shore. And the memories in the economy and all the good times you had were laying there in shambles. And that included where I went to a lot every year growing up, which was Seaside, which in many ways was ground zero for the storm. And you know, leading up to it, you knew for days it was going to come. And, you know, the weather geek society is really excited. You're like, wow, this is a once in a lifetime storm. It is coming right for me. And, you know, you balance that out with, well, jeez, people are going to die. There's going to be damage and there's going to be tremendous devastation. I was at Rutgers at the time. I was a senior then and I was in charge of our weather TV weather department weather watcher program at the time and, you know, planning coverage for that. And then I think I said this when we talked about our Superstorm Sandy ten year anniversary episode, I ended up getting into a bicycle accident where I ended up with a concussion and I lost teeth, banged up my nose a little bit, and I was literally, you know, just home was if you ever had a concussion with a very empty feeling and you really couldn't you know, I really was just kind of out for the count during the storm. It was one way I was actually pretty good because classes were canceled for a week and I wasn't going to school anyway. I was concussed. But, you know, when you see the roller coaster that you've been on in the water and you know, you see the places that you used to go, go with with your family and friends, you know, be destroyed. And there was such a sense of unity among everybody in New Jersey to get this right and to pick things back up and to get us back in action. And, you know, I was I our Rutgers group, we went to Midway Beach, just south of Seaside Heights to participate in the cleanup effort. That's actually how in or in a small way, I'm married to my now wife. That was like our first kind of like really talked to each other event that we did with that cleanup. So a lot of memories from Sandy. And we talk about it to this day. And, you know, it was the biggest storm on record in terms of size and it's not the worst storm we could have had at the Jersey Shore. You know, we you know, in our circles here in Jersey, you know, our realistic worst case scenario is a Cat three three that really runs up the coast and provides a you know, it might not be as long lasting as Sandy, but a more powerful strike to the shore. So that's it for me. That's Sandy without a doubt. Yeah, that's quite the story. Joe, you know, I love hearing you just tell it because, I mean, you can hear the emotion in your voice. You know how impactful that storm was. I did realize that while you were up with that story, there's probably something that we should have mentioned at the beginning of the show that I think we were overlooked. Our fellow co-host, Kirsten, not with us. And I didn't even mention why at the beginning, but it's kind of a big reason because we also need to mention it because she's not going to be around for a while because as of just yesterday, April 12th, she delivered a baby boy. So she is this is her her third child. And so she's going to be on maternity leave and flexible leave late June. So she's going to be out for a while. But everything went fine. The baby is healthy. She is doing well. So all is good. We're so happy with that. Is that is in the books for every now and then. She also has some time off to enjoy, enjoy the baby. And she shared a picture and it does look like a cute baby. I'm going to be honest. I don't think all babies are cute. I most. Wow, you're fired. I think most babies are cute. But be honest. Not not all. Not all are. But but this one is. Sure. Since Baby Maxx, you know, obvious thing. So. But I'm just saying, not all babies are bad. I think that gets exaggerate a little bit now. You know, you can't say that to anybody. You have to tell everybody the baby's cute. But as honestly say, the Kirsten's babies get they get cuter the day after for sure. There you go. Yeah. No, congratulations to her. We were really happy for her and core part of this podcast. You know, without her, we wouldn't be doing this in a way in which we are. So she'll be back at the end of June, and I believe it's the end of June. And we're going to we're going to miss our next couple of months. We'll still chat with her, you know, three of us, but we'll have her back here and I'm sure with some some really good stories when we come back. But, you know, certainly congratulations to her. You can follow her on Facebook, Kirsten Lange and on Instagram as well. I believe it's Kirsten Lang one, if I'm correct with that, I think we're going to wrap, right? That. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. But just wanted to be clear, if you don't hear it. Curious to know she was not fired. She went make it very clear she's just on maternity leave enjoying some time with the family. But on that note, I hope you enjoyed this early look at hurricane season 2023. And of course, we will have other hurricane related episodes to come as we get closer to the season starting and of course covering all other topics. Weather related. And one other reminder, if you ever want, there's something you would like to hear us discuss. Contact us on social media. We're always looking for ideas we want to hear discussed. Email, contacts for social media and maybe a topic for next week's episode. But on that note for Sean Sublette in Richmond, Joe Martucci in Atlantic City. I'm Matt Holliner in Chicago. Thanks for listening, everyone, and we'll catch you next time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike and Pam are here today answering your awesome Listener Questions! Today Mike and Pam lead off the show with experiences we have had being at Walt Disney World when a tropical system (or in Mike's case - Hurricane Charley) came to visit! Then, we dive into questions about strategies to get the most out of Early Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, getting in as one of the first guests at Trader Sams, seeing the Magic Kingdom fireworks without a theme park reservation or Park Hopper, and a great email from Scotland that is what these Walt Disney World trips are truly all about! We hope you enjoy today's show!  Please visit our website at www.beourguestpodcast.com.  Thank you so much for your support of our podcast! Become a Patron of the show at www.Patreon.com/BeOurGuestPodcast.  Also, please follow the show on Twitter @BeOurGuestMike and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beourguestpodcast.   Thanks to our friends at The Magic For Less Travel for sponsoring today's podcast!

