A.G. GancarskiMay 12, 2019
8min1623
The Governor says plastic straw bans haven't "harmed the state's interest."
Tag: pollutionTALLAHASSEE, FLA. 3/4/25-Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, during the opening day of the 2025 Legislative Session, Tuesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee.
COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO
A.G. GancarskiMay 12, 2019
Jacob OglesJanuary 2, 2019
5min791
Could cigarette butts become a thing of the past on Florida beaches? A bill filed by state Sen. Joe Gruters would outlaw smoking on all Florida beaches. But the ACLU already has voiced concerns about how the law will be enforced. The legislation (SB 218) would penalize smokers with a $25 fine and up to 10 […]
Jacob OglesDecember 29, 2018
4min706
State Sen. Joe Gruters filed three bills Friday related to water quality and predicts the issue will dominate this year’s legislative session. “If I had to guess, I’d say the environmental bills will triple from last year,” he said. That’s because red tide dominated politics in a different way in 2018, particularly in coastal communities. […]
Jacob OglesDecember 28, 2018
5min1279
Rep. Randy Fine made clear his first priority for the 2019 Legislative Session: Cleaning up the polluted Indian River Lagoon. Fine, a Palm Bay Republican, filed new legislation (HB 141) to budget $50 million in annual state matching funds for cleanup projects in the water body, which the Audubon Society says faces an “ecological crisis.” […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorDecember 10, 2018
6min472
The St. Petersburg City Council will consider a conditional ban on plastic straws and single-use plastic foam containers. The council will take up the proposed ban at its meeting Thursday. The ordinance would regulate straws in all food establishments citywide and ban polystyrene to-go containers in establishments on city-owned property or rights of way. The […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorSeptember 25, 20184min276
The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce is backing the voluntary “No Straws St. Pete” campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastic straws, the organization announced Tuesday. The Chamber previously objected to a mandatory ban on straws because businesses wanted the option to use them if they felt their clientele would object to not […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorSeptember 24, 2018
4min342
Gov. Rick Scott is directing another $2.2 million to red tide mitigation efforts, his office announced Monday. The state is funding testing on technologies to reduce red tide, including ozone treatments and specialized clay. The funding will expand Mote Marine Laboratory Ozone Treatment System in Sarasota. Mote has successfully tested ozone systems in tanks at the […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorSeptember 18, 2018
4min368
Gov. Rick Scott is putting another $4 million toward red tide funding for local communities impacted by the outbreak. The Tuesday announcement brings the total Florida Department of Environmental Protection funding available so far to $13 million. Red tide has been spreading north along Florida’s Gulf Coast for much of the late summer. It’s plagued Pinellas […]
Ryan NicolJuly 20, 2018
6min847
As algae blooms continue to pour out of Lake Okeechobee, environmentalists and other activists are once again taking aim at the farming industry, blaming them for contributing to the toxicity that allows algae to grow. The sugar industry has long disputed that it deserves the majority of the blame. Now one group is ramping up […]
Mitch PerryJanuary 25, 2018
10min407
Vern Buchanan has fired off a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, urging the agency to preserve offshore drilling safety regulations adopted after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Longboat Key Republican’s letter is a formal protest to the proposed weakening of federal rules requiring better emergency shutdown systems, new guidelines regulating acceptable drilling […]