Ron DeSantis is likely sorry he ever suggested his plan to make state parks into recreational resorts, as he is taking more and more criticism for that mistake.
If he had egg on his face after the firing of the DEP employee who leaked the news, he now has his entire face covered in eggs, as prominent legislators are demanding transparency for the whole process.
Among them are our heroes Darren Soto and Anna Eskamani, the latter who is addressing the DEP itself.
In the past, the strongest excuse the DEP has been able to come up with is that they “followed the letter of the law,” when asked to account for the New Wales sinkhole coverup. The DEP also has resorted to finger-pointing at others to avoid taking responsibility for its own mistakes, shortcomings.
Read the original article here in the Tampa Bay Times.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Florida Democratic Congress members want investigation into state park plans
In a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday, five of Florida’s Democratic members of Congress demanded a formal investigation into plans to build golf courses, hotels and more on nine state parks, as well as the release of public records documenting how those plans were hatched.
The U.S. representatives addressed the letter both to the governor and the state’s chief inspector general, who is in charge of investigating fraud or other malfeasance in government. The representatives called for an independent investigation “into what state procedures were violated, and which private parties lobbied for and stood to benefit from it.”
“Your proposal was quietly rushed into a public hearing process and timed to a summer travel period when residents were less likely to attend,” reads the letter. “Given this destructive, veiled affront, the public is owed peace of mind, honesty and transparency.”
Neither the governor’s office nor the Florida Department of Environmental Protection immediately responded to requests for comment. The letter was also sent to the environmental agency’s inspector general, Candie Fuller. She did not respond to a request for comment on whether she would initiate an investigation.
The letter adds to the growing pressure for more information surrounding the state park plans, which sparked a wave of outrage when they were revealed two weeks ago. In response to that intense pushback from the public and politicians of both parties, DeSantis announced last week that the state would go “back to the drawing board.”
Below: Read the letter sent by the congressional delegation to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Office of Inspector General.
The proposals for the parks were released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseen by DeSantis. The governor also had an April meeting with the leader of a veterans nonprofit called Folds of Honor, during which the group pitched him on the proposed golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. The proceeds of the golf course would have gone toward the charity, DeSantis said, and the group had presented this golf course proposal to other government officials in the past….
“So, it appears this plan’s success relied on hiding it from our citizens,” the representatives wrote.
These latest proposed developments first cgust when the Tampa Bay Times, among others, received leaked documents ame to light in late Auabout the state park plans and a memo about how the Florida Department of Environmental Protection intended to move the plans forward. The agency has since fired an employee, James Gaddis, over the release of this information, which included an outline of how the state planned to schedule near-simultaneous public meetings about the proposals for one hour on Aug. 27.
This is a breaking story. Check tampabay.com for updates.
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/72f25a5e-bd91-476e-9439-4bed39ab7d39.png "Emily L. Mahoney - Energy Reporter")
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/tbt/bfca9102-6591-4891-9560-58f0928e710c.png "Max Chesnes - Environment and Climate Reporter")
