A request is on the desk of Gov. Rick Scott to replenish the state’s most prominent land-preservation fund. The Department of Environmental Protection‘s wish list for the 2018-2019 fiscal year—presented to Scott last week as the governor’s office crafts budget recommendations for the Legislature—includes $50 million for the Florida Forever program.
Noah Valenstein, Gov. Rick Scott‘s former environmental policy coordinator, has the inside track to become the next secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, sources tell FloridaPolitics.com. Valenstein, now the executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, is the top pick over interim secretary Ryan Matthews. Scott and the Cabinet in February OK’d Matthews to serve as interim department head to fill in for departing secretary Jon Steverson. He quit in January to join the legal-lobbying firm of Foley & Lardner. Valenstein attended an August 2014 meeting in…
On Friday, Gov. Rick Scott announced eight appointments and reappointments to a variety of Florida state boards and commissions. Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, Inc. Scott began by reappointing Luke Buzard to the Early Learning Coalition Hillsborough County, Inc., which collaborates with agencies throughout the community to offer a range of early learning services. Buzard, 37, of Wesley Chapel, is the pipeline safety director at TECO Energy. He previously served as chair of both the Accounting Circle at University…
ALACHUA, Fla. — The first-ever long-range plan for water use in a vast, North Florida region — home to around 1.5 million people in 14 counties stretching over more than 8,000 square miles — was approved here on Jan. 17, in a joint meeting of the governing boards of two water management districts. “This plan stands squarely on our science,” said Dr. Ann Shortelle, executive director of the Saint Johns River Water Management District. Shortelle was previously executive director of…
On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott announced 11 appointments to a variety of state regulatory boards, as well as two on state judicial benches. Ninth Judicial Circuit Court Scott began the latest wave by appointing Patricia Strowbridge to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. Strowbridge, 54, of Windermere, has been legal services director for A Chosen Child, Inc. since 2014 and previously served as its executive director from 1999-2014. She has been the owner of the Adoption, Surrogacy and Family Law Firm, P.A.…