City of Sarasota wins appeal of Lido Beach renourishment lawsuit
SARASOTA – With work nearly complete on efforts to renourish Lido Key’s shoreline, the Second District Court of Appeals has shot down an appeal attempting to challenge the joint project between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Sarasota.
The court issued the decision Wednesday against the Siesta Key Association and longtime resident Dave Patton. It joins a series of other failed procedural and legal efforts from Siesta Key residents who hoped to block the first-ever dredging of Big Pass.
“The latest court ruling once again affirms that the city has complied with all appropriate regulations and state permits in moving forward with the critical Lido Beach renourishment project, which is now nearly complete,” said City Manager Marlon Brown.
USF students, faculty balk at idea to develop untouched land near campus
The university is asking developers to submit plans for the 769-acre parcel, but opponents say the land is more valuable as a preserve.
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The USF Forest Preserve, north of the university s Tampa campus, is home to a cypress flood plain. Critics of a plan to seek developer interest in the preserve say the habitat is important for clean drinking water, flood mitigation and greenhouse gas emissions storage in Tampa Bay. [ Courtesy of Jeannie Mounger ]
Updated Yesterday
Ryan Hurley was stunned when he saw a recent Facebook post with the news that the University of South Florida is thinking about building on a huge swath of largely undeveloped land it owns just north of its Tampa campus.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Tuesday he directed the state's Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan to permanently close the wastewater reservoir at Piney Point phosphate plant that recently threatened to cause a catastrophic environmental disaster, according to AP.Why it matters: The governor said that $15.4 million in agency funds will be used to treat the water, which contains waste from the phosphate production that can cause algae blooms and fish kills and eventually impact the food chain if introduced into the environment in large amounts.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeContext: A series of worsening breaches was discovered in late March in the huge holding pool, setting off evacuation orders for more than 300 homes, businesses and farms in the area.Emergency management officials were able to avoid a full-on collapse of the reservoir by pumping the water from the pond into Tampa Bay t
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Associated Press
President Joe Biden will address a joint session of Congress for the first time April 28.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi extended the invite to Biden on Tuesday, “to share your vision for addressing the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.”
The address is all but certain to look different from a traditional joint session due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Florida spends more to clean up water
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is steering another $15.4 million toward cleaning up polluted water at the old Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County, where a leak in recent weeks has prompted the release of more than 200 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay.
Florida Plans to Close Wastewater Reservoir Where Leak Forced Evacuations
A potential deluge of millions of gallons of water from a former phosphate mine had threatened homes south of Tampa.
“We want this to be the last chapter of the Piney Point story,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday at the reservoir.Credit.Ryan Callihan/The Bradenton Herald, via Associated Press
April 13, 2021, 8:45 p.m. ET
Florida officials on Tuesday announced their intention to permanently shut down a leaking wastewater reservoir south of Tampa that had forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their homes under the threat of a catastrophic collapse.