Joe Handy, CEO of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, announces ground has been broken for a new manatee rehabilitation facility as a record number of the mammals are dying. ⁦WUSF⁩

Several environmental groups said they are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify manatees from threatened to endangered. Federal law requires a response to their petition within three months. It has now been five months. WUSF wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/20…

Attorneys for ousted Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren argued before a federal appeals court Tuesday that he should be reinstated. Warren was suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis in August 2022. wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/courts-law/202…

wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/20… WUSF Hernando County wants to ban boaters from anchoring or leaving their watercraft along parts of the Weeki Wachee River. Not so fast, the state said. Instead, it wants to make 20 sandbars in that stretch off-limits to mooring.

wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/20… As many as 100,000 gallons were released during a second spill. An unknown amount of that went into Stevenson Creek, which flows into Clearwater Harbor. WUSF

wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/politics-issue… The increasing polarization of the country's political parties has revived calls for a third party that doesn't cater to the extreme right or left. Enter the new Forward Party, co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. WUSF

This is the scene at a groundbreaking today for Florida’s pilot project to create “clean hydrogen” in a phosphate mining area in Polk County. The state has entered into an agreement with two energy companies based in Tampa and South Korea. WUSF

Jay Beyrouti, CEO of Ocean Green Hydrogen, helps break ground on Florida’s first hydrogen production plant in Polk County. It’s a joint project of the state of Florida and companies based in Tampa and South Korea. WUSF

The golden shovels come out for Florida’s first “clean carbon” hydrogen production plant, south of Mulberry in Polk County. It’s a joint project of the state of Florida and hydrogen companies based in Tampa and South Korea. WUSF

LISTEN: A former phosphate mine in Central Florida's Bone Valley has a new role as the home for the first Duke Energy floating solar array. It's a small-scale pilot project that can have big implications for the future of power generation. wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/20…

Polk County is the fastest growing county in Florida and the seventh fastest in the country. But one of the real surprises in a new study is who is moving in. wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/economy-busine…

LISTEN: New reporting from The Intercept follows money coming into the foundation of right-wing education activist Christopher Rufo. Daniel Boguslaw talks about how the infusion of cash is helping stoke culture wars in Florida and the nation. wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/politics-issue…

wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/environment/20… WUSF The only kayakers here hover out in the bay, wondering why they can't visit the biggest tourist attraction in this part of Florida. Their path is blocked by yellow floating booms and steel poles sticking out of the sand.

Army Corps of Engineers Col. James Booth addresses a crowd at Indian Shores Town Hall about long-delayed plans to renourishment Pinellas beaches beset by erosion. The Corps is insisting all beachfront property owners give a public easement if public money is used. ⁦WUSF⁩

Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters says the Army Corps policy on requiring all beachfront property owners to give a perpetual easement to get eroded beaches renourishment is “rigid” and unbending. WUSF

Federal money could be used to match or augment existing state dollars used to protect environmentally sensitive land, including that of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Steve Newborn wusf.org/environment/20…

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Tune in to Florida Matters now: The Florida Wildlife Corridor stretches from the Everglades to North Florida and to the Panhandle. We discuss the threats facing Florida’s wild lands and wildlife, what it costs to preserve conservation land, and who’s going to pay for it.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor introduces First Lady Jill Biden during a campaign appearance at the American Legion post in Tampa’s Seminole Heights.

First Lady Jill Biden campaigns to military veterans at the American Legion post in Tampa’s Seminole Heights. WUSF