Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJanuary 31, 2017

Five dozen water quality experts have sent a letter to urge Gov. Rick Scott, as well as state and federal governments, to finish the job on Florida water that began more than 15 years ago. The letter Tuesday morning, signed by 60 Florida water policy experts, went to Scott, Senate President Joe Negron and House […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJanuary 31, 2017

Securing funding to purchase land south of Lake Okeechobee remains a top priority for Senate President Joe Negron. But Negron could face a tough road ahead. Gov. Rick Scott did not include money for a proposed Everglades reservoir in his 2017-18 budget, and House Speaker Richard Corcoran has dismissed the idea of bonding to pay […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 26, 2017

A bill filed Thursday in the Florida Senate would reduce harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee and increase water storage capacity. Senate Bill 10, filed by Republican Rob Bradley, would bond money backed with Amendment 1 funds to purchase land south of the lake for water storage. Bradley, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 26, 2017

So far, 2017 has been unkind to proponents of buying land south of Lake Okeechobee. That’s the takeaway from two January Senate committee meetings that have been held on the issue. In the titanic legislative battle pitting landowners, minority residents from the Glades and state and water management district officials against Senate President Joe Negron and environmental groups, the […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Is North Florida losing the water wars again? “Stand Up for North Florida” says yes, and Monday they called a presser in Tallahassee to discuss it. Their grievance is with Senate Majority Leader Joe Negron and his “plan to buy more than 60,000 acres of farmland in south Florida to build a another reservoir for water […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 19, 2017

It’s incredible how foggy some people’s memories are when it comes to past efforts to restore the Everglades, buy farmland and build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. Time and again, environmental extremists are quick to blame the sugar industry for every ill in the region, past, present and future, without any regard to science […]

Peter SchorschDecember 22, 2016

A recent Weather Channel documentary alleging Lake Okeechobee “pollution” drew a storm of controversy among Florida scientists, farmers – and at least one U.S. Congressman. “Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee,” an online video posted last week, gives what many call an extremely inaccurate and incomplete picture of the environmental circumstances surrounding Lake […]

Michael MolineDecember 20, 2016

Senate President Joe Negron on Tuesday defended his plan to store runoff from Lake Okeechobee instead of sending it into coastal estuaries where the nutrient-rich water can feed noxious algae blooms. One of the Stuart Republican’s top priorities for 2017 is to spend $2.4 billion to buy 60,000 acres of land south of the lake […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterSeptember 23, 2016

Environmentalists shouldn’t be the only ones sounding the alarm when it comes to Florida’s water quality concerns. Instead, Sen. Jack Latvala said all of the state’s stakeholders need to work together to address the issues affecting Florida’s water. “It’s not just (environmentalists). It’s not just the white hats with petitions and protests,” said Latvala, a […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 23, 2016

While much has changed in Florida over the years, for environmentalists, one thing has remained somewhat constant — polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee. And when they point fingers at what is causing the recent toxic blue-green algae blooms plaguing the Treasure Coast, agriculture has reliably been held up as one of the “usual suspects.” For […]

Tag: Lake Okeechobee

Water experts urge Tallahassee, Washington to ‘finish the job’ on Florida water quality, quantity

Land purchase south of Lake O remains top priority for Joe Negron

Lake Okeechobee reservoir bill filed in Florida Senate

Proposed plan to buy farmland south of Lake Okeechobee off to slow start in Florida Senate

Group of north Florida pols takes on Joe Negron over Lake Okeechobee plan

J.P. Sasser: Environmental activists rewriting history, fraudulently manipulating data to sell land plan

Tom Rooney blasts Weather Channel documentary: Lake O is not ‘toxic’

Joe Negron addresses Okeechobee overflow in broad-ranging briefing

Jack Latvala: Water quality is a business issue

Perhaps faulty septic tanks cause algae blooms after all