FLORIDA DIGEST December 13, 2007

**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.

=

T-HOUSE - It's coming in early 2008!!!

I am very happy to announce that the Community Foundation of Broward (CFOB)has funded the T-HOUSE Project - a new and very innovative project developedto comprehensively serve the MTF/FTM Transgender community in BrowardCounty!

T-HOUSE will serve as a one-stop services information/coordination site --just for you!

Personalized service linkage assistance and client advocacy will be providedthrough T-HOUSE upon request!

So, stay tuned and watch for T-HOUSE -- at T-HOUSEONLINE.COM

And, tell your friends!

It's Coming Early 2008!!!
Happy Holidays!

Nikki R. Montgomery, MPH
Special Projects Coordinator, AIDS Program Office
Broward County Health Department (BCHD)
(954) 762-3838



=

Miami-Dade - CARE COORDINATOR POSITION AVAILABLE

On behalf of the Alliance for GLBTQ Youth (The Alliance), Jewish CommunityServices (JCS) has assumed responsibility for managing a GLBTQ CareCoordinator funded through the generous efforts of the United Way ofMiami-Dade.

The Care Coordinator for the Sexual Minority Youth Program (SMYP) willcoordinate and provide case management services for the children andfamilies referred to The Alliance in order to link youth and families toservice providers, and to manage care in coordination with the psychosocialteam.

The position requires the ability to perform these tasks which include theability to complete assessments, treatment planning, ongoing intervention,proper termination, record keeping and statistics (as required by theprogram). These tasks will be carried out within the agency's policy ofconfidentiality and with respect for the clients' rights, in addition to theprogram guidelines.

Additional information available from Randi Adler at RAdler@jcsfl.org.



=

Forwarded from Safe Schools South Florida

It's not too late to reserve:

Second Annual
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT)

Featuring nationally known transgender solo performer

Scott Turner Schofield
January 21 through 26

FREE High school assembly programs and workshop

Miami-Dade high school GSAs and other GLBT groups are invited to participate

Scott Turner Schofield is a performance artist from Atlanta, aFemale-to-Male (FTM) transsexual whose funny and accessible autobiographicalworks focus on everyday stories of searching and isolation, embarrassment,and the joy of finding oneself. The UTNE Reader called Schofield "A risinglight in queer theater" and The Advocate magazine name Schofield a "YoungTrans Hero of 2006."

School assemblies are for the general student population and featureSchofield's amazing performance work, his speaking about transgenderedissues and his creative process, and answering questions. The workshops,during or after school, are designed for GLBT teens and others who wish todo some of their own work on autobiographical writing and performance.

GSA's, high schools and other GLBT youth groups can host a workshop bycontacting Tigertail Productions' Robert Rosenberg at robert@tigertail.orgor 305-324-4337

Scott Turner Schofield's Miami residency culminates in East Coast Premiereperformances of his new play Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps at theCarnival Center for the Performing Arts on Friday & Saturday, January 23 &26.

For more information on Scott Turner Schofield visit
www.undergroundtransit.com
For more information about Tigertail Productions visit at www.tigertail.org



=

PalmBeachPost.com

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/treasurecoast/content/tcoast/epaper/2007/12/12/
m1a_SLSEXED_1212.html

St. Lucie adopts revised sex ed plan

By CARA FITZPATRICK
cara_fitzpatrick@pbpost.com
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

FORT PIERCE - After months of contentious community-wide debate, the St.Lucie County School Board on Tuesday approved a sex education curriculumthat would teach students about condoms.

The board voted 4-1 to approve the Get Real About AIDS program for use inthe fourth through 12th grades. Troy Ingersoll cast the only dissentingvote.

For months, supporters and opponents of the curriculum have petitioned boardmembers about Superintendent Michael Lannon's recommendation to change thedistrict's abstinence-only policy.

Supporters noted that St. Lucie County faces a near epidemic of HIV and AIDScases in its black community, and that many of the new cases involve youths.The abstinence-only approach doesn't work, they argued.

Opponents suggested alternative curriculums, claiming that the districthasn't truly taught abstinence. Many have said a program that teachesstudents about condoms will only encourage them to have sex.

On Tuesday, the majority of board members said their decision ultimatelycame down to the statistics.

"I have to ask myself what the numbers will be in the future if we don'tadopt this curriculum," said Judi Miller, a board member.

Carol Hilson put it more plainly: "They're dying of ignorance."

