Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorMay 31, 2015

Last month, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) voted to forgo purchasing U.S. Sugar-owned land to build a vital reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). This decision is a setback to Everglades restoration and communities enduring damaging discharges of polluted Lake Okeechobee water along Florida’s east and west coasts. […]

Diane RobertsMay 20, 2015

It’s tempting to take a break from the 83-car pileup that is Florida government and amuse ourselves with, say, the festival of unseemliness that is former Congressman Alan Grayson who, when he’s not accusing the Tampa Bay Times’s Political Editor of being a robot with bowel issues (I paraphrase, for which you should thank me), […]

Guest AuthorMay 7, 2015

A few days ago we saw an unfortunate failure of leadership in the Florida Legislature. As a businessman still somewhat new to the process, I was disappointed that the will of the majority was bypassed. By putting politics before the work of the people, too many important issues were left stuck in the balance. One […]

Guest AuthorApril 29, 2015

(Editor’s note: These comments are from a talk by Maggy Hurchalla at the Tropical Audubon Centennial on April 26.) The great thing about being old is that you can tell stories about how things used to be, and, the older you get, the fewer people there are to contradict you. Here at the Doc Thomas […]

Bruce RitchieApril 24, 2015

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut off discharges from Lake Okeechobee on Friday in reaction to claims of an algae bloom in water coming from the lake. The federal agency discharges water to prevent weakening the Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake. But the nutrient-rich discharges can cause algal blooms that smother aquatic life […]

Bruce RitchieApril 22, 2015

As President Barack Obama visited Everglades National Park on Wednesday to mark Earth Day and highlight the threat of climate change, Gov. Rick Scott said he is focused on restoration projects that are “making a difference.” “We have made significant investments since I got elected,” Scott told reporters on the Capitol grounds. Obama highlighted the […]

Guest AuthorApril 20, 2015

It makes sense for President Barack Obama to be in the Everglades on Earth Day. According to the White House, he will draw attention to both the Everglades and the massive economic consequences of global warming and climate change. Obama is likely to echo what a former Friends of the Everglades director said over a […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 3, 2015

Fox News Florida branch, Sunshine State News, printed recently, “Putnam on Water Policy: Get Priorities Right From First, Then Spend Accordingly” (January 23, 2015). Some interpretation is needed for readers inclined to take the faux news source literally. Adam Putnam is the telegenic, multimillionaire farmer and two-term Secretary of Agriculture. We last observed Secretary Putnam […]

Tag: Everglades restoration
Buccaneers QB Teddy Bridgewater. Image via AP.

Eric Eikenberg: Everglades Foundation still eager to work with Legislature on water storage

Diane Roberts: Big Shug and Rick Scott's minions poison land deal and Amendment 1

Wilton Simpson: We must create a statewide plan to restore, protect all environmentally sensitive areas

Maggy Hurchalla: Keep fighting until Legislature buys land for Everglades restoration

Feds halt Lake Okeechobee discharges after Florida pols sound alarm

As president visits Everglades, Rick Scott touts state’s restoration projects

Alan Farago: Mr. President, use Everglades backdrop to shun sugar cash

Alan Farago: Why is Adam Putnam deleting land-buying history?