For those who have driven by the Central Broward Regional Park off State Road 7 and Sunrise Boulevard in Lauderhill, then you probably know there's a really nice cricket stadium that was built to accommodate cricket tournaments, like last year's MAQ T20 International Tournament.

However, since the stadium was built there have been few of the envisioned tournaments coming to the region, as highlighted in a Sun-Sentinel story by Georgia East that is coming Tuesday.

So, let's do our part to help out the county and fill up those stadium seats by learning how to play cricket. Check out this graphic that my colleague Cindy did a few years ago. And if you're interested in American cricket leagues check out the Cricket Council USA.

But if you do want to play: Be warned, the game could take a long time so definitely clear your schedules on a weekend afternoon.

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Happy 40th anniversary, Apollo 11! July 20 marks the 40th year since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin captured the world's imagination when they stepped foot on the lunar surface. How exciting must it have been to see those first steps on television in 1969!

To commemorate the landmark event, I decided to do a News Illustrated focusing on the entire mission. My goal was to map out every step (no pun intended) from launch to splashdown. I was even fortunate to find timestamps to help tell the chronology, and used as many historical photos as possible to further tell the story. This is just one of those subjects that demand it tell its own story.

What I wish I could have included was a timeline of the whole Apollo program, but I quickly ran out of space. So to give it the justice it deserves, here's a copy of the 30th anniversary page we did in 1999 by my former colleague Dan Niblock.

And for more information, visit NASA's Apollo 11 anniversary page.

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It is refreshing to see democracy alive and kicking in Iran — a country known for its ultra-strict religious political structure. The aftermath of the June 12 elections is really taking a toll on Iran's government (and I'm not just talking about its image).

Reading between the lines, a major (yet unspoken) concern is over the country's stability and the safety of Iran's nuclear and missile facilities.

To understand the scope of the situation, one must brush up on Iranian history first. Here are a couple of wire graphics to help you out. And then you can check out my News Illustrated page (coming out Sunday) to understand the political hierarchy and why there is growing international concern.

If you want more, the New York Times has a nice page filled with stories and summaries that I used as reference. Or you can visit Global Security or the Federation of American Scientists to get more information about Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

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So now that Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency thanks to all the recent fires, rain dances may be necessary if conditions don't improve in South Florida or the rest of the state. I guess it's good the rainy (and hurricane) season are just a couple of weeks away, but who knows how much rainfall we'll get to improve our drought.

This map shows how many fires have occurred in Florida since January 1. The red flame icons indicate how many have burned since Saturday, May 9. Why May 9 you ask? We thought a week's worth of fires would be relevant to show you why there had been interstate closures in recent days.

I also made larger maps of the Naples and Palm Beach County areas, so you can see clearly how many fires we've had lately. Remember the Big Cypress fire? Check out its size and see why I-75 was shut down for so long.

If you're interested in seeing the latest conditions, check out the U.S. Forestry Division's site to see how many more fires are burning in the Sunshine State.

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Worried about swine flu? Who isn't? The CDC and the federal government says the best course of action to ward off the illness to is to wash our hands, cover our mouths when we cough and sneeze and to stay home if we feel sick.

Sounds simple enough, right?

Not so fast! I discovered a survey back in 2007 that shows people aren't as mindful about washing their hands as you would think. In fact, the findings were just downright gross. So that got me wondering how much the public really knows about how much germs are in their environment.

Check out this old News Illustrated that details my findings and the survey I mentioned. There's some pretty interesting facts in here, as well as a nice graphic teaching you how to wash your hands properly.

So please ... pass the soap, and let's help stop the spread of the nasty germs!

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Who doesn't love Easter eggs? There's the plastic, multicolored eggs. Candy eggs. Dyed eggs. The ones filled with candy, or money or both. Great times!

So one year, I thought I'd do a different take on colorful eggs for a page. The original idea was to do a page on how a female's brightly colored eggs signaled she was quite a catch to male birds. And it was for timed to run on Easter. Seriously ...

