For or Against? Take our Florida Amendments Survey
Outdoor World Village is coming to Lake Okeechobee. The Florida Rural Area Construction Cooperative (FRACC), an organization supported in part by the Collins Center’s Lake Okeechobee Regional Initiative (LORI), announced the project will be in Okeechobee County, on the north end of the massive lake. The development will have 625,000 square feet of retail space, lodging and outdoor recreation. Its construction is expected to generate as many as 2,000 jobs. Outdoor World Village is part of LORI’s "Doable Deeds” – positive actions, large and small, to bring economic and social opportunities to the lake’s southern region. Learn more about LORI's role here, and read a news account here.
FLAmendments.org: New look for new amendment proposals
Thanks to the continued support from the Florida Bar Foundation, the Collins Center launches the new, interactive 2010 Florida Amendments Web site. Learn about the proposed amendments and share your thoughts and opinions. Read our news release or visit the site.
Three amendments removed from ballot in wake of court challenges
On Tuesday (Aug. 31), the Florida Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings against the Legislature-proposed Amendments 3, 7 and 9, removing all three from the Nov. 2 ballot. The high court refused to strike Amendments 5 & 6, which will go before the voters. Amendment 3 would have placed a limit on taxes for non-homestead property and added an exemption for new homestead owners. Amendment 7 was the Legislature’s response to Amendments 5 & 6, which were designed to eliminate gerrymandering of state legislative and federal congressional districts. Amendment 9, which targeted the federal health-care reform law, sought to nullify the requirement that Americans purchase health insurance.
Read full story here.
State's top responders say feds unprepared for massive oil spill
Confusion marked beginning of response, Century Commission told
The federal government was unprepared to respond to the worst oil spill in the nation’s history, an expert panel told the state’s Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida. "In the beginning, there was somewhat of a panic mode,” said Henry Barnet, director of the law enforcement division of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. "The response wasn’t where it needed to be.” Barnet joined Lee Edmiston, director of coastal and aquatic managed areas for the Florida DEP, and Bob Weisberg, distinguished professor of physical oceanography at the University of South Florida, in presenting a review of the disaster. Among the lessons learned, Barnet said:
- Skimmers worked in removing oil from the surface.
- Dispersants significantly reduced the surface oil and were less of a toxic threat than the oil.
- Boom did not solve the problem.
- Federal agencies were not prepared for an incident of this magnitude.
Read full story here.
Deepwater Horizon explosion and leakage places magnifying glass on an already intense public debate
An intense public debate is under way in Florida regarding the potential risks and rewards of offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The Collins Center has undertaken a major initiative to study and report on this issue. Since the Center published its findings in February, the matter taken on national, if not international significance with the Obama Administration's announcement to open areas in the Eastern Gulf for oil and natural gas drilling and the April 20th explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and the continual massive leakage of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
Learn more about this explosion's impact on Florida and on the debate for energy alternatives in the Gulf. Read our blog and take our brief survey. The Collins Center is dedicated to building knowledge and driving public discussion on this issue. Share your thoughts. |
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LORI gets behind effort to hire tourism and marketing director for Hendry County to help boost that region's economy. "This position is extremely important as a catalyst for bringing the region into focus as a tourist destination," said Phil Bacon, the Collins Center vice president who oversees the LORI initiative. Read press release on LORI home page here.
Collins Center Summer Newsletter 
The summer edition of Collins Center Today features FLAmendments.org, an interactive web site that provides objective, reliable information and online discussions about Florida's proposed amendments; and a new program that uses alternative approaches to student discipline. This issue also introduces new Collins Center Trustees and provides updates on other Collins Center initiatives.
Collins Center Mortgage Mediation
Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit, covering DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties, is implementing the Collins Center's foreclosure mediation program. The mediation program, which began in March 2009, now operates in six of Florida's 20 judicial circuits. Sustainable Florida - Collins CenterPlans are now underway for the annual Sustainable Florida 2010 Conference October 12-14 in Palm Beach Gardens. Excellent sponsorship opportunities are available. Learn more about Sustainable Florida and ways to make your life more sustainable.
Florida Stimulus ProjectMuch of the discussion around the ARRA/Stimulus program has been about bricks and mortar projects. Jack Meyer, a principal in the Washington, DC office of Health Management Associates looks at the " Human Side of ARRA" in a guest blog post. Justice ReformRestorative justice is an approach to justice where offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and "to repair the harm they've done." With support from the Florida Bar Foundation, the Collins Center is working with the Escambia County School District to implement this justice alternative. Economic/Community DevelopmentWith the goals remaining the same, strategies to bring economic development to urban and rural communities can be quite different. Learn more about how Collins Center works in these unique environments in South Florida. Health CareThe ninth annual Men's Health World Congress convenes in Nice, France in October. Read about the vision for this important international event in the latest Blog post in Men's Health by Collins Center's Dr. April Young. Century Commission - Oil Exploration in the GulfWhile a special state legislative session to discuss an amendment to ban offshore oil failed, the subject is still a top discussion item among Floridians. In April, the Collins Center released a study, Potential Impacts of Oil and Gas Explorations in the Gulf." The study is part of an objective and thorough review of this important public policy debate. Read more.
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