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Big Sugar has at least 48 lobbyists in Tallahassee; how many do YOU have?

January 18, 2024

Ever wonder why Big Sugar so often gets its way when it comes to Florida water policy? Part of the answer lies in the number of lobbyists the industry pays to roam the halls of the capitol, sweet-talking legislators. While…

Legislative session 2024: It’s going to be a long two months

January 11, 2024

Welcome to the good, the bad and the hideously ugly. The 2024 Florida Legislative session began Tuesday, Jan. 9, and continues through Friday, March 8. More than four dozen bills that could have an impact on clean water have been…

Big Sugar spent millions in 2023; most went to PACs

January 4, 2024

With the 2024 Florida Legislative session bearing down — it starts next week! — we figured we’d take a look at what our old friends at Big Sugar spent buying influence in 2023. While totals for the fourth quarter of…

2024 will be a year to GET LOUD

December 27, 2023

2024 is about ready to rock and roll. And so are we. The Florida Legislature convenes Jan. 9 and session runs through March 8. Several dirty-water proposals have already been filed; more will follow. We’ll track them all, here in…

Why is this seat on the SFWMD Governing Board still vacant?

December 26, 2023

Earlier this year we told you how Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, perhaps the staunchest clean-water advocate on the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board, lost her seat after Gov. Ron DeSantis renominated her — but the Florida Senate declined to hold…

Clean-water funding + dirty water legislation = no progress

December 20, 2023

Dear VoteWater community: The things we’d really like Santa to bring would never fit into a stocking. Clean water: Santa could pour some in but it would make a mess. Of course, it couldn’t hold a Christmas candle to the…

Want to challenge an environmental decision in Florida? It could cost you

December 14, 2023

With weeks to go before the Florida Legislative session even begins, a solid contender for “Worst Bill of the Year” has entered the fray. And you know that’s going to be a crowded field. Gaze upon House Bill 789 and…

VoteWater Deep Dive: This project could clean water going into Lake O, but local residents oppose it. Now what?

December 7, 2023

Work on a large stormwater treatment area to cut the flow of polluted water into Lake Okeechobee has been put on hold while the South Florida Water Management District reviews concerns that the project could cause flooding and airplane crashes.…

For Giving Tuesday, a look at VoteWater’s 2023 impact

November 27, 2023

At VoteWater, we fight for better policies and better policy-makers who stand up to special interests like Big Sugar. We educate voters to make informed choices at the ballot box. And we work to preserve the natural beauty of our waterways…

For the record: 63% of the EAA is sugarcane

November 20, 2023

So there’s a little tiff going on between our friends in the conservation community and Big Sugar/Big Agriculture. It started, or at least accelerated, last week after four groups — the Everglades Foundation, Captains for Clean Water, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation…

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