From Fox News

Congress passed a vital NASA authorization bill late Wednesday, paving the way for an extra space shuttle flight next year and a new human spaceflight plan that takes aim at missions to an asteroid -- and ultimately even to Mars.

The NASA authorization bill approved by the House includes a $19 billion budget in 2011 for the U.S. space agency, and a total of $58 billion through 2013. It paves the way for several NASA projects, among them a new heavy-lift rocket for deep space missions and funding to aid the development of commercial space vehicles for eventual NASA use.

The bill was originally approved by the Senate on Aug. 5. The House opted to vote on the Senate's  NASA authorization billafter running out of time on a compromise version proposed by Congressman Bart Gordon (R-Tennessee) last week. The fiscal year ends Thursday (Sept. 30).

The House officially voted in favor of the bill at about 11:37 pm. EDT (0337 GMT). The 304-118 decision came just before Congress heads into recess until after the Nov. 2 elections.

President Obama's new space plan, announced in February, canceled NASA's moon-oriented Constellation program set forth by former President George W. Bush and called for more ambitious deep space missions to an asteroid and Mars. The Constellation program was responsible for the Orion space capsules and Ares rockets set to follow the shuttle program.

"Passage of this bill represents an important step forward towards helping us achieve the key goals set by the President," NASA chief Charles Bolden said in a statement in response to House vote. "This important change in direction will not only help us chart a new path in space, but can help us retool for the industries and jobs of the future that will be vital for long term economic growth."

Extra shuttle flight, commercial space funds

The NASA authorization bill, S. 3729, officially clears NASA to add one extra space shuttle flight to the two final missions already planned before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2011.

It also allows NASA to extend its role in the International Space Station through at least 2020 and sets aside $1.3 billion over three years to support the development of commercial spacecraft, less than half of the $3.3 billion the White Househas requested.

Obama's space plan tasks NASA to draw on commercial space vehicles to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Until those commercial vehicles are available, the U.S. would rely on Russian Soyuz craft to fly humans in space and unmanned Russian, Japanese and European freighters to launch cargo.

NASA officials have said the extra shuttle flight would likely fly sometime around June 2011 aboard the Atlantis orbiter. It will deliver large spare parts and cargo to the space station. The space agency chose a veteran four-man crew for this final space shuttle flight earlier this month.

But the extra space mission would not affect the coming Oct. 1 layoffs of nearly 1,400 shuttle workers by NASA contractor United Space Alliance – a joint venture by Boeing and Lockheed Martin that oversees NASA's shuttle fleet. USA announced the shuttle worker layoffs in July as part of a workforce reduction plan due to the space shuttle fleet's impending retirement.

The layoffs, which affect workers in Florida, Alabama and Texas, will take effect Friday. USA spokeswoman Kari Fluegel told SPACE.com in July that the layoffs would occur despite the addition by Congress of an extra shuttle flight to NASA's schedule.

However, the extra mission could affect plans for any future layoffs, she added.

NASA and its contractors are currently preparing the shuttle Discovery to launch Nov. 1 to deliver a new storage room and humanoid robot prototype to the station. The shuttle Endeavour is slated to fly Feb, 26, 2011 to deliver a nearly $2 billion astrophysics experiment – called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer – to the space station. After that flight, the $100 billion station will be complete after more than 12 years of construction.

Big new rocket

Obama's space plan also calls for astronauts to visit an asteroid by 2025 and then aim for a manned Mars mission in the 2030s. A heavy-lift rocket for those missions was slated to begin development in 2015.

Under the spending bill approved Wednesday, NASA would be directed to begin work on that heavy-lift rocket in 2011 – four years earlier than the White House proposal.

Congressman Pete Olson (R-Texas) said such a rocket is vital for NASA to fulfill its original purpose.

"Our future in space is not in low-Earth orbit. We have to go beyond," Olson said during the vote's debate. "A heavy-lift vehicle will enable us to achieve the true mission of the agency ... to explore."

New NASA bill

Gordon said Wednesday that while he had a number of concerns about the Senate's NASA bill, he believed that "a flawed bill is better than no bill at all."

The bill should help NASA and its workforce get on with the transition from its previous Constellation program to the new deep space exploration plan set forth by President Obama, House officials said

"While the bill before us today is far from perfect, it offers clear direction for a NASA that's floundering," said Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the ranking member of the House Science and Technology Committee, during the bill's discussion.

