The Daily Fray :: Government

A li'l (red) drum-roll, please, for Robinson Preserve’s big habitat restoration project

THE DAILY FRAY
January 29, 2021 8:15 pm
Manatee County parks leaders cut a ribbon on Friday to officially open a 135-acre habitat expansion for Robinson Preserve in Bradenton. And fairly soon, Southwest Florida's anglers can probably start chopping bait again for prized redfish. MORE-»

Feds facing eco lawsuit for weakening sea turtle rules

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
January 12, 2021 8:00 am
Sea turtles have existed for at least 110 million years. They survived the cataclysm that wiped out dinosaurs. They cope with nonstop waves of unnatural threats to their mellow lives, including poachers, oil spills, plastic pollution, coastal development, and global warming. But sea turtles have never faced an adversary the likes of Washington bureaucracy. MORE-»

Wait ... Did Mexico just legalize pot?

THE DAILY FRAY
November 5, 2018 5:28 pm
Cinco. The number is significant under Mexican law and for recreational marijuana advocates and potpreneurs who might be wondering if they can spark up in Cancun this morning: Did Mexico just legalize recreational marijuana? MORE-»

Putnam ordered to pay $16.9M in citrus lawsuit

THE DAILY FRAY
March 28, 2018 7:58 am
Florida agricultural commissioner Adam Putnam “has done absolutely nothing” to uphold private property rights in a case involving Lee County homeowners whose citrus trees were destroyed under the citrus-canker eradication program more than 15 years ago, a state judge has ruled. MORE-»

Nick Wiley, advocate for bear hunting, leaves FWC

THE DAILY FRAY
November 27, 2017 5:44 pm
Nick Wiley, whose career at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spanned 30 years, is stepping down as executive director to be the chief conservation officer at Ducks Unlimited. MORE-»

Eric Draper named state parks czar; Julie Wraithmell interim director at Audubon Florida

THE DAILY FRAY
November 4, 2017 10:00 am
Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida for eight years, was named Florida state parks director, filling a post that has been vacant since February and troubled for the past year. MORE-»

In battle for the bunker, it's science and chance for history

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 30, 2017 11:15 pm
Healthy U.S. marine fisheries rely on management plans approved by government stewards that keep prized fish in the water and people in business. It mostly works for the saltwater stars such as striped bass, bluefish, and snappers but not as well for forage fish like menhaden, according to scientists, conservationists, and a variety of stakeholders. MORE-»

For conservationist Joseph Gordon, a menhaden experience

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 30, 2017 11:00 pm
Menhaden is a pinch-your-nose kind of fish that even its family, including herring, might like to disown. Practically no one eats menhaden on purpose (unless you are popping omega-3 pills). And, according to legend, Squanto introduced the oily little stinker to hungry Plymouth colonists only as fertilizer for their crops. MORE-»

In the British Virgin Islands, there's ShelterBox after the storm

THE DAILY FRAY
October 17, 2017 7:58 pm
After Hurricane Irma brutalized the British Virgin Islands, the despair was so complete in the sailing capital of the world that prisoners who escaped Her Majesty's Prison in Road Town decided to return. So did some other unpleasant guests, government officials are warning. MORE-»

Four of Florida's reclusive stars achieve Fed's protection

THE DAILY FRAY
October 8, 2017 10:00 am
The Center for Biological Diversity added four plants to an expanding win column for imperiled Florida species when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week protected the pineland crabgrass, Everglades bully, pineland sandmat, and prairie clover. MORE-»

Fort Hamer Bridge, youthful vision, set for finishing touch

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 7, 2017 10:15 pm
For conservation groups, the bridge was about a delicate stretch of wetlands. Neighbors feared for property values. Rocketing residential growth was sinking in and raising safety concerns for Manatee County officials. But for a Parrish student, the bridge was about history, common sense, and his mom. MORE-»

