2010 archive

Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson on Wednesday urged Gov. Charlie Crist to sign two bills, HB 981 and HB 7103. Bronson said the bills are needed to support agriculture and he’d heard rumors that Crist may veto them but wasn’t sure if the rumors were true. “I’m not sure yet either,” Crist said. “Some of that […]

Florida’s solar energy rebate program is broke and due to expire, but Gov. Charlie Crist indicated Tuesday he would consider helping the program during a special session. The state established the solar rebate program in 2007 to provide up to $20,000 for home solar panels and up to $500 for solar water heaters. The Legislature

The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved a pair of state conservation land purchases with Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson voting in opposition. Bronson, who is leaving office later this year because of term limits, said in March he would vote against any additional land purchases other than conservation easements, which involve paying landowners not to

Florida is quickly spending the $25 million it received last week from BP for the oil spill response and is expected to ask for more soon, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole told the Cabinet Tuesday. BP is the legal “responsible party” under federal law, which means the company will have to pay

Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he will call a special session of the Legislature to consider placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban oil drilling.  “I think it’s important that we go ahead and have a special session,” Crist told reporters before a Cabinet meeting. “I think after my conversation with Senate President

BY THE FLORIDA TRIBUNE Officials battling an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can’t claim victory simply by keeping the oil offshore with the use of chemicals, a Florida State University researcher said Monday. BP says 315,000 gallons of chemical dispersants have been used since the oil spill began April 21 off the Louisiana

An environmental author told an environmental summit in Tallahassee Thursday that the spreading oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is only the most visible aspect of the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. Bill McKibben is a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont, founder of 350.org and author of “Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities

The oil spill remained far offshore from Florida Thursday though some began washing ashore in Louisiana, coating beaches, marshes and sea birds with greasy oil. The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded on April 21 and sank the following day, causing about 200,000 gallons of oil a day to gush from a well under 5,000 feet

A combination of mild weather and a favorable current could keep the Deepwater Horizon oil spill from reaching the state’s beaches for at least three to five days, state officials said on Wednesday. “Mother Nature has played in our favor so far,” said State Meterologist Amy Godsey. Godsey explained that winds right now are blowing

The Florida Public Service Commission is moving forward with rules to define prohibited “ex parte” communications. Bills to define such prohibited communications in commission failed to win legislative approval. The bills were offered in response to news reports last year of communications between commissioners’ staff and utility representatives during rate hearing requests. PSC staff told