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. We’re already at hump day! We’ve got a lot to go over today, so let’s get to it. But first… Accountable 2U Using a smartphone or computer opens the door to a host of digital temptations. In a world saturated with pornography and other harmful content, what's a Christian to do? We need to take a proactive approach, welcoming transparency in our digital media choices—and Accountable2You makes that easy. Their accountability software shares detailed activity reports from all your devices, and your kids' devices, in real time to the accountability partners that you choose. With accountability in place, your family can effectively guard against temptations online and live with purity and integrity. Learn more and try it free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://reason.com/2022/09/27/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-lawsuit-pacific-legal-foundation/ 'Flagrantly Illegal': Law Firm Files Lawsuit To Stop Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness President Joe Biden's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt violates both federal law and the Constitution, according to a just-filed lawsuit from the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a libertarian law firm. This is the first serious challenge to Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, which he announced last month. The lawsuit's plaintiff is Frank Garrison, who's also an attorney at PLF. Garrison borrowed federal student loans to pay for law school, but according to him, Biden's debt forgiveness plan will actually subject him to a financial penalty in the form of a state tax. This gives him standing to sue the U.S. Education Department, his lawsuit argues. According to Garrison, he is already receiving debt relief under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal program for borrowers who work in public service at nonprofit organizations. Qualifying borrowers who make a certain number of payments and meet maximum income requirements can have the rest of their debts forgiven by PSLF. Garrison expects to qualify in about four years. Importantly, debt relief under PSLF is not subject to state taxes. Biden's broad forgiveness plan, however, will be taxed as income in Indiana—where Garrison resides—as well as Wisconsin, North Carolina, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Garrison will be "stuck with a tax bill that makes him financially worse off than continuing with his repayment program under PSLF," according to the lawsuit. "He did not ask for cancellation, doesn't want it, and has no way to opt out of it." While the Pacific Legal Foundation's theory is that this gives Garrison standing to sue the Education Department, the lawsuit's case against the Biden forgiveness plan is more straightforward: PLF is arguing that Biden has violated both the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, which give Congress rather than the president the power to make new regulations. Biden's new plan will forgive up to $20,000 worth of debt for many borrowers. The plan could cost U.S. taxpayers anywhere between $300 billion and a trillion dollars. A low estimate of the cost per individual taxpayer is $2,100. The administration has claimed that it has the power to unilaterally forgive student loan debts without consulting Congress. As justification, Biden has cited 2003's Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students, or HEROES Act. This law gave the president some authority to cancel or delay student loan repayments during national emergencies, with the clear intention of offering relief to borrowers who were serving in combat operations during the war on terror. Biden's view is that the COVID-19 pandemic counts as a national emergency, even though he has now declared it definitively "over." PLF's lawsuit takes issue with the pandemic justification for debt relief, noting that the harms purportedly ameliorated with debt forgiveness are not a "direct result" of the "national emergency," as required by the HEROES Act. Loan forgiveness is set to kick in sometime next month. https://www.theepochtimes.com/officials-issue-mandatory-evacuation-orders-ahead-of-hurricane-ian_4757626.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport Officials Issue ‘Mandatory’ Evacuation Orders Ahead of Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian is now a major Category 3 hurricane as it lashes the western portion of Cuba, although the storm is still forecast to strengthen further before hitting western Florida as officials have implemented mandatory evacuation orders. “This is a much different storm. [Hurricane] Charley was a lot smaller, it was powerful, it was a Category 4. Most of the damage from Charley was from wind and wind destruction,” DeSantis said on Tuesday morning, referring to a 2004 Category 4 storm that hit western Florida’s coast. Hurricane Ian’s sustained winds intensified to about 125 mph on Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It’s expected to hit near the Tampa area around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, NHC modeling shows. When it makes landfall, Ian will be at least a Category 3 with 111 mph winds at the minimum, according to the model. The governor and other Florida officials warned that people around Tampa should heed evacuation orders due to the significant flooding that Ian is expected to bring. Storm surge of between 5 to 10 feet is anticipated for Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, said the NHC in its update Tuesday. Five to 8 feet of storm surge is also expected between the Suwannee River to Anclote (An-cloat) River areas. “We expect to have to evacuate 300,000 people, and that will take some time,” Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise told reporters. “That’s why we are starting today.” https://thepostmillennial.com/shannon-brandt-man-who-ran-down-teen-for-being-a-republican-free-with-no-house-arrest-and-low-bond?utm_campaign=64487 North Dakota man who killed teen claiming he was 'Republican extremist' out on low bond, no house arrest Shannon Brandt, the suspect who ran down 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson for being a Republican with his SUV in McHenry, North Dakota last week, is out free with no curfew and no house arrest. According to Fox News, 41-year-old Brandt, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly accident, was released after posting a $50,000 bond, something former assistant US attorney Neama Rahman called "very low" and "woefully inadequate." A suspect can be released by posting bail, which is typically 10 percent of the required bond, meaning Brandt would be free after only providing $5,000. The incident occurred on September 18 when the two had a political dispute after a street dance that was held at a local bar. Brandt admitted that his actions were politically motivated because the teen was part of a "Republican extremist group." There is "no evidence" Ellingson was part of any such group according to North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind. As part of his release, Brandt cannot leave North Dakota, cannot consume alcohol, must be in a sobriety program, cannot possess a firearm, and must not be within 300 feet of the Ellingson family. President Joe Biden posted a video to his official Twitter telling Democrats to "fight back against extreme MAGA Republicans" days after Brandt's actions. https://thepoliticalinsider.com/after-u-s-soldiers-were-told-to-go-on-food-stamps-congress-finds-another-12-billion-for-ukraine/ After U.S. Soldiers Were Told to Go On Food Stamps, Congress Finds Another $12 Billion for Ukraine Congressional lawmakers agreed to a deal that would provide another $12 billion in aid to Ukraine, which would bring the total military and economic resources provided to over $66 billion. The news follows the Senate passing a $40 billion aid package in May, along with a $14 billion package in March. President Biden earlier this month asked Congress for an additional $11.7 billion in aid for Ukraine, with Congress, in turn, seems to be jumping at his behest. As a reminder, also earlier this month the Army told active-duty American soldiers to go on food stamps if they were unable to afford food thanks to inflation. Food stamps for American soldiers, endless billions for Ukraine. This is your country now. Reuters reports that the funding agreement for Ukraine would address a variety of financial needs for Ukraine, including the hope that it would “reduce future energy costs.” Meanwhile, the White House which had been touting lower gas prices despite them being well over the national average when Biden took office, has suddenly gone quiet. Why? Because they’re going back up again. FLF Magazine: We are on a mission to make magazines great again. So, subscribe to our Fight Laugh Feast magazine. This is a quarterly mini-book like experience, packed full of a variety of authors that includes theologically-driven cultural commentary, a Psalm of the quarter, recipes for feasting, laughter sprinkled throughout the glossy pages, and more. Sign your church up, sign your grumpy uncle up, and while you are at it…sign up the Pope, Elon Musks, and Russel Moore. Disclaimer: This magazine will guarantee various responses and CrossPolitic is not held liable for any of them. Reading the whole magazine may cause theological maturation, possibly encourage your kids to take the Lord’s Supper with you, and will likely cause you to randomly