Author name: bruce

Gov. Charlie Crist today signed Senate Bill 2080, a controversial measure that allows permits to be approved by water management district staff without approval by their governing boards. But Crist, in his transmittal letter accompanying the signed bill, also said he is asking the boards and their executive directors to continue bringing permits to board […]

Florida’s two U.S. senators and 22 of its 25 representatives have signed a letter to House and Senate leaders reaffirming their opposition to oil drilling that could encroach upon military missions in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The Senate is considering an energy bill that would allow drilling within 10 miles of Florida’s coast, rolling

More than 50 representatives of environmental groups and state and federal agencies gathered in Leon County Thursday to discuss revising strategies for protecting Florida’s wildlife in response to climate change. With Florida’s climate warming and sea levels rising gradually, scientists and state wildlife officials are concerned about loss of habitat, disruptions in migration patterns and

The Clean Water Network today announced it will sue the Panama City-Bay County Airport Authority for alleged stormwater permit violations in April at its new airport. The proposed airport, being built on a portion of the 4,000 acres of land donated by The St. Joe Co., has been the focus of economic development hopes and

The proposed Florida Hometown Democracy amendment could lead the Legislature to substantially weaken requirements for comprehensive planning in state law, says a former state planning official and land-use attorney in Tallahassee. The Florida Division of Elections on Monday agreed to place the measure on the ballot for the 2010 general election in November. The proposed

By Michael PeltierThe News Service of Florida Ballot casters going to the polls in November 2010 will be asked whether changes to local comprehensive plans must be approved by local voters, state election officials announced Monday. A week after the Florida Supreme Court ended a legal challenge to its initiative, Florida Hometown Democracy officials received

JUPITER, Fla. — Enigma.Paralyzed.Decentralized.Schizophrenic. Those were the one-word descriptions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers given by four panelists earlier this month during a discussion at Florida Atlantic University’s branch in Jupiter. St. Petersburg Times reporter Craig Pittman set the tone for journalists at the Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment with his presentation

By Bruce Ritchie Reduced water flowing from Georgia and Alabama in the Apalachicola River in Florida could have wider effects than have been traditionally studied, according to Florida State University researchers. Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting in federal court over water from the river system since 1990. Alabama and Georgia want water for

Assistant Executive Director Nick Wiley will become chief of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission when Executive Director Ken Addad retires in December. The commission, meeting in Crystal River, voted Wednesday to name Wiley to the position without conducting a search for Haddad’s replacement. All seven commissioners expressed support for Wiley and praised his

The Florida Supreme Court today ruled in favor of Florida Hometown Democracy Inc. in the PAC’s challenge to a state law allowing voters to revoke their petition signatures to place measures on the ballot. Florida Hometown Democracy is pushing a proposal to require that comprehensive plan changes be approved by voters. Supporters say they hope