Email from VoteWater Also: Update on EAA rock mine proposal; and come out to the state parks "Love Fest" this Saturday! BECOME A MEMBER Come support our state parks this Saturday! Sixteen "Love Fests" will take place across Florida on Saturday, April 5, to show the public's appreciation for Florida's awesome state parks and to urge legislators to better protect them. Two bills are moving through the legislative process, CS/SB 80 and HB 209, but as written/amended they can't prevent the development threats we fought to stop last year. VoteWater will be at the "Love Fest" for Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County; to find an event near you, click the button. FIND A 'LOVE FEST' NEAR ME   Ashley Moody's "dirty money" track record  Florida’s newest U.S. Senator, Ashley Moody, was appointed in January and has never run for that seat — so she hasn’t (yet) amassed a treasure chest of federal “dirty money” contributions. But as Florida’s Attorney General from 2017-January 2025, she ran two state campaigns — and according to our research, got more than $2 million in dirty money from polluters during that span. The figure includes just under $200,000 from sugar contributions to both campaigns and two political action committees Friends of Ashley Moody and the Protect Florida PAC. Sugar-dominated PACs also gave huge amounts, including more than $350,000 from the Voice of Florida Business PAC; just under $300,000 from the Florida Jobs PAC; and $240,000 from the Florida Prosperity Fund. Check out the Dirty Money page on our website for more. And in the coming weeks we plan on updating all the data, bringing you the latest campaign finance info for all the candidates we’re tracking at the federal, state and county commission level. CLICK HERE FOR MORE Zoning hearing for EAA rock mine Thursday The proposed rock mine — officially, the Southland Water Resources project, proposed by Phillips & Jordan — goes before the Palm Beach County Zoning Commission Thursday at 9 a.m. The 8,611.52-acre site is owned by Okeelanta Corporation (Florida Crystals) and U.S. Sugar; the plan is to excavate limestone from the site for a period of at least 34 years (and maybe as long as 44 years) beginning in 2025. The acreage would be broken down into "cells"; as cells are excavated, they would supposedly be converted into water storage reservoirs owned by the South Florida Water Management District. But there are more holes in this proposal than Swiss cheese. In March the Everglades Law Center sent a letter on behalf of our friends at Friends of the Everglades to Palm Beach County officials, advising that the proposal fails to meet county requirements — and hasn't even been formally presented to the South Florida Water Management District's Governing Board yet. Friends Policy Director (and VoteWater Executive Director) Gil Smart will be on hand at Thursday's meeting to reiterate these points. As we've said before, this isn't restoration — it's exploitation. And the Palm Beach Zoning Commission needs to give it a thumbs-down. DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK 'The Science Is Clear — Rescue the River of Grass' Few understand the history and challenges of Everglades restoration better than Terrence “Rock” Salt, former commander of the Jacksonville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Now a citizen advocate who serves as Vice President of Tropical Audubon Society in Miami, he says one fact has remained unchanged over the decades: Restoring the Everglades requires more land, more dynamic water storage, and more water-cleansing marshes in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) south of Lake Okeechobee. Rock sees a logical and timely path forward in the campaign to Rescue the River of Grass. The science is clear, the funding is available, and the time to act is now. That’s why Tropical Audubon has joined the fight to Rescue the River of Grass. Building public support is crucial. Will you sign the petition and stand with us? SIGN THE PETITION BECOME A MEMBER DONATE NOW     VoteWater | 3727 SE Ocean Blvd. Suite 200A | Stuart, FL 34996 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice