Big Sugar
At VoteWater, one of our core issues has always been the corrupting influence of money in politics. Political campaigns require funding, and everyone is entitled to give as they see fit. Yet the reality is, the biggest corporate entities give…
VoteWater has endorsed Charlie Crist in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, over Nikki Fried. There are several big reasons for this: First, as we first reported last week, Fried’s campaign has taken a boatload – as in, more than half a…
Big Sugar’s at it again. And if we want a more equitable plan for Lake Okeechobee which minimizes the chance of pulverizing discharges to the coasts, then we need to respond. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the…
Late last month we issued our voter guides for Florida’s Aug. 23 primary election. Between now and election day we reserve the right to update the guides as new information comes to light. We did just that today, in regards…
Want to know why and how special interests almost always get their way in Florida, even when the public desperately wants to protect the natural environment? Look no further than the story reported by the Miami Herald this week. Reporter…
The following is commentary by Ray Judah, a member of the VoteWater Board of Directors and a former Lee County Commissioner. Poor water quality in the Caloosahatche river and our coastal estuaries is a political problem and requires a political…
In Florida our iconic waters are central to our quality of life; perhaps even our culture. But we do not have a “culture of clean water.” The phrase was coined by Dr. Paul Gray of Audubon Florida, speaking at a June…
Dear Mike Rowe: First, we’re big fans of your show “How America Works,” and in particular your focus on the men and women in the trenches, rather than the bigwigs in the C-suites. Your recent program, “Behind the Scenes with…
The counterattack was inevitable – and utterly predictable. While the billionaire sugar barons haven’t deigned to comment on the “No Big Sugar Money” campaign which launched last week, they’ve sent their surrogates out to spin. Predictably, it’s been picked up…
Florida Sportsman publisher – and VoteWater Board President – Blair Wickstrom makes the case: In 2020 alone, Florida’s sugar industry — the home of Big Sugar — put at least $11 million into congressional campaign coffers. This happened on both…