Something has to give in tough times with Florida’s tight budget. Environmental programs are the low-hanging fruit nowadays, pruned from the budget like a distasteful expenditure whether big or small.
The big: Regional water districts lost hundreds of millions of dollars when the state trimmed property taxes, and Gov. Rick Scott’s administration placed a moratorium on conservation land purchases.
We can forget about the proposed expansion of Robinson Preserve, at least for now and maybe forever.
The small: The state saved a shade under $600,000 by closing four aquatic preserve offices, including the four Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserve posts which managed 400,000 acres of submerged land.
Our own Terra Ceia office, led by Randy Runnels, has been shuttered. But at what future cost to Bishop Harbor and Terra Ceia Bay?
With resource monitoring programs eliminated, there will be no one to oversee ecological restoration projects such as expanding sea grass beds and removing non-native vegetation.
The Terra Ceia office is credited with helping to improve the water quality in both the bay and harbor, and with providing valuable advice to Manatee County on development impacts.
That’s all lost now, for a pittance. The Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserve only cost the state $186,000 annually.
With the current state of affairs in Tallahassee, environmental protection and enhancement is viewed as an impediment to economic growth.
That will be to the state’s detriment, likely sooner rather than later.
A win over travel websites
Manatee County made the right move in joining a lawsuit against online travel companies in pursuit of the full amount of hotel taxes those outfits collect on room rentals.
The Internet discounters only pay on the wholesale price they pay hotels and resorts, not the full retail amount they charge customers.
Manatee thus collects less in tourism taxes than it rightfully should. During this year’s session of the Legislature, a bill -- lobbied heavily by the Web travel companies -- would have sanctioned the wholesale tax and prohibited tax collection on the retail price. The measure failed.
Florida counties lose an estimated $30 million annually over the tax difference. Some 25 Manatee County tourism properties sell rooms to online travel agencies. That lost money could be spent on further promoting and developing tourism.
This month, a federal judge rejected the argument by the Internet companies and ordered 11 websites to pay taxes on the amount that guests get billed for rooms. This came in a lawsuit by some 170 Texas cities.
In May, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled the websites should pay more in a case involving Atlanta.
The issue is far from over. Many courts have sided with online companies and dismissed lawsuits. But at least Manatee County is in the game.
From Pink to Brown Palace
Bradenton city officials are suggesting the owners of downtown’s fabled Pink Palace hotel might qualify for state rebate money by designating the hotel land as a somewhat polluted “brownfield” site, though the petroleum contamination left from underground heating oil tanks is minor.
That seems like a stretch, but we’re for whatever works to get restoration work moving forward.
Maybe there’s a name change in the offing, too: The Brown Palace.
Wait, that’s taken. And by a downtown Denver landmark, an almost 120-year-old treasure that ranks as a AAA Four Diamond gem. U.S. presidents favor this Brown Palace. Since Teddy Roosevelt in 1905, every one except Calvin Coolidge has graced its guest rooms.
Well, here’s to the restoration of our own palace -- whichever way possible.
