House Speaker Weatherford: Too early to commit on Lake O cleanup funding
From The News-Press: House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, got a quick lesson about the ecological and economic crisis that Treasure Coast residents faced this summer as polluted waters were...
View ArticlePalm Beach Post: Lake O dumping kills fish – and bait business
"With Martin County Health Department warnings posted on beaches and riverbanks telling people not to touch waters polluted with toxic, blue-green algae, 'people took their boats out of the water and...
View ArticleStuart Republican Negron tells Congress: Give jurisdiction over Lake ‘O’...
The Sunshine State News reports that Stuart Republican Joe Negron, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin (IRLLOB), called on Florida’s congressional...
View ArticleState and local officials break ground on Bessey Creek Hybrid Wetland Project...
State and local officials broke ground Thursday on the new state-of-the-art Hybrid Wetland Treatment Technology (HWTT) project on Bessey Creek in Palm City. The water quality improvement project,...
View ArticleWater discharges from Lake O into St. Lucie Estuary begin again
From WPTV: "Promptly at 6:52 a.m. Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began discharging water from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie Estuary toward the Indian River Lagoon. The discharges are...
View ArticlePalm Beach Post editorial: Move now to buy sugar land, send excess Lake O...
"The message to Gov. Rick Scott from a growing number of South Florida residents is clear: Buy U.S. Sugar Corp. land south of Lake Okeechobee now. Use it to store and clean the lake’s excess water, and...
View ArticleArmy Corps to increase flows from Lake Okeechobee
From WPTV: "The releases will increase starting today, affecting both the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries. 'While the lake decreased slightly for three weeks, recent rains have caused the level...
View ArticleArmy Corps to increase flow from Lake O; wants to lower water level, break up...
From WPTV: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will once again increase water discharges from Lake Okeechobee. It hopes to not only reduce the water level at the lake but break up a toxic algae bloom at...
View ArticlePalm Beach Post: Thank activists for revealing Port Mayaca green algae menace
From award-winning Palm Beach Post blogger, Sally Swartz: "Martin County river warriors scored a small victory when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers temporarily stopped dumping the lake’s excess water...
View ArticleEverglades Trust targets lawmakers on use of Amendment 1 dollars
"The Everglades Trust is hitting some lawmakers' districts with mailings saying they're in the sugar industry's pockets," according to The Tampa Bay Times. "The mailing campaign will target...
View ArticleTwo months late, Florida lawmakers approve state budget, ‘turned their back...
From The Tampa Bay Times: "Environmentalists wanted the state to buy land owned by U.S. Sugar south of Lake Okeechobee to store and refresh water that flows to the Everglades, and they are likely to...
View ArticleStuart’s cerebral Negron outlines priorities for 2017-2018 presidency
Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican whose district includes northern Palm Beach County, was designated Wednesday as the next Senate president by the chamber’s Republican caucus. ... Click here to read...
View ArticleLake O at highest level since 2005: Army Corps of Engineers increases flows
From the Army Corps of Engineers: "Lake Okeechobee water level for Monday, Feb. 1 is 16.14 ft., up 0.06 feet since yesterday. This is the highest Lake Okeechobee has been since it peaked at 17.12 feet...
View ArticlePBPost: Negron’s Lake O emergency measure splits Senate budget leaders
"Sen. Joe Negron, a powerful Stuart Republican who is slated to become the Senate president in November, offered an amendment to the Senate’s proposed budget to expand a water-storage project. The...
View ArticleMartin County: Don’t touch blue-green algae
WPTV reports: "The Florida Department of Health in Martin County is reminding people to avoid contact with visible blue-green algae in any body of water. Recent test results from the Florida Department...
View ArticleMaggy Hurchalla: Don’t dismiss dangers of green slime in our waterways
From Maggy Hurchalla, a 20-year Martin County Commissioner, an active member of numerous Governor Commissions on the Everglades, water and planning, a lifelong advocate for wetlands preservation, a...
View ArticleWPTV: Fed up residents speak out at Martin County algae meeting
"Martin County Commissioners Tuesday voted to draft a declaration of disaster in the wake of massive algae blooms fouling the Indian River Lagoon. At an emergency meeting Tuesday morning, multiple...
View ArticleLocal State of Emergency declared in Martin County; Commissioners urge...
The Martin County Board of County Commission stands with citizens who are demanding swift action about the impacts associated with the damaging freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St....
View ArticleCarl Hiaasen: Enjoy your vacation on Playa Guacamole
From Carl Hiaasen in The Miami Herald: "Hardest hit is Martin County, on the Treasure Coast, where scummy Lake O water has poured into the saltwater estuary from the St. Lucie River. Gov. Rick Scott...
View ArticlePalm Beach Post: Governor focuses on septic tanks to combat blue-green algae
"Gov. Rick Scott said last week that he plans to seek state money to help curb what he calls a “major contributor” to the pollution problem — septic tanks. Many say the governor’s approach would not...
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