But research proved there wasn't much more to that statement for me to illustrate, so I had to find a Plan B. I opted for a page on the variety of colors and patterns of bird eggs — all thanks to a book I found about bird eggs.

I loved the idea of having Nature's own green, red, blue and spotted eggs. I also learned there's a variety of egg shapes too. And that the largest egg doesn't always belong to the biggest bird.

So why don't you check it out and read on to find out more ...

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Shipwrecks must be an awesome site to behold. They can be great places to find fish and other interesting sea creatures. Or if you've ever seen the movie "Fool's Gold," then you can imagine the thrill of finding sunken treasure within an old shipwreck.

I wouldn't know. I don't dive.

But if you do, check out this classic News Illustrated page showing the areas within South Florida that have shipwrecks. The page was done by Hiram Henriquez, former Sun Sentinel senior graphics reporter, back in April 2006.

If you'd like some more information on local diving, check out this cool site that lists a lot of local shops and diving links.

And if you do have any awesome dive stories, or found buried treasure, then let us know in the comment section below.

Happy diving!

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Last Sunday, we started our Best of News Illustrated series, a collection of graphics hand-picked by the staff on a variety of timeless subjects.

We specifically chose "Killer Tans" to kick off the series, since we're in the middle of Spring Break season. Appropriate since a trip down A1A in Fort Lauderdale will tell you that there's a lot of people who are getting their daily doses of vitamin D.

Renee Kwok's page was originally published in 2006. It's an oldie, but a goodie. And you may learn something new!

If you want more information, check out the Food and Drug Administration's site, as well as Tanning Facts and Tanning Truth.

Or, if you want a break from reading, check out the Sun-Sentinel's Spring Break gallery.

Enjoy!

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President Obama's order to close the prisons at Guantanamo Bay within a year has been met with high praise from several U.S. generals and world leaders. I produced this News Illustrated on the right in 2006 to show the journey of those prisoners, including how the first cells looked like. Included is a map of the base and information on the 7 camps on base. And you can also follow a prisoner's journey and see more photos of the jails on the interactive link above.

Since the first camps were opened in 2002, more than 750 detainees were believed to have been taken to Gitmo. Below you'll find an Associated Press chart showing how many of those detainees were released to the American base within the past 7 years. It's unclear how many remain in Cuba today.

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Our country is teetering on the edge of a financial crisis, and what do I find? A graphic from the MCT wires showing 10 of the major banks that are involved in this mess and how much money they've shelled out to both political parties and presidential candidates since 2001.

The amount is staggering: A whopping $64 million!

And the Democratic party made out like bandits, receiving $34.1 million to the Republican's $29.8 million. Check out what each presidential candidate received, and you'll see it's the same thing.

At this point, all I can say is hindsight is ...

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Belinda Long-Ivey created this piece for the Sun Sentinel's Tuesday's print edition, reacting to the bailout controversy.

The Sun Sentinel provides a minute-by-minute update of the DJIA.

Bloomberg.com shows changes in 30 blue-chip stocks in real time and a chart showing movement in the last year.

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Good grief!

According to the Treasury Department, our total national debt is $9.79 trillion! And according to the National Debt Clock, that averages to $32,126.51 per U.S. citizen (does that include my unborn child?). Seems like the government has been spending money faster than the women on Bravo's The Real Housewives series.

So naturally, the next question comes to mind: If the $700 billion bailout plan is approved, how will it affect the national debt?

I don't have an answer causes I'm not an economist. But at least I can have a little fun while the Wall Street crisis continues. Enter School House Rock's "Tyrannosaurus Debt." I like how it just sums everything up ...





But don't fret just yet! I found this graphic on the AP wire that kind of puts our public debt in a positive light, if you compare it against our Gross Domestic Product. It's a little comforting ...

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Can you imagine riding a train that goes more than 350 miles per hour? That's faster than current high-speed trains, and a cheaper ride than in an airplane (think about the money you save if you don't have to check in a bag or pay for peanuts).

What's so great about these, you ask? Well for starters ... they FLOAT (yes, float!) on tracks and use magnets to guide them along, creating less friction which makes for a faster ride. How can you not get excited about that?

There are three magnetically levitating trains (or maglevs) in existence, but only China has the first working system. The other two are either a test track or still in planning phase (as evidenced in the photo above).

As for the United States, there are several proposed routes in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and even Atlanta. There was even a proposed route in Florida back in the late 1990s, linking Port Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Center and eventually to Orlando, but the project is stalled due to a lack of fundraising.

And finally, there's even a site dedicated to putting a maglev in the country.

But the problem is they cost so much to build — try billions of dollars — because of new tracks. But we may be closer to getting our first maglev, since a proposed Los Angeles-Las Vegas route got a huge federal grant this summer.

Take a look at this Sunday's News Illustrated to find out more about how maglevs work and where these routes could take place.

Meanwhile, to wet your appetite, check out this wire graphic that compares maglevs to other existing high-speed trains.

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I think we're all aware of the stock crisis that's been exploding this week — all thanks to that pesky little problem called the housing market.

It was also announced this week that the Federal Reserve would bail out AIG, and I heard on NPR this morning that they're considering doing more. So that got me thinking: Just how many of these has the Feds done?

Voila! AP comes to my rescue, and they sent out a chart yesterday explaining its history. And while we're at it, let's do a review of the top banks in America and look at how many billions both the Federal Reserve and world banks are investing to keep this ship from sinking.

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So, now that Hurricane Ike is barrelling towards Houston and the Texas coast, one has to wonder how many people are actually taking this storm seriously.

Compare this to Florida's reaction last week when Ike was threatening to hit our lovely beaches. Our attitude was a wait-and-see approach.

The Associated Press must have been wondering the same thing and did some graphics about it. The first is a poll, asking coastal residents (though they don't say where they're from) about how they feel towards hurricane evacutions.

The second is look at the average costs of evacuating from New Orleans when Gustav was coming two weeks ago. I thought it was relevant because you kind of get an idea of what a family of four faces when they hit the road.

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Haiti is in the middle of a major environmental disaster, not unlike Katrina when it hit New Orleans. Except, instead of a breach in levees, Hurricane Ike has left Haiti has to deal with runoff from the mountains which cause extreme flooding to the valleys and cities below.

Why is the runoff so bad? Consider this: Poor Haitians go into the mountains to harvest trees to make charcoal which is sold in the cities. Because there's no regulation, the trees disappear before you know it and now there's nothing to keep the ground soil from washing away.

In 2003, we did a series called Haiti, The Eroding Nation. Attached is a News Illustrated we did that describes the environmental problem in detail. And if you want more, you can see the multimedia project on The Edge here.

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Who says you can't have fun with politics?

If you recall, last week I posted a graphic word cloud (or is that graphic cloud??) of sorts summarizing the Democratic National Convention. This week, I have a word cloud summarizing both conventions (sorry, there wasn't one specifically for the Republican convention — I checked).

Based on the number of times certain words were said in the presidential and vice-presidential candidate speeches, one set focused more on issues than the other.

Still can't get enough? Check out these word clouds generated by 10000words.net for the GOP and DNC conventions. Or, as I said last week, try making your own!

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I love word clouds. You know what I'm talking about: the little graphic made up of different sized words, based on the number of times they're spoken in a speech.

Well, already we're seeing word clouds circulating on the Democratic National Convention. In fact, here's an analysis I found on 10000words.net.

But I found this today as I was poking around in the Associated Press' graphics wire, and I love, love, love their take. Check it out, and if you have time ... make your own!

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In May, the Jupiter Lighthouse in Palm Beach County was given the federal Outstanding Natural Area designation. This means the historic lighthouse and its surrounding park has the same protection as a federal monument.

And what's so great about that?

