Sentinel editorial page beats The Miami Herald... by gimleteye

The Miami Herald is suffering massive financial losses. Reportedly, the newspaper is for sale. But that's no excuse for its poor editorial coverage of the housing collapse and related phenomenon. The Tribune is bankrupt, but its coverage--through the Orlando Sentinel-- excels. Here's an Orlando Sentinel editorial that many Miami Herald readers are interested in: the potentially calamitous effect on growth "management" in the State of Florida from the Republican-led legislature. Why aren't these issues being covered by The Herald? (please click, read more).

OrlandoSentinel.com

We think: Even in a recession, lawmakers must respect the environment
February 26, 2009


Days before the start of the legislative session, Tallahassee's resembling a MASH unit, trying to restore the state's health by stabilizing services ranging from education to transportation.

If state government's triage neglects the environment — typically ignored or mistreated during dire economic times — it can forget about any chances of a full recovery.

Unfortunately, efforts are under way that essentially could rub out what's left of the state's efforts to manage growth. And building on the progress the state has made in the fight against climate change is no longer certain, either.

Here are the challenges lawmakers and Gov. Charlie Crist must work to overcome:

False promises



A group of lawmakers led by Sens. Mike Bennett of Bradenton and Don Gaetz of Niceville is promoting a bill that would do away with road-building requirements the state now imposes on developers. Critics of Florida's so-called "concurrency" rules contend the costs have either stymied construction or driven developers to abandon the cities for rural areas, where they can build more cheaply and, in the process, create sprawl.

The senators propose eliminating the transportation requirements in urban areas so developers can build up, making cities more vibrant places to live, curbing growth in pristine areas and stimulating the economy to boot.

Encouraging population growth in metro areas — not in rural outposts like Yeehaw Junction — is what responsible land planners and managers also want. It's what the state's top growth manager, the Department of Community Affairs' Tom Pelham, wants, too. It's what we've advocated.

But oh, the bill's pesky details. Turns out it wouldn't just eliminate those transportation costs for developers in dense urban areas. They'd vanish in cities and counties with more than 1,000 people per square mile or with a population of more than 1 million.

That means developers could escape the cost of building roads in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa but mostly a rural landscape and, of course, Orange County, home to Orlando but also vast stretches of land still vulnerable to development.

There's another thing. In those and other heavily populated counties, the bill would do away with separate reviews of large-scale developments, reviews that have worked to safeguard imperiled species and environmentally rare or sensitive landscapes in rural areas.

Sens. Bennett and Gaetz are expected to retool the bill — hopefully, so it won't compromise efforts to prevent sprawl in rural Florida. Anything less would harm the state.

Hot air



Lobbyists for utilities, the automobile industry and other business interests count several allies in the Legislature eager to resist some of the governor's bold but needed initiatives to fight climate change. House Republican leaders are opposing Mr. Crist's call for legislation modeled after California and New York laws that would limit auto emissions.

They're also looking to "modify" Mr. Crist's clean-energy standards, including his call to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, and for utilities to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable resources.

And the state's land-buying program that the governor has pushed the Legislature to fully fund, and which the Legislature last year reauthorized, likely will face legislative raiders. They're eager to send the money elsewhere, even though vast tracts needed to preserve water basins and wildlife corridors can be had in the current market for fire-sale prices.

In this economy, the saboteurs and opponents contend, it's not the time to go green.

But they'd oppose that movement in a booming economy, too.

Leaders in the Senate, including Republicans like Lee Constantine, are pushing right back at the House on emissions standards and with new regulations to protect springs, rivers and lakes from harmful fertilizers and leaky septic tanks.

Mr. Crist also should be able to bypass some of the House's resistance to funding green programs by tapping revenues now flowing from Washington. A state energy program that had offered $1.5 million in competitive grants to businesses and educators promoting alternative energy now should have $126 million in federal money.

An adviser to the governor notes most of the green investments can make the state more energy independent — a boon in this or any economy. He's right. Now's not the time for the state to weaken its efforts.
Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel