The recent filing of a federal lawsuit is aimed at qualifying Florida Hometown Democracy for this year's election. Should the court order Hometown Democracy onto the ballot, it will validate what the over 820,000 people who have already signed petitions know - that the people must have the power to make major growth decisions directly. State and local governments have shown no ability to stand up to the development industry. ...more

June 26, 2008

As an activist working to preserve and improve the quality of the Gulf of Mexico, Joe Murphy hears from counterparts in other Gulf coast states who envy Florida's heretofore firm stance against oil rigs within 125 miles of shore. ...more

June 24, 2008

Environmentalists gear up for battle. ...more

June 23, 2008

SEBRING —Voters in Highlands County are almost certain to see a 2/10ths of one mill bond issue on the November ballot to raise funds for the purchase of conservation lands. If voters approve the measure, the $1 million which the bond issue would raise per year would draw matching dollars from the state's Florida Forever program to buy important conversation land before it can be developed. Highlands County Commissioner Don Bates said he will vote to put the proposed bond issue to bring in matching state conservation funds on the ballot in November. Bates also said it appears very likely that there will be enough votes on the five-member county commission to submit the issue to the voters. ...more

June 14, 2008

Nothing New Offered Regarding "There Are Better Alternatives To Drilling For More Oil" (Other Views, May 30): ...more

June 9, 2008

A citizen initiative to ban gay marriage will be on the November ballot, the only one of more than 50 active petition drives that qualified Friday at the deadline for signature verification. ...more

February 2, 2008

Florida Hometown Democracy, the amendment that promised to let residents control growth in their communities, is in trouble because of a business-backed group's last-minute petition drive. ...more

January 26, 2008

The "Other Views" column (Jan. 15) by Bev Griffiths, chair of the Tampa Bay Sierra Club, contained numerous errors about Mosaic's phosphate business and phosphate operations generally. ...more

January 22, 2008

Regulators characterized it as the potential loss of a "nominal amount" of wetlands, but environmental advocates said allowing farmers to dredge or fill small ponds or marshes without replacing them whittles away at Hillsborough County's long-standing wetlands protections. ...more

January 21, 2008

The fate of frog ponds in Hillsborough County took center stage Thursday when the Environmental Protection Commission agreed to give farmers greater leeway in dredging and filling small wetlands after more than two hours of debate. ...more

January 18, 2008