2010 archive

Federal officials are beginning to leave alone some beaches that still have oil in sand below the surface because further cleanup could cause more environmental harm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday. The explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in April led to oil washing ashore on beaches along the […]

View Larger Map The Florida Cabinet on Tuesday delayed action on a proposed transfer of 29,412 acres in Big Cypress National Preserve to the federal government after state Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson raised concerns about management of the land. Big Cypress National Preserve is part of the Everglades and covers 729,000 acres in southwest

The Attorney General’s Office says it will appeal a judge’s ruling on a controversial 2009 growth management law that may have created uncertainty and confusion among local governments and developers. Chief Circuit Judge Charles Francis on Aug. 26 struck down the changes contained in SB 360, which removed a requirement in state law that developers

A windmill and billboard promoting solar energy were displayed outside the Capitol earlier this year on Earth Day. House Republican leaders on Thursday said a special session could be held in November — possibly during the Legislature’s organizational session — to approve using federal economic stimulus money for state energy rebate programs. Gov. Charlie Crist

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will review the “endangered” status of wood storks because of a petition filed by the Florida Home Builders Association. FHBA says the storks’ 26-year-old classification is outdated, but an Audubon of Florida representative says the 12-month review raises concerns and that the future of the species should

A proposed state septic tank rule and the legislation that sparked the rule are becoming the focus of anti-government critics. SB 550 during the legislative session requires septic tank owners statewide to receive an inspection at least once every five years. A Florida Department of Health advisory board is reviewing a draft rule on Thursday

Gov. Charlie Crist again passed over a state senator and a former Florida Public Service executive director and instead named Eduardo Balbis and Julie I. Brown to the Public Service Commission on Tuesday. Balbis, 38, is an assistant city attorney in West Palm Beach, and Brown, 35, is associate legal counsel for the First American

Thirty-six national agriculture groups are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to delay a proposed action on water quality in Florida and to reconsider its strategy nationally because of the expected costs. The EPA has proposed numeric limits for nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen in Florida’s rivers, springs and lakes to reduce algae blooms and

The Florida Department of Community Affairs last week continued moving ahead with two important proposed rule changes, but the question is whether DCA will adopt them before a change in administrations. With Gov. Charlie Crist seeking a U.S. Senate seat, voters will have to choose among Republican Rick Scott, Democrat Alex Sink and several other

Florida Public Service Commissioner Nathan A. Skop has refused Florida Power & Light’s request to remove himself from all cases involving the utility. Skop’s 12-page order filed Thursday is the latest round in a war between Gov. Charlie Crist’s reform-minded PSC appointees and the utilities and their allies in the Florida Legislature. The Legislature in