On Thursday, pest-control company Orkin released its 2024 list of the most termite-infested cities in the country.
According to company officials, the list was based on treatment data from cities where Orkin has performed the greatest number of termite treatments between Feb. 1, 2023 and Jan. 31, 2024.
For the second year in a row, Miami topped the list.
Meanwhile, three other Florida cities made the top 10 — Tampa (No. 3), Orlando (No. 8) and West Palm Beach (No. 9).
Orlando moved up two spots from its rank last year, and West Palm Beach rose six places, the study shows.
“As winter makes its departure, many people are looking forward to the warmer spring weather,” the report reads. “Unfortunately, termites love spring, too. Termites thrive in warm environments, therefore, now is the perfect time for home and business owners to help protect their property.”
Orange County was the first in Central Florida to issue a curfew. The curfew required residents to stay indoors from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., with exception to first responders and health professionals.
March 23 – Visitors from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut ordered to self-isolate
DeSantis orders that anyone flying from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to Florida self-isolates for 14 days. Later that night, DeSantis asks Trump for a major disaster declaration, which would allow certain FEMA programs to be activated.
In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Brevard County commissioners announced all beaches on the Space Coast will be closed on the weekends but remain open on weekdays.
March 27 – Seminole County issues social-distancing mandate
On Monday, WalletHub released its ranking of the top cities nationwide that are struggling with weight-related health issues like obesity.
The study looks at the top 100 most populated cities in the U.S., examining factors like the number of physically inactive adults, healthy food access and projected obesity rates by 2030.
According to WalletHub, the country’s obesity epidemic costs over $190 billion in medical treatments per year and has caused around $4.3 million worth of productivity loss in the workplace.
“Americans are some of the most overweight people in the world, not just stereotypically but statistically, too,” the report reads. “In fact, nearly 42% of U.S. adults are obese, and it’s costing us.”
Of the Florida cities on the list — Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and Tampa — Orlando ranked the highest at No. 71.
However, Florida in general fell rather low on the list, with cities like McAllen, Texas and Jackson, Mississippi taking the top two spots for “fattest cities.”
Of the states that were on the list, Mississippi and Louisiana had the top two average scores, respectively. Meanwhile, Florida ranked toward the bottom of the list at No. 31.
New Jersey and the nation were not prepared when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the state “remains underprepared for the next emergency,” according to an independent report examining New Jersey’s response to the pandemic that sickened nearly 3 million people statewide and killed over 33,000.
The report released Monday faults planning, communication and decision-making before and during the pandemic, which broke out in early 2020.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy called the pandemic “the greatest crisis our state has ever faced.”
He promised an outside review of his administration’s response to the outbreak in its early days. The $9 million publicly funded report was done by the law firm of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP and Boston Consulting Group. It was led by Paul Zoubek, a former assistant state attorney general.
“I know New Jersey will be better off because of this review, and my administration looks forward to working with the Legislature on its recommendations,” Murphy said.
State Republicans have been sharply critical of Murphy’s performance during the pandemic, including mask mandates and shutdowns, but had not publicly reacted to the release of the report as of early Monday afternoon.
The report was blunt in listing failures leading up to the pandemic, as well as during it.
“We collectively failed as a nation and as a state to be adequately prepared,” Zoubek wrote. “At the state level, heroic actions were taken to respond in good faith to the crisis. Despite the lessons of the last four years, New Jersey remains underprepared for the next emergency.”
The report also noted things New Jersey did well during the pandemic, including making “significant systemic improvements.”
“The state, to its credit, took bold and early steps designed to substantially reduce the number of people infected: shut-downs, quarantines, mask requirements, and social distancing were all implemented and resulted in dramatic improvements in health outcomes over the course of the pandemic. By the Delta and Omicron wave, New Jersey became one of the states with the lowest death rates,” the report read.
It also said the state’s campaign to vaccinate residents and convince those hesitant to receive the shots helped New Jersey combat the spread of the virus.
“But no level of effort could overcome an inadequate healthcare infrastructure and scarcity of basic medical supplies,” the report read. “Neither the state nor the federal government had clear, executable plans in place to respond to and manage such limited resources in an uncertain and rapidly evolving environment.”
In a typical example, the report noted that in 2015 — five years before the pandemic — the state health department created a “pandemic influenza plan” that the report said “was extremely accurate in predicting what would eventually happen during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
But the existence of that plan was not widely known within senior state leadership when COVID-19 hit, the report said, adding that several people in state government it interviewed said “some other agency” ought to have an emergency preparedness manager for such instances.
“In fact, that position exists (and is staffed) in the other agency, but the people we spoke with were unaware of that fact,” the report said.
The report also found that communal care facilities, including those caring for veterans were particularly vulnerable to the spread of the virus due in part to “wholly inadequate infection controls.”
The report accepted previously issued criticism by the U.S. Department of Justice and the State Commission of Investigation finding “broad failures in leadership and management,” including a “systemic inability to implement clinical care policy, poor communication between management and staff, and a failure to ensure basic staff competency (that) let the virus spread virtually unchecked throughout the facilities.”
The report recommended updating and “stress-testing” existing emergency response plans, conducting training and practice exercises across the state for a wider range of emergencies, not just pandemics.
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Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
Itchy eyes, runny noses and cars coated in yellow powder — yes, pollen season is kicking into full gear in the Orlando area.
Most of Central Florida has seen a later start — 10-20 days later than normal –to the pollen season this year due to the wetter and cooler winter we’ve experienced.
In Central Florida, the biggest pollen producers tend to be giant oak trees that line many parks and neighborhoods.
Oaks often cause weeks of high pollen values because of their long period of pollen production.
Many Central Floridians will be stocking up on their choice of over-the-counter or prescription medications in hopes of combatting congestion, but here are some simple steps for protection:
Stay indoors between 5-9 a.m. This is the time when most plants tend to pollinate. Plan outdoor activities for late afternoon, or after it rains, when pollen levels are lower.Keep windows closed in your home and car. Cool with air conditioners, not fans. Clean air filters more often to eliminate pollen from entering your home.Wear protective masks when performing outdoor chores to reduce your chances of inhaling pollen.Change clothes, take a shower and wash your hair when you come inside. This will help remove any pollen from spreading around homes and onto carpets and furniture.
Oh, and a simple car wash will get the powder off your vehicle.
Just think, 90-degree temperatures, high humidity and daily storms are right around the corner:)
The White House on Monday lifted its COVID-19 testing requirement for those who plan to be in close contact with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses, bringing to an end the last coronavirus prevention protocol at the White House.
The White House said the change aligns its policies with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The agency last week relaxed its recommendation that those who test positive for COVID-19 isolate for five days. Now, the agency says people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it’s been a day since they’ve had a fever.
The White House testing protocol was instituted shortly after the pandemic began in 2020 when former President Donald Trump was in the White House. It was further strengthened by Biden’s administration when he took office amid the pandemic in January 2021.
Both Trump and Biden contracted the virus while in office. Trump required hospitalization after falling seriously ill weeks before the 2020 presidential election; Biden had minimal symptoms after catching it in the summer of 2022 after having been vaccinated.
More than 1.18 million people in the U.S. died from COVID-19, according to CDC data and 6.85 million were hospitalized over the past four years. More than 270 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. The vaccines have helped dramatically reduce instances of serious disease and death since their widespread availability in early 2021.