chuckle in joy at God’s wondrous world. Sign up today! Four issues and $60 per year, that is it. Go to fightlaughfeast.com right now to sign up!. https://www.boundingintosports.com/2022/09/former-washington-state-coach-nick-rolovich-has-no-regrets-not-complying-with-state-vaccine-mandate-even-after-being-fired/ Former Washington State Coach Nick Rolovich Has ‘No Regrets’ Not Complying With State Vaccine Mandate Even After Being Fired Former Washington State coach Nick Rolovich revealed why he did not take the Covid vaccine last year, a decision which ultimately led to his firing after some “ugly conversations” happened between him and the college’s administration. Coach Rolovich sat down with sports reporter Allison Williams, host of the new Daily Wire exclusive series Breakaways, and spoke regarding his thoughts on the impacts of the controversial vaccine as well as how his stance as a traditional Catholic ultimately led to confrontations with other staff after he chose not to comply with the mandate. Rolovich and four other assistant coaches were fired from Washington State in 2021 for their non-compliance with the state vaccine mandate. Because of this, Rolovich was unable to collect the estimated $9 million remaining on his contract with the school. Feeling his rights had been violated, he embarked on a $25 million wrongful termination suit against his former employers. https://twitter.com/i/status/1574072486223699972 - Play Video “The priest broke it down to me,” said Rolovich. “Because he wanted to know why, and I said, ‘This is just how I’m feeling,’ and he says, ‘Well, that’s your conscience talking to you and the Catholic Church recognizes your conscience.’ That was what was speaking to me the whole time.” However, Rolovich made it clear that his biggest regret regarding the whole situation was not making it public earlier while still an employee at Washington State that he was not going to take the shot on the grounds of religious reasons. One tense moment came with Pat Chun, the Washington State athletic director, who laid down the potential pathways things would go down if Rolovich decided to still not comply. “[Chun] said, ‘You got four options: resign, get the vax, get a medical exemption, get religious exemption,” said Rolovich. “I’m not getting the shot. I’m not resigning. I’m not going to get a medical because I could go get a fan card, easy, but then I’d be lying… I’m going to do a religious [exemption]. And they both said ‘We’re not going to believe you, you know, the governor’s not happy with you.'” Rolovich did choose the religious exemption route, which was even approved by the school’s Human Resources department, but Chun intervened and wrote a letter putting Rolovich’s reasoning into question, going as far as to call him a science denier. Because of Chun, Rolovich’s exemption was shot down. Rolovich was not the only employee who was intentionally targeted for questioning the vaccine. David Fox, who was the school’s director of football operations, had asked the school’s professor of pathology and infectious diseases during a presentation made to the athletic department in a presentation regarding the vaccine, whether it had any long-term impact on women and their ability to become pregnant. This question upset Chun, who later decided he would not renew Fox’s contract with the school. Rolovich was upset with Chun’s decision regarding Fox, saying “I already said to renew him, I was happy with the job he did.” A verbal argument spun out when Rolovich confronted Chun, and from there everything got worse. For now, Rolovich doesn’t know whether he’ll ever be able to obtain another position coaching again, but if that’s the case, he’s at peace with it. “Sitting here seven months later, to me, God was right, trusting that feeling and that belief really did end up helping me out.” Last thing I’ll say in this newsbrief, is this… Pat Chun? AD of WSU, you need to resign. You are a coward, who needs to be away from a leadership position over young men, and has no business being in the position that you are. Your handling over this situation is revolting, and you need to be on your knees, repenting to the Lord. Will Pat ever hear this? Probably not… but worth mentioning. By the way, if you want to call for Pat to step down, you can send him an email at Athletics.Director@wsu.edu. This has been your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief. If you liked the show, hit that share button for me down below. If you want to come to our conference next week, if you want to sign up for a club membership, or sign up for a magazine subscription, you can do all of that at fightlaughfeast.com. As always, if you’d like to email me a news story, ask about our conference, or become a corporate partner of CrossPolitic, email me, at garrison@fightlaughfeast.com. For CrossPolitic News, I’m Garrison Hardie. Have a great day, and Lord bless.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. We’re already at hump day! We’ve got a lot to go over today, so let’s get to it. But first… Accountable 2U Using a smartphone or computer opens the door to a host of digital temptations. In a world saturated with pornography and other harmful content, what's a Christian to do? We need to take a proactive approach, welcoming transparency in our digital media choices—and Accountable2You makes that easy. Their accountability software shares detailed activity reports from all your devices, and your kids' devices, in real time to the accountability partners that you choose. With accountability in place, your family can effectively guard against temptations online and live with purity and integrity. Learn more and try it free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://reason.com/2022/09/27/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-lawsuit-pacific-legal-foundation/ 'Flagrantly Illegal': Law Firm Files Lawsuit To Stop Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness President Joe Biden's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt violates both federal law and the Constitution, according to a just-filed lawsuit from the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a libertarian law firm. This is the first serious challenge to Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, which he announced last month. The lawsuit's plaintiff is Frank Garrison, who's also an attorney at PLF. Garrison borrowed federal student loans to pay for law school, but according to him, Biden's debt forgiveness plan will actually subject him to a financial penalty in the form of a state tax. This gives him standing to sue the U.S. Education Department, his lawsuit argues. According to Garrison, he is already receiving debt relief under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal program for borrowers who work in public service at nonprofit organizations. Qualifying borrowers who make a certain number of payments and meet maximum income requirements can have the rest of their debts forgiven by PSLF. Garrison expects to qualify in about four years. Importantly, debt relief under PSLF is not subject to state taxes. Biden's broad forgiveness plan, however, will be taxed as income in Indiana—where Garrison resides—as well as Wisconsin, North Carolina, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Garrison will be "stuck with a tax bill that makes him financially worse off than continuing with his repayment program under PSLF," according to the lawsuit. "He did not ask for cancellation, doesn't want it, and has no way to opt out of it." While the Pacific Legal Foundation's theory is that this gives Garrison standing to sue the Education Department, the lawsuit's case against the Biden forgiveness plan is more straightforward: PLF is arguing that Biden has violated both the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, which give Congress rather than the president the power to make new regulations. Biden's new plan will forgive up to $20,000 worth of debt for many borrowers. The plan could cost U.S. taxpayers anywhere between $300 billion and a trillion dollars. A low estimate of the cost per individual taxpayer is $2,100. The administration has claimed that it has the power to unilaterally forgive student loan debts without consulting Congress. As justification, Biden has cited 2003's Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students, or HEROES Act. This law gave the president some authority to cancel or delay student loan repayments during national emergencies, with the clear intention of offering relief to borrowers who were serving in combat operations during the war on terror. Biden's view is that the COVID-19 pandemic counts as a national emergency, even though he has now declared it definitively "over." PLF's lawsuit takes issue with the pandemic justification for debt relief, noting that the harms purportedly ameliorated with debt forgiveness are not a "direct result" of the "national emergency," as required by the HEROES Act. Loan forgiveness is set to kick in sometime next month. https://www.theepochtimes.com/officials-issue-mandatory-evacuation-orders-ahead-of-hurricane-ian_4757626.