Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Joe HendersonJune 1, 2017

The irony of the state Constitutional Revision Commission trying to avoid sunshine laws is almost too rich to describe. If allowed to happen, that would be a dark day indeed. But that’s exactly what CRC Chair Carlos Beruff is proposing, even as the commission continues a series of town hall meetings designed to take public input […]

Peter SchorschApril 23, 2017

Last year, Floridians endured one of the most active hurricane seasons in more than a decade. During Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew, those impacted received only a taste of what has earned our state the reputation of being a hot spot for tropical weather. Thankfully, the loss of life and damage was extremely minimal and the […]

Scott PowersMarch 31, 2017

The company planning the Brightline passenger train service has won a key State Administrative Court decision in a case that was holding up an environmental permit needed for the West Palm Beach to Orlando leg of the train line. On Thursday Administrative Judge Bram Canter sided with Brightline and the St. Johns River Water Management […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Associated PressDecember 11, 2016

South Florida water officials are threatening to cancel a lease with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over management of a 144,000-acre wildlife refuge in the Everglades. The Miami Herald reports that the South Florida Water Management District owns the land occupied by the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, but the federal agency operates […]

Peter SchorschDecember 9, 2016

Florida’s Congressional delegation scored a win this week with the passage of a bill that will fund major water projects in Florida, including the Central Everglades Planning Project. Four Florida congressmen put out press releases Thursday touting their votes for The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act of 2016, which passed the House […]

Peter SchorschAugust 10, 2016

Sen. Joe Negron’s statesmanlike news conference demonstrated how deeply he cares about water issues. There’s no doubt his plan to buy 60,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee will be heralded in his hometown, but in all likelihood, the plan will be met with many roadblocks in Tallahassee. In short, the idea is politically untenable, costs […]

Phil AmmannJuly 15, 2016

For five generations, my family has called Clewiston home. We love our community, its people and our culture. We also care about our neighbors, which is why we have been concerned about the ongoing blue-green algae crisis to the north. Based on the scientific data, we know the algae is not caused by water from […]

Tag: South Florida Water Management District

Joe Henderson: Sunshine law should remind leaders that people of Florida are citizens, not serfs

Local investment in public safety communications infrastructure pay off during Florida disasters

Brightline railroad wins key court decision for environmental permit

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

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

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

Fight over Everglades refuge pits Florida against feds

Florida’s congressional delegation scores big WIIN, funding Everglades, water projects

Joe Negron shows himself a statesman, but his land buying plan is untenable

Janet Taylor: Harming Glades communities not the solution to water crisis