$250 MILLION SOUGHT FOR EVERGLADES RESTORATION PROJECTS

It’s interesting to note that while a federal budget request seeks to cut about $15.5 million a year from Stars and Stripes, the daily newspaper produced for U.S. military personnel around the world, president Donald Trump included $250 million for Everglades restoration projects in his proposed $4.8 trillion budget for fiscal year 2021, observes Grumpy Editor.

As pointed out here last week, Stars and Stripes receives about $8.7 million annually in operations and maintenance funds and about $6.9 million in contingency operations funds to support news reporting in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.  The Pentagon wants to reinvest funds in functions it considers more critical for warfighting.

Everglades National Park, a 1.5-million-acre wetlands preserve on the southern tip of Florida, is made up of coastal mangroves, sawgrass marshes and pine flatwoods that are home to hundreds of animal species, including the endangered leatherback turtle, alligators, Florida panther and West Indian manatee.

Maintenance of the wetlands preserve is provided by entrance fees that range from $30 per vehicle to $200 per commercial motorcoach.

 

So an additional $250 million injection for the Everglades would be quite a boost.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

BLOOMBERG SAYS HE'LL SELL COMPANY IF ELECTED PRESIDENT.  Michael Bloomberg, latest on the Democrats' presidential campaign list, says he will sell Bloomberg LP, the financial-data and media company he co-founded in 1981, if he is elected president. 

WELLS FARGO TO PAY $3 BILLION.  Wells Fargo plans to pay $3 billion to settle criminal and civil investigations linked to when the bank opened millions of unauthorized accounts — which came to light in 2016 — in efforts to meet unrealistic sales goals.

 

CHINA EXPELS THREE REPORTERS.  Beijing’s expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters comes a day after the State Department said it was imposing restrictions on five Chinese state-run news organizations operating in the United States, saying they would now be treated as the equivalent of foreign government missions.

 

IWO JIMA BATTLE OBSERVED.  The nation's top military officer pays tribute last week to thousands of Marines and Navy corpsmen who took part in what was called "the bloodiest campaign in American history, per square mile” — the World War II battle of Iwo Jima.  It began on Feb. 19, 1945 and lasted through March.  Nearly 7,000 U.S. service members died and over 19,000 were wounded.

VIRUS TRIGGERS GARLIC PRICE RISE.  As the coronavirus outbreak widens, garlic prices are rising because of disruptions in the supply chain from China. The Wall Street Journal reports China, in recent years, is responsible for up to 80 percent of the global garlic supply and more than two-thirds of garlic U.S. imports comes from China.

COMEDIANS SET FOR CORRESPONDENTS DINNER.  The White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25 will see the return of comedians.  The White House declines to say if President Donald Trump will attend this year.  He has skipped the annual event throughout his presidency.

 

KEEP SMILING SAYS OLDEST MAN.  Oldest living man, nearing 113 years living in Japan, says his secret to longevity is “don’t get angry and keep smiling.”

 

McCLATCHY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.  McClatchy Co., second largest newspaper operation by circulation, files for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to pay off debt as revenue shrinks, stemming from more advertisers and readers going online.

 

RING LOST IN 1973 FOUND IN FINLAND.  A woman's class ring lost at a Portland, Maine, high school in 1973 is found by a welder while metal detecting in a Finland forest.