Laurette Philipsen found herself resorting to desperate measures to escape the sweltering Florida heat while incarcerated at Lowell Correctional Institution. In the middle of the night, she would sometimes jump in the prison's showers, fully clothed, to cool off.

"Then you'd go back to bed and sleep for about another hour. You'd wake up, and your clothes are totally dry," Philipsen tells New Times. "And you'd get back up and jump in the shower again. And that's how you spent your nights."

Like many Florida prisons, the aging facility near Ocala lacks air conditioning in its dorms. Philipsen consequently spent much of her eight-year sentence at the facility in a constant battle with the heat, finding little relief from fans in the dorms and opening windows for comfort only to welcome bugs that she'd later find crawling in her bed.

"It was very, very difficult," Philipsen says. "I mean, I'm home since 2018 and I cannot imagine with the climate that we have today, living without air conditioning in those facilities."

Philipsen and other prison-reform advocates have long drawn attention to, and questioned, the lack of AC in Florida's prisons, especially as the state continues to see record-breaking temperatures. According to the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC), 18 of its 50 state prisons have air-conditioned dorms. Only about 24 percent of housing units in the state-run prisons have any air conditioning.

But while many facilities still remain without cool air, the Florida Department of Corrections confirmed to New Times that Lowell –– the largest women's prison in the state –– might finally get AC in its housing units.

An FDC spokesperson says the department is testing out a portable AC unit at the facility.

"Recently, FDC welcomed an on-site demonstration to observe a portable evaporative air cooler’s efficiency within a housing unit," the department wrote in a statement to New Times. "After evaluating the unit’s ability to provide supplemental climate control in these units, FDC purchased three of the units to begin a longer-term pilot of the unit and will continue to monitor their performance with an ultimate goal of further mitigating heat while maintaining a safe environment for inmates and staff."
Portable evaporative coolers are a low-cost alternative to the refrigerant-based method used in traditional window air conditioners and central AC systems. The coolers pass hot air around a water source to cause evaporation, producing a stream of moist, cool air — ergo their informal name: swamp coolers. They typically operate at a lower efficiency in humid environments, though manufacturers say the units consume far less energy than traditional AC does.

The department did not immediately respond to additional questions regarding what brand and type of portable evaporative coolers were purchased, how much they cost, and why Lowell was chosen for the pilot.

Opened in April 1956 as the Florida Correctional Institution, the first Florida prison for women, the sprawling facility is situated amid horse farms and racetracks in north-central Florida and can house up to 3,000 women. Lowell has employed a geothermal cooling system in some dorms rather than AC or fans, although agency officials admitted it hasn't worked very well, according to a 2017 Miami Herald article by Julie K. Brown, whose reporting prompted a federal investigation into civil rights abuses at Lowell.

One of Florida's most notorious prisons, Lowell has a history of inmate sexual abuse and mistreatment, with one lawmaker who visited the facility in 2019 describing the conditions inside as "less than human." After a U.S. Department of Justice investigation revealed in 2020 that rampant abuse was swept under the rug by Lowell officials for years, former prisoners pushed to have the facility shut down.

And then there's the lack of AC.

While the FDC maintains that every one of its facilities has some form of climate control — whether it be fans, exhaust systems, or air conditioning — the nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative sees the absence of AC in most Florida prisons as a form of human-rights abuse. The group released a report in 2019 characterizing the lack of AC in prisons in Florida and 12 other southern U.S. states as "cruel and unusual punishment."

As previously reported by New Times, after Florida Cares director Denise Rock lobbied then- FDC secretary Julie Jones to stock cooling towels and personal fans for prisoners in 2018, the corrections department began selling the towels and moisture-wicking shirts at the inmate canteen (where prisoners purchase snacks, personal hygiene items, and other items) in 2020. 

Philipsen feels the state's move to install AC at Lowell has been a long time coming. She says forcing people to stew in scorching Florida temperatures without cool air is inhumane.

