Big Sugar
“Dirty money” to dirty politicians means dirty water. But what happens when the “dirty money” — campaign cash from polluters — goes instead to PACs, political action committees? As part of our “Dirty Money Project” we wanted to find out;…
At last week’s South Florida Water Management District meeting, several speakers took potshots at those of us who want to “send it south.” It’s all fine and good to call for water to be sent to the stormwater treatment areas…
The final numbers are in — and they’re big. In 2023, Big Sugar political spending in Florida totaled over $3.6 million, with the vast majority — $2.9 million — coming from industry giant U.S. Sugar. Florida Crystals chipped in just…
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…
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…
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…
“Listen to the Science,” screamed the headline of the flyer that showed up in Martin County mailboxes (and perhaps elsewhere) last week. “SEWAGE is Killing Our Local Waterways.” The ALARMING WORDS were framed in multiple pictures of blue-green algae. Flipping…
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.…
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…
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…