//The select committee forming recommendations is led by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat.The United States should cut carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050, reform its flood mapping program and restart the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps to prepare for climate change, a group of congressional Democrats wrote in a broad report released Tuesday.The document was drafted by majority members of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, chaired by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, of Tampa, which was formed last year and has heard testimony from researchers, local...…//The select committee forming recommendations is led by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat.The United States should cut carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050, reform its flood mapping program and restart the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps to prepare for climate change, a group of congressional Democrats wrote in a broad report released Tuesday.The document was drafted by majority members of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, chaired by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, of Tampa, which was formed last year and has heard testimony from researchers, local...WW…

/The utility serves more than 2.5 million customers. A spokesperson said Tampa Bay Water has not detected dangerous levels of the chemicals in its supply but is taking an 'initial step’ amid evolving science.Tampa Bay Water, the regional supplier of drinking water for more than 2.5 million people, is suing chemical companies including DuPont and 3M over environmental contamination from flame retardants, according to court records.The utility’s filing May 14 places it from the corporations for the release of “forever chemicals” — certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which...…/The utility serves more than 2.5 million customers. A spokesperson said Tampa Bay Water has not detected dangerous levels of the chemicals in its supply but is taking an 'initial step’ amid evolving science.Tampa Bay Water, the regional supplier of drinking water for more than 2.5 million people, is suing chemical companies including DuPont and 3M over environmental contamination from flame retardants, according to court records.The utility’s filing May 14 places it from the corporations for the release of “forever chemicals” — certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which...WW…

/A Tampa Bay Times data analysis and interviews with 15 experts help answer the question: Why not Florida?To a nation in the grips of coronavirus panic, Florida in mid-March looked destined to be the next hot zone.Spring breakers partying carefree on beaches. Senior citizens fraternizing in retirement communities. International travelers leaving germs around Disney World.Medical professionals saw a trajectory of cases that tracked alarmingly close to the early days of the outbreak in New York. They implored Gov. Ron DeSantis to swiftly shut down the state. He waited two weeks.After the...…/A Tampa Bay Times data analysis and interviews with 15 experts help answer the question: Why not Florida?To a nation in the grips of coronavirus panic, Florida in mid-March looked destined to be the next hot zone.Spring breakers partying carefree on beaches. Senior citizens fraternizing in retirement communities. International travelers leaving germs around Disney World.Medical professionals saw a trajectory of cases that tracked alarmingly close to the early days of the outbreak in New York. They implored Gov. Ron DeSantis to swiftly shut down the state. He waited two weeks.After the...WW…

/The state pays trackers to remove the invasive species from the Everglades, where slithering constrictors have upset the ecosystem.Two Florida agencies trying to rid the Everglades of invasive Burmese pythons announced Tuesday they have in roughly three years removed 5,000 snakes.It’s impossible to say exactly how much of a dent that represents in the overall population of pythons, , throwing the ecosystem off balance. Their population is undetermined but thought to measure in the tens of thousands.To combat the species’ spread, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and...…/The state pays trackers to remove the invasive species from the Everglades, where slithering constrictors have upset the ecosystem.Two Florida agencies trying to rid the Everglades of invasive Burmese pythons announced Tuesday they have in roughly three years removed 5,000 snakes.It’s impossible to say exactly how much of a dent that represents in the overall population of pythons, , throwing the ecosystem off balance. Their population is undetermined but thought to measure in the tens of thousands.To combat the species’ spread, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and...WW…

We looked at law enforcement rules. They urge de-escalation but only to a point.The sun had just dropped over downtown Tampa late Sunday when several pops broke through the shouts of protesters.Those gathered in the name of decrying police violence against black people scampered over the grass into Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. A Tampa officer paced Ashley Drive in front of colleagues in riot helmets, holding an orange long gun pointed at the ground in front of the crowd.The weapon was “less lethal,” as described by police. It could fire “projectiles” — bean-bag rounds or pepper capsules —...…We looked at law enforcement rules. They urge de-escalation but only to a point.The sun had just dropped over downtown Tampa late Sunday when several pops broke through the shouts of protesters.Those gathered in the name of decrying police violence against black people scampered over the grass into Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. A Tampa officer paced Ashley Drive in front of colleagues in riot helmets, holding an orange long gun pointed at the ground in front of the crowd.The weapon was “less lethal,” as described by police. It could fire “projectiles” — bean-bag rounds or pepper capsules —...WW…

/Early signs offer hope that Floridians are acting carefully as they return to public life, doctors say, but they also warn it’s too soon to get complacent.When Florida began to reopen May 4, allowing limited indoor dining at restaurants and visits to certain parks, .Gov. Ron DeSantis was measured in easing regulations, they said, but and stay-at-home orders. They warned of a spike in cases if people got too close too soon.More than three weeks later, the state — according to data publicly released by the Department of Health — has not reported a surge in cases or deaths from COVID-19, the...…/Early signs offer hope that Floridians are acting carefully as they return to public life, doctors say, but they also warn it’s too soon to get complacent.When Florida began to reopen May 4, allowing limited indoor dining at restaurants and visits to certain parks, .Gov. Ron DeSantis was measured in easing regulations, they said, but and stay-at-home orders. They warned of a spike in cases if people got too close too soon.More than three weeks later, the state — according to data publicly released by the Department of Health — has not reported a surge in cases or deaths from COVID-19, the...WW…

/How Florida blew a chance to close Piney Point for good in favor of a risky plan to turn a profit at the abandoned phosphate plant.PALMETTO — As early as 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was predicting possible disaster at the old Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County if a plan to use the site for dredging went forward.The “worst case scenario,” the Army Corps cautioned, would be a tear in the plastic liner that engineers were counting on to hold back water perched atop dangerous waste material. Another worry the Army Corps raised: What if the private company in charge went...…/How Florida blew a chance to close Piney Point for good in favor of a risky plan to turn a profit at the abandoned phosphate plant.PALMETTO — As early as 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was predicting possible disaster at the old Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County if a plan to use the site for dredging went forward.The “worst case scenario,” the Army Corps cautioned, would be a tear in the plastic liner that engineers were counting on to hold back water perched atop dangerous waste material. Another worry the Army Corps raised: What if the private company in charge went...WW…

/A USF professor modeling the discharge sailed by Port Manatee and took note of brown water.After days spent on land refining a model for where millions of gallons of wastewater pumped from Piney Point to Tampa Bay could flow, Bob Weisberg wanted to see it for himself.With a couple members from his lab last Thursday he set out on his sailboat, tacking across the bay to Port Manatee. The port is where, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, about 215 million gallons of polluted water from Piney Point, high in nutrients like nitrogen, have been discharged to...…/A USF professor modeling the discharge sailed by Port Manatee and took note of brown water.After days spent on land refining a model for where millions of gallons of wastewater pumped from Piney Point to Tampa Bay could flow, Bob Weisberg wanted to see it for himself.With a couple members from his lab last Thursday he set out on his sailboat, tacking across the bay to Port Manatee. The port is where, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, about 215 million gallons of polluted water from Piney Point, high in nutrients like nitrogen, have been discharged to...WW…

/What’s a phosphogypsum stack? Where does water come in? These questions and more, answered.A leak at an old phosphate plant site has threatened Tampa Bay for the last week with environmental catastrophe. Here we break down the pieces involved.It used to be a fertilizer manufacturing facility. Industrial byproducts of that process are still stored on site. That includes polluted water and phosphogypsum, a substance kept in stacks and monitored for its radioactivity. Managing those materials is expensive and . Past discharges have hit the valuable waters of Bishop Harbor. Excess nutrients...…/What’s a phosphogypsum stack? Where does water come in? These questions and more, answered.A leak at an old phosphate plant site has threatened Tampa Bay for the last week with environmental catastrophe. Here we break down the pieces involved.It used to be a fertilizer manufacturing facility. Industrial byproducts of that process are still stored on site. That includes polluted water and phosphogypsum, a substance kept in stacks and monitored for its radioactivity. Managing those materials is expensive and . Past discharges have hit the valuable waters of Bishop Harbor. Excess nutrients...WW…

/Manager says ‘there will likely be impacts in Tampa Bay’ from wastewater releases. A leak continues to threaten disaster at an old phosphate plant in Palmetto, with an engineer telling Manatee County commissioners on Thursday that it’s vital for operators to keep discharging thousands of gallons of wastewater to Tampa Bay every minute.“It is a very critical condition,” said Mike Kelley, an outside engineer who works with the site’s operator, HRK Holdings. “Uncontrolled release is a real possibility at this stage. Getting the water off the stack is imperative.”The site off U.S. 41 contains...…/Manager says ‘there will likely be impacts in Tampa Bay’ from wastewater releases. A leak continues to threaten disaster at an old phosphate plant in Palmetto, with an engineer telling Manatee County commissioners on Thursday that it’s vital for operators to keep discharging thousands of gallons of wastewater to Tampa Bay every minute.“It is a very critical condition,” said Mike Kelley, an outside engineer who works with the site’s operator, HRK Holdings. “Uncontrolled release is a real possibility at this stage. Getting the water off the stack is imperative.”The site off U.S. 41 contains...WW…