Environment
DeSantis betrays Florida, insists the solution to climate change is burning more fossil fuel
Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was in high school, I was part of a singing group that traveled around to Panhandle churches and performed religious songs. No, really! I’m not making that up! No one would have confused me with Andrae Crouch. You could accurately describe my singing style as “monotone baritone.” […]
How a looming government shutdown could hit national parks
National parks and nearby communities could forego millions of dollars per day during a partial government shutdown that could start this weekend. Would-be visitors will likely see restrictions on park access, though the extent of those restrictions was still unclear just days before a potential lapse in federal appropriations set to begin Sunday. Parks would […]
Old Florida growth rules thwarted development that would have made Idalia worse
Last month, when Hurricane Idalia clobbered the sparsely settled coast of Taylor County in Florida’s Big Bend region, it sent my memory spinning back nearly 20 years to the first time I visited that area. I was there to report on what was happening to hundreds of acres of swamp and salt marsh in an […]
USDA will extend SNAP food assistance to Idalia victims in Florida
Low-income residents in eleven Florida counties affected by Hurricane Idalia will be eligible for a new federal recovery program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. The USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) would give people in Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwanee and Taylor counties access to SNAP benefits […]
Using chemicals to treat Florida’s algae bloom problem is like taking aspirin for a brain tumor
When our kids were little, one of the things my wife and I taught them was the order in which they should carry out certain tasks: Look both ways BEFORE you cross the street. Ask permission BEFORE you take a cookie. Finish your homework BEFORE you have a light-saber battle with your brother. (Those two […]
Battles over spending, farm bill, Ukraine and yet more loom over a divided Congress
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate are both back in D.C. on Tuesday following a long summer recess, facing an overwhelming agenda of unfinished work — funding the federal government and reauthorizing major programs set to expire at the end of the month. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have only a few weeks […]
Report faults EPA for not enforcing limits on toxic benzene emissions at oil refineries
The federal Environmental Protection Agency must do a better job ensuring that oil refineries that exceed emissions limits for benzene, a toxic, carcinogenic pollutant, cut those concentrations, the agency’s inspector general found. “Thirteen of the 118 refineries we reviewed had benzene concentrations above the action level in 20 or more weeks after the initial exceedance,” […]
To see Jimmy Buffett’s best legacy, look at Florida’s manatees
The first time I encountered the Mayor of Margaritaville, he was playing a concert at my college back around the Cretaceous Period. Despite the passage of so much time, I will never forget the experience. What made it so memorable was not Jimmy Buffett’s laid-back musical stylings, or the dazzling craftsmanship of his Coral Reefer […]
Atlantic tropical depression likely to become hurricane this weekend
As Florida still undergoes efforts to recover from Hurricane Idalia’s landfall on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center is eyeing a tropical depression it forecasts to become a major hurricane this weekend. The NHC said by the time it reaches hurricane status, with the name “Lee,” the storm could already could have affected the Leeward Islands, […]
Florida begins to shift to recovery efforts in Big Bend following Idalia’s wrath
Florida has begun to shift from search and rescue operations to recovery operations, as homes and businesses have been destroyed by Hurricane Idalia and thousands of people remain without power in the state’s Big Bend region. “I was able to go yesterday and meet with some of the business owners [in Horseshoe Beach] that had […]
President Biden says he’ll visit Florida on Saturday
Although no details have been officially announced, President Joe Biden said Thursday that he’ll visit Florida Saturday following Hurricane Idalia’s blast into the Big Bend area earlier this week. The announcement came from the president himself at the end of an exchange with reporters after his visit to the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management […]
DeSantis cites ‘significant’ damage to Big Bend, but many Florida K-12 schools are already open
Thirty of the 52 Florida school systems that closed due to the hurricane are already open, with another eight expected to reopen tomorrow, Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday. However, schools in Taylor, Madison, Lafayette, Hamilton, Jefferson and Dixie will remain closed through Friday, September 1, according to the Florida Department of […]