However, some House members took issue with what they called the bill's "unfunded mandate" to continue the space shuttle program through Sept. 30, 2011. The extension would cost some $500 million and lawmakers questioned where NASA will find the extra funds.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona), who is married to space shuttle commander Mark Kelly, said the bill "lacks serious budgetary discipline."

Some lawmakers expect the NASA authorization bill will preserve some jobs and create others associated with new programs.

"Without a bill, the jobs of a world class NASA workforce and thousands of highly-skilled private contractors who support human space flight would have been lost," Hall said in a statement released after the vote.

By Jesus Diaz,

I always wanted to be an astronaut. Then I learned that astronauts can't really enjoy beer in space, so I became a journalist. But fear not, wannabe space explorers, because now there's an astrostout that could solve this grave problem.

The fact is that astronauts' taste buds get numb in space, which is why some of them drown their food in hot sauce. Beer is no different. In fact, it's even worse. It tastes bland and, since there is no gravity, the carbonated gas can't escape the astronauts body. It is a sad thought, but the absence of gravity prevents astronauts from burping out the beer gas, producing great discomfort.

The solution: Beer especially brewed to drink in microgravity. It's not beer brewed with space barley, but beer created to be tastier than regular beer and have low CO2 content. The astrostout has been developed in Australia, has enhanced "naturally darker chocolaty flavors" and comes in a special packaging to prevent accidents in space. A non-profit organization called Astronauts4Hire is about to test it on a zero gravity plane, and I wish they send us a case.

 Alachua County's Conservations lands are accessible to the public. Watch below or better yet, visit Mill Creek Preserve... 

Here is a map the shows you where the Alachua County Forever conservation properties are located...

http://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/EPD/LandConservation/Pages/AcfPropertyMap.aspx

The Alachua County Extension Office is pleased to announce the following Environmental Horticulture Programs, for October 2010. These programs are offered by Wendy Wilber, Environmental Horticulture Agent.

Fruit & Vegetables for Your Backyard – October 13 from 6:30 pm. to 7:30 pm. at the Extension Office (2800 NE 39 Avenue, Gainesville).

Developing and maintaining a successful home orchard requires special horticultural skills. Challenges include insects, diseases, poor soil conditions and weather conditions. This class teaches how to plan a home garden and orchard and how to make corrections in existing gardens.

Plants for Your Florida Friendly Landscape – October 20 from 6:30 pm. to 7:30 pm. at the Extension Office (2800 NE 39 Avenue, Gainesville).

Learn landscaping techniques to save water, and spend less on fertilizers and sprays. The Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program is considered the “green building” landscaping program because it saves water, energy and protects natural resources.

There is no cost to attend these classes. Pre-register by calling 352-337-6209. For more information about any of these programs, call the Extension Office at 352-955-2402.

All Extension Programs and Services are open to all without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin or handicap.  For persons requiring special accommodations, please contact the Extension office at (352) 955-2402 (voice) or TDD/TYY (352) 955-2406 or at the Alachua County Extension Service, 2800 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville, FL  32609.  Please contact the Extension Office at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request.

From the Independent Florida Alligator

The Alligator Editorial Board

In Erin Brockovich style, Gainesville city commissioners and Alachua County commissioners have fighting words for the Environmental Protection Agency: We’re sick of this.

Voting unanimously on a 26-page list of recommendations and critiques of how best to clean up the Cabot-Koppers Superfund site, both legislative bodies expressed disgust with the federal government’s slow response on removing contaminated soil and generally providing a safe environment for area residents.

And we join them. Enough is enough.

The Gainesville wood-treatment-site-turned-environmental-disaster has been listed as a Superfund site for its contaminating effects since 1984 – or before almost every UF student here was born.

Things have gotten so bad that a massive door-to-door study of residents’ health near the wasteland was recommended.

We’re blatantly offended that residents of Gainesville have had to deal with the poisoning infection seeping through the soils left decades ago, which only paints an image more sinister than that of the oil monster in “Fern Gully.”

We’re also left questioning what the point of labeling such a location as a Superfund site does if it’s left to fester for more than a quarter century.

It’s time for the EPA to recognize what Gainesville residents need and deserve. A quarter century is long enough to wait to return our environment to normal. Or at least as close as we can bring the tainted, infected land to normal.

Jake Logan is throwing the ultimate kegger this Friday: the Tipple's Beer Run.

Logan, the creator of run, is challenging Gainesville locals to get their fitness fix - with a side of fine ale.