Hurricane Carlos, Aqua by the Bay, bearing down on Manatee County

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 1, 2017 3:01 pm
Hurricane Carlos appears determined to make landfall on Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Bradenton when the Manatee County Commission is expected to finally decide the destiny of Aqua by the Bay. The courageous decision is to say no, hell no. MORE-»

Polls show baby boomers putting charge into Amendment 2 drive

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 23, 2016 7:54 am
In September 2014, Luigi Costello of Sarasota was a United for Care volunteer, pacing a sidewalk on busy Manatee Avenue in Bradenton, holding big signs in each hand. At the time Costello was not typical of the block of voters who were coveted for Amendment 2. He is now. MORE-»

Pine rocklands builders could bug out about this

THE DAILY FRAY
October 21, 2016 12:02 pm
For some of Florida’s most reclusive residents, early October was a wild relief. Consider the Miami tiger beetle, “actually a beautiful little bug," according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Miami tiger beetle minds its own business in South Florida’s weakening pine rocklands and now developers will be expected to mind theirs, too, the FWS says. MORE-»

Leaked tape: Solar chicanery guiding strategy for big utilities, Amendment 1

THE DAILY FRAY
October 19, 2016 5:46 pm
Amendment 1, misdeeds, and audiotape emerged in an in-depth report in the Miami Herald that claims Florida electric companies collaborated — flexing more than $21 million in "political jiu-jitsu" — to deceive voters regarding a hotly contested utility-funded solar power initiative. MORE-»

Al Gore provides strong words for grassroots solar but not 'one cent' to help campaign

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 12, 2016 5:53 pm
Former Vice President Al Gore was in Miami Tuesday on political business, including his signature mission, climate change. The stump included a sharp dig at Amendment 1, labeling the utility-funded solar power initiative “baloney.” But Gore, a multimillionaire and founder of the Climate Reality Project, never contributed “a cent” to support grassroots solar advocates in Florida. MORE-»

Cautionary poll: Florida's voters 'lack knowledge' on fallout from Amendment 1

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
October 4, 2016 7:33 pm
UPDATED | Florida residents expected to vote on a constitutional amendment Nov. 8 that potentially shifts solar energy policy into the hands of large utility companies appear widely misled regarding the ballot, according to the director of a poll that shows strong support for Amendment 1. MORE-»

Fears confirmed: Florida first state with homegrown Zika virus

THE DAILY FRAY
July 28, 2016 11:20 am
The Florida Department of Health and federal health officials confirm that four Zika cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are the first in the continental United States spread by local mosquitoes. MORE-»

$Florida OKs controversial water plan amid public concerns, fracking fears$

Florida OKs controversial water plan amid public concerns, fracking fears

THE DAILY FRAY
July 26, 2016 7:23 am
State regulators approved a plan Tuesday that revises Florida's water rules under the federal Clean Water Act in a move that environmentalists say will actually diminish the quality of drinking water and open channels that allow a future in the state for oil and gas fracking. MORE-»

Federal, global inattention contribute to burst in crisis

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
July 24, 2016 3:37 pm
UPDATED | Rare tropical diseases were always part of South Florida’s scene from time to time. But Zika is an extraordinary health threat — a perplexing mosquito-borne, sexually transmitted illness linked with neurological disorders and seemingly without peer in the insect world, according to scientists and health authorities. Many, though, saw it coming for years. MORE-»

Florida's health authorities, CDC probing possible 2nd local case of Zika infection

THE DAILY FRAY
July 20, 2016 9:30 am
UPDATED | The health threat of Zika in Florida intensified this week when the state Department of Health said a new investigation was underway into a possible second locally transmitted case involving the grim mosquito-borne illness. MORE-»

State politicians deflect blame for toxic blue-green algae

THE DAILY FRAY
July 8, 2016 11:39 am
The toxic blue-green algae bloom that is fouling Florida’s Treasure Coast is also spawning a noxious release of rhetoric. "We've never been able to get politicians to take real action to protect Florida's waters, and now that a catastrophic bloom is occurring everyone says it's not their fault," an attorney for Earthjustice said. MORE-»

