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

When the BP oil spill began following a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, researchers in Florida didn’t wait, says State University System Chancellor Frank Brogan. Instead, they began working to study the extent of the oil spill and the possible effects on the Gulf before they received any money from

A dispute between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature over funding for a solar rebate program escalated Wednesday as House Speaker Larry Cretul suggested the governor’s administration had been “duping” applicants into believing they would receive checks. Crist sent Cretul and Senate President Jeff Atwater a letter on Tuesday saying he was disappointed the Legislative

The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday rejected energy conservation plans for three utilities after staff said they failed to meet the aggressive annual goals established by the commission. The utilities have 30 days to resubmit the plans. The PSC set the goals for seven utilities in December under the Florida Energy Efficiency and Conservation

Citing the unwillingness of local governments and the Legislature to address “serious shortcomings” in the state’s growth management process, 1000 Friends of Florida on Monday said it “refined” its position on the proposed Amendment 4 from “not supporting” to neutral. The measure, which is on the Nov. 2 general election ballot, would amend the Florida

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is developing criteria for agencies to use in deciding whether they want to get rid of conservation land following controversies over the Suwannee River Water Management District’s proposals to sell or exchange land. Florida has the largest conservation land-buying program in the nation with 2.4 million acres having been

The two candidates vying for the post of Agriculture Commissioner are both trying to maintain they would help Florida’s environment if elected. But GOP contender Adam Putnam’s two-page environmental policy paper released last week prompted a sly retort and denouncement from his Democratic opponent Scott Maddox. Putnam’s paper was thin on specifics. Yet asked whether