After attending races around the country, Logan said he found that the most fun events that have to do with running don't put running up on a pedestal. In Logan's words, "Huge races need huge events," and while having a few kegs of beer at the finish line is anything but a novel idea, Logan has taken it a step further, blending a full-fledged race with a full-fledged beer festival.

The run, presented by the Florida Track Club, will feature a fast, flat four-mile course, with professional chip timing, cash prizes to winners, and high quality shirts for the top 100 male and female finishers.

For those more interested in beer, the finish line at Tipple's Brews will host a beer festival, which will include Atlanta's Sweetwater Brewery and Gainesville's own Swamp Head Brewery.

And word to the beer snobs: Blue Moon is the closest you'll get to anything owned by a multinational corporation at this gig.

Race registration includes admission into the beer festival, but tickets exclusively to the beer festival are also available.

As an added bonus, the run is challenging contestants to win their weight in beer. If you register at Tipple's Brews, you qualify to win your weight in beer.

Day of race registration begins at 5 pm., and the race starts at 6 pm.

Ten percent of proceeds will benefit the Florida Opportunity Scholars, and a large portion of the proceeds serve as the main fundraiser for the Florida Track Club.

Share our passion for gardening and native plants by joining us for the largest offering of native plants in north Florida. The 2010 Fall Native Plant Sale is on Saturday, Oct. 2, and is open to the public from 8:30 am. to 12:30 pm. The sale features a free naturalist-led wildflower walk at 11:30 am.

The sale is hosted cooperatively by the City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, Paynes Prairie chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) and the Friends of Nature Parks (FNP).

An exclusive members’ sale is on Friday, Oct. 1, and will run from 4:30 pm. to 6:30 pm. Friday’s sale is only open to members of the Florida Native Plant Society and Friends of Nature Parks. Memberships are available at the gate. Cash and checks only!

The Native Plant Sale features thousands of beautiful native shrubs, trees, wildflowers, ferns, grasses and vines grown at area nurseries. Vendors are members of the Florida Native Plant Society and certify that plants are nursery propagated and grown.

Proceeds from the sale benefit environmental and cultural history programs offered by the City of Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Morningside Nature Center is located at 3540 E. University Ave., three miles east of downtown Gainesville.

• Free expert plant advice at the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) booth
• Free Park-A-Plant service allows you to shop hands-free while we tag, store and help load your plants
• Free naturalist-led wildflower walk at 11:30 am on Saturday
• Family-friendly event
• Cash and checks only

For event info or to join Friends of Nature Parks (FNP) or the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) please call 352-334-3326 or visit www.natureoperations.org.www.natureoperations.org.

Hurricane season;
Left coast for inland shelter-
Fine with books, food, beer.

Haiku by Nancy White, one of the winners of Left Coast Press' haiku competition.

Via: OnlineSchools.org

In the Sunshine State on this day in: 1822 Joseph Marion (Jose Mariano) Hernandez was elected as Florida’s first territorial delegate to the United States Congress.

"Life has taught me that each one of us contains every ingredient of the human recipe. By varying measure we are all cowards and brave men, thieves and honest men, selfish and selfless men, malingerers and champions, weasels and lions. The only question is how much of each attribute we allow- or force - to dominate our being."

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. Northwest wind between 7 and 10 mph. 


Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. West wind around 6 mph. 


Hazardous Weather Outlook: low clouds, .patchy drizzle and fog will reduce visibilities early this morning with locally dense fog possible in some locations. Conditions will improve during the mid morning hours.


Forecast Details: low pressure trough will remain offshore while widespread low clouds with patchy drizzle and fog remains trapped under the middle/upper level low across the forecast area this morning. As surface low tracks further northeast away from the region and middle/upper level trough axis starts to progress toward the east this will allow for clouds to slowly decrease through the morning hours with partly to mostly sunny skies expected by the afternoon hours. Enough insolation is expected during the afternoon hours to push maximum temperatures into the lower to middle 80s.


Tonight passage of middle/upper level trough axis should allow for skies to become mostly clear. Pleasant overnight lows in the 60s can be expected as drier air filters into the region.



Today's Pollen Levels: 7.5 High Medium (on a scale to 12); Predominate Pollen: Ragweed, Grass and Chenopods.


For additional information visit the National Weather Service in Jacksonville website on the internet at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

-------------------------************-------------------------

From the Florida Independent

By Virginia Chamlee

For the past several years, environmentalists have spoken out against industry giants like Georgia-Pacific and JEA for polluting the St. Johns River. That ire has recently more recently been directed at the groups charged with protecting Florida waters and introducing a new set of more stringent standards to govern it.

