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Screwy plan for a new Florida city outrages its rural neighbors
When anyone asks me the weirdest place in our very weird state of Florida, I always say it’s Pasco County. In addition to the usual mix of sketchy politicians and scummy developers, Pasco has the most sinkholes in the state. It’s got more nudist resorts than the rest of the country. The Klan once adopted […]
U.S. Supreme Court screw-up shackles the EPA on climate change
The main thing I remember about that day at the U.S. Supreme Court was how cold it felt. A couple of inches of snow had fallen that January morning in 1984, but the real chill was in the court’s marble halls. This was back when newspapers had money to spend. The Pensacola News Journal paid […]
Florida water agency caught trying to get rid of important parkland
Have you ever misplaced something important? People do this all the time in Florida. They lose track of their money, their pants, their basic dignity — sometimes all in one night. Four years ago, I was supposed to drive a vanload of smelly Boy Scouts — including my own pair — back home from a […]
Call Florida’s governor ‘Developer-Santis’ because he bows to builders’ every wish
Nicknames can tell you so much about politicians. “Walkin’ Lawton” Chiles earned his for hiking the whole state while campaigning for the U.S. Senate. Bob Graham was dubbed “Governor Jell-O” for his wishy-washy ways when he first took office, but he sh-sh-shimmied out of that one. An angry mob dubbed then-Gov. Rick Scott. “Red Tide […]
Florida boaters clobber rare whale and calf, but they avoid legal consequences
There’s nothing like a good shipwreck story. The battle against the elements, the human drama, the deadly consequences — those elements make for some compelling telling. Doesn’t matter whether the story involves the doomed sailors of the USS Indianapolis, the desperate passengers of the SS Poseidon,or the fearless crew of the SS Minnow. Florida has […]
We should be turning our kids into fans of the Florida environment
We expect so much from our teachers these days. I blame Harry Potter for this. Harry’s teachers at Hogwarts use wizardly magic to make things happen and never have to worry about running out of supplies. Clearly, we expect the same from the humans working in Florida schools, despite the distinct lack of sorting hats […]
By focusing only on ‘resilience,’ Florida’s governor ignores climate change’s deadly heat
Florida tends to be a pretty lively place. Just look at all our crowded beaches, highways, stadia, hockey rinks, racetracks, bars, restaurants, casinos, and, sometimes, hospital ERs. You may be surprised to hear that we’ve also got lots of amazing dead spots too — in other words, graves. The most famous one is the Key […]
This Florida poaching problem seems almost un-bear-able
June 1 marks the official start of hurricane season, or as I like to call it, “Mother Nature’s annual reminder that Florida is trying to kill us.” Hurricanes making landfall, shark bites, sinkholes, lightning strikes — we lead the nation in all of these deadly categories. Yet people keep flocking here like lemmings, trying to […]
FL’s Northern Turnpike Extension threatens to pave over historic Black community
If you plan to visit the historic Central Florida community of Royal, I have two pieces of advice for you: 1) Don’t go there feeling hungry. There are no fast-food joints or other restaurants where you can order a Royal version of the Royale with Cheese. 2) You better hurry. Powerful people are plotting its […]
New algae blooms expose Florida Gov. DeSantis’ failure to fix pollution
Have you noticed the Democratic candidates for governor — Charlie Crist, Nikki Fried, and Annette Taddeo — milling around like a bunch of lost children lately? While they vie for which one of them will get to take on the incumbent Republican governor, Ron “Let’s Give the Attorneys Millions” DeSantis, this fall, they look a […]
With solar bill veto, Florida Gov. DeSantis slips into something more liberal
The governor was trying to make a point about cartoons the other day when his memory got fogged by false nostalgia. That’s likely to happen when your sparring partner is a gigantic mouse. Gov. Ron DeSantis, while stumping for a fellow Republican in Nevada, claimed the evil animation cabal from Disney was slipping hidden messages […]
Petition drive seeks to give Florida residents a fundamental right to clean water
Some people have accused me of being down on Florida because of all the bad stuff I write about — the shady politicians, greedy developers, and rapacious road-builders. You know, the usual suspects. Nothing could be further from the truth! I revel in opportunities to highlight the many ways Florida leads the nation. If I […]