Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that, beginning May 4 2020 Florida State Parks will re-open access to trails, and some day use areas, including some beach access with limited facilities. Visitors will be asked to practice proper social distancing and to limit group size to 10 or less and to stay six feet apart.
“I applaud the Re-Open Florida Task Force on their hard work to inform a safe, smart and step-by-step approach to re-opening Florida,” said Governor DeSantis. “Recreational activity provides important physical and mental health benefits, particularly during these uncertain times. This Phase One plan will allow for the thoughtful, measured re-opening of some of our state’s incredible natural resources for public recreation.”
“Florida State Parks and Resilience and Coastal Protection managed areas offer a wide variety of recreational opportunities,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein. “We are excited to be welcoming visitors back and appreciate the cooperation of the public as we implement measures that will allow access while protecting both our staff and the public we serve.” Continue reading
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is asking Congress to modify the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act as Florida and other states seek to hold China accountable for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Attorney General Moody today sent a letter to leaders in Congress requesting that the FSIA be amended to increase opportunities to seek damages from China, when appropriate, for public health and economic harm.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “China must be held accountable, but our current legal framework presents challenges. Modest changes to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act would clarify and support actions against China, if necessary, to seek damages from the devastation from COVID-19.”
The letter Attorney General Moody sent to congressional leaders Thursday states, “Any proposed legislation should be measured to have a limited impact on our diplomatic relations around the world… Such limitations achieve an appropriate balance between the need to provide a forum to hold bad actors accountable and the federal government’s interest in having a coherent foreign policy. I respectfully ask that you consider such legislation to address the grievous harm inflicted on our states.” Continue reading
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—This week marks two months since Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline in response to the COVID-19 emergency declaration. During that time, Attorney General Moody’s Office has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds, worked with online platforms to deactivate nearly 200 posts offering items for outrageous prices and ensured information important to price gouging investigations is preserved.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “My office is dedicated to protecting consumers and that is exactly what we are doing during this COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this crisis, we have been working diligently to secure refunds, deactivate outrageous online posts and collect information crucial to our price gouging investigations.
“A key part of our success is the thousands of tips flooding into our Price Gouging Hotline from Florida and beyond. And as we slowly start to reopen, I want to remind Floridians to remain vigilant. Don’t let your guard down. We are more successful when we work together, so please keep sending us price gouging tips and we will continue to do our part to protect consumers.” Continue reading
The Sweet Tomatoes restaurant is one of 97 have shut down! The Sweet Tomatoes had buffet style eatery and could not do the curbside service. The reason they gave was the COVID-19 shut down.
Another victim of the COVID-19 Virus is the legendary Katie Belle in the Villages. Management says it will not reopen.
Both were quality restaurants that will be missed.
Public Information Officer
OCALA, Fla.-If you have cancer, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or a chronic or underlying health condition, you are at a higher risk for more severe illness if you contract COVID-19. This means it’s important to pay extra attention to your health needs right now.
Cancer
If you have cancer now or had cancer in the past, you may need to take special steps to protect your health. This is especially important for cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy. They are more likely to get an infection because chemotherapy can weaken the immune system, and for the same reason, the infection may be more severe. To take care of your health:
– Before going into your appointments for cancer treatment, ask your doctor how you can help protect yourself from catching COVID-19.
– Check if any oral medications that you are taking can be sent directly to you so that you don’t have to go to the pharmacy or clinic.
– Ask your doctor if there are other things that you can do to isolate yourself from others. Continue reading
(OCALA, Fla.) May 14, 2020 – Ocala Fire Rescue (OFR) and Meadowbrook Church partnered with the City of Ocala’s Social Services Coordinator, Dennis Yonce, to offer COVID-19 testing to the homeless. The collaboration resulted in a pop-up testing site at NW 1st Avenue and NW 3rd Street, on Wednesday, May 13.
“It was an honor that the community participated and made use of these beneficial services,” said OFR Fire Chief Shane Alexander. “Offering testing at an open setting allowed us to address this underserved population with dignity and kindness.”
Besides COVID-19 testing, participants were able to obtain Hepatitis A inoculations and a meal, compliments of Meadowbrook Church. The testing site was open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
A total of 52 individuals were tested for COVID-19. Furthermore, 18 participants opted to get vaccinated.
OCALA, Fla. – The City of Ocala’s Aquatic Fun Centers are scheduled to re-open to the public for the summer beginning Monday, June 8. The Jervey Gantt Aquatic Fun Center, 2390 SW 36th Ave., and the Hampton Aquatic Fun Center, 255 NW Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., will be open Mondays through Saturdays with two sessions, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 4:30 p.m. Both facilities will be closed on Sundays to allow for weekly deep sanitizing.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, additional restrictions and guidelines will be in effect for operations at both facilities:
- Temperature and health screenings at entry
- Plexiglass shields installed at customer service counters, as well as six-foot separation markers for entry
- Reduced bathing loads to 50% normal capacity that will be monitored and adjusted to ensure proper social distancing
- No swim lessons
- Waterslides will be closed
- Facility or table rentals will not be permitted
- Groups, camps, or field trips will be prohibited
- Reduced number of chairs available with distancing guidelines in place.No family groups larger than 10 people.