In the past few months alone, there have been a host of workshops, lectures, summits and public forums dedicated to the river and how to fix it. And yet the river remains in much the same state as always — rich with nutrient waste and covered in some parts by a thick, mysterious foam.

The very agencies charged with protecting the river have been doing plenty to show their intentions. Experts, scientists and agency representatives have played a part in panels, workshops and lectures all around the First Coast, on topics ranging from the forthcoming Rice Creek pipeline to the impending EPA numeric nutrient standards. But the outcome has been close to null. Almost every week sees a new delay to implementing tougher standards, and the agencies charged with implementing them are having problems figuring out how to do it.

Today, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has scheduled a public Marine Numeric Nutrient Criteria Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, which will occur in Tallahassee. Scientists and department representatives will be discussing a draft document summarizing various approaches to developing nutrient criteria in Florida’s estuarine and coastal waters, including the lower St. Johns River basin.

For the past several months, the department has been staunch in its belief that nutrient measurements should be taken in loads, rather than concentrations. Though many environmentalists (as well as the EPA) feel that concentrations would be a more effective form of measure, the department still seems set on keeping concentration measures in load form.

From the document being discussed at today’s meeting:

Because nutrient TMDLs [Total Maximum Daily Loads] have the same goal as numeric nutrient criteria (to establish the amount of nutrients the waterbody can assimilate and still maintain applicable water quality standards), the Department plans to submit the nutrient TMDLs as the estuary specific NNC [Numeric Nutrient Criteria] for each of these systems. However, a variety of issues must be addressed to translate nutrient TMDLs into NNC. For example, most TMDLs are expressed as loads, while EPA has indicated a general preference for criteria to be expressed as concentrations. The Department would like feedback from the [Marine Technical Advisory Committee] on whether NNC should be expressed as concentrations, and if so, how best to translate loading-based TMDLs into concentrations.

In laymen’s terms, a “load” is essentially how much of a nutrient accumulates over time, or how much of a nutrient flows past in a day. Loads are generally reported on a yearly basis, and are found by multiplying the flow of the river by the mass of each piece.

A “concentration” measurement, meanwhile, indicates the mass of a nutrient in a volume of water to find the quantity of a contaminant in a specific waterbody. Today’s meeting will include feedback on whether concentration measurements are necessary, and how best to express nutrient “loads” as nutrient “concentrations.”

http://floridaindependent.com/8693/ahead-of-water-quality-meeting-fdep-signals-confusion-over-epa-instructions

The Alachua County Extension Office is pleased to announce the following Family & Consumer Sciences Programs, for October 2010. These programs are offered by Dr. Brenda Williams, Family & Consumer Sciences Agent. All of these programs are held at the Extension Office (2800 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville)

Food Safety and Quality Program (ServSafe®) - October 6, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This program is dedicated to providing training which enables food managers and staff to offer Florida consumer’s food that is prepared in a clean and safe environment. For further information and to register, please visit http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu, or call toll-free at 1-888-232-8723.

Building Your Financial Future (A Personal Financial Management Program) - October 7, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Attendees will learn 4 basic concepts that will aid in handling financial resources responsibly and building a financially secure future. This program has been approved to issue certificates evidencing completion of a personal financial management instructional course in compliance with the Bankruptcy Code. Topics include:

• Develop Your Budget
• Money Management Skills
• Use Credit Responsibly
• Consumers Rights and Responsibilities

Cost to attend this class is $10.00 (for course materials). Pre-register by October 4 by calling 352-337-6209. For alternate class dates, or view the complete brochure, visit

 http://alachua.ifas.ufl.edu/calendar.shtml

Before You Tie the Knot - October 11 & 12, 5:30 pm. to 7:30 pm.

Before You Tie the Knot is a premarital preparation course. Topics include:

• Communication
• Conflict Management & Resolution
• Financial Responsibility & Spending Plans
• Children & Parenting Responsibilities

Completion of this course is required to receive a $32.50 reduction of marriage license fee and a waiver of the three day waiting period. Attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a copy for the Clerk of the Court. There is no cost to attend this two evening class. Pre-register by October 5 by calling 352-337-6209.

For more information about these programs call 352-955-2402. Visit http://alachua.ifas.ufl.edu/calendar.shtml for additional programs offered by the Extension Office.

All Extension Programs and Services are open to all without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin or handicap. For persons requiring special accommodations, please contact the Extension office at (352) 955-2402 (voice) or TDD/TYY (352) 955-2406 or at the Alachua County Extension Service, 2800 NE 39th Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32609. Please contact the Extension Office at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request.