For starters, it's only the second lighthouse in the country to have this designation — Yaquina Head lighthouse in Newport, Ore., is the first. And, not to mention, it's really, really hard to get this federal stamp of approval.

So check out the Sunday News Illustrated page highlighting the Jupiter Lighthouse's features and history.

And coming soon, an updated multimedia gallery showcasing seven of the state's lighthouses, including Jupiter's.

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Say it ain't so! Starbucks is closing 600 stores nationwide, which means 12 South Florida stores are getting hit. Say whaaaat??

Yep. The one I'll miss the most is the store on 1100 W. Broward Boulevard (near the Fort Lauderdale police station). It just opened in the old Michael's hot dog restaurant (bad karma for that location)! And it's one of the few places that serve those tasty breakfast sandwiches!!! Ok ... getting off track.

Anyway, Starbucks' stock doesn't seem to be taking any nosedives after news broke about the closings. So here's a look at the stock performance, which I got from Google. Check back in our Business section for the latest and greatest Starbuckies info.

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You say tomato, they say no more salmonella , I say it's about time!

I knew something was up a month or so ago when I ordered a chicken club sandwich at the Cheesecake Factory and they told me they couldn't serve tomatoes. My husband didn't care, he hates them --- so we didn't give it another thought. Then news broke the next day that there's been a salmonella outbreak on tomatoes. Shocking.

So far, the Food and Drug Administration still hasn't figured out where the little germies came from, but there has been several hundred cases that have risen across the country since April. And now, after a recent trip to Chipotle, I found out that now jalapenos are having a little salmonella outbreak of their own. What's next?!!

Is it a weird coincidence that restaurants warn you of food-borne diseases before the FDA does?! All I know is the Cheesecake Factory has relaxed on their no-tomato policy for a couple of weeks. I guess it's only a matter of time (and lunch trips) before I find out about the next food recall.

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So here it is, Hiram Henriquez's last News Illustrated page. It's a
good graphic explaining how our staff makes 3-D illustrations. The
only problem is that Hiram finished this page a year ago before
leaving to work at National Geographic.

So why did we wait so long?

Sometimes, the topics we pick don't need to run for some time. Other
topics, such as voting, need to coincide with major events and
anniversaries or they accompany other stories in the
paper. So Hiram's page didn't run for a year because the topic was
something we could run at any time. And as it happened, we just didn't
have an opening until this weekend.

So we hope you enjoy this and at least learn a little something about
how we do what we do best.

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On Sunday, the Sun-Sentinel will feature a package on Brendan O'Toole, a young man who suffered from severe traumatic brain injury from a horrific car accident in September 2005. Staff reporter Tim Collie and photographer Susan Stocker spent time with Brendan's family to give you this heartfelt story about their hopes and struggles.

Above is the multimedia package with the story that features a powerful video of friends and family; copies of emails Brendan's mother wrote to friends chronicling Brendan's journey for the first few years after the accident; and an interactive graphic explaining the causes of traumatic brain injury.

If you'd like to include your story, feel free to comment at the Sun-Sentinel forum we set up for Brendan's story. Please note that all comments will be approved before they are posted.

If you want more information on traumatic brain injury, visit the Brain Injury Association of Florida or call their family helpline (800-992-3442).

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Oh great! Recent news confirms Broward County lost some residents since 2006, but what about the other counties?

Check out this Flash graphic we did earlier this year that shows Florida's population in more detail. Click on any county you want to learn more about its population change between 2006 and 2007.

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Who said politics can't be fun? Our Crist-O-Meter, an idea from Managing Editor Sharon Rosenhause, ranks Chuck's likelihood of becoming McCain's running mate. It's updated by Sun-Sentinel editors based on breaking news.

Is he getting closer to snagging the job? The Crist-O-Meter will let you know when his fortunes change!

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After spending 10 months traveling to Mars, the Phoenix lander will touch down on Mars this Sunday. NASA scientists will be biting their nails between the seven minutes it will take to land once it enters Mars' atmosphere.

