Misc

By Keith LaingTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA ORLANDO — Drilling for old-fashioned oil in near shore Florida waters should be part of the nation’s energy diet, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said today at a conference about increasing the use of newer fuel types. After speaking at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ fourth […]

Gov. Charlie Crist this morning declined to say how close is too close for oil drilling off the Florida coastline. A bill introduced in Congress would allow drilling within 45 miles of the coastline, effectively eliminating a ban on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico that was crafted by Florida’s congressional delegation. Crist, who

Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet on Tuesday will consider approving the purchase of a 690-acre conservation easement in Flagler County, the first purchase under a state program aimed at preserving agricultural lands. The land is owned by Gene and Marilyn J. Evans and includes a half-mile of shoreline along Lake Disston, which has good

Two Florida coastal communities are hoping that a state preservation and grants program will help them protect and revive their waterfronts. The Florida Department of Community Affairs earlier this month designated Fort Myers and Panama City’s Millville area as “Waterfronts Florida” communities. The designation allows DCA to provide planning assistance and federal grant money to

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters Wednesday that Judge Paul A. Magnuson’s ruling in litigation involving the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system was a “huge step in the right direction.” The judge said Georgia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had illegally taken water from Lake Lanier, a huge federal reservoir on the Chattahoochee River north

Honeymoon Island State Park Florida’s state parks set a record for attendance this past fiscal year in spite of — or perhaps with the help of — the economic downturn, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Last year 21.4 million people visited Florida’s parks. That’s an increase of 700,000 people, or 3 percent,

View Larger Map Franklin County today moved toward rescinding the last two of four controversial land-use changes approved in 2005 that allowed The St. Joe Co. to build up to 2,400 homes in eastern Franklin County. Franklin County after 2005 twice defended the land use changes to legal challenges before the governor and Cabinet. The

Airport officials in Bay County have agreed to pay the state $251,323 — reduced from nearly $400,000 as proposed in May — to settle proposed violations issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. DEP in May cited the Panama City-Bay County Airport Authority for 72 water quality violations involving the construction of a new

A federal judge has issued a stunning blow to Georgia and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by ruling that water withdrawals from Lake Lanier on the Chattahoochee River for Atlanta area cities are illegal. Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been battling in federal court over water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system since 1990. The

State officials say they’re launching an effort Friday to put a dent in the growing population of wild Burmese pythons, estimated perhaps at 100,000 or more in the Everglades. Thousands of the pythons, which can grow to more than 20 feet in length, are roaming the Everglades National Park and South Florida after having escaped