Florida
Florida Tech Panthers Hires Melissa Wieand as Associate Athletic Trainer – Space Coast Daily
spent time with Green Bay packers, LA Chargers
Wieand comes to Florida Tech after working for the Green Bay Packers as a Fellow Athletic Trainer since 2023.
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine and Performance Luis Velez has announced the hiring of Melissa Wieand as Associate Athletic Trainer.
“I am excited for Melissa to be joining our team and for her to come back to the Space Coast where she grew up.” Said Velez. “Her professional background as an athletic trainer will bring another perspective that will further round out our sports medicine staff.”
Wieand comes to Florida Tech after working for the Green Bay Packers as a Fellow Athletic Trainer since 2023.
“I am very excited about this opportunity at Florida Tech and being back in my hometown community,” said Wieand. “I’m looking forward to working with the talented sports medicine staff and scholar-athletes at Florida Tech in this next journey of my career.”
While working with the Packers, she developed rehabilitation plans that coincided with the team’s weight room program and managed pregame locker room setup during away games. Additionally, she conducted comprehensive weekly inspections on all emergency equipment to ensure functionality and reliability.
Before working in Green Bay, Wieand spent the 2022-2023 season at Florida Atlantic University as an Athletic Training Fellow, where she was with the Owls Football and Track programs.
There, she was the primary source of communication between athletes and physicians, working with hospital schedulers to order imaging and coordinating insurance while supervising student interns.
Earlier that year, she also gained experience working as a training camp intern for the Los Angeles Chargers. She assisted with sweat and hydration testing, maintained inventory, and coordinated pregame equipment for the team’s travel.
In 2021-2022, Wieand attended the University of Connecticut (UCONN) as a graduate student, working with the Recreational Sports teams. Her duties included performing on-field evaluations of injuries while also working with physicians regarding concussion management protocols.
Throughout graduate school, Wieand worked at the Korey Stringer Institute as an Assistant Director of Sports Safety, Westminster School, University of Florida Football Camps, and Valdosta High School.
As an undergraduate at the University of Florida, she worked with the Gators women’s basketball, swim and dive team, and football programs. Other experiences while in school include working with the Philadelphia Flyers during rookie training camp, at Eastside High School, and held a Patrick South End Zone Internship at the University of Florida.
She holds certifications in Basic Life Support (CPR) through the American Heart Association.
Wieand received her Bachelor of Science in athletic training from the University of Florida in May 2020. In 2022, she earned her Master of Science in Kinesiology from UCONN.
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Florida
Florida tattoo shop refuses service to military and veterans for being ‘war criminals’
A Florida tattoo shop is facing backlash following a social media post from the shop that said active-duty military members and veterans are not welcome at the company, prompting online criticism.
A June 23 post from Revival Tattoo Collective in Largo, Florida, read, “People all in their feelings because I expressed my opinion of the military and law enforcement. My opinion is that the military is a bunch of war criminals and law enforcement kills babies and unarmed citizens in the street. If you don’t like my opinion cool, but you’re not going to change it. Call me short, post records from 20 years ago, threaten the health dept, use homophobic slurs. That only proves my point and shows the true character of our military. Thanks for showing your true colors.”
The post added, “Once again for the slow ones the military. Pretty simple if you are ex military or currently serving just don’t come to the shop. You will be turned away.”
The shop was founded by Brady Martinson, who is described on the website as “a tattooist and sign painter — script, blackletter, and custom typography on skin. He treats every word as architecture: measured, weighted, and built to live a lifetime.”
A few of the replies to the controversial post appeared to agree with the sentiment, with one woman saying, “The military preys on underprivileged youth by luring them in with promises to pay for college and makes it sound like it’s their only opportunity to get ahead in life. ACAB.”
ACAB is an abbreviation for “all cops are b—-ds.”
But many of the replies were negative.
One person wrote, “This kind of thinking is disappointing and immature. Judging an entire group by the actions of a few is the same type of prejudice I’m sure you claim to oppose. (IE: Against a race, the lgbtq community, etc…) There are good and bad people in every profession and every walk of life.”