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport Officials Issue ‘Mandatory’ Evacuation Orders Ahead of Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian is now a major Category 3 hurricane as it lashes the western portion of Cuba, although the storm is still forecast to strengthen further before hitting western Florida as officials have implemented mandatory evacuation orders. “This is a much different storm. [Hurricane] Charley was a lot smaller, it was powerful, it was a Category 4. Most of the damage from Charley was from wind and wind destruction,” DeSantis said on Tuesday morning, referring to a 2004 Category 4 storm that hit western Florida’s coast. Hurricane Ian’s sustained winds intensified to about 125 mph on Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It’s expected to hit near the Tampa area around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, NHC modeling shows. When it makes landfall, Ian will be at least a Category 3 with 111 mph winds at the minimum, according to the model. The governor and other Florida officials warned that people around Tampa should heed evacuation orders due to the significant flooding that Ian is expected to bring. Storm surge of between 5 to 10 feet is anticipated for Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, said the NHC in its update Tuesday. Five to 8 feet of storm surge is also expected between the Suwannee River to Anclote (An-cloat) River areas. “We expect to have to evacuate 300,000 people, and that will take some time,” Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise told reporters. “That’s why we are starting today.” https://thepostmillennial.com/shannon-brandt-man-who-ran-down-teen-for-being-a-republican-free-with-no-house-arrest-and-low-bond?utm_campaign=64487 North Dakota man who killed teen claiming he was 'Republican extremist' out on low bond, no house arrest Shannon Brandt, the suspect who ran down 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson for being a Republican with his SUV in McHenry, North Dakota last week, is out free with no curfew and no house arrest. According to Fox News, 41-year-old Brandt, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly accident, was released after posting a $50,000 bond, something former assistant US attorney Neama Rahman called "very low" and "woefully inadequate." A suspect can be released by posting bail, which is typically 10 percent of the required bond, meaning Brandt would be free after only providing $5,000. The incident occurred on September 18 when the two had a political dispute after a street dance that was held at a local bar. Brandt admitted that his actions were politically motivated because the teen was part of a "Republican extremist group." There is "no evidence" Ellingson was part of any such group according to North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind. As part of his release, Brandt cannot leave North Dakota, cannot consume alcohol, must be in a sobriety program, cannot possess a firearm, and must not be within 300 feet of the Ellingson family. President Joe Biden posted a video to his official Twitter telling Democrats to "fight back against extreme MAGA Republicans" days after Brandt's actions. https://thepoliticalinsider.com/after-u-s-soldiers-were-told-to-go-on-food-stamps-congress-finds-another-12-billion-for-ukraine/ After U.S. Soldiers Were Told to Go On Food Stamps, Congress Finds Another $12 Billion for Ukraine Congressional lawmakers agreed to a deal that would provide another $12 billion in aid to Ukraine, which would bring the total military and economic resources provided to over $66 billion. The news follows the Senate passing a $40 billion aid package in May, along with a $14 billion package in March. President Biden earlier this month asked Congress for an additional $11.7 billion in aid for Ukraine, with Congress, in turn, seems to be jumping at his behest. As a reminder, also earlier this month the Army told active-duty American soldiers to go on food stamps if they were unable to afford food thanks to inflation. Food stamps for American soldiers, endless billions for Ukraine. This is your country now. Reuters reports that the funding agreement for Ukraine would address a variety of financial needs for Ukraine, including the hope that it would “reduce future energy costs.” Meanwhile, the White House which had been touting lower gas prices despite them being well over the national average when Biden took office, has suddenly gone quiet. Why? Because they’re going back up again. FLF Magazine: We are on a mission to make magazines great again. So, subscribe to our Fight Laugh Feast magazine. This is a quarterly mini-book like experience, packed full of a variety of authors that includes theologically-driven cultural commentary, a Psalm of the quarter, recipes for feasting, laughter sprinkled throughout the glossy pages, and more. Sign your church up, sign your grumpy uncle up, and while you are at it…sign up the Pope, Elon Musks, and Russel Moore. Disclaimer: This magazine will guarantee various responses and CrossPolitic is not held liable for any of them. Reading the whole magazine may cause theological maturation, possibly encourage your kids to take the Lord’s Supper with you, and will likely cause you to randomly chuckle in joy at God’s wondrous world. Sign up today! Four issues and $60 per year, that is it. Go to fightlaughfeast.com right now to sign up!. https://www.boundingintosports.com/2022/09/former-washington-state-coach-nick-rolovich-has-no-regrets-not-complying-with-state-vaccine-mandate-even-after-being-fired/ Former Washington State Coach Nick Rolovich Has ‘No Regrets’ Not Complying With State Vaccine Mandate Even After Being Fired Former Washington State coach Nick Rolovich revealed why he did not take the Covid vaccine last year, a decision which ultimately led to his firing after some “ugly conversations” happened between him and the college’s administration. Coach Rolovich sat down with sports reporter Allison Williams, host of the new Daily Wire exclusive series Breakaways, and spoke regarding his thoughts on the impacts of the controversial vaccine as well as how his stance as a traditional Catholic ultimately led to confrontations with other staff after he chose not to comply with the mandate. Rolovich and four other assistant coaches were fired from Washington State in 2021 for their non-compliance with the state vaccine mandate. Because of this, Rolovich was unable to collect the estimated $9 million remaining on his contract with the school. Feeling his rights had been violated, he embarked on a $25 million wrongful termination suit against his former employers. https://twitter.com/i/status/1574072486223699972 - Play Video “The priest broke it down to me,” said Rolovich. “Because he wanted to know why, and I said, ‘This is just how I’m feeling,’ and he says, ‘Well, that’s your conscience talking to you and the Catholic Church recognizes your conscience.’ That was what was speaking to me the whole time.” However, Rolovich made it clear that his biggest regret regarding the whole situation was not making it public earlier while still an employee at Washington State that he was not going to take the shot on the grounds of religious reasons. One tense moment came with Pat Chun, the Washington State athletic director, who laid down the potential pathways things would go down if Rolovich decided to still not comply. “[Chun] said, ‘You got four options: resign, get the vax, get a medical exemption, get religious exemption,” said Rolovich. “I’m not getting the shot. I’m not resigning. I’m not going to get a medical because I could go get a fan card, easy, but then I’d be lying… I’m going to do a religious [exemption]. And they both said ‘We’re not going to believe you, you know, the governor’s not happy with you.'” Rolovich did choose the religious exemption route, which was even approved by the school’s Human Resources department, but Chun intervened and wrote a letter putting Rolovich’s reasoning into question, going as far as to call him a science denier. Because of Chun, Rolovich’s exemption was shot down. Rolovich was not the only employee who was intentionally targeted for questioning the vaccine. David Fox, who was the school’s director of football operations, had asked the school’s professor of pathology and infectious diseases during a presentation made to the athletic department in a presentation regarding the vaccine, whether it had any long-term impact on women and their ability to become pregnant. This question upset Chun, who later decided he would not renew Fox’s contract with the school. Rolovich was upset with Chun’s decision regarding Fox, saying “I already said to renew him, I was happy with the job he did.” A verbal argument spun out when Rolovich confronted Chun, and from there everything got worse. For now, Rolovich doesn’t know whether he’ll ever be able to obtain another position coaching again, but if that’s the case, he’s at peace with it. “Sitting here seven months later, to me, God was right, trusting that feeling and that belief really did end up helping me out.” Last thing I’ll say in this newsbrief, is this… Pat Chun? AD of WSU, you need to resign. You are a coward, who needs to be away from a leadership position over young men, and has no business being in the position that you are. Your handling over this situation is revolting, and you need to be on your knees, repenting to the Lord. Will Pat ever hear this? Probably not… but worth mentioning. By the way, if you want to call for Pat to step down, you can send him an email at Athletics.Director@wsu.edu. This has been your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief. If you liked the show, hit that share button for me down below. If you want to come to our conference next week, if you want to sign up for a club membership, or sign up for a magazine subscription, you can do all of that at fightlaughfeast.com. As always, if you’d like to email me a news story, ask about our conference, or become a corporate partner of CrossPolitic, email me, at garrison@fightlaughfeast.com. For CrossPolitic News, I’m Garrison Hardie. Have a great day, and Lord bless.