Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Michael MolineApril 17, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott endorsed a key element of Senate President Joe Negron’s Lake Okeechobee plan Monday — storing and treating water south of the lake — and called upon the House and Senate to invest $200 million in repairs to the Herbert Hoover dike. Scott said during a news conference that the state can afford […]

Staff ReportsApril 12, 2017

An Everglades reservoir bill pushed by Senate President Joe Negron passed the state’s upper chamber Wednesday, with state Rep. Matt Caldwell saying the House will take the $1.5 billion plan “seriously.” “This gives us a great starting point,” Caldwell, chair of the House Government Accountability Committee, told POLITICO Florida. “We’ve been waiting to see what […]

Michael MolineApril 12, 2017

Senate President Joe Negron’s $1.5 billion plan to fix Lake Okeechobee, and stop overflows of toxic “guacamole water” into the state’s rivers and streams, passed the Senate Wednesday on a vote of 36-3. Last June’s overflow of toxic algae blooms, which devastated tourism and sickened many people, and prompted Gov. Rick Scott to declare a […]

Joe HendersonApril 12, 2017

The steady increase in Gov. Rick Scott’s approval rating has reinforced the notion that if voters have a job and the economy seems to be humming along, other things don’t matter much. The latest poll, released this week by Morning Consult, put Scott’s approval number at 57 percent. Considering that he stood at 26 percent […]

Michael MolineApril 5, 2017

If House leaders really oppose special interests they’ll support the Lake Okeechobee plan the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Wednesday, chairman Jack Latvala said following the vote. “When you hear their stated objections that they’ve made publicly, it’s always had to do with losing jobs or the amount of bonding involved,” Latvala told reporters. “We’ve pretty […]

Michael MolineApril 5, 2017

Senate President Joe Negron’s ambitious water-quality plan survived a more-than-two-hour hearing before the Appropriations Committee Wednesday, clearing the panel against only two dissents. The $1.5 billion bill would begin planning to build reservoirs and water treatment facilities south of Lake Okeechobee in hopes of avoiding repeats of June’s disastrous algae bloom in South Florida waterways. The […]

Michael MolineApril 4, 2017

The reservoir system that Senate President Joe Negron hopes to build south of Lake Okeechobee is about to get smaller but deeper. Negron announced plans Tuesday to possibly scale back the project’s acreage while still storing between 100 billion and 120 billion gallons of water by increasing the reservoirs’ depth to 14 feet. “An amendment […]

Associated PressApril 4, 2017

Dry weather has caused the water level in Lake Okeechobee drop below the minimum range targeted for South Florida’s drinking water supply. The Sun Sentinel reports that if the dry spring becomes a summer drought, water restrictions could follow. On Monday, officials said the lake was at 12.46 feet (3.8 meters) above sea level, which […]

Guest AuthorMarch 31, 2017

In my previous role as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, it wasn’t often I would find consensus on issues involving local water management districts, the state and federal government. But after years of studying the options to best reduce the occurrence of discharges used to lower Lake Okeechobee, those involved in these three […]

Guest AuthorMarch 30, 2017

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As a former state legislator and now a member of Congress, I’ve been proud to support investments in protecting Florida’s natural resources, including the Everglades. While located far from the Emerald Coast, the Everglades are about as iconic in Florida as the Blue Angels, the Space Shuttle, and the orange. Everglades National Park alone welcomes […]

Tag: Lake Okeechobee
Anheuser-Busch has a longstanding tradition of providing emergency drinking water and supplies for disaster relief efforts.

Rick Scott endorses water storage south of Lake Okeechobee, but not buying land

Matt Caldwell: House will take Senate Everglades bill ‘seriously’

Senate approves plan to fix Lake Okeechobee, end algae invasions

Joe Henderson: Rick Scott’s approval rating climbs because the economy trumps everything

Jack Latvala argues revised Lake Okeechobee project defangs its critics

Joe Negron’s Lake Okeechobee plan clears Senate Appropriations Committee

Joe Negron’s Lake Okeechobee plan undergoing another revision

Lake Okeechobee water level drops below targeted range

Herschel Vinyard Jr.: Listen to water experts in Lake Okeechobee debate

Matt Gaetz: Fix Florida’s Everglades, avoid distraction of costly land buy