They added, “I’ve served alongside people of every background imaginable and some of the most selfless, compassionate individuals I’ve met wear a uniform. Reducing millions of military members and law enforcement officers to the worst examples among them isn’t being “woke” or smart — it’s just bias. If you are going to reject stereotypes, you should reject them consistently. Heal yourself and break this never-ending cycle of conflict among humans.”
Another person replied, “Lmao it must be so peaceful being this ignorant.”
“I don’t agree with your opinion, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight for your right to say it. Please keep in mind that the First Amendment merely proyects [sic] you from being punished by the government for your speech. It does not protect you from the consequences of what you say,” another commentator wrote.
One person replied to the post with a gif that said, “Stop breaking the law a–hole.”
Another posted a reply saying, “I’ll go and just wont tell you till after lmao,” and Revival Tattoo Collective responded to the post with, “No you won’t.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the shop said, “Yeah I’m booked up I can’t take any clients military or civilian. Thanks for your interest on my opinion.”
Florida
Aerial photos show sprawling algal blooms. What causes them in Florida?
Archive photos show a sea of green in Florida. What usually causes harmful algal blooms along the Sunshine State’s coasts?
Harmful algal blooms — out-of-control colonies of microscopic algae — are a “growing problem” in every “U.S. coastal and Great Lakes state,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
They affect the “health of people and marine ecosystems,” and can also have a detrimental effect on the economy, according to NOAA, especially in coastal communities that are particularly dependent on fishing and tourism.
Climate change, along with increases in nutrient pollution, could cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) to occur more frequently, according to the agency.
Harmful algal blooms can “produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds,” NOAA’s website states. Human illnesses caused by HABs are rare, but they can be “debilitating or even fatal.”
Sea of green? Aerial photos show toxic algae blooms, including in Florida waters
What are harmful algal blooms composed of?
Harmful algal blooms can be caused by a range of organisms, NOAA states, including “toxic and noxious phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, benthic algae, and macroalgae.”
Some HABs can make wildlife-killing toxins that negatively affect fish, mammals and birds, and can also cause human sickness or death in “extreme cases.” Other blooms, while nontoxic, can consume “all of the oxygen in the water as they decay, clog the gills of fish and invertebrates, or smother corals and submerged aquatic vegetation.” Additionally, some algae can discolor water, pile up on beaches or contaminate drinking water.
What usually causes harmful algal blooms along Florida’s coasts?
In the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the west coast of Florida, HABs are most often caused by Karenia brevis, which can turn the surface of the ocean a deep red.
Although there’s no way to predict exactly when a Karenia brevis overgrowth might occur, scientists can forecast the movement of a “red tide” when it does crop up by using wind and water data, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
They can last “as little as a few weeks or longer than a year,” and how long a bloom persists in “nearshore Florida waters” depends on a variety of factors, including nutrients, salinity and sunlight, reads the FWC’s website.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
Florida
Gators among top-20 rated teams in EA Sports College Football 27
EA Sports released its official team ratings for College Football 27, and the Florida Gators checked in at No. 19 with an 84 overall rating.
Jon Sumrall’s team was granted an 84 offensive rating and a 83 defensive rating, indicating balance on both sides of the ball. Florida is one of 10 SEC programs to crack the top 25. Oregon leads the field with an overall rating of 91. The Ducks are followed by Ohio State (90), Indiana (90), Notre Dame (89) and Texas (89). UF joins nine other SEC teams rated inside the top 25.
The rating continues a major thrust of positive sentiment around Sumrall and the Gators. During this offseason, Florida has been pegged as a CFB playoff dark horse, an SEC wild card and one of sport’s biggest sleepers. The valuation is likely fueled by the Orange and Blue’s transfer portal additions and the retention of key pieces, including junior running back Jadan Baugh, who notched Second-Team All-SEC honors last season.
Sumrall’s cultural reset in Gainesville has started a buzz around college football that has continued to grow louder by the month. Despite a massive roster overhaul and the departure of a five-star quarterback, the Gators have seen a jolt in their national perception.
To reestablish a championship standard, UF will have to navigate an arduous nine-game conference schedule. The Gators face No. 17-rated Missouri (85) in Week 5, No. 5-rated Texas (89) in Week 7, No. 9-rated Georgia (87) in Week 8 and No. 10-rated Oklahoma (87) in Week 9.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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