"They [are] incarcerated, but they're still a resident of the state, and the legislative body is responsible for all residents in the State of Florida." she says. "You can't pick and choose who you want to be responsible for."

Tua Tagovailoa is a "weirdo," and his teammates look at him as such.

This brave commentary comes from Omar Kelly, longtime (and soon-to-depart) Sun-Sentinel sports columnist.

Yes, this is a serious analysis thing Kelly offered on one of his final days on the job. Just days before the commencement of one of the most anticipated seasons in Dolphins history, Tua's personality is what was on Omar Kelly's mind.
To say Kelly's unnecessary, irrelevant, and downright immature comments about the Dolphins' most polarizing star created a firestorm would be an understatement. The comments felt over the line. They added nothing to any football-related conversation that has been going on.

Rather than join in throwing gasoline on the fire, we'd rather have a more meaningful and mature discussion about why Tua deserves better, and why what some may perceive as "weird," we find admirable.

Wondering why Tua doesn't fit into a box people like Omar Kelly deem "normal" enough? Below are five valid reasons we shouldn't be judging the Miami Dolphins quarterback's personality.

Ricky Taught Us Nothing

The Miami Dolphins got the best and worst of Ricky Williams. Depending on what year it was, you could say Williams is a Top 5 all-time loved, or hated, player.

Fast-forward to today, and Ricky is a made man in Miami. He's universally loved by fans and media. If he walks into a yoga studio and smiles, the entire place lights up.

It wasn't always like that. Ricky was dealing with a severe case of social anxiety during his multiple tenures with the Dolphins, only exacerbated by people, like Omar Kelly, who labeled him a weirdo.

Appreciate Tua now, and skip the Monday quarterbacking later. You never know what someone is going through. Labeling them a "weirdo" says more about you than it does them.

Different Culture

Following Kelly's comments about Tua, it's been en vogue to bring up the fact that his parents joined him in Alabama when he committed and played for the Crimson Tide. It's honestly sad society frowns upon families that are this tight-knit, or a situation unlike their own.

Tua was a star of stars, going from Hawaii to Alabama, of all places. His family — and his Polynesian culture — aren't weird for protecting each other. They're the normal ones.

I'm sure everyone reading this knows someone who never got married and lived with their parents deep into their 30s and beyond. In America, that's considered weird. In actuality, we're the weird ones for judging others' personal choices and cultural differences. Especially those that have to do with family.

Normal Sucks

Who is normal? What is normal? Who decides these things? Certainly not Omar Kelly — a man with a very public history of being very mad online at fans, and who once bragged about trying to kill someone.

Chris Bosh was made fun of his entire career for daring to show emotion. His interests in musical instruments and coding weren't "cool." Apparently, he should be listening to Future on a boat with lots of jewelry on. That would be so normal of him.

Tua Tagovailoa is more like a common fan than he is a wealthy, egotistical NFL player. Maybe he's more normal than his teammates, and that confuses them.

Mike McDaniel Isn't "Normal"

First-year Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is pretty open about his past struggles with alcohol addiction. He's most definitely not your average-looking, -talking, or -acting head coach of an NFL team. That's made him a huge hit with the fanbase and players so far, so why would Tua's demeanor be considered "weird"?

Tua and McDaniel might just be a match made in heaven thanks to their unique personalities, which quite obviously go far deeper than what happens on a football field.

Child Stardome

Many quarterbacks are drooled over from the time they're in high school. It's the nature of sports these days. Soccer clubs in Spain are already hyping up kids younger than 10 years old. In Tua's case, he was the closest thing to the LeBron James of college sports as there will ever be. Not only has he dealt with it as a professional and stayed out of trouble — just like LeBron always has — but he's been a role model for kids and done the right things.

If Tua is different, maybe it's because this is all normal to him. He doesn't need to be excited or put on an act. The attention has literally filled his entire life, well before he starred at Alabama.