Boyett: Arson swept like wildfire across the region in 1995-96
Frank Boyett
Fires start small. So, it seems appropriate that The Gleaner’s long-running coverage of a 16-month epidemic of arson began with three lines in the Fire Runs column of Sept. 7, 1995.
Before it came to a sooty end on Christmas Day 1996, arson had claimed about 35 structures in the Tri-County area, including three churches, several vacant houses and mobile homes, and a workshop. Most of the burned buildings were barns; most of the local cases occurred in the Niagara and Zion areas.
But it wasn’t just the Tri-County area that was affected. An Associated Press article written by Ted Bridis that appeared in The Gleaner July 24, 1996, reported that by that point suspicious fires had burned more than 70 predominantly Black churches in the South since 1995. About an equal number of white churches had been torched during the same period.
South Florida Sun Sentinel
AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures Wednesday as he speaks to the media at a coronavirus vaccination site at Lakewood Ranch in Bradenton, Fla.
TribLIVE s Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested Wednesday that he would divert covid-19 vaccines from communities that criticize his distribution methods, sparking complaints that he is playing politics with lifesaving medicine.
DeSantis is facing questions in Manatee County over a decision to give seniors living in two of the area’s wealthiest ZIP codes special access to the vaccine.
There’s a still flash at the end of the dog video where the dog is curled up in his papa’s lap that gets me every time I see it, and that is more than I’d like to admit.
The OC numbers continue to drop sharply – only 166 new cases today; huge change in a couple of weeks. Hospitalizations even lower, although ICU is flat at 235. My housemate took a client to get her second Moderna shot at Disneyland yesterday, and it was packed with twice as many tents as at the first shot. It was well staffed and organized and they were finished in 30 minutes including the mandatory 15 minute wait after the shot.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday threatened to divert coronavirus vaccines from communities that criticize his distribution efforts. DeSantis made the remarks at a news conference amid criticism that he arranged for seniors in two wealthy neighborhoods to be given priority vaccine access, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported."If Manatee County doesn't like us doing this, we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want.
AP
Associated Press News Editor Ted Bridis poses for a portrait in the Washington bureau, Monday, Jan 12, 2015. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)
As the media landscape has evolved over the past few decades along with the rise of the internet and social media the importance of fact-based, deeply researched investigative journalism has become increasingly clear. But, especially in recent years, the amount of misinformation and disinformation that’s flooding our news feeds has made some people unwilling to believe any news story they disagree with no matter how well documented the facts it contains are.
On today’s show we’re continuing our series of conversations with speakers from the Naples Discussion Group’s 20-21 schedule by talking with professor Ted Bridis, he is Rob Hiaasen Lecturer in Investigative Reporting in the Department of Journalism at University of Florida. He’ll be presenting a virtual lecture on Friday, January 29 on the Importance of Investigative Journalism in O