United for Care braces for new slugfest with medical pot foes

THE DAILY FRAY
April 26, 2016 10:34 am
Drug Free America spent roughly $7.5 million in 2014 to defeat a medical marijuana initiative by United for Care and is promising to raise $10 million to stop a revised ballot in November. For the architects behind Amendment 2, the rematch was hardly unexpected. "Bring it on," John Morgan said. MORE-»

Florida solar advocate sees sunlight in August vote

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
March 20, 2016 1:00 pm
Susan Glickman became Florida director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in 2013 and is a key advocate for opening Florida’s solar energy market. And in a combative 15-month political duel for the sun, a statewide vote in August will be pivotal. MORE-»

Solar power, lawyers, and money: It gets electric at top state court

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
March 5, 2016 10:32 pm
When Debbie Dooley joined Floridians for Solar Choice, the influential national conservative voice from Georgia and a barnstorming clean energy ally said, “The sun never sends a rate increase.” In fact, that may be for Florida’s Supreme Court to decide. MORE-»

Fracking foes succeed after state Senate halts drilling bill

THE DAILY FRAY
March 1, 2016 5:00 pm
UPDATED | Florida lawmakers who oppose fracking were outnumbered in the House recently and a setback in the Senate seemed likely. But opponents — including 41 cities and 27 counties — achieved a victory Tuesday when a Senate panel refused to reconsider the bill after tapping the brakes on the controversial oil drilling practice last week. MORE-»

Florida's DEP offers a checkup for Deepwater cleanup efforts

THE DAILY FRAY
February 16, 2016 12:00 pm
An online map that pinpoints hopeful restoration projects that stem from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon explosion and catastrophic oil spill is more than a routine exercise in government transparency. It's more like an X-ray. And the patient is Florida. MORE-»

Zika: Health authorities slow to acknowledge sex connection

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
February 3, 2016 9:16 am
For weeks, world and U.S. health authorities were saying there are five things everyone needs to know about Zika. Here’s No. 6: sex. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knew about the potential blockbuster health threat involving Zika and sexual intercourse since at least 2008. MORE-»

Photo challenge celebrates parks and wildlife experience

THE DAILY FRAY
February 2, 2016 5:37 pm
Troy Mattes, a former major league pitcher, was out for a stroll near Jiggs Landing in Bradenton when a fearsome pair of watery eyes came into focus. A 4-foot alligator “didn’t seem too worried about a guy with a camera,” Mattes said. And the next thing, click. MORE-»

United for Care: Some extra gray in fall campaign

THE DAILY FRAY
January 29, 2016 9:23 am
Orlando attorney John Morgan was 9 years old in 1965 when a pot-smoking free speech activist at Berkeley said never trust anybody over 30. In November, Morgan and United for Care's campaign strategists may be more unsure about anybody under 30. MORE-»

Smart Solar's petition beats deadline, awaits top court

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
January 22, 2016 6:05 pm
A solar energy amendment funded by Florida utility companies moved a giant step closer Friday to a statewide vote and escalated charges of dirty tactics in the battle for clean energy. “Today we have officially met all of the voter requirements” for a place on November’s ballot, said Dick Batchelor of Consumers for Smart Solar. MORE-»

Zika in Florida; spread by mosquitoes, potentially sex

THE DAILY FRAY
January 17, 2016 11:58 am
UPDATED (1/20) | Zika, a debilitating illness spread by mosquitoes and potentially through sex, was confirmed in three Florida patients Tuesday and is producing an extraordinary threat in the Americas, health officials say. “We didn’t feel we could wait,” a scientist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week. MORE-»