Lannon recommended Get Real About AIDS to the school board in late August, afew months after the St. Lucie County Executive Roundtable presented it tohim. The roundtable, a group of 27 community leaders who spent a yearresearching sex education programs, was concerned that the district's healthcurriculum didn't do enough to combat the high rate of HIV and AIDS in thecounty.

St. Lucie County has Florida's highest rate of HIV and AIDS among blackresidents, according to statistics the health department released last year.

more....



=

Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/341336.html

Senate is poised to redo tribe deal

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
Posted on Wed, Dec. 12, 2007

Senate leaders are poised to rewrite the gambling compact between thegovernor and the Seminole Tribe if the Florida Supreme Court rules in theLegislature's favor, Senate leaders said Tuesday.

Senate legal counsel Jay Vail told the Regulated Industries Committee that alegal victory would allow the Legislature to make its own deal with theSeminole Tribe.

''It's our legal position that the Legislature has to ratify or approve anycompact that's entered into with the tribe,'' Vail said. ``If the governorbrought that to us, we could write our own compact and that would be anotheroffer to the tribe until the Legislature approves the compact.''

Vail emphasized that Gov. Charlie Crist is acting on his own even though``there is nothing in federal law that appoints the governor as the solenegotiator with the tribe.''

House Speaker Marco Rubio has sued the governor, saying he overstepped hisauthority by not getting legislative approval for the 25-year agreement tobring Class III slot machines, blackjack and baccarat to the Seminoles'seven casinos.

more . . . . .



=

Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editafwaterpndec13,0,5933137.story

Phase 3 water restrictions, and long-term conservation strategies, a must

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
December 13, 2007

ISSUE: Water district to upgrade restrictions.

Surrounded by water, South Floridians remain all too complacent and blissfulin the face of what remains a severe drought. Water management officials areright to call for an upgrade in restrictions, and to begin an all-outcampaign to convince the public to use less water - much less.

The tougher restrictions that the South Florida Water Management Districtwill propose to its governing board today are overdue, as is the year-longconservation program the district is to unveil next spring. But, at last, itis refreshing to hear the district talk of acting with greater urgency andresolve - and with a badly needed comprehensive strategy.

It's rained plenty this fall, true, but much of that rain has fallen oncoastal communities, not where it's needed most.

Today, Lake Okeechobee's surface level measures 10.18 feet, the lowest it'sever been at this time of year. In fact, it's been setting a low-pointrecord each day for the past 100 or so days. It's also disconcerting,district officials say, that many groundwater wells have started the dryseason at lower levels than last year.

Look elsewhere and you'll see that our drought is not an isolatedphenomenon. Georgia has been in crisis mode, and other Southeastern states,including North Carolina, are in a fix, too. Farther west, droughtconditions have existed in Great Plains states, too.

Yet, many of our neighbors in the tri-county region live oblivious to muchof this, partly because, with oceans to our east, canals crisscrossing ourcommunities and the Everglades to the west, there is water everywhere. Thatfalse sense of security has led to dismal, phenomenal and excessive use ofwater - to the tune of an average 179 gallons per person per day in SouthFlorida.

South Florida cannot continue to draw and waste such a valuable resource. Weneed short-term and long-term strategies, and the water management districtpresents the first of these today.

The Phase 3 restrictions will again limit urban irrigation to one day perweek. Agricultural areas around Lake O will be restricted to 45 percent oftheir allocation, as will golf courses.

If these measures sound familiar, it's because they were in place untilJuly. The district lifted them as summer rains fell, not a wise move sinceit sent a message South Floridians misinterpreted as a signal all was wellwhen it wasn't.

Predictably, the restrictions must now be reinstituted. Fortunately,however, it appears the district has used the intervening time wisely. Ithas worked with municipalities across the region to tighten and improveordinances and enforcement of the restrictions. It has also developed itsdatabase to track warnings given to those caught violating the rules, anecessary tool to defend fines.

Moreover, the water district has pledged to prepare a year-round waterconservation strategy to present to the governing board in April.

That multifaceted campaign, the district says, will include much-neededpublic service announcements to drive home the message that the water we seeall around us isn't a license to consume this precious resource at will.There will also be measures to encourage, through various incentives, theuse of water-efficient appliances.

Details on that campaign, however, are still months away. What we have nowis a return to the past, in an effort to stave off a serious water shortage.

To accomplish that, South Floridians must pay attention and take therestrictions seriously.

BOTTOM LINE: Phase 3 is necessary, again, but year-round conservation iscritical, too.


=


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####