See Lu, Daktari Star, At Homosassa Springs

TALLAHASSEE- Lu, resident hippopotamus at Homosassa Springs, last week celebrated his 50th birthday with park staff, visitors and Homosassa Elementary School students who presented the hippo with his own birthday cake.

A fixture at Homosassa Springs since 1964, Lu’s claim to fame is his role as a former movie and television star with the Ivan Tors Animal Actors troupe, which wintered at the park while in private ownership. He is credited in the 1960s movies Daktari and Cowboy in Africa, and in television specials such as Jack Linkletter Show and Herb Alpert Special.

“This year marks a special milestone for both Homosassa Springs and the state park system as a whole,” said Homosassa Springs Manager Art Yerian in a press release. “Both a 50th birthday and the 75th anniversary of Florida State Parks makes this a great time for residents and guests to experience the fascinating wildlife and affordable fun at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.”

Lu, an African Hippopotamus, was born at the San Diego Zoo on January 26, 1960.  He weighed 90 pounds at birth and now weighs more than 6,000 pounds.  As a vegetarian, Lu consumes 15 pounds of alfalfa hay, four scoops of herbivore diet and a five gallon bucket of vegetables and fruit every day.

Although Lu’s fame has remained steady for more than four decades, his state park habitat was once jeopardized.  When the Florida Park Service purchased the attraction in 1989, the state planned to shift the emphasis of the park to native Florida wildlife and find homes for all the exotic species, including Lu.  Public support, however, led Governor Lawton Chiles to grant Lu an exemption in 1991.  Special Florida citizenship has allowed Lu to stay at the park, and his fans to continue to display their appreciation annually at his birthday celebration.

Located 20 miles north of Florida’s newest state park Weeki Wachee Springs, Homosassa Springs is one of the region’s most popular attractions. An underwater manatee observatory provides a unique view of Florida’s famed sea cows. In addition, a 1,600-foot Wildlife Walk showcases the natural habitats of bobcats, cougars, otters, bears and hundreds of birds. The state park also offers boat tours, trails, picnicking and an interactive Children’s Education Center and Museum. To learn more about Homosassa Springs and Lu the hippo, visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/homosassasprings/default.cfm.

Washington Oaks Named to National Register

FLAGLER - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Washington Oaks Gardens State Park was recently listed on the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. The designation includes the homes, gardens and groves of Louise P. and Owen D. Young and is only the second Historic place to be listed in Flagler County.

“Florida’s state parks protect a number of federal and state designated historic landmarks, demonstrating our commitment to preserving Florida’s heritage,” said Florida State Parks Director, Mike Bullock in a press release.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is the 39th Florida state park to receive designation on the National Register of Historic Places. In order to be on the list, a property must pass the National Register criteria. This criteria includes age, integrity and historical significance and is coordinated through State Historic Preservation Offices.

General Joseph Hernandez, a Floridian of Minorcan descent, purchased the land that now comprises the park in 1818 and named it “Bella Vista,” meaning “beautiful view” in Spanish. Hernandez was a militia general who commanded troops in north Florida during the Second Seminole War. On his many land holdings, Hernandez raised cotton, sugar and crops to feed his family and staff.

Much of what remains in the park today was left by Mr. Owen D. Young and his wife Louise, who bought the property in 1936 as a winter retreat. Mr. Young helped found Radio Corporation of America and became Chairman of the Board of the General Electric Company in 1922. Mrs. Young donated the property to the state of Florida in 1964 following the death of Mr. Young.

Today’s visitors to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park can enjoy hiking and biking, nature trails, wildlife viewing, beaches, fishing and interpretive exhibits in addition to the park’s gardens.

The National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. The national program, authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect America’s historic and archeological resources. To learn more about the National Register of Historic Places, visit www.nps.gov/nr.

To follow Florida’s state parks on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/FLStateParks. For more information about Florida’s state parks, visit www.floridastateparks.org.

Miami’s Storied Hialeah Racetrack Reopens

HIALEAH - The storied Miami Jockey Club racetrack, one of the great landmarks of the Roaring Twenties, will reopen November 28.