Big power's Smart Solar initiative 'on track' for 2016

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
December 21, 2015 6:54 pm
UPDATED (12/29) | Consumers for Smart Solar and a solar amendment drive that is the brainchild of big Florida utilities is closer than ever to gaining a spot on the 2016 ballot. “Suffice it to say, we are on track,” Smart Solar spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said. MORE-»

For solar advocates in Florida, dim prospects for 2016 ballot

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
December 18, 2015 10:08 am
Floridians for Solar Choice is “exploring options for 2018” after coalition leaders said Thursday their yearlong amendment drive is unlikely to qualify for next November’s ballot. "We are looking at options,” said Mike Antheil, a Solar Choice board member. “But not the inevitability of opening Florida's solar market." MORE-»

For Caribbean, big victory in Paris but 2 degrees might not be enough

THE DAILY FRAY
December 12, 2015 5:29 pm
Caribbean government leaders are coming home from Paris with two big wins after a landmark global climate accord Saturday offered hope against rising seas. “For the first time in a long time, our concerns were being heard.” MORE-»

Bus crash kills 2 cruise ship passengers from U.S. in British Virgin Islands

THE DAILY FRAY
December 7, 2015 4:58 pm
UPDATED (12/10) | Two cruise ship vacationers from the United States were killed Sunday morning in Tortola after a tour bus carrying 20 passengers crashed on a steep, winding road that links Road Town and popular Cane Garden Bay, British Virgin Islands authorities said. MORE-»

Feds rethinking plan dividing manatees and swimmers

THE DAILY FRAY
October 17, 2015 9:12 am
Federal wildlife stewards are suspending a plan that restricts the public from swimming with manatees in Three Sisters Springs in Citrus County after apparent opposition by local elected officials, business leaders, and tourism stakeholders. MORE-»

Ex-marijuana trafficker fields ballot measure for legalization

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
August 31, 2015 8:30 am
In Florida’s crowded field of marijuana ballot initiatives involving lawyers, doctors, teachers, political strategists, former elected officials, activists, law enforcement, and entrepreneurs, a Miami Beach semi-retiree stands out. For one thing, he can’t vote. MORE-»

United for Care keeps distance from Regulate Florida drive

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
August 26, 2015 10:00 pm
A maverick attorney who will steer an initiative to make Florida the fifth state to fully legalize marijuana is also a fierce courtroom ally of medical marijuana patients. But the amendment drive by Regulate Florida, expected to kick off Friday, will not get an endorsement from United for Care. MORE-»

New state poll: Solar Choice lights up (but it takes some explaining)

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
August 25, 2015 9:48 am
Florida's duel between rival solar power initiatives heated up Monday with fresh attacks against big utilities and a new poll that confirms Floridians want more solar power freedom. Voters also want plain-English ballot language, a political consultant said. MORE-»

Tampa’s Seven Seas expands clean water business in Caribbean

THE DAILY FRAY
August 7, 2015 6:00 pm
Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur and environmentalist, is a believer in Seven Seas Water of Tampa. And Seven Seas Water, a leader in the Caribbean desalination marketplace, is a believer in a troubled water project in the British Virgin Islands, where Branson lives part-time on a 74-acre island. MORE-»

United for Care: 100,000 and counting in new drive

THE DAILY FRAY
July 22, 2015 9:16 pm
The statewide effort to legalize medical marijuana picked up speed Wednesday when United for Care turned in roughly 100,000 signed petitions to Florida election officials. The revised amendment could be on next year's ballot “before the holidays.” MORE-»

Growth industry: State receives 28 applications for Charlotte's Web

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
July 8, 2015 7:23 pm
The last day to file an application to grow Charlotte’s Web medical marijuana was a rush. On Tuesday three nurseries were potential growers. After Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline, 28 landmark applications were on record with the Office of Compassionate Use, state health officials said. MORE-»

For Charlotte's Web growers, payoff is getting closer (maybe)

