Growing joblessness, poverty make public education more urgent than ever

Growing joblessness, poverty make public education more urgent than ever

Posted using ShareThis

30th Anniversary for Jim & Elizabeth, with Sarah & Thomas, at Pensacola Beach

Visiting Naval Air Station, Pensacola, 43 years later

I first laid eyes on NAS Pensacola in the late summer of 1966. The United States was fully engaged in a war in Vietnam, and the possibility of having to serve there was real for all of us who were new in the American military. I was assigned to Pensacola after Navy Boot Camp, to attend the best photography school in the country, the basic photography program at NAS Pensacola.

Today, the base has seen its aspiring Navy pilots sent to other bases, and its photography school combined with photography programs of other services in Maryland. The 1939 building that housed the photography school is being renovated to become the base headquarters. The Navy and Air Force jointly train electronic warfare officers here. It is a thriving part of America's defense.

Oh, and the Blue Angels are based here.

The George siblings: Stuart, Elizabeth & Hunter

Chuck Leavell, tree farmer and piano artist extraordinaire

I had a really cool interview with Chuck Leavell today. He's a Georgia tree farmer. He plays piano for Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones. He's a big advocate for family tree farmers and sustainable practices. He's behind the launch of a new website called the Mother Nature Network. http://www.mnn.com/

Leavell has been visiting senators in Washington to persuade them to treat family tree farmers favorably in the new cap-and-trade legislation that would give farmers tax credits for carbon sequestration. He wants to ensure that the benefits of the new law extend to more than just the big corporate tree growers.