Hundreds of workers are preparing the racetrack for opening day. Read more

Deering Estate Hosts Guest Composers

MIAMI – The Deering Estate at Cutler hosts the Living Artist Concert Series. This concert series combines ensemble performances with lectures, visual art exhibits, environmental awareness and interpretive programs, while acquainting residents and visitors with the best of South Florida’s artistic spirit. Concerts are held in the historic Stone House Ballroom. On Oct. 16 the Piano Series “Florida Triad” will feature guest composer Tania Leon and pianist, Jose R. Lopez, in a collaborative historic journey linking music and history from Spain, Cuba, and the United States with South Florida. On Nov. 13 the Chamber Music Series, “Tribute,” will feature the Deering Estate Chamber Ensemble and music by Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, A. Copeland, E. Korngold and Composer in Residence Judith Shatin. Visit www.deeringestate.org .

State Investigates Killer Python Death

OXFORD - The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a Sumter County residence on Wednesday morning after receiving a call that a snake was strangling a child. When the officers arrived on the scene, the child was dead, and the snake was found under furniture, having been stabbed by its owner.

Charles Jason Darnell (DOB 03-26-77) told officers he placed his 8-foot, 5-inch albino Burmese python in a bag and put it in an aquarium Tuesday night. When Darnell woke in the morning, he said he discovered the snake had escaped from both the bag and the aquarium. He told investigators that he discovered the python on top of Shaiunna Hare, age 2, and then he stabbed the snake before calling 911, according to Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Bobby Caruthers.

Darnell is the boyfriend of the child’s mother, Jaren Ashley Hare (DOB 09-08-85). Two older children were also in the residence at the time of death. They were unharmed.

The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation with help from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

“This is a very sad situation,” said Sheriff Bill Farmer. “We’ve never had anything like this in Sumter County or even Florida. To keep a large, unsecured snake in the house is just asking for trouble.”

Burmese pythons are classified as Reptiles of Concern, and their owners must secure permits from the FWC’s Captive Wildlife Section to keep them as pets. Approximately 450 licensees currently are permitted to possess Reptiles of Concern and/or venomous reptiles in Florida. The license costs $100 per year and mandates specific caging specifications and other requirements. Permits are issued to individuals at specific locations. No permit had been issued to Darnell or the residence in Sumter County. It is a second-degree misdemeanor to possess a Reptile of Concern without a permit.

Burmese pythons pose little risk to humans, and there have been no other documented attacks in Florida. Documented human attacks by pythons in the United States have involved the snake’s owner or immediate family.

The snake was alive when officers removed it from the house on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators still are gathering information in the case.

Palm Beacher Poaches Sea Turtle Eggs for Aphrodisiac

PALM BEACH - A homeless man here allegedly took sea turtle eggs to sell as aphrodisiacs, or for cooking.

Information gleaned from an early morning traffic stop in Palm Beach on Friday resulted in a multi-agency effort and race against the clock to save more than 100 sea turtle eggs that could sell for $35 each.

A police officer, from the Town of Palm Beach, conducting surveillance stopped Bruce W. Bivins, DOB 07/22/56, in the early morning hours Friday. The officer received information from a traffic stop that a man was possibly taking sea turtle eggs from the beach. Soon after, the officer noticed Bivins walking over the Southern Boulevard Causeway bridge with a bag. Bivins took off when the officer tried to stop him.

The officer watched as Bivins threw the bag into the water. Once a back-up officer arrived a short time later, Bivins was placed in handcuffs, and the officers pulled the bag out of the water. Officers found 119 sea turtle eggs inside in the bag. Bivins was taken into custody, and Palm Beach police called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The FWC charged Bivins, who is homeless, with possession of sea turtle eggs and disturbing a sea turtle nest, both felonies. He was booked into the Palm Beach County jail.

Just before sunrise, the eggs were safely reburied on Palm Beach. FWC biologists will monitor the site. It is hoped at least some of the eggs will hatch.

This is not the first time Bivins has been arrested for poaching. In 1997, he was charged with possessing sea turtle eggs. Sea turtle eggs can be sold on the black market for as much as $35 a dozen. They are presumed by some people to have aphrodisiac properties; in years past, sea turtle eggs also were used in cooking and baking in some areas of Florida.

“We are pleased to bring this repeat wildlife resource offender to justice,” said FWC Capt. Jeff Ardelean. “This arrest happened because of the cooperation among local, state and federal agencies.”

