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‘Climate change’ kerfuffle results in secret settlement with DEP

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The state’s Department of Environmental Protection and its employee who said he was punished for using the term “climate change” earlier this year quietly worked out a “separation settlement agreement” in May. The agreement was provided to FloridaPolitics.com on Monday after a public-record request to the department. Mainly, both sides agreed not to sue each other or file grievances over any issue related to Bart Bibler‘s leaving state employment. Bibler could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon. The settlement also bars Bibler, a DEP land…

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Gov. Rick Scott defends payout in records lawsuit

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Gov. Rick Scott is defending the use of taxpayer money to pay a hefty legal settlement, but there are questions about whether his administration was transparent in how it got the money. State officials last week paid $700,000 to Tallahassee attorney Steven Andrews to settle seven lawsuits. The lawsuits contended that Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials flouted Florida’s public records law. The settlement is believed to be one of the larger payments ever approved in an open…

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Florida editorial roundup

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Recent editorials from Florida newspapers: Daytona Beach News-Journal on funding for state’s park system: Florida’s parks have been recognized three times — in 1999, 2005 and 2013 — as the nation’s best park system. No other state has earned that many honors. Last year they attracted more than 27 million visitors. But that’s not good enough for Florida officials, who are concerned that too many parks generate insufficient revenues for management. Jon Steverson, the recently confirmed head of the Department…

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New hunt for oil in Florida raises environmental concerns

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Renewed hunts for oil in sensitive Florida ecosystems have environmental groups raising questions about the state’s regulation of the oil and gas industry. A Miami company, Kanter Real Estate LLC, has submitted a permit application to drill an exploratory oil well on the eastern edge of the Everglades. Meanwhile, federal approval is pending for a seismic survey meant to locate new areas for drilling in the Big Cypress National Preserve, a freshwater swamp whose health is vital to the neighboring…

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July declared Florida Recreation and Parks Month

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Summertime in Florida is ideal for enjoying the outdoors, and the perfect reason Gov. Rick Scott declared July as state Parks and Recreation Month. To celebrate outdoor recreation, events and family fun, the Department of Environmental Protection is calling for visitors and residents to visit state parks and trails during the entire month. In his declaration statement, Scott said parks and recreational opportunities build family unity, strengthen neighborhood involvement and promote cultural diversity. “There is something for everyone at Florida’s State Parks…

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Sea rise threatens Florida coast, but no statewide plan

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America’s oldest city is slowly drowning. St. Augustine’s centuries-old Spanish fortress and other national landmarks sit feet from the encroaching Atlantic, whose waters already flood the city’s narrow, brick-paved streets about 10 times a year — a problem worsening as sea levels rise. The city has long relied on tourism, but visitors to the fortress and Ponce de Leon’s mythical Fountain of Youth might someday have to wear waders at high tide. “If you want to benefit from the fact…

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Diane Roberts: The unavoidable subject of stupid

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OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – Which is worse: stupid and evil or smart and evil? It’s a thought experiment: you can apply it to, say, George W. and Jeb Bush, Rick Scott and Adam Putnam, the Florida House and – Jesus, those idiots don’t deserve to be in the same paragraph as the word “thought.” But while we’re on the unavoidable subject of stupid: remember the amendment to the state constitution passed by an overwhelming margin last year? You probably voted for…

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