Florida

Two forest rangers killed battling Florida wildfire

Two forest rangers were killed and two others were injured while fighting a wildfire in north Florida near the Georgia line.

All four forest rangers were with the Florida Division of Forestry and they were battling the Blue Ribbon Fire in Hamilton County.

Josh Burch, 31, of Lake City and Brett Fulton, 52, of White Springs were killed. Both Burch and Fulton were married and had two children. Burch worked for the Forestry Division for more than 10 years and Hamilton for more than nine years.

The Blue Ribbon Fire, which began June 16, had been contained but dry conditions allowed it to flare up again on Monday. Burch and Fulton were operating tractors to cut fire lines to keep the blaze from spreading further when they were overrun by flames and killed.

Rangers Robert Marvin and Stephen Carpenter attempted to assist Burch and Fulton and they were injured while doing so. Marvin and Carpenter were treated at local hospitals for smoke-related injuries and released.

Since May 1, the Forestry Division has battled more than 1,500 wildfires, officials say. Those blazes have burned more than 200,000 acres.

Alexx Calise, hot up-and-coming indie artist.

”Throw your words at me, I’ll have my way with them,” mocks young and sharp-tongued singer, guitarist and songwriter, Alexx Calise. Delivering a sound that is both fresh and uniquely her own, Calise combines hard rock, electronica, and urban-edged pop with crunchy guitars, angsty lyrics, and an instantly identifiable vocal that is hauntingly beautiful and completely raw all at once. Calise grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she spent her childhood mostly alone or in the pages of a notebook, finding comfort only in her parents’ vast record collection, which included everything from Mozart to Led Zeppelin. At 11, she picked up the guitar to emulate her father, also a talented musician, and began fusing the melodies she heard in her head with her own poetry and recitations. Now living in Los Angeles, California and continuing along the same path, Calise is endorsed by over 13 music gear/clothing manufacturers, she has appeared in several national TV commercials, shows and special programs (including the Discovery Channel documentary, “The Science of Sex Appeal”), and she has been featured in Blender magazine, Guitar World, and the how-to/method book, “How to Succeed as a Female Musician” alongside such notable musicians as Lisa Loeb and The Donnas. Her music is in heavy rotation on MTV/VH1 Networks, and on thousands of radio stations internationally. Most recently, Alexx’s song, “Morning Pill” was used in a One Tree Hill promo, she appeared as the lead guitarist for a Disney Imagineering DVD about soundwaves, and she was featured on Boston’s #1 Hit Station, Kiss 108 FM as a “hot up-and-coming indie artist.” Calise has just released her 2nd album, In Avanti, a high energy “rocktronica” collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer, Luigie Gonzalez. Immediately following will be her debut album with other music project, Sound of Cancer (with accomplished drummer/songwriter, Dennis Morehouse). To visit her website click here

George W. Bush Promotes New Memoir At Miami Book Fair

George W. Bush Promotes New Memoir At Miami Book Fair. Former U.S. president George W. Bush appeared at the Miami International Book Fair on Monday to promote his newly-released memoir, “Decision Points.” Bush explained the content of his memoir, particularly the controversial decisions he made on several issues during his term and his personal decision to quit drinking, to a capacity crowd at the Conference Chapman Center of Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus.The book tackles the disputed 2000 presidential election, the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the invasion of Iraq, the controversial torture technique called waterboarding, the surge of American troops in Iraq and his response to Hurricane Katrina. Among those who attended the book event were Republican dignitaries as Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen – and Florida International University basketball coach Isaiah Thomas. Decision Points was released last Tuesday and sold more than 220,000 copies opening day. The figure makes the $35 book the second best-selling non-fiction title of publisher Crown after former President Bill Clinton’s 2004 memoir entitled “My Life.” Some 400,000 copies of My Life were sold during its launch.