I caught this article in the Republic Monitor and it answers a number of questions I’ve always had.

Box turtles live a long time, and females continue laying eggs for most of their lives. They need lots of time to replace themselves, since snakes, raccoons, opossums and other nest predators eat most of their eggs. Before roads crisscrossed their habitat a low reproductive rate was no big deal. Animals that continue laying eggs past 60 years of age can afford to take their time replacing themselves. But the unnatural mortality caused by speeding cars is a problem.

To help, Briggler suggests that motorists slow down when they see a turtle in the road and check to be sure they can safely steer around it. If traffic and road conditions permit, motorists can pull their vehicles off the roadway and carry turtles to the other side of the road and place them at least 15 feet beyond the pavement, facing away from the road.

Is your life really this boring and meaningless that you would spend the hours necessary to create such a website?

As Coach Karl’s counsel I am putting you on notice that I will sue you into bankruptcy should you cross the boundaries of permissible speech.

Intrigued, the WSJ Law Blog reached out to Adams. Via e-mail, we received the following response:

Thanks for your email. While George Karl may be a public figure within the sports community, there are limits to what is fair comment under New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). Many cases quote from the Restatement (Second) of Torts 59 that a statement is defamatory if it “tends to harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or deter third persons form associating or dealing with him.” Sure, people are free to criticize Mr. Karl’s record, his coaching style, or both. But free speech has its limits. My role as Mr. Karl’s counsel is to see to it that the line between free speech and defamation is not crossed. I stand by my statement that people should have better and more important things to do than to create mean-spirited blogs and that, while I respect (and exercise) free speech rights, there are boundaries and consequences.

You can follow the comments here!

0254 AM TORNADO SPRINGFIELD 37.20N 93.29W
01/08/2008 F1 GREENE MO NWS STORM SURVEY

A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY INDICATED THAT THE STORM THAT MOVED OVER DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD PRODUCED AN F1 TORNADO. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF SHERMAN RD AND CHESTNUT EXPRESSWAY COLLAPSING THE METAL BUILDING OWNED BY THE HARRY S. COOPER COMPANY. THE TORNADO CONTINUED ON A 35 YARD WIDE…INTERMITTENT PATH NORTHEAST PRODUCING 100MPH WINDS AND LIFTING ONE BLOCK NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF CHESTNUT EXPRESSWAY AND GLENSTONE AVE.

Click on the photo to see the larger image. The debris is over 100 yards away from the building that collapsed and was spread across the facility across the street. I heard reports about debris on the OTC campus across the Parkway.

The Springfield Cardinals and the Urban Districts Alliance are teaming up for a Springfield Cardinals Pep Rally, to help kick off the 2007 season. The Pep Rally will take place at 11:30am, at Park Central Square on Friday, April 13th.

Fans stopping by the Cardinals Pep Rally can enjoy live music from the Missouri State Brass and Sass band, giveaways and coupons from local downtown restaurants, as well as a chance to see and hear from Cardinals’ players, staff members, Louie the Mascot and Team Louie! Everyone in attendance is encouraged to stick around afterwards and have lunch at one of the participating businesses in the downtown area.

Live radio broadcasts and remotes with special Cardinals’ giveaways from US97, 105.9KGBX, 100.5 the Wolf and Alice @95.5 will also be taking place from a busy, but exciting Park Central Square.