Sea turtle nesting season has begun on Florida’s coast. Sea turtles are protected by state and federal laws. It is against the law to take, possess, disturb, mutilate, destroy, sell, transfer, molest or harass marine turtles, nests or eggs. For more information on sea turtles, see research.myfwc.com.

Pregnant Cougar Recaptured; Escaped on Way To Vet

POINCIANA - A pregnant captive cougar named Sierra is back in captivity, safe and sound, after a 24-hour walkabout in the Poinciana area of Osceola County. She returned Sunday around dusk to the location where she escaped a day earlier.

Monday morning, the handlers for Jungle Adventures, the permitted owner of the cat, took Sierra to her veterinarian for an examination and assistance with delivery. (Editor’s Note: the image at right is a generic cougar shot from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

The captive-born, -bred and -raised cougar escaped from her handlers Saturday afternoon while they were trying to put her in a transport cage so they could take her to a veterinarian. She slipped out of the two leashes handlers were leading her with and dashed off into some thick woods. Despite search efforts by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Sierra remained missing until reappearing on her own Sunday.

“The people handling Sierra set out bait in a cage to try to catch her Saturday night or early Sunday morning, but the cougar was able to take the bait without being caught,” said FWC Lt. Rick Brown. “However, as they were re-baiting the trap early Sunday evening, Sierra stepped out of the woods and looked at them as if to say, ‘Where have you been?’”

They called out to her, and she came right over without further ado. Sierra has no claws on her front paws and was wearing a collar when she took off.

The cougar actually belongs to Jungle Adventures in Christmas but had spent Friday night at the Poinciana home of Lynne Hawkesworth in preparation for her trip to the vet on Saturday. Hawkesworth, 54, lives at 4983 Brook Rd., Kissimmee.

Unfortunately, Hawkesworth does not have a permit to possess a cougar, but does have experience working with them.

Sierra had had an unsuccessful pregnancy in the past, in which she lost her kittens, and the owners were hoping to avoid similar problems by having the vet perform a C-section on the cat.

When she returned Sunday, the cougar was in labor, according to Brown. Hawkesworth is allowed to keep Sierra until she gives birth, and then has to move her and her kitten or kittens back to Jungle Adventures immediately.

“She has a cage that is structurally suitable to keep the cat in for this temporary purpose, but she does not have proper facilities to maintain the cougar at her house,” Brown said.

Brown cited Hawkesworth for possessing the cougar without a permit and gave her a warning for the escape. Both are second-degree misdemeanors.

Great Florida Icons: Ximenez-Fatio Caracava Cross

ST. AUGUSTINE - One of the best known historic houses in St. Augustine is the Ximenez-Fatio, built starting in 1798. The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America’s state chapter bought the house in 1939, and together with the National Park Service, the state, Carnegie Foundation and other groups, helped begin St. Augustine’s historic preservation programs.

One of the most extraordinary items found on the site is the Caravaca Cross, which is believed to have become popular in the 17th century to celebrate the end of the plague. In July of 2002, archaelogists found the cross in a trash pit. Named for a hillside town in southeastern Spain, it was found with other artifacts from around 1650, which dates it from early Spanish occupation and made it a candidate for one of the great early icons of Florida.

Leslee Keys, executive director of the Ximenez-Fatio House, told the local papers at the time that the cross was found on the “10th dig on the property. We didn’t expect to find anything that unusual,” Keys said. “The greatest value to all of us is that it’s so rare and so early.” She said the cross predates the Castillo de San Marcos which was begun in 1672 and the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine begun in 1793.

Contact: Ximenez-Fatio House, 20 Aviles Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084, 904-829-3575; if you like the cross you can Order a replica online

Better Angels Songwriting in Key West

KEY WEST - The Better Angels Key West Songwriters Festival will take place from April 28, 2009 through May 3, 2009. The 14th annual event, sponsored in-part by BMI and FURY Key West, will feature more than 130 performing songwriters in over 30 shows.

In connection with the festival, a limited edition CD will be sold to benefit the Nashville-based Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation. The proceeds will be used by the Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation to support educational programs and to foster opportunities for young, aspiring songwriters.

