"It's the environment, Stupid"

LTE that appeared in the Herald Tribune:

Help me to understand this:

Hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw sewage flow into our streams, rivers and the Gulf, and the best our state Senate representative Joe Gruters can do is propose slapping a fine on cash-strapped municipalities?

This, while his Republican-led Florida State Legislature focuses on ripping through the heartland with new highways, looking out for the interests of developers and once again denying the will of the people by short-changing funding—by hundreds of millions of dollars -- for the purchase and preservation of Florida lands as intended in Amendment One, approved by 75% of the voters in 2014.

There are only two ways to fix this. Either hope that the industry folks who lobby for municipal water treatment projects can outspend the highway construction and home development lobbyists and get the Governor and the Republican-led State Legislature to change their ways, or rally the voters to a cry of “It’s the environment, Stupid” to replace “It’s the economy, Stupid” and work harder than ever to throw the bums in Tallahassee out the door in the next election.   

Bob Clark
Venice, FL

Florida "lawmakers" fight the Law - Stop the Appeal!

From Becky Ayech:

Court follows will of the voters to fund land conservation but Legislature fights to keep the money!  Stop the appeal!

You can help stop the effort to overturn the biggest conservation victory we had in Florida in years (and maybe ever).

Remember back in 2014 when 75% of Florida voters approved a ballot initiative known as “Amendment 1” to secure annual, dedicated funding for land acquisition? That victorious constitutional amendment effort should have ensured billions of dollars for conservation land but the Legislature diverted the money leaving us with dying springs, algae-choked rivers, bays and estuaries, a alternatively parched/drowned and polluted Everglades, and tourists and businesses running away from our beaches.

Now, after waiting over 3 years for the court to weigh in on the Legislature’s refusal to abide by the constitution, we have gotten justice:  On June 15 the circuit judge ordered the state to use the nearly $700 million a year to acquire, manage, and restore new conservation lands. 

Conservation won big at the ballot box and again in court!  But wait - the Legislature is now threatening to appeal this important ruling.  We have to stop the appeal in its tracks.

The Legislature is wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting this case in court. Every day they fight the voters is another day wasted when we could be preserving the most beautiful places in Florida and protecting the state’s economic bread and butter – our natural resources – forever. 

The court decision on June 15 that would give us 700 million a year to buy and manage critical conservation land is being challenged – help stop the appeal!

CALL SENATOR JOE NEGRON 792-219-1665 OR EMAIL:negron.joe@flsenate.gov

CALL SPEAKER CORCORAN 813-792-5177 OR EMAIL: richard.corcoran@myfloridahouse.gov.

PLEASE bcc  stoptheappeal@gmail.com.  This is my email account that I want to use to keep tract of the number of emails sent.  I will NOT keep, share or use for any other purpose.

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW.  CHANCES ARE THEY ARE ONE OF THE 75% WHOSE VOTE TO BUY CONSERVATION LANDS IS BEING IGNORED.

Thanks,

Becky