Lake Okeechobee

(Newser) - Five people have died in Florida after a small twin-engine Piper aircraft plunged into the waters of Lake Okeechobee on Friday afternoon. Per the AP , records indicate the plane took off from Tampa International Airport; NBC News notes it was headed toward Pahokee when it crashed around 3:30pm. The...

(Newser) - Beaches are closed in South Florida, where a massive algae bloom has caused water to turn bright green and Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency in four counties—Martin, St. Lucie, Lee, and Palm Beach—over Wednesday and Thursday, reports Weather.com . Health officials are telling people...

(Newser) - A possible new bid has thrown a wrench into the state of Florida's plan to buy most of US Sugar's land for $1.34 billion and use it to help restore the Everglades, the St. Petersburg Times reports. The Lawrence Group, which has tried twice before to buy US Sugar,...

(Newser) - An $8 billion effort to reverse generations of destruction of Florida's Everglades is faltering because federal financing has slowed to a trickle. Despite a much-heralded bipartisan agreement in 2000, the 40-year project to save the subtropical marsh is already far behind schedule, and thousands of acres of wildlife habitat continue...