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Florida education chairman’s dirty dredging case represents a failure to communicate
One of the dumbest things I ever did was skip the chance to learn Spanish. While most of my high school classmates were busy habla-ing their Espanol — which turns out to be pretty handy here in Florida — I was bungling my way through German like a dummkopf. I took German because I was […]
Talk of putting wind turbines off Florida is little more than a lot of hot air
I grew up playing on the beaches near Pensacola — splashing in the surf, collecting shells, building sandcastles. To me, those shimmering white dunes and bobbing sea oats are more of a signifier of Florida-ness than all the citrus boxes, seafood platters, and theme parks put together. Even the serendipity of Florida beaches tickles my […]
Giant snails not too big a problem for Florida to solve — twice
We Floridians have so much to be proud of. Our beaches often rank at or near the top in the world. Our state park system has won national awards four times. We’re definitely No. 1 in producing weird news every single day. There’s one thing where I kind of wish we were not leading the […]
Rodman opponents ready to gamble again that FL will finally free the Ocklawaha
Do you play the lottery? I’ve been known to purchase a ticket or two when the payoff gets enough zeroes. The fact that I am still writing for a living should tell you how good I am at picking numbers. Once, I ducked into Publix to purchase a Powerball ticket and discovered a knot of […]
Gov. DeSantis pulls one road from the Everglades, but OKs putting in another
“Submitted for your approval …” Man, I always loved that old TV show “The Twilight Zone.” First came the chilling theme music: Doo-doo-doo-dooo … Then Rod Serling would warn you that you’re entering “another dimension — a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both […]
Rare FL butterfly bounces back, offers lesson for saving other critters
We could all use a little good news this week, so here’s the rare environmental story that will make you pump your fist and shout, “Yeah!” Earlier this month, during a visit to Gainesville, I took my kids to see the huge butterfly rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History. They were impressed. Everywhere […]
Pulte Homes destroys 22 FL tortoise burrows, pays a paltry penalty
Say what you will about Florida (and many of you have), but we’ve sure got some unusual crimes here. A surprising number of them involve reptiles. You have probably heard about the guy who, in 2016, tossed an alligator through a Wendy’s drive-thru window in Royal Palm Beach. Last year, Sanford police recovered a five-foot […]
Rescuers race to save Florida’s corals while federal government plans more dredging
About four months ago, I drove over to Orlando and saw something I’d never seen before, something guaranteed to produce a reaction of “Ooooo! Ahhhh!” It was sort of like seeing the fireworks at Disney World for the first time, only not nearly as loud. While Disney may be the quintessential Mickey Mouse operation, that […]
Phosphate pollution reports give Florida residents déjà vu
One summer when I was in college, I worked at a Pensacola textbook warehouse. One of my co-workers was a funny guy named Jim. While we packed boxes of textbooks to ship all over the country, Jim would be cracking us up with one-liners, jokes and stories. Jim was a huge fan of Monty Python’s […]
When it comes to FL politicians and the environment, a myth is as good as a mile
You may find this hard to believe, but Florida is full of mythical creatures. I don’t mean the fantastic critters you see at the theme parks – the talking mice, the flying carpet, the dancing candlesticks serving your dinner. No, I mean things like our version of the Yeti, the odiferous Skunk Ape. It supposedly […]
Raising the dam-nable road that ruined Florida’s Everglades
Much like all the Florida men and women who drive on them — usually while yakking on their phones, fixing their makeup, and reloading their guns — Florida’s roads tend to have a, shall we say, “interesting” backstory. For instance, Interstate 4, the deadliest highway in the nation, is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of […]
Florida’s boondoggle bridge carries a curse for all who touch it
For years, I have heard that the only constants in this life are death and taxes, but I suspect this is not true. I think there’s at least one other constant, at least in my life — the Garcon Point Bridge. I have been writing about this Panhandle boondoggle for more than 20 years. Every […]