So what is NASA doing this time? This wire graphic explains the mission and how the spacecraft will make its landing. The Phoenix's goal is to find evidence that life existed on the planet by studying soil and ice samples.

Need more? NASA has some great images and a blog, while the University of Arizona (the brains behind the ship) has a more in-depth site on the spacecraft and its mission.

But please, try to keep the theme music to "2001: A space odyssey" on low as you do the research.

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Tired of paying $3.93 at the pumps? Well, be glad you don't live in Alaska, where prices are almost $5 a gallon (yikes)!!! I know, I can't imagine paying that much, but then again I didn't think we'd be at $4 a gallon either. Check out the pump prices across the country with this handy AP graphic.

And if you're like me, you'd be wishing we had Wyoming prices. But since we don't, try to find the cheapest gas in your neighborhood by using the S-S gas watch (shameless plug!!) to do a ZIP code search. Good luck!

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So how do firefighters battle a blaze in the wild, wild east?

See for yourself in this graphic we did last year when the rural communities in western Palm Beach County were faced with fire threat due to the drought. Firefighters adapt to the unique Florida terrain (by that I mean canals and lakes) to replenish water for fire trucks. What surprised me when I was doing my initial research is the use of bulldozers to create an area that the fire cannot jump. I always thought they either dug trenches or used drip torches.

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May 14 marks the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, so the Sun-Sentinel shared the stories of local survivors of the Israeli War of Independence in Sunday's Outlook section.

My contribution was a large historical map and timeline showing how much land Israel gained from 1946 (when the first plan to create an Israeli and Arab state emerged) to June 1949 (end of the war).

Yet, while the end result may look simple, rest assured this was a beast to put together. I had a book of historical maps as my source material, with a goal to fit 12 maps into one. But what is the best way to compact nearly 3 years of history and still make it look good?

I went through about three or four sketches before coming up with my final one, but even then I spent a week tweaking, editing and redesigning the page to make the story flow correctly.

My biggest concern was repeating too much information. For example, is it important to include a mini map of Israel's current boundaries? Or do I add them in the big map to show context but keep it subtle (I eventually chose this option).

The moral of my story is that even with your best planning, the end result doesn't always turn out like the final sketch. See for yourself by comparing my sketches with the final page:

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May 1 is Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is a national day of commemoration to remember the World War II victims. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. is responsible for leading the country in the May memorial, and they even have a handy calendar that marks every holiday until 2016. However, this is not to be confused with the international holiday that is celebrated in January, with yearly events organized by the United Nations.

So to commemorate, I'm offering you a copy of the 2005 News Illustrated page I worked on to coincide with a special project about 13 Holocaust survivors who live in South Florida and shared their survival stories. My full-page graphic shows where the concentration camps were located and the number of survivors after the war.

Also, we ran a four-week series a few months later on the history and future of Israel and even put together a multimedia package that encompasses both series. This includes audio of the powerful stories told by the 13 Holocaust survivors themselves.

And since the 60th anniversary of Israel's statehood is coming up on May 14, check out our special coverage in this Sunday's Outlook section. The same reporter, Tim Collie, who did the Survivors and Judaism series, interviewed local veterans of the Israeli War of Independence. And I built a News Illustrated that shows how Israel fought six Arab armies to claim most of the land they have today.

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If you're one of the millions that will be watching or betting Saturday's race, make sure you pay attention to where your horse is positioned at the start of the race. This graphic I found on the wires shows the number of wins per pole position since 1900. And if your money is on Big Brown, pay particular attention to how many wins has gone to his spot.

And if you need a little help on picking your favorites, check out this list of contenders from the Kentucky Derby. And stay logged on to the Sun-Sentinel sports for complete derby coverage.

