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Florida’s ‘Live Local Act’ may boost affordable housing – and reckless development, too

September 14, 2023

Here at VoteWater, we’re in favor of responsible, measured development that inflicts minimal impacts on water quality and quantity, neighboring communities and the environment in general. The “Live Local Act” ain’t it. On March 29 Gov. DeSantis signed SB102 into…

Dirty Money: Both Republicans and Democrats are taking it

September 5, 2023

Executive Director Gil Smart gives a preview of what we’re discovering with our “Dirty Money” research – elected officials from both parties have taken plenty of money from Big Sugar and other polluters, there’s no partisan divide on this issue.…

Manatee County decision to gut wetlands protections shows the need to “Vote Water”

August 25, 2023

VoteWater’s Gil Smart makes the case in this video:

VoteWater Deep Dive: Chemical treatments can kill toxic algae – but are they safe?

August 23, 2023

After several years of using an algaecide to kill blue-green algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and the canals around it, the South Florida Water Management District now plans to test the chemical compound for possible damage to the environment. At…

Special Report: 10 years after the ‘Lost Summer’ of 2013, what’s changed?

August 1, 2023

Ten years ago today, we were in the eye of the storm. The discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers had begun May 8; by early August 2013 the “Lost Summer” was in full swing, with…

VoteWater Deep Dive: Seagrass is returning to the Indian River Lagoon! … Or is it?

July 25, 2023

In southern lagoon new seagrass is sprouting; in northern lagoon progress is slower. But Lake O discharges and impacts from development could ruin it all. Lorae Simpson is seeing an unusual sight in the Indian River Lagoon this summer. “When…

Dirty money alert: Next Florida Senate President gets thousands from Big Sugar

July 18, 2023

Update: Sen. Albritton got even MORE sugar money than we realized! Below, we report on a $25,000 contribution from U.S. Sugar to Florida Sen. Ben Albritton’s campaign committee, Friends of Ben Albritton. The report is true and correct. But the…

Why we fight

July 5, 2023

It doesn’t get more American than this. Leading up to the Fourth of July, Florida beaches and waterways were packed. Families in the sand, music and cold beverages on the boat, some fishing, some swimming — that’s why we live…

If Thurlow-Lippisch loses seat on SFWMD board, polluters win

June 13, 2023

Here’s a case study of how politics pollutes Florida’s waters: Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch is a Sewall’s Point Realtor, long-time Treasure Coast clean water advocate and, since 2019, a member of the South Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Few people in…

VoteWater Deep Dive: What’s the state’s game plan for the next toxic algae crisis?

May 31, 2023

If this summer brings toxic algae blooms to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, are state agencies ready, willing and able to find the toxins and quickly warn the public? The need for early detection of and warnings for toxic…

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