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Wednesday, September 28th, 2022. We’re already at hump day! We’ve got a lot to go over today, so let’s get to it. But first… Accountable 2U Using a smartphone or computer opens the door to a host of digital temptations. In a world saturated with pornography and other harmful content, what's a Christian to do? We need to take a proactive approach, welcoming transparency in our digital media choices—and Accountable2You makes that easy. Their accountability software shares detailed activity reports from all your devices, and your kids' devices, in real time to the accountability partners that you choose. With accountability in place, your family can effectively guard against temptations online and live with purity and integrity. Learn more and try it free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://reason.com/2022/09/27/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-lawsuit-pacific-legal-foundation/ 'Flagrantly Illegal': Law Firm Files Lawsuit To Stop Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness President Joe Biden's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt violates both federal law and the Constitution, according to a just-filed lawsuit from the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a libertarian law firm. This is the first serious challenge to Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, which he announced last month. The lawsuit's plaintiff is Frank Garrison, who's also an attorney at PLF. Garrison borrowed federal student loans to pay for law school, but according to him, Biden's debt forgiveness plan will actually subject him to a financial penalty in the form of a state tax. This gives him standing to sue the U.S. Education Department, his lawsuit argues. According to Garrison, he is already receiving debt relief under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal program for borrowers who work in public service at nonprofit organizations. Qualifying borrowers who make a certain number of payments and meet maximum income requirements can have the rest of their debts forgiven by PSLF. Garrison expects to qualify in about four years. Importantly, debt relief under PSLF is not subject to state taxes. Biden's broad forgiveness plan, however, will be taxed as income in Indiana—where Garrison resides—as well as Wisconsin, North Carolina, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Garrison will be "stuck with a tax bill that makes him financially worse off than continuing with his repayment program under PSLF," according to the lawsuit. "He did not ask for cancellation, doesn't want it, and has no way to opt out of it." While the Pacific Legal Foundation's theory is that this gives Garrison standing to sue the Education Department, the lawsuit's case against the Biden forgiveness plan is more straightforward: PLF is arguing that Biden has violated both the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, which give Congress rather than the president the power to make new regulations. Biden's new plan will forgive up to $20,000 worth of debt for many borrowers. The plan could cost U.S. taxpayers anywhere between $300 billion and a trillion dollars. A low estimate of the cost per individual taxpayer is $2,100. The administration has claimed that it has the power to unilaterally forgive student loan debts without consulting Congress. As justification, Biden has cited 2003's Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students, or HEROES Act. This law gave the president some authority to cancel or delay student loan repayments during national emergencies, with the clear intention of offering relief to borrowers who were serving in combat operations during the war on terror. Biden's view is that the COVID-19 pandemic counts as a national emergency, even though he has now declared it definitively "over." PLF's lawsuit takes issue with the pandemic justification for debt relief, noting that the harms purportedly ameliorated with debt forgiveness are not a "direct result" of the "national emergency," as required by the HEROES Act. Loan forgiveness is set to kick in sometime next month. https://www.theepochtimes.com/officials-issue-mandatory-evacuation-orders-ahead-of-hurricane-ian_4757626.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=BonginoReport Officials Issue ‘Mandatory’ Evacuation Orders Ahead of Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian is now a major Category 3 hurricane as it lashes the western portion of Cuba, although the storm is still forecast to strengthen further before hitting western Florida as officials have implemented mandatory evacuation orders. “This is a much different storm. [Hurricane] Charley was a lot smaller, it was powerful, it was a Category 4. Most of the damage from Charley was from wind and wind destruction,” DeSantis said on Tuesday morning, referring to a 2004 Category 4 storm that hit western Florida’s coast. Hurricane Ian’s sustained winds intensified to about 125 mph on Tuesday morning as it made landfall in western Cuba, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It’s expected to hit near the Tampa area around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, NHC modeling shows. When it makes landfall, Ian will be at least a Category 3 with 111 mph winds at the minimum, according to the model. The governor and other Florida officials warned that people around Tampa should heed evacuation orders due to the significant flooding that Ian is expected to bring. Storm surge of between 5 to 10 feet is anticipated for Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor, said the NHC in its update Tuesday. Five to 8 feet of storm surge is also expected between the Suwannee River to Anclote (An-cloat) River areas. “We expect to have to evacuate 300,000 people, and that will take some time,” Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise told reporters. “That’s why we are starting today.” https://thepostmillennial.com/shannon-brandt-man-who-ran-down-teen-for-being-a-republican-free-with-no-house-arrest-and-low-bond?utm_campaign=64487 North Dakota man who killed teen claiming he was 'Republican extremist' out on low bond, no house arrest Shannon Brandt, the suspect who ran down 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson for being a Republican with his SUV in McHenry, North Dakota last week, is out free with no curfew and no house arrest. According to Fox News, 41-year-old Brandt, who has been charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a deadly accident, was released after posting a $50,000 bond, something former assistant US attorney Neama Rahman called "very low" and "woefully inadequate." A suspect can be released by posting bail, which is typically 10 percent of the required bond, meaning Brandt would be free after only providing $5,000. The incident occurred on September 18 when the two had a political dispute after a street dance that was held at a local bar. Brandt admitted that his actions were politically motivated because the teen was part of a "Republican extremist group." There is "no evidence" Ellingson was part of any such group according to North Dakota Highway Patrol Captain Bryan Niewind. As part of his release, Brandt cannot leave North Dakota, cannot consume alcohol, must be in a sobriety program, cannot possess a firearm, and must not be within 300 feet of the Ellingson family. President Joe Biden posted a video to his official Twitter telling Democrats to "fight back against extreme MAGA Republicans" days after Brandt's actions. https://thepoliticalinsider.com/after-u-s-soldiers-were-told-to-go-on-food-stamps-congress-finds-another-12-billion-for-ukraine/ After U.S. Soldiers Were Told to Go On Food Stamps, Congress Finds Another $12 Billion for Ukraine Congressional lawmakers agreed to a deal that would provide another $12 billion in aid to Ukraine, which would bring the total military and economic resources provided to over $66 billion. The news follows the Senate passing a $40 billion aid package in May, along with a $14 billion package in March. President Biden earlier this month asked Congress for an additional $11.7 billion in aid for Ukraine, with Congress, in turn, seems to be jumping at his behest. As a reminder, also earlier this month the Army told active-duty American soldiers to go on food stamps if they were unable to afford food thanks to inflation. Food stamps for American soldiers, endless billions for Ukraine. This is your country now. Reuters reports that the funding agreement for Ukraine would address a variety of financial needs for Ukraine, including the hope that it would “reduce future energy costs.” Meanwhile, the White House which had been touting lower gas prices despite them being well over the national average when Biden took office, has suddenly gone quiet. Why? Because they’re going back up again. FLF Magazine: We are on a mission to make magazines great again. So, subscribe to our Fight Laugh Feast magazine. This is a quarterly mini-book like experience, packed full of a variety of authors that includes theologically-driven cultural commentary, a Psalm of the quarter, recipes for feasting, laughter sprinkled throughout the glossy pages, and