Dances, all-day concerts, horseback rides, tube races, a peddle/paddle/cycling event, the debut of a documentary and more will be part of a massive team-up of local organizations for the High Springs River Fest, set to start next Thursday, Sept. 30.

The event has been in the planning stages for more than two years, and the range of events span from downtown High Springs to O'Leno State Park to Camp Kulaqua. There will be events for families, tourists and adventure-seekers.

More details are available at. http://highspringsriverfest.com/home/

Do you love Nature? If yes--join the Friends of Nature Parks and come to the preview Fall Native Plant sale, at Morningside Nature Center, for members only on Friday, October 1, 4:30-6:30 pm. Two hours of power-shopping, only cash or checks are accepted!

The Friends of Nature Parks are the original not-for-profit support organization,which provides volunteers, supplemental funding, and advocacy for matters of concern to the nature parks. 

Membership benefits include a subscription to The Longleaf Pine (a quarterly newsletter published by FoNP), discounts or free admission at events, and knowing you are helping support environmental education and Gainesville's nature parks!The Friends Board meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Loblolly Environmental Facility, 3315 NW 5 Ave., Gainesville. All members are welcome! 

There is also an annual general membership meeting which features a potluck dinner and a guest speaker as well as updates on FoNP activities. Memberships are available at the gate. Only cash and checks are accepted. Morningside Nature Center, 3540 East University Ave., Gainesville, FL 32641-6067.

I have to wonder about societies values when Lindsay Lohan 24, is all over the news because she's a celebrity drug addict. While Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29, Matthew Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew Johnson 21, Zachary Fisher 24, Brandon King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, and Sheldon Tate 27 are all Marines that gave their lives this week, no media mention.

No matter what your feelings on the current state of affairs in the ongoing struggle in Afghanistan, these serviceman’s dedication to duty to death rates some recognition, not to mention all the folks who choose to take the tough step on the road to recovery everyday. 

Just a thought...

Via: OnlineSchools.org

In the Sunshine State on this day in 1565 [In today’s account, Pedro Menendez recounts the capture and execution of Frenchmen who had not been present at Fort Caroline in a letter to the Spanish king, Philip II.  When approached by the group of soldiers about the possibility of arranging a truce so that they could return to Fort Caroline, Menendez was not amenable to their request.

“...I then told him  how we had taken their Fort and hanged all those we found in it, because they had built it without Your Majesty’s permission and because they were scattering the odious Lutheran doctrine in these Provinces, and that I had [to make] war [with] fire and blood, as Governor and Captain-General of these Provinces, against all those who came to sow this hateful doctrine; representing to him that I came by order of Your Majesty to place the Gospel in these parts and to enlighten the natives...[t]hat I would not give them passage; rather would I follow them by sea and land until I had taken their lives.  He begged to be allowed to go with this embassy and that he would return at night swimming, if I would grant him his life.  I did so to show him that I was in earnest and because he would enlighten me on many subjects.  Immediately after his return to his companions there came a gentleman, a lieutenant of Monsieur Laudonnier, a man well versed and cunning to tempt me.  After much talk he offered to give up their arms if I would grant their lives.  I told him he could surrender the arms and give themselves up to my mercy, that I might do with them that which our Lord ordered.  More than this he could not get from me, and that God did not expect more of me. Thus he returned and they came to deliver up their arms.  I had their hands tied behind them and had them stabbed to death, leaving only sixteen, twelve being great big men, mariners whom they had stolen, the other four master carpenters and caulkers---people for whom we have much need, and it seemed to me to punish them in this manner would serving God, our Lord, and Your Majesty....”

In 1877 Sanford, the site of a U.S. Army garrison in 1836, was  incorporated as a city.

In 1893 The town of Mayo was incorporated by the Florida Legislature.

In 1922 The town of Riviera Beach was incorporated.

In 1942 Today is the birthday of United States Senator, C. William “Bill” Nelson.  Nelson was born in Miami and graduated from Yale University in 1965.  He also graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1968.  During the Viet Nam War, he served as a captain in the United States Army.  In addition, Nelson served several terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  During his congressional service, Nelson was a strong proponent of  the American Space Program.  He became the first member of Congress to journey into space aboard a shuttle.

In 1953 The body of Governor Dan McCarty was placed in the rotunda of the State Capitol to afford state officers, state employees, and the general public an opportunity to pay their final respects.