Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Melissa RossFebruary 18, 2016

This week in Jacksonville, former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham rallied people upset with the Legislature over Amendment 1 funding by telling them to get vocal and train to become citizen-activists. “We have an organization called the Florida Conservation Coalition, and its purpose is to try to get citizens involved,” Graham said during an […]

William MarchFebruary 15, 2016

Environmental groups contend that the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is again snubbing voters who want the state to purchase conservation land. They contend the budget proposals the Legislature is now developing violate Amendment 1, passed overwhelmingly in 2014, directing that a third of the revenue from documentary stamp taxes on real estate transactions go to buy […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 9, 2016

A bill revamping the state’s process of public land acquisition and management passed its first Senate committee Tuesday. LobbyTools reports that SB 1290, filed by Trilby Republican Sen. Wilton Simpson is nearly identical to House equivalent, HB 1075, filed by Lehigh Acres Republican Rep. Matt Caldwell. Orlando Democratic Sen. Darren Soto submitted an amendment to strip language that […]

Melissa RossDecember 21, 2015

The nonprofit conservation organization the North Florida Land Trust has said in an email to supporters and media outlets that it has closed on “the biggest land purchase in NFLT’s 16-year history.” The parcel is 2,551 acres along the Nassau River. It was the largest piece of unprotected land in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic […]

Jac VerSteegDecember 21, 2015

This being the Christmas season, we all are entitled to believe in those things we want to believe in. This time of year – if only for a short time – I choose to believe in Santa. I believe, for example, that the Reason for the Season will lead the Florida Legislature to ask itself […]

Jac VerSteegDecember 20, 2015

This being the Christmas season, we all are entitled to believe in those things we want to believe in. This time of year – if only for a short time – I choose to believe in Santa. I believe, for example, that the Reason for the Season will lead the Florida Legislature to ask itself […]

Sally SwartzNovember 2, 2015

You could call Jeff Wittman an eternal optimist. The Hobe Sound resident never has stopped believing that a 46-acre chunk of Florida scrub wilderness between U.S. 1 and Alternate A1A, south of Bridge Road, should belong to the people forever. For almost a decade, the land has been the prize in a tug of war […]

Diane RobertsOctober 29, 2015

LBJ declared the War on Poverty; the GOP waged a War on Women; the state of Florida has never ceased its War on Nature. The latest front: Bears! How often have you come home from a hard day of flipping carcino-burgers at the local McWendyking’s, slaving away at the phosphate plant or working at the […]

Diane RobertsOctober 28, 2015

LBJ declared the War on Poverty; the GOP waged a War on Women; the state of Florida has never ceased its War on Nature. The latest front: Bears! How often have you come home from a hard day of flipping carcino-burgers at the local McWendyking’s, slaving away at the phosphate plant or working at the […]

Phil AmmannOctober 20, 2015

State Sen. Jeff Brandes is looking to help Florida communities address the effects of coastal flooding. On Tuesday, the St. Petersburg Republican filed SB 584, a bill to create a statewide flood mitigation and assistance program, providing up to $50 million per year in matching grant money. The money would help reduce the risk and severity […]

Tag: Amendment 1
Paula Stark is hosting Buenaventura Lakes' 'first-ever' event to honor veterans.

Bob Graham rallies Amendment 1 supporters to become “citizen-activists”

Groups upset with legislators over land conservation

Senate committee passes bill restructuring public land acquisition and management

Email insights: North Florida Land Trust makes its biggest land buy ever

Jac VerSteeg: Santa, Sandy Hook and Florida Atlantic University

Jac VerSteeg: Santa, Sandy Hook and Florida Atlantic University

Sally Swartz: Long-delayed land buy now turns to Joe Negron, Amendment 1

Diane Roberts: Watch out, you bears, and hold your water

Diane Roberts: Watch out, you bears, and hold your water

Jeff Brandes files bill creating state flood mitigation program