A solar energy representative on Monday welcomed state action to pay some of the more than 15,000 in applications that have been filed for solar energy rebates. The Florida Solar Energy Incentives Program, which began in 2006, paid up to $20,000 for solar electric panels on Florida homes. But the program has received no money […]

The state Division of Historical Resources is urging the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to revise its criteria for purchasing conservation lands to help protect threatened historic sites. Florida Forever is the largest land-buying program in the nation though its funding has been sharply cut during the past two years. Earlier this year, the state

A state panel on Friday will consider removing 7,577 acres from the state conservation lands purchase list because the land has been developed or otherwise is no longer considered desirable. The Florida Forever conservation land-buying program is the largest in the nation but its funding has been sharply cut the last two years. Some Republican

The White House on Thursday gave more details about the pending visit of President Barack Obama and his family to Panama City Beach. The president and First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Panama City Beach on Saturday and will join area small business owners, elected officials and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus for a roundtable

Florida officials on Tuesday welcomed the reopening of 5,144 square miles of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico that had been closed to fishing because of the BP oil spill. Federal waters are beyond state waters, which extend 10.36 miles into the Gulf. The re-opened area, which is almost the size of Connecticut, extends

Sen. Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee, voted for SB 550 in a committee and on the Senate floor. But on Tuesday, he released a statement saying that during the upcoming special session he wants lawmakers to remove the bill’s requirement that septic tanks be inspected once every five years. The bill resulted from hearings held across the

Members of an oil spill task force appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist grilled a BP representative Monday about how claims would be paid from the $20 billion escrow account established by the company. BP reached an agreement with President Barack Obama in June to establish the account to pay claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon

A University of South Florida study on Thursday described the cleanup of oiled beaches on the Florida Panhandle and Alabama as “superficial” because oil remains buried within sand. The BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico pushed mats of oil onto Escambia beaches in early July and scattered reports of tar balls continue. On

The use of chemical dispersants against the oil spill was a benefit to Florida with no drawbacks, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole told a House work group on Wednesday. House Speaker Larry Cretul appointed work groups last month to recommend possible legislation in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the Louisiana