Big Sugar
Even as opponents of the Southland rock mine (including VoteWater’s Gil Smart, above) were gathered in Belle Glade last Thursday to speak out on the proposal, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a “Notice of Intent” to issue the…
Last week Palm Beach County Commissioners voted to approve the rezoning request for the Southland rock mine on 8,600 acres in the Everglades Agricultural Area owned by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals. VoteWater’s Gil Smart (above) was one of more…
Below is the text of VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart’s comments during the May 22 Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners meeting, where commissioners approved the Southland rock mine rezoning request. Smart will also speak against the rock mine…
Dear Gov. DeSantis: You’ve been called “America’s Everglades Governor.” Since you took office in 2019, Florida has allocated record funding for Everglades restoration projects. This spending has helped generate significant momentum, spurring progress on key CERP components, including what you’ve…
Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Promoters are trying to pass off a proposed rock mine in the Everglades Agricultural Area as a gift horse in the form of a sometime-in-the-future environmental project. But this old nag needs…
The state’s campaign finance data for the first quarter of 2025 dropped in recent weeks, and it shows — surprise, surprise — that Big Sugar is still giving big bucks, even in an off-election year. According to the Florida Department…
When Gov. Ron DeSantis came into office in 2019 one of the first things he did was dismiss the sitting South Florida Water Management District Governing Board and appoint a new slate. No longer was the board dominated by special…
The Southland rock mine proposal in Palm Beach County moved ahead last week as the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission voted to approve the plan. Friends of the Everglades Policy Director (and VoteWater Executive Director) Gil Smart testified against the…
Florida’s newest U.S. Senator, Ashley Moody, was appointed in January and has never run for that seat — so she hasn’t (yet) amassed a treasure chest of federal “dirty money” contributions. But as Florida’s Attorney General from 2017-January 2025, she…
SUGAR SUED: Florida Crystals target of class-action suit claiming company misleads on climate change
A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Florida Crystals, claiming the company’s practice of sugarcane burning contradicts claims that its farming practices fight climate change. As the Palm Beach Post reports, “The lawsuit, filed on behalf of California…