more. Sign your church up, sign your grumpy uncle up, and while you are at it…sign up the Pope, Elon Musks, and Russel Moore. Disclaimer: This magazine will guarantee various responses and CrossPolitic is not held liable for any of them. Reading the whole magazine may cause theological maturation, possibly encourage your kids to take the Lord’s Supper with you, and will likely cause you to randomly chuckle in joy at God’s wondrous world. Sign up today! Four issues and $60 per year, that is it. Go to fightlaughfeast.com right now to sign up!. https://www.boundingintosports.com/2022/09/former-washington-state-coach-nick-rolovich-has-no-regrets-not-complying-with-state-vaccine-mandate-even-after-being-fired/ Former Washington State Coach Nick Rolovich Has ‘No Regrets’ Not Complying With State Vaccine Mandate Even After Being Fired Former Washington State coach Nick Rolovich revealed why he did not take the Covid vaccine last year, a decision which ultimately led to his firing after some “ugly conversations” happened between him and the college’s administration. Coach Rolovich sat down with sports reporter Allison Williams, host of the new Daily Wire exclusive series Breakaways, and spoke regarding his thoughts on the impacts of the controversial vaccine as well as how his stance as a traditional Catholic ultimately led to confrontations with other staff after he chose not to comply with the mandate. Rolovich and four other assistant coaches were fired from Washington State in 2021 for their non-compliance with the state vaccine mandate. Because of this, Rolovich was unable to collect the estimated $9 million remaining on his contract with the school. Feeling his rights had been violated, he embarked on a $25 million wrongful termination suit against his former employers. https://twitter.com/i/status/1574072486223699972 - Play Video “The priest broke it down to me,” said Rolovich. “Because he wanted to know why, and I said, ‘This is just how I’m feeling,’ and he says, ‘Well, that’s your conscience talking to you and the Catholic Church recognizes your conscience.’ That was what was speaking to me the whole time.” However, Rolovich made it clear that his biggest regret regarding the whole situation was not making it public earlier while still an employee at Washington State that he was not going to take the shot on the grounds of religious reasons. One tense moment came with Pat Chun, the Washington State athletic director, who laid down the potential pathways things would go down if Rolovich decided to still not comply. “[Chun] said, ‘You got four options: resign, get the vax, get a medical exemption, get religious exemption,” said Rolovich. “I’m not getting the shot. I’m not resigning. I’m not going to get a medical because I could go get a fan card, easy, but then I’d be lying… I’m going to do a religious [exemption]. And they both said ‘We’re not going to believe you, you know, the governor’s not happy with you.'” Rolovich did choose the religious exemption route, which was even approved by the school’s Human Resources department, but Chun intervened and wrote a letter putting Rolovich’s reasoning into question, going as far as to call him a science denier. Because of Chun, Rolovich’s exemption was shot down. Rolovich was not the only employee who was intentionally targeted for questioning the vaccine. David Fox, who was the school’s director of football operations, had asked the school’s professor of pathology and infectious diseases during a presentation made to the athletic department in a presentation regarding the vaccine, whether it had any long-term impact on women and their ability to become pregnant. This question upset Chun, who later decided he would not renew Fox’s contract with the school. Rolovich was upset with Chun’s decision regarding Fox, saying “I already said to renew him, I was happy with the job he did.” A verbal argument spun out when Rolovich confronted Chun, and from there everything got worse. For now, Rolovich doesn’t know whether he’ll ever be able to obtain another position coaching again, but if that’s the case, he’s at peace with it. “Sitting here seven months later, to me, God was right, trusting that feeling and that belief really did end up helping me out.” Last thing I’ll say in this newsbrief, is this… Pat Chun? AD of WSU, you need to resign. You are a coward, who needs to be away from a leadership position over young men, and has no business being in the position that you are. Your handling over this situation is revolting, and you need to be on your knees, repenting to the Lord. Will Pat ever hear this? Probably not… but worth mentioning. By the way, if you want to call for Pat to step down, you can send him an email at Athletics.Director@wsu.edu. This has been your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief. If you liked the show, hit that share button for me down below. If you want to come to our conference next week, if you want to sign up for a club membership, or sign up for a magazine subscription, you can do all of that at fightlaughfeast.com. As always, if you’d like to email me a news story, ask about our conference, or become a corporate partner of CrossPolitic, email me, at garrison@fightlaughfeast.com. For CrossPolitic News, I’m Garrison Hardie. Have a great day, and Lord bless.

Steve was born and raised in south western Florida and always had a passion for storms and severe weather. This was firmly cemented in 2004 when category 4 Hurricane Charley devastated his hometown. In 2017 he decided to challenge himself and finally chase his dreams. Steve picked up photography and moved to Oklahoma where since moving have fallen in love with the land, the people, the wide open skies and most definitely the storms. Natural disasters happen all the time and your lucky if you get to experience one safely because the primal power of one is something we haven't even come close to being able to stop.

Hurricane Frances  was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. The system crossed the open Atlantic during mid-to-late August, moving to the north of the Lesser Antilles while strengthening. Its outer bands affected Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands while passing north of the Caribbean sea. The storm's maximum sustained wind speeds peaked at 145 miles per hour, achieving Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. As the system slowed down its forward motion, the eye passed over San Salvador Island and very close to Cat Island in the Bahamas. Frances was the first hurricane to impact the entire Bahamian archipelago since 1866, and led to the nearly complete destruction of their agricultural economy.   Frances then passed over the central sections of the state of Florida in the U.S. only three weeks after Hurricane Charley, causing significant damage to the state's citrus crop, closing major airports, schools and canceling a collegiate football game. The storm then moved briefly offshore Florida into the northeast Gulf of Mexico and made a second U.S. landfall at the Florida Panhandle before accelerating northeast through the eastern United States near the Appalachians into Atlantic Canada while weakening. A significant tornado outbreak accompanied the storm across the eastern United States, nearly equaling the outbreak from Hurricane Beulah. Very heavy rains fell in association with this slow moving and relatively large hurricane, which led to floods in Florida and North Carolina. A total of 49 lives were lost from the cyclone. Damages totaled US$12 billion.   Hurricane Ivan  was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Ivan formed in early September, had reached Category 5 strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and became the 10th most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. At its peak in the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan was the size of the state of Texas. It also spawned 120 tornadoes across the eastern United States.   Ivan caused catastrophic damage to Grenada as a strong Category 3 storm, heavy damage to Jamaica as a strong Category 4 storm and then Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands and the western tip of Cuba as a Category 5 storm. After peaking in strength, the hurricane moved north-northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to strike Florida as a strong Category 3 storm, causing significant damage. Ivan dropped heavy rains on the Southeastern United States as it progressed northeast and east through the eastern United States, becoming an extratropical cyclone. The remnant low from the storm moved into the western subtropical Atlantic and regenerated into a tropical cyclone, which then moved across Florida and the Gulf of Mexico into Louisiana and Texas, causing minimal damage.   Ivan caused an estimated US$18 billion in damages to the United States, making it the fifth costliest hurricane ever to strike the country.  We didn't get hit too badly by this storm, but it has my nerves on edge that it is just one storm after another this year.   Hurricane Jeanne  was the deadliest hurricane in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the season, as well as the third hurricane and fourth named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida. After wreaking havoc on Hispaniola, Jeanne struggled to reorganize, eventually strengthening and performing a complete loop over the open Atlantic. It headed westwards, strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane and passing over the islands of Great Abaco and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas on September 25.   