THE DAILY FRAY
July 6, 2015 10:37 pm
A successful longtime black market pot grower in Washington is now a legit businessman in a state where sales top $1.4 million a day. He says “we’re the No. 9 grower in the state and my bank account just seems to stagnate.” Wait. How is that even possible? MORE-»

Forage fishes: Extra sardines, and don't hold the anchovies

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
June 25, 2015 7:14 pm
Forage fishes are small, schooling fishes that live short, mostly inconspicuous lives. People put anchovies and sardines on pizza not license plates. No one brags about swimming with the scad. There are no T-shirts to save the herring, menhaden, goggle eyes, ballyhoo, or pinfish — are there? “They’re not really glamorous,” a marine conservationist said. MORE-»

Florida OKs bear hunting but not until opponents get a say

THE DAILY FRAY
June 24, 2015 8:26 am
Education, garbage control, new habitat, and do the science were urged Wednesday as Floridians weighed in on bear hunting. Birth control for bears, potshots, and “rednecks” figured in the mix, too. A 15-year-old girl named Hanna was heckled. And FWC commissioner Richard Corbett was often in the crosshairs because of a teddy bear quote. MORE-»

Wildlife advocates rally to defend panthers, bears

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
June 23, 2015 4:05 pm
Florida's endangered panthers and targeted bears received strong public support Tuesday as state wildlife officials opened a three-day meeting in Sarasota that figures to shape years of conservation policy. MORE-»

Former Bradenton mayor says lawmakers are out of touch

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
May 30, 2015 3:47 pm
A big oak tree at old Manatee County Courthouse shaded Bill Evers, just barely, before a rally began Saturday for Amendment 1. “They should just go ahead and fund it,” said Evers, Bradenton’s hardnosed mayor for 20 years. “The people want it. What better way can you spend your money than to protect your future?” MORE-»

Charlotte's Web patients prevail in judge's decision

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
May 27, 2015 7:38 pm
A Tallahassee judge ruled on the side of medical marijuana patients Wednesday and ended months of dizzying legal challenges against the state Department of Health that included charges of political chicanery. There was even a dose of “Charlotte’s Web” – the children’s book, not the low-THC pot. MORE-»

Land and water advocates plan statewide rallies

THE DAILY FRAY
May 25, 2015 10:48 pm
Florida’s land and water advocates are planning statewide rallies Saturday and the message takes shape in the form of a question. What part of Amendment 1 do state lawmakers not understand? “This is our last chance to convince our legislators to finish the job and protect Florida's natural treasures before they are gone,” Aliki Moncrief said. MORE-»

Federal report says manatees no longer meet definition for endangered status

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
May 22, 2015 7:09 am
Florida's manatee population – for years a focus of intense conservation efforts and public debate – is healthy and expected to double in the next 50 years, no longer meeting the definition of an endangered species, according to a possible policy-changing conservation study by federal wildlife stewards. MORE-»

Solar coalition is confident petition numbers will add up

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
May 18, 2015 9:43 pm
Florida's solar advocates have roughly 120,000 signatures backing a solar energy amendment. That means the initiative that started in January needs to average 70,400 signatures over the next eight months to get on the 2016 ballot. “I’m still very confident [Floridians for Solar Choice] will make the numbers,” said Stephen Smith, head of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. MORE-»

Bombshell ag report predicts worst orange crop since '60s

THE DAILY FRAY
May 13, 2015 9:48 am
Florida's orange growers were on a sugar high in October after a government report predicted a leap in production for the 2014-15 season. Others were cautious, including Wall Street investors who pay for private research. Someone had to be right. And it doesn't seem to be the Feds. MORE-»

Bitter standoff in Tallahassee buys time for clean energy

By JOHN HOWELL • The Daily Fray
April 30, 2015 6:00 pm
Florida’s fracking opponents gained a small window of time to hold off controversial oil and natural gas drilling when sparring lawmakers walked out on the job this week. “What I am hearing is that we’ll see these bills again next year, not before,” a clean energy advocate in Tallahassee said. MORE-»