© 2025 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Senate Panel Ready To Wade Into Lake Okeechobee Issues

NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY

Focusing on a priority of Senate President Joe Negron, a Senate panel in January will receive a series of presentations about polluted water discharges from Lake Okeechobee and efforts to restore the Everglades.

The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee`          on Jan. 11 will hear presentations by agencies such as the , the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the along with presentations by environmental advocates and agricultural landowners, according to an agenda posted online.

The state and residents have repeatedly grappled with polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee into waterways on the Treasure Coast and in Southwest Florida. Negron, R-Stuart, has made a priority of addressing the issue and has proposed a plan to use conservation money to buy farmland south of the lake for water storage.

 

Copyright 2020 Health News Florida. To see more, visit .

The News Service of Florida
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Gray Catbirds are in a bird family known as the “Mimidae” – because they mimic other birds, other animals, and even mechanical sounds. Other members of their family in Florida include the Brown Thrasher and the Northern Mockingbird – two excellent mimics that we often see and hear year-round as they feed, sing, and nest in relatively open vegetation. They often mimic the vocalizations of other bird species and it has been suggested that their mimicry may send the message that the area is crowded – and cause other birds to search for food elsewhere.
  • There were 96 flight delays and nine cancellations Saturday and at least 134 flight delays and 15 flight cancellations as of early Sunday evening at Southwest Florida International Airport. The numbers come from the MiseryMap, a listing of delays and cancellations at U.S. airports by FlightAware, a flight tracking service.
  • President Donald Trump's administration is demanding that states reverse full SNAP benefits issued under recent court orders. The U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, affecting 42 million Americans who rely on the program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's demand follows warnings from over two dozen states about potential "catastrophic operational disruptions" if they aren't reimbursed for benefits authorized before the stay. Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general had sued to maintain the program, winning favorable rulings last week. Wisconsin, for example, loaded benefits for 700,000 residents but now faces financial strain.