- Concessions will be pre-packaged foods only
- Staff will be assigned to frequently sanitize with a daily deep sanitizing from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
- Staff will be trained on CDC recommended protocols for aquatics operations
Admission for each swim session is $2 for ages 17 and under and $3 for those ages 18 and up. Admission is free for ages one and under. Facility operations are subject to change and staff will continue to monitor conditions based on recommended guidelines. A detailed list of restrictions and guidelines for both aquatic centers may be found at www.ocalafl.org/recpark. Splash pads will remain closed until further notice.
For more information, please call the City of Ocala Recreation and Parks Department at 352-368-5517.
Shoppers Save Big On Groceries With Healthy Savings® Powered By AARP Foundation
(NAPSI)—Good nutrition is important at any age. But for older adults on a tight budget, regular access to nutritious foods can be limited—and expensive.
A new program aims to change that by making it easier to get healthy foods at the local grocery store for an affordable price. With Healthy Savings® powered by AARP Foundation, shoppers pay a small fee of $4.99 per calendar year for a card that can save them up to $200 a month on groceries.
The program is part of AARP Foundation’s work to help people over 50 with limited income eat more nutritious foods, ultimately improving their well-being. Research shows that more than 10 million older adults don’t get enough nutritious food on a daily basis, most often because they can’t afford it. Continue reading
(NAPSI)—Here’s a thought that may make you feel like singing: In times like these, when so many people feel like little islands, connecting with other people to share stories and songs takes on a special significance.
It’s long been popular. For much of human history, the center of people’s light and life was the humble campfire. It was a place to teach, share, connect, and give thanks. It was the hub of culture, where our ancestors gathered nightly to fight back the dark with their myths, stories, and the joy of their voices raised in song.
Stories and songs are basic units of shared culture that remain, even as the source of flickering light changed from fire to screens. These days, many social networks and streaming services are reporting global spikes in member activity.
For example, on the “stories” side, nearly 16 million new people joined Netflix during the first part of the year, which was twice as many as expected. Other streaming services have seen rises as well, including Disney+. And underscoring the many benefits of engaging in these libraries of “once upon a time,” watching streaming video has quickly become the #1 leisure activity for people at home.
On the “songs” side, social singing network Smule has also seen a significant rise in new users joining in from all over the world. Smule is a global online community of music lovers where millions of people from all over come together each day to sing along with millions of popular songs, often with other people—and sometimes with the stars who first sang the songs—plus make new friends, cheer each other on, and simply have fun. Your singing ability doesn’t matter; the thing all the members have in common is a love for singing, and a love for connecting with other people through the shared experience of performing songs together.
It’s somewhat like Snapchat and YouTube, mashed up with an automated sound and video recording and effects studio. You can sing or record songs on video with new friends, karaoke by yourself, or sing a cappella. Members include people from all walks of life, including real-life superstars, such as Lewis Capaldi, who upload recorded versions of their top hits for other members to sing along with and repost to the network and other social media platforms. Fans can even sing along with Disney characters such as Moana to the hits from popular Disney films.
Thousands of independent singing communities and teams have sprung up around the world, using Smule as the platform to showcase their singalongs.
One such community, Apex Team, is a group of 46 young, talented and dynamic voices from all parts of the world who came together as a virtual choir that inspires online audiences with their enjoyable musical performances. Apex produces more than a hundred group collaborations a year, including a phenomenal performance of “Fight Song,” by Rachel Platten and Dave Bassett—edited into a “Thank You” to frontline professionals in the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, some things haven’t changed. Shared light is better, stories and songs still matter.
To learn more, go to www.smule.com or get the app at Google Play.
(NAPSI)—With new procedures and protocols from the impact of COVID-19, mushroom farms around the country are building on their strong foundations of safety.
Consider Maria. Before she begins her shift at the local mushroom farm’s packing facility, she pulls essential items from her locker: facemask, hairnet, gloves and a smock. Now in “uniform,” she takes her place on the processing line, 6 feet apart from colleagues, where she fills tills of the mushrooms that find their way to your grocery store. What may surprise many people to learn is that the items Maria puts on before each shift are nothing new—they have been part of Maria’s uniform since she began packing eight years ago.
With the advent of COVID-19, all segments of agriculture have had to adapt their business practices. For mushroom farms, that means leaning in and building on their strong foundations of safety, quality and excellence to continue to provide this nutritious “superfood” to the public. Continue reading