Jeanne made landfall later in the day in Florida just 2 miles from where Frances had struck 3 weeks earlier. Building on the rainfall of Frances and Ivan, Jeanne brought near-record flood levels as far north as West Virginia and New Jersey before its remnants turned east into the open Atlantic. Jeanne is blamed for at least 3,006 deaths in Haiti with about 2,800 in Gonaïves alone, which was nearly washed away by floods and mudslides. The storm also caused 7 deaths in Puerto Rico, 18 in the Dominican Republic and at least 4 in Florida, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 3,025;   Jeanne is the 12th deadliest storm in the Atlantic hurricane history ever. Final property damage in the United States was $6.8 billion, making this the 13th costliest hurricane in U.S. history.  Jeanne took out several trees at the sanctuary and smashed some cages, but none of the cats escaped.  I had to use my body as a patch in the roof of a cougar cage until a patch of wire arrived, but that was the scariest part of the damage done.   I'm exhausted from being on high alert for weeks now due to hurricanes hitting Florida.  I watch them for days, not knowing where they will land, and fearful for the lives of my cats and family.  People are saying that it is global warming and life in Florida will always be this way from now on.  I don't know how long I can deal with the stress.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Tribute to Maya Lioness For several weeks in July and August, Maya had been in intensive care in the Big Cat Rescue Cat Hospital due to complications with her seizures. During that time she had several bad days that made us just about decide that euthanasia was the only humane thing to do, but about the time we would finally decide that she had been through enough, Maya would decide it wasn't time to go yet and would make another miraculous rebound. It has always been our policy to continue to provide whatever heroic efforts were called for as long as the cat seemed to be choosing life over death. Maya seemed to really have a strong will to live.   By August 16th her cage had been outfitted with an air conditioned den and as she was doing better, Maya was moved from the confines of the hospital back out to be in her own familiar grassy cage, next to her buddy Nikita. She was the picture of contentment and although she would occasionally step in her den to cool off she preferred to lounge in the shade. Her favorite pose was up against the cage wall with all four feet in the air.   On August 19 and August 22 most of the regular Big Cat Rescue staff were in Zolfo Springs helping the Peace River Refuge and Ranch recover from Hurricane Charley so only a skeletal staff was left behind. Maya seemed fine and was no longer on round-the-clock observance.   On Sunday the 22nd, Howard Baskin was giving a VIP tour when he discovered Maya breathing hard. He alerted the staff of her condition by cell phone. Within 5 minutes Carole arrived and began hosing Maya down to cool her off. Soon after, Scott Lope, Cathy Neumann, Kathryn Quaas, Becky Gagliardo and Dr. Liz Wynn raced onto the scene. Maya was carried back into the cat hospital where it was discovered that her temperature had spiked to 109 as the result of a severe seizure that must have ended shortly before Howard's tour arrived. Maya was given fluids and Dr. Stacie Wadsworth and Dr. Rose Borkowski were called for advice. This time Maya was not responding. Scott tried to call Carole to ask if Maya should be euthanized because this seizure had left her with no chance of ever enjoying a quality life. Before the call could be answered, Maya made the decision herself and breathed her last.   We are thankful that she got to spend her last couple of hours with the people that she loved most. We are grateful for the time she spent with all of us in teaching the lessons about accepting and making the most of the hand we are dealt. Maya touched so many hearts and inspired so many people. She will always be remembered as a brave little lion with heart of gold and an indomitable spirit. A special thank you to all of the generous supporters that have donated towards Maya's Medical Fund over the years. In her honor, Maya's Medical Fund will remain set up for other animals in need that find refuge at Big Cat Rescue. I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Hurricane Charley  took out the Peace River Sanctuary owned by Lisa Stoner.  I took a crew down to put her perimeter fence back up so that no wild animals would escape the property.  There was an AZA supplier that also went by the name of Peace River, and many of their animals did escape into the country side.   I went there first, not knowing there were two facilities with the same name.  One a breeding compound and the other a good sanctuary.  I was really glad, after seeing all of the animals running wild at the first place, that I was at the wrong location.   It had always been our plan to load our cats onto semis and leave town if we were in the path of a hurricane, and I previously had the trucks, trailers and contacts to do it, but on this trip I saw semi trucks up in trees and know our cats are safer at the sanctuary than they would be on the road.  It was also the first real test of our cage structure.  Lisa Stoner had emulated our cage design and those were the only cages left standing after Hurricane Charley.   Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It made landfall in southwestern Florida at maximum strength, making it the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in 1992.   After moving slowly through the Caribbean Sea, Charley crossed Cuba on Friday, August 13 as a Category 3 hurricane, causing heavy damage and four deaths. That same day, it crossed over the Dry Tortugas, just 22 hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie had struck northwestern Florida. It was the first time in history that two tropical cyclones struck the same state in a 24-hour period.  At its peak intensity of 150 mph, Hurricane Charley struck Captiva Island, causing severe damage.   Charley, the strongest hurricane to hit southwest Florida since Hurricane Donna in 1960, then continued to produce severe damage as it made landfall on the peninsula near Port Charlotte. It continued to the north-northeast along the Peace River corridor, devastating Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Cleveland, Fort Ogden, Nocatee, Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Sebring, and Wauchula. Zolfo Springs was isolated for nearly two days as masses of large trees, power poles, power lines, transformers, and debris filled the streets. Wauchula sustained gusts to 147 mph; buildings in the downtown areas caved onto Main Street. Ultimately, the storm passed through the central and eastern parts of the Orlando metropolitan area, still carrying winds gusting up to 106 mph.   The city of Winter Park, north of Orlando, also sustained considerable damage since its many old, large oak trees had not experienced high winds. Falling trees tore down power utilities and smashed cars, and their huge roots lifted underground water and sewer utilities. The storm slowed as it exited the state over New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet, just south of Daytona Beach. The storm was ultimately absorbed by a front in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after sunrise on August 15, near southeastern Massachusetts.   Damage in the state totaled to over $13 billion. Charley initially was expected to hit further north in Tampa, and caught many Floridians off-guard due to a sudden change in the storm's track as it approached the state. Throughout the United States, Charley caused 10 deaths and $15.4 billion in damage, making it the second costliest hurricane in United States history at the time.   I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Craig Fugate, the former administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under President Barack Obama and former Florida Director for the Emergency Management Division under Governor Jeb Bush, joins the Carolina Weather Group to provide his insight into the ongoing response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic - and to share stories from his career responding to weather and natural disasters. Craig was the first to to use the "Waffle House Index" and provides insight into how the informal FEMA tracker came to be. In his career, Craig coordinated the emergency response to storms such as Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Jeanne, Hurricane Dennis, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Wilma, Hurricane Matthew, and Hurricane Sandy. Craig provides his insight into how we can prepare for a 2020 hurricane season simultaneously occurring during the coronavirus pandemic. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather/support

Alan Harris currently serves as the Chief Administrator / Emergency Manager for Seminole County Office of Emergency Management. His first night on the job in emergency management was Aug. 13, 2004, the day Hurricane Charley hit the state of Florida. Alan has seen his share of disasters during his time and has always provided a very calculated, strategic, and effective response. This year's hurricane season provides a new challenge. Alan provides insight into the best ways to maintain your safety through this uniquely challenging hurricane season.