Or if you just want a little more to curb the wait, check out my 2006 News Illustrated that shows how good genes and training breed racing horses. I built this page after a sports editor mentioned how athletic these horses are (their leg muscles must make body builders weep). Because our sister paper, The Baltimore Sun, covers the Preakness race, I was inspired by one of their old graphics and used it as a guide to build mine.

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Today's homeowners can get desperate to sell.
Here are some tips to help you focus your efforts on preparing your home.

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A 5.2 magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Illinois, and the tremors could be felt as far north as Chicago. Weird, you say? Well, check out the U.S. Geological Survey's map that shows where all the earthquakes in the country occurred in the past week. You'll see the Illinois quake was the biggest in the continental United States.

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Found two graphics on the wires today that explains the inspections on the American Airlines MD-80 planes. Turns out the problem is in wire bundlings inside the wheel wells. But this isn't the first time an airline grounded the plane for the same problem. Read on:

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After a three-year absence, dragon boats will be paddling in the Synergy Dragon Boat races in Deerfield Beach's Quiet Waters Park on April 19. This marks the first of at least three festivals in the state for the next several weeks. The race, will be a little different from the bigger Miami festival on May 31, in that they're using smaller boats that can fit a crew of 10 to 12.

For more information, download my News Illustrated page, which features a typical racing crew and how they operate. You can also see the types of boats used in the sport and learn how to make the perfect stroke.

But before you go, check out this graphic that explains how a racecourse is set up. That way, if you watch the races, you'll impress tourists and gawkers alike.

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Let's get it straight: This is not canoeing. Nor is it rowing, or crew and definitely not kayaking.

Dragon boat racing involves a team equipped with extra large paddles, a steersman and ... (wait for it) ... a drummer! Music sets this sport apart from the others because the beat helps synchronize paddling of 18 to 20 people.

How do they do it, you ask? Well, on Sunday you can see for yourself in my full-page graphic that shows how the crew works and the different types of dragon boats. You'll even learn how to make a perfect stroke.

But if you simply can't wait, check out this training video I found of the Puff dragon boat racing team that participated in the annual Miami dragon boat festival last year. Perhaps that will wet your appetite.

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This is a News Illustrated page that was done last year. It looks at shark attacks in Florida and around the world. It also talks about who usually is attacked.

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Let's talk mysteries, shall we?

Forty years ago, there was a high profile shooting of Rev. Martin Luther King and authorities were confident they caught the bad guy, James Earl Ray. Fast forward about 25 years to 1993 and Ray gets a mock trial on HBO that was arranged by his lawyer and King family friend, Dr. William F. Pepper.

Interest builds and next thing you know, two guys connected to the original case pop up. One says he knows who the real assassin is then eventually goes back to knowing nothing. The other was an FBI agent who says he took some papers but didn't realize how important they were.

Who do you believe? TheJustice Department took matters into their own hands and investigated the claims in 1999. Pepper wrote two books, Orders to Kill and An Act of State, both of which you can find at the Broward County Library.

And if that's still not enough conspiracy for you, then check out CNN on Thursday, April 3 for their show "Eyewitness to Murder," which promises to be an in-depth documentary into the case.

Meanwhile, check out my News Illustrated to learn the basics of the case. Just remember not to take my word for it.

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Check out this Flash graphic I did last year for the Rev. Martin Luther King's National Memorial that's being built in Washington, D.C. You can check out what it will look like through artists renderings and video. By the end of 2007, it had received more than $93 million in donations. Visit the memorial's official Web site, where you can make a donation. It is scheduled to completed sometime in 2009.

King assassination: Conspiracies still surround MLK's death 40 years later
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, I have a graphic coming out in Sunday's Outlook section that revisits the crime scene. You'll find a 3D model of the Memphis neighborhood that illustrates the Lorraine Motel (where King was shot) and the boarding house where police say the assassin fired his weapon. I've highlighted key shops and buildings that play an important part in the case. And pay attention to the details because they eventually weave into the tales of key players who came forward in the early 1990s with new evidence. If anything, you'll at least learn some interesting conspiracies about King's murder.

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