2010 archive

State officials on Thursday trumpeted the reopening of federal waters far off the southwest Florida coast that had been closed to fishing because of the BP oil spill. Florida officials had pressed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reopen waters where they said oil no longer was found. NOAA on Thursday reopened 26,388 square […]

Florida’s globally known cave explorer, photographer and Florida springs advocate Wes Skiles died Wednesday while filming off the coast of Palm Beach County, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. (See statement attached as comments). Based in High Springs with Karst Productions, Skiles, 52, was a former member of the Florida Springs Task Force.

A federal judge has issued yet another ruling against Georgia in a tri-state water dispute but in doing so also has ruled against Florida, according to news reports. Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting in federal court over water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system since 1990. The issue pits growth in Alabama and Georgia

A possible tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean posed a threat to Florida later this week and to efforts to permanently seal the BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico The BP oil well since April 20 has fouled Escambia County beaches, threatened the state’s tourism economy and caused political upheaval. A special session

With the BP oil spill again having sounded calls for more attention to energy alternatives, some renewable energy supporters said Tuesday they remain hopeful the Legislature will take up the issue this summer. “I don’t think anybody expected [the House to adjourn in] 53 minutes,” said Mike Anthiel, executive director of the Florida Alliance for

The Florida Legislature on Tuesday adjourned within three hours after opening a special session on oil drilling called by Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist had called the session to last four days to consider placing a state constitution ban on the ballot in November. But House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, told the House shortly after the

In 2009, Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, argued in favor of lifting the ban in state law against oil drilling in Florida waters. Supporters of placing a ban on oil drilling in the state Constitution say you don’t have to go far back in history — only to 2009 — to show why one is

Drilling opponents protested outside of the historic Florida Capitol on May 25. On Tuesday, they will visit the Capitol again during a special session to urge the Legislature to put a drilling ban on the ballot in November. On the eve of the special legislative session dealing with oil drilling, environmental groups on Monday released

State officials on Friday warned emergency workers against getting “happy feet” in response to the capping of the gushing oil well in the Gulf. The leaking BP oil well since April 20 has caused oil to wash ashore in the western Florida Panhandle and closed beaches and coastal fishing areas. BP and federal officials continue

BP Vice President Kent Wells said this morning that the closing and testing of the oil well in the Gulf had yielded encouraging but inconclusive results so far. Pressure within the well and capping system has continued to build to 6,700 pounds per square inch, which is about 200 times more than an automobile tire.