The limited edition CD is a collection of eclectic songs by multi-hit, performing songwriters. The CD features Desmond Myers and Kelsey Mula, alumni of Heart & Soul’s Noise! Camp, which is an annual two-week summer camp held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, that aims to give students a first-hand look into the music industry. The CD also features several current number-one hit singles including:

• Kylie Sackley and Gary Burr — Nothin’ Bout Love Makes Sense — as
  made famous by LeAnn Rimes
• Jamey Johnson — In Color
• Tim Nichols — That’d Be Alright — as made famous by Alan Jackson
• Bob Dipiero — Till You Love Me — as made famous by Reba McEntire
• David Lee and David Turnbull — Lucky Man — as made famous by Montgomery Gentry.

Only 1,000 copies of the CD will be sold at the festival. The cost will be $20 per CD, while supplies last, and all proceeds will go towards the Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation. Any remaining quantities of the CD will be available for purchase on the Heart & Soul Foundation’s website, heart.muzak.com, beginning May 5, 2009.

“We are deeply honored to be the first-ever charity partner for the Better Angels Key West Songwriters Festival,” said Bob Cauley, President of the Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation. “This is a unique event that, like our limited edition CD, highlights the talents of songwriters. The CD, which will be available at the festival, features hit songs audiences know, sung by the songwriters themselves. We are excited to be working with Better Angels Music and to be a part of the Key West Songwriters Festival. Our foundation also looks forward to giving back to the Key West community with a surprise on the stage of the Big Show on Saturday night.”

Stephen P. Villa, Chief Executive Officer of Muzak and member of the Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation Board of Directors, said, “The Key West Songwriters Festival is an opportunity for Muzak and our Heart & Soul Foundation to celebrate songwriters and their music. It is also the perfect venue to increase awareness about the importance of music education. In our 75th year of operation, Muzak is dedicated to continuing the success of the Heart & Soul Foundation in order to give back to the communities we serve and to advance the foundation’s mission of redefining and supporting music education.”

About Muzak Heart and Soul

Muzak Heart & Soul Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to redefining and supporting music education. Heart and Soul helps students channel their passion for music into real world opportunities by providing educational programs on all aspects of the music business. Established in 1998 by Muzak, a leading provider of business, music, and other sensory branding services that believes in the power of music education to change and better lives, the foundation grants over $100,000 annually to school music programs around the country.

About Muzak

Muzak creates experiences that reach more than 100 million people daily. Some of the biggest brands in business work with Muzak to enhance their brand image. More than 80 core music programs and an endless variety of custom programs are distributed through a national network of sales and service locations, from Muzak’s library of approximately 2.5 million tracks. For more information, visit www.muzak.com.

Man Falls Off Boat in Florida; Boat Found in Alabama

PANAMA CITY BEACH - It may go down as one of the most bizarre boating accidents in years, but a 41-year-old Georgia man is recovering in Bay Medical Center after falling overboard April 17 while cobia fishing off Panama City Beach.

The 24-foot Century boat, which was borrowed, ran out of gas and was found beached Sunday morning at Fort Morgan, Ala.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Jeff Gager said Michael Bursten of Roswell, Ga., was cobia fishing by himself Friday afternoon in rough seas off the western end of Panama City Beach in the Laguna Beach area when he attempted to climb down from the “ling tower.” A wave hit the boat, pitching Bursten overboard, the FWC said in a press release.

The trouble was he had left the boat in gear, albeit running slowly, but all he could do was watch the vessel slowly chug off to the west and out of sight.

Bursten fell overboard roughly 300 yards offshore. Several beachgoers heard him holler for help and swam out to him.

Bursten, who was not wearing a life jacket, was admitted to the hospital for water inhalation and remains hospitalized.

Gager said the U.S. Coast Guard and Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded to the accident, and everyone thought the vessel would be found later, somewhere down the beach or perhaps in Walton County.

Saturday passed, and there was still no word about the vessel. Chris Palomba, the boat’s owner who lives in Lawrenceville, Ga., hired a private pilot to begin an aerial search, but then word came on Sunday the vessel was found beached in Alabama.

The distance between Panama City Beach and Fort Morgan is about 130 miles.

“Most boats, if you don’t hold the wheel steady, will turn to the right or left. There were 15-20 knot winds Friday and 6-foot seas and it’s just amazing the vessel ended up where it did,” Gager said.

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