Governor Charlie Crist

(Newser) - As a revised deal by US Sugar to sell 180,000 Everglades acres to Florida nears completion, critics are stepping up their efforts to derail it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal, hailed by environmentalists, would allow the state to restore natural waterways, but opponents see it as a wasteful, secretive bailout of a struggling company. A state agency could finalize it next week, and foes say more time is needed to assess it. More »

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist married socialite Carole Rome last night as hundreds of people protested outside, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Most were from a group outraged by the governor’s support of Florida’s gay marriage ban, passed last month. Others protested the death of a St. Petersburg teen shot by police last summer. More »

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist decreed yesterday that early-voting locations stay open 12 hours a day instead of the usual eight, in an attempt to address hours-long lines at many polling places, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Crist's failure to consult with his party's leadership has ruffled some Republican feathers, but the public seems thrilled at the change. More »

(Newser) - Everglades restoration may finally be a reality, writes Michael Grunwald in Yale Environment 360 during his “vacation from defeatism.” Florida's tentative $1.75 billion land deal with US Sugar would halt sugar production (and pollution) on nearly 300 square miles, and have an ecological ripple-effect that extends beyond saving the Florida Panther or sparing nature from suburban development. More »

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is walking an environmental tightrope between encouraging conservation and alternative energy, and promoting oil exploration off the state’s coast, the Wall Street Journal reports.  Recent moves include the purchase of 300 square miles in the Everglades—a deal that shuts down the nation’s largest sugar-grower. But the governor also says he’ll support drilling off the coast as long as the state’s people and beaches are protected. More »

(Newser) - Florida plans to buy 187,000 acres of land from the nation's biggest sugar company in what both state officials and environmentalists are hailing as a landmark deal to save the Everglades, the St. Petersburg Times reports. Under the deal, which may not be finalized until November, Florida will pay $1.75 billion to acquire the land from US Sugar Corp. in six years. More »

(Newser) - Michigan and Florida senators appeared closer today to approving mail-in re-votes for their disqualified primaries, the Swamp blog reports. DNC chair Howard Dean said he also supported the mail-ins if state leaders can agree with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on how to run them. “I have to run these rules so that the losing side feels it’s been treated fairly,” he said on “This Week with George Stephanopolous.” More »

(Newser) - Floridians will get a chance to vote again in the Democratic primary, this time by mail, if Florida Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Charlie Crist have their way. Nelson tells Newsweek that plans are all but set for a re-vote, this time paid for by soft money donations. But hurdles remain, including what Nelson’s spokesman calls a “tiny” Florida law against mail-in voting. More »

(Newser) - Apparently, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has the golden touch. John McCain rose 3 points overnight in Florida after Crist endorsed him Saturday, pulling ahead of Mitt Romney in the latest Reuters/Zogby poll. Most significantly, McCain wiped out Romney’s 6-point edge amongst conservatives. “One day doesn’t make a trend, but to gain three points in a day could be significant,” said pollster John Zogby. "McCain went from losing big among conservatives to a tie." More »

(Newser) - Florida's popular governor endorsed John McCain tonight, giving a major boost to the Arizona senator as his tight race with Mitt Romney took a nasty turn. Gov. Charlie Crist called McCain a "true American hero" three days ahead of the state's primary, the Miami Herald reports. The endorsement came as McCain and Romney dropped the polite act and traded serious barbs over Iraq, the Washington Post notes. More »

(Newser) - Pharmacies in Publix supermarkets across five Southern states will distribute seven antibiotics free to patients with prescriptions, the chain said today. The CEO allows that one goal is to drive customer traffic, but it's also an example of the private sector assisting access to affordable health care, the AP reports. Wal-Mart and Kmart recently started selling uber-cheap meds. More »

(Newser) - Florida governor Charlie Crist is taking the green revolution farther down the road traveled in California, with an executive order setting the nation's toughest emission standards. Highly vulnerable to climate change, the fourth largest state will catalyze legal, business and attitude shifts throughout the country, says the Economist . More »