Tamara "Tami" Patzer is a former editor and a member of the Pulitzer-prize nominated Sun Coast Media Group news team for coverage of Hurricane Charley. She is the creator of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Social Media Certification program and is a frequent social media expert guest on TV news programs across the nation on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and CW.Tamara is the creator of the Authority Footprint Formula and the creator/producer of Beyond of the Best Seller Marketing System. She helps her clients share their big messages and big missions via book publishing, social media and mass media exposure to help them have ore impact, influence, and income.Tamara is the host of Women Innovators, Optimal Health Radio, Thought Leaders Show and Blue Ocean Authority. She is also the creator of Six Figure Podcast Guest.Check out Daily Success Institute and invest in a business program that will help you gain more impact, more influence and more income >> https://dailysuccessinstitute.com/FREEBIE: 15 Tips, Tricks, & Tools You Need To Be A Podcast Guest SuperstarIt's everything you need to know to become a stand out guest that podcast hosts and listeners love! It also includes an invitation to Tamara's Podcast Guest Group on Facebook. Click the link below to get this freebie or text Tami to 64600.>> https://www.fatfreecartpro.com/i/zfqk?cardWomen Innovators with Tami Patzer - Listen and SubscribeTune in as Tami Patzer talks to female entrepreneurs who are leading and shaping today's business industries.>> https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/women-innovators-with-tami-patzer/Tamara Patzer's Publications on AmazonCheck out Tamara Patzer's list of publications available on Amazon.com>> http://amazon.com/author/tamipatzer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode focuses on a story that ran after Hurricane Charley struck Florida in 2004. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

AccuWeather Daily brings you the top trending weather story of the day – every day.

In her novel, Stealing Time, KJ Waters takes readers on a wild, adventurous ride of storm survival and time travel. Set in the midst of the relentless 2004 Hurricane Season in the state of Florida, Stealing Time tells the riveting story of Ronnie Andrews and her best friend, Stephanie McKay, as they scramble to prepare for Hurricane Charley, which is bearing down on Orlando. During the peak of the storm Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time.

In her novel, Stealing Time, KJ Waters takes readers on a wild, adventurous ride of storm survival and time travel. Set in the midst of the relentless 2004 Hurricane Season in the state of Florida, Stealing Time tells the riveting story of Ronnie Andrews and her best friend, Stephanie McKay, as they scramble to prepare for Hurricane Charley, which is bearing down on Orlando. During the peak of the storm Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time.

In her novel, Stealing Time, KJ Waters takes readers on a wild, adventurous ride of storm survival and time travel. Set in the midst of the relentless 2004 Hurricane Season in the state of Florida, Stealing Time tells the riveting story of Ronnie Andrews and her best friend, Stephanie McKay, as they scramble to prepare for Hurricane Charley, which is bearing down on Orlando. During the peak of the storm Ronnie is hurtled back in time to eighteenth-century London where she is caught in a web of superstition, deception, and lies in a life and death struggle to return to her own time.

In this episode, I'm chatting with Diane Kinney. She is a web designer and developer with over 17 years of experience running her own boutique agency. We're talking all about design and how it is evolving, responsive vs adaptive, clients, SVGs and so much more. Diane shares a wealth of knowledge and experience in this episode, that will be sure to have you rethinking something. A complete transcript of this podcast is available. Let's get started. Meet Diane Kinney Yes, I’m a mega WordPress nerd and I’d love to share the things I’ve learned in the last 17 years of building both simple and complex sites in WordPress. Born and raised in Wisconsin (#gopackgo), my adult life has been spent on the gulf coast of Florida in sunny Sarasota. I delight in the sunshine and weirdly wonderful things that regularly happen in this state. I live with my husband, college student daughter, five cats and three dogs. All of the cats were rescued from certain death by my animal loving daughter and our first dog was a refugee after Hurricane Charley. It’s all very crazy and brimming with love. Show Notes Diane's Business Website: The Versatility Group Diane's Personal Website: DianeKinney.com Diane's Twitter link: @dkinney Helpful Links: Practical SVG by Chris Coyier SVG Support Plugin CodePen.io - CodePen is a playground for the front end side of the web. Using SVG Animation in WordPress Why Encrypting Your Website Is Now Something You Need to Do Val Head - Web and UI animation This episode of Rethink.fm is sponsored by: Erin E Flynn - Business help for web designers and developers. Having trouble with the business part of running a web design business? Check out Erin E Flynn for articles, e-courses, workshops, and a friendly community to help you run your web design business like a pro! Join the crew and become Unstoppable at erineflynn.com! I've tried a few of Erin's products. The Email Templates, Welcome Packet and Intro Packet - I highly recommend then - a great resource to help you run your web design and development business. -Jackie D'Elia Complete Transcript: Open PDF version of this transcript Jackie: Hey everybody, this is Jackie D'Elia with another episode of Rethink.fm for you. I have my guest, Diane Kinney, on board. Hi, Diane. Diane: Hi, Jackie! Jackie: Thank you very much for joining me. Diane: Thank for having me. I'm really excited to be here. Jackie: Our topic is very interesting to me. I know you and I had been chatting earlier for a topic for the show. We were both interested in talking about design. You had some really interesting take on how you wanted to approach that and talk about it. Diane: Absolutely. I have a thought process around design. I love graphic design. I love doing print design and invitations. I've done interpretive signage plans for large organizations. That specific skill of graphic design is something I'm passionate about, but I find to be very very different from the concept of design. When I think of the word design and I think of what we do in the context of websites, social media, and marketing, we're really designing for an outcome. We sit down and ideally think about what experience do I want to create for the user? What feeling do I want to give them? What course of action do I want them to take? That's not strictly limited to ... You know there's a whole discipline around convergent path optimization, which is to get a visitor from point A to point B when they take an action like signing up for a list or buying a product. There are other paths along that journey that build to that result that I don't think people talk about quite enough. I don't know if you are familiar with retargeting in online marketing, but it's the idea that not everybody buys on the first visit, so I''m going to connect with you and try to maintain that connection with you overtime.

Hurricane Charley will be remembered for many things by the people who experienced its wrath when it made landfall on Friday, August 13th, 2004.  Leave it to Terry to find some personal yet pop culture connection to it as he discusses Ryan Adams' album Love Is Hell also from 2004 (well, not exactly 2004).  That little release date question is just the beginning of a discussion that is part weather report and part album review. The next episode also has connection to that bummer summer of 2004.  But it came to everyone in 1994 and it is Jeff Buckley's Grace which will celebrate a 20th anniversary later this month. Episodes of the podcast are available through flickeringwaves.com as well as iTunes where one can also subscribe and comment about the podcast.  There also connections to be made via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube so please check them out.