Growers across the state are accessing damage to crops from a freeze that penetrated as far south as the Everglades. Temperatures hovered in the high 20s in eastern Hillsborough County while staying in the 30s in Tampa early this morning. Even normally toasty Pinellas County saw temperatures at the upper edge of the 30s. ...more

January 22, 2009

Freezing temperatures forecast for tonight from the Panhandle to the Everglades pose a serious threat to the state's agriculture industry. ...more

January 22, 2009

Up until 2009, Lake Placid has enjoyed clean, unpolluted air as there are no smokestack industries that I am aware of. This has attracted senior mobile home parks as well as senior assisted living facilities to the area. But now the Highlands County Commissioners have decided to change that by giving permission for an ethanol producing plant to locate near U.S. 27 and S.R. 70 just south of Lake Placid (about six and a half miles.) This is one of the worst polluting industries in the country. Even if they agree to install some anti-pollution measures, as everyone knows it would be cheaper for them to pay fines and-or bribe authorities than it would be to install very expensive, adequate anti-pollution equipment. ...more

January 3, 2009

A decade from now Gov. Charlie Crist will be credited with either overseeing the greatest conservation achievement in Florida history or orchestrating one of biggest boondoggles ever foisted on taxpayers. ...more

December 18, 2008

The ambitious proposal for Florida to buy U.S. Sugar land could finally ensure the survival of the Everglades, the hydrological heart of South Florida. So the importance of the proposal can hardly be overstated. ...more

November 28, 2008

The state has agreed to pay the nation's biggest producer of sugar cane $1.34 billion, instead of the $1.75 billion originally proposed, under a revised deal to buy up vast tracts of farmland to restore the Everglades, the company said in statements Tuesday. ...more

November 12, 2008

Questions to ponder while watching the election coverage tonight: ...more

November 4, 2008

If the state approves, Southwest Florida Water Management District is planning to spend $1.8 billion in the next two decades to clean up lakes in eight Central Florida counties. ...more

October 27, 2008

What price tag does one put on an arm? A man who lost his recently during a fierce battle with an alligator has a new one worth $110,000. ...more

October 26, 2008

If the longest journey begins with a single step, a couple of French visitors passing through Highlands County on Wednesday will need to regularly buy more sneakers. ...more

October 9, 2008