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Florida
Everglades restoration would protect Florida Keys while scientists watch drought conditions
ISLAMORADA, Fla. — The Everglades is more than just swamps, fan boats and alligators and restoration efforts impact more than the land between Florida’s east and west coasts.
Florida Bay, a body of water located between the southern end of mainland Florida and the Florida Keys, makes up about a third of Everglades National Park.
High salt levels during dry periods can have fatal consequences for the plants and animals living in the region, though experts are hopeful an early rain season this year will prevent a massive sea grass die-off like those experienced in the past.
Estuary of the Everglades
Steve Davis, chief science officer with The Everglades Foundation, called Florida Bay the estuary of the Everglades, which is actually a giant, slow-moving river starting around Orlando and running toward the southern end of the Florida peninsula.
“What that meant for Florida Bay was that during wet years, there’s enough water getting into the bay to keep the salinities within that optimal salinity range,” Davis said. “But when we run into an average-to-dry year or a drought year, it meant that salinity levels in the bay would get so high that it could be detrimental to the health of the seagrasses and the other species that depend on that habitat.”
Florida Bay doesn’t have particularly strong tides, meaning water can sit in the bay for up to a year. When evaporating seawater isn’t replaced by water from the Everglades, bay salinity levels can double normal ocean salinity, Davis explained.
“And that’s when we really run into some problems with the health of the habitats down here in the bay,” he said.
Everglades Foundation chief economist Paul Hindsley, hands outstretched, speaks with journalists during a media visit to Florida Bay organized by The Everglades Foundation, near Islamorada, Fla., Monday, April 7, 2025. Credit: AP/Rebecca Blackwell
The last major sea grass die-off occurred in 2015. Xavier Figueredo, a recreational boat captain with Bay and Reef Company, said he was working in the area when the massive die-off hit about 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares).
“You can’t see the water. All you see is dead grass floating on top,” Figueredo said. “And it smells like sulfur, like rotting eggs. As the die-off continued, more of the ecosystem was affected, the fish were affected.”
Avoiding Another Sea-Grass Die-Off
Even with more than 40% of Florida under drought conditions, Davis said he is not especially worried yet about another sea-grass die-off. Salt levels in the bay are already comparatively lower this year than they were in 2015.
Davis said that is at least partially thanks to a massive project that elevated more than 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) of the Tamiami Trail, a roadway built in 1928 that runs through the Everglades from Miami to Naples before heading north to Tampa.
A brown pelican hunts for mullet in Florida Bay, part of the Everglades ecosystem, near Islamorada, Fla., during a media visit organized by The Everglades Foundation, Monday, April 7, 2025. Credit: AP/Rebecca Blackwell
The route was essentially a giant dam preventing water from flowing south, but replacing the roadway with two long bridges, completed in 2013 and 2019, unblocked the so-called river of grass.
“Months of inflow across Tamiami Trail have helped to moderate salinities,” Davis said.
The other significant advantage Florida Bay has this year compared to 2015 is the forecast of an early wet season rather than a delayed wet season, Davis said.
Future of Restoration
While elevating Tamiami Trail already has created significant benefit for the Everglades and Florida Bay, scientists are counting on a massive restoration project, the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, to address decades-old water problems throughout Florida.
The $3.9 billion project will create a reservoir and wetland to store and clean polluted water from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida before it’s discharged into the southern Everglades. This also should decrease the amount of polluted water being sent to Florida’s east and west coasts.
Davis called the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir “the game changer for freshwater flow restoration.”
“What we’re seeing right now are just the benefits of the plumbing, the infrastructure that helps to get all that water into the park,” he said. “But once we’re able to flow those larger volumes of water south, we’re going to see system-wide improvement all the way down into Florida Bay.”
Protecting the Economy
Everglades restoration is not only tied to Florida’s ecological future but its economic future, said Paul Hindsley, the Everglades Foundation chief economist.
“For every dollar of investment in restoration, we’re receiving $4 in economic benefits,” Hindsley said.
Economic benefits include adding to the residential and industrial water supply, reducing extreme events from drought such as fires and reducing the risk of flooding from heavy precipitation, Hindsley said.
The Everglades also provide over $5 billion a year in reduced risk for costs associated with National Flood Insurance Program claims. Meanwhile, South Florida’s mangroves and reefs play an important role in reducing the impacts of storm surge.
“Protecting the environment is protecting the wealth of Floridians,” Hindsley said.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
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A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
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