Indian River Lagoon health improves in 2024
At noon on Dec. 3, the Marine Resources Council will hold a seminar and Zoom meeting to present the findings of its 2024 Indian River Lagoon Report — an annual health assessment of the estuary Indian River Lagoon.
According to the nonprofit Marine Resources Council, the lagoon has shown some improvement in 2024 compared to years past.
But the ailing estuary still has a long way to go.
The Marine Resources Council Report Card was first published in 2016, and the report has evolved over time from a letter grade to more useful information about the Lagoon’s condition.
The general health of the lagoon has improved from 2023 to 2024 in many ways.
The Mosquito Lagoon had a good year with low harmful algae concentrations and increased seagrass coverage."
The Central Lagoon "continues to struggle with water quality and seagrass growth, but the other basins held steady or had slight improvements in several habitat health indicators.
"This progress is a testament to the many organizations and individuals working to reduce pollution, runoff, and wastewater spills in efforts to improve water and sediment quality," MRC says.
MRC measures the lagoon's health by gathering data from partner and government organizations to assess five lagoon health indicators: harmful algae, seagrass coverage, sediment health, wastewater spills and water quality.
MRC measures those indicators for each of the five sub-basins: Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River, North, Central and South Indian River Lagoon.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody warns consumers on Cyber Monday
Many Americans are doing their holiday shopping today because of Cyber Monday. Last year, consumers spent 12 billion dollars during the online shopping day. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody says increased spending means scammers are working harder to target people.
“Unfortunately, scammers see these drastic increases in spending and shopping as opportunities to prey on those seeking those good deals. To avoid falling victim to cyber scams. Know that if a price seems too good to be true, it probably is keep antivirus software up to date only buy from reputable online retailers and use credit cards while shopping online, as they often offer additional consumer protection.”
You can read the 2024 Holiday Consumer Protection guide at MyFloridaLegal.com.
Patronis, Fine jump in congressional races.
Two Republican candidates for open U.S. House seats in Florida are utilizing significant funds from state-level political committees to support their federal campaigns, taking advantage of changes in campaign finance rules.
Until last year, Florida law barred transferring funds from state committees to federal campaigns. However, this changed following a 14-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent and actions by Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is seeking the Congressional District 1 seat vacated by Matt Gaetz, with $6.8 million in his "Keep Florida Free" committee. State Sen. Randy Fine is running for Congressional District 6, left open by Mike Waltz’s move to become national security adviser, with $1 million in his "Friends of Randy Fine" committee.
DeSantis used a similar approach during his presidential bid, transferring $82.5 million from his state-level committee to a federal super PAC. This prompted two complaints to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), but the evenly split panel is expected to deadlock, likely resulting in no penalties.
The special elections will include a primary on Jan. 28 and a general election on April 1.
More: www.floridatoday.com
