Manatee babies are dying; believe it or not, that may be a sign of recovery

So far this year, 133 baby manatee have been found dead in Florida, a mortality rate more than twice the five-year average and more deaths than any other full year since the state began keeping records in 1974.

It sounds (and is) horrific; but experts say it may actually be a sign of recovery for the threatened species. Just three years ago, a record 1,100 manatees died across Florida, nearly half of them in the Indian River Lagoon; and surviving sea cows were malnourished due to the loss of seagrass — and unable to reproduce at all.

So now more female manatees are getting pregnant, but they're still suffering from malnourishment. Meaning we — they — still have a long way to go. Check out our latest “Deep Dive” on VoteWater.org for the full story.

Artiles trial: With this much sleaze,

OF COURSE we have dirty water

In a Miami courtroom earlier this week, sleaze lost.

In a trial that "showed the underbelly of Florida politics" (as the Miami Herald put it), Former GOP Senator Frank Artiles (shown at left) was found guilty on charges of campaign finance and voter registration violations. The charges stemmed from Artiles’ recruitment of a “ghost candidate” named Alex Rodriguez, who “challenged” then-incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez (note identical last name) in a 2020 Florida Senate race, effectively helping Republican Ileana Garcia win the seat — by just 32 votes.

As VoteWater has reported, “ghost” candidates are common across Florida, and it's all legal so long as you're not "contributing" more than the legal limit of $1,000 to the “candidate.” Artiles was busted for funneling more than $44,000 to Alex Rodriguez, his “ghost.”

This is how politics works in Florida and as we’ve said repeatedly, it’s why your water is dirty and getting dirtier. Special interests, operating sometimes in the open, sometimes in the shadows, cheat, finagle and game the system. It's heads they win — tails you lose.

This is why we fight — and why your help is needed now more than ever.

Dirty Money: New House Speaker got $1.8M

State Rep. Daniel Perez will be Speaker of the Florida House when the 2025 Legislative session begins next March. And in Florida, you don’t get to such lofty political heights without the support of polluting special interests.

As such, we clock Perez’s “Dirty Money” take at more than $1.8 million over the past six years; Big Sugar, big ag, phosphate mining, utilities, polluter PACs and more have filled his campaign coffers and contributed mightily to his political action committees.

Our Dirty Money Project has more. Check it out — and stay tuned for more Dirty Money updates!

The last word: Florida will continue to throw caution to the hurricane winds

First, our thoughts go out to those in Florida (and beyond) affected by Hurricane Helene.

We can, and should, talk about the extent to which climate change was a factor in what happened to Florida’s Gulf coast and Big Bend region (and to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee). Florida frankly has not done enough — refusing in some cases to even acknowledge it’s happening, or to even say the words.

The first step towards solving the problem is acknowledging there IS a problem.

Addressing climate change in a way that halts or reverses the effects will take decades and, frankly, a tremendous amount of sacrifice. Ultimately our fight will be over the question of who sacrifices. To the extent we demand sacrifice of corporations, many will deploy “dirty money” and other tricks to forestall change. In places like Florida they’ll have compliant legislators lining up to do their bidding.

And consider that the next hurricane to hit Florida’s rapidly growing coastal communities may do more damage than previous storms simply because there’s more to damage.

A rational state would tap the brakes. But Florida instead has enacted several new laws to speed up the development/permitting/building process. We’re making it easier and quicker to throw up new construction — throwing caution to the hurricane winds.

We will ultimately need to muster the political will to make hard choices. For if we don’t — we may one day look back on Helene, and Ian and so many others before them, as the good old days.