The state of Florida is a pretty ecologically fragile place thanks to all of the development it has seen over the past century. Golf courses have been one of the biggest offenders, guzzling water and being fed fertilizers that have polluted waterways and endangered manatees and other local wildlife.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Jack Nicklaus' son to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Imagine whose idea it was and would benefit from clearing nature preserves full of protected wildlife for golf courses? If anything we should be reclaiming golf courses and returning them to their natural state, because maintaining them is unsustainable here and they aren't making more natural areas. But this area - Jupiter FL - is FULL of golf courses already. It's where Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods, Joe Naimath, and other rich athletes retired to so they can play golf all day. And this isn't the only space they have plans for - there are several other natural areas through out the state that the Department wants to destroy and develop.
Most people around here thought this was a joke when they first heard it, but it's not. This is what happens when people get baited about non-existing culture wars by people who want to impose their will and make their rich friends a bunch of money. Hopefully the people here will be able to fight this and put a stop to it.
Straight outta Carl Hiaasen! I've been streaming the "Bad Monkey" series on Apple TV Plus. Good adaptation with Vince Vaughn as the protagonist. In a Hiaasen novel, the developer would be eaten by 'gators, squeezed by pythons or killed by some everyday device malfunctioning in an unforeseen way.
@rusty haha unfortunately the developer is the STATE.
Many politicians on both sides of the aisle who are running for office this fall have taken a stand against it. It makes me wonder, was this ever an actual plan - it is so ludicrous - or was it just a set up for a campaign issue by a lame-duck Governor who can take the heat while his teammates rally the public about it?
@porkchopbob In other non-related Florida news - I was glad that Trump's toady, David Shoar lost his primary to Tom Leek. Yeah, I know - one "evil" beating another, but it takes a little more sting out of a Trump endorsement. Hopefully, Leek loses in the final round. Interesting race for a non-Florida resident to watch. My TV comes out of JAX, so I got to - HAD to hear those cringing ads on an hour by hour basis. Both candidates seemed to be wearing Donald Trump kneepads ... if you get my drift. One (Shoar) able to claim Trump's endorsement while the other (Leek) campaigned on being a Trump delegate. Makes me wonder if Desatan has trumped Trump in his chosen home state.
But back to golf courses: you can already golf your way from JAX to Miami. Just cross the street from the course you're on to the next southernmost one. It'll take ya a week, but you can do it! 😉
I think for a lot of the MAGAs, Ronda lost a lot of his shine when he ran against Trump. He still has his supporters in FL, but I think he misjudged the optics of his Presidential try. The Trumpers felt like he turned on them (since Trump told them so), but he still ran on dumb anti-woke culture wars so he only retained his appeal with far-right conservatives who are also anti-Trump, which seems like a pretty small slice of the Venn diagram. Term limits means his time in Tallahassee is up in 2026, and neither Senate seat appears available, so I guess it was his best shot. He's not very sharp, hopefully he just goes away.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/whistleblower-warned-plan-put-golf-150830704.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall
James Gaddis claims he was fired for leaking information about this very issue
