Florida

Florida is one of America’s highest generators of plastic waste

Published

2 years ago

May 15, 2024

Florida is one of America’s highest generators of plastic waste

Littering, particularly plastic pollution, remains a bigger Florida problem than most of us think. The recent viral video depicting a group of young boaters polluting the waters off Lake Boca during the annual Boca Bash event has brought the problem into clearer focus. Here are three reasons why Floridians should care about littering and its impact on Florida and the world:

1. Florida, according to a 2023 study by Florida International University, is the nation’s third-highest generator of plastic waste. The state produces more plastic waste than the current recycling system can process. Its 8% recycling rate has gone down, despite increasing initiatives to improve recycling.

2. Florida remains among 19 states that, according to 2023 data compiled by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, have placed restrictions on regulating plastic carryout bags.

3. Some 33 billion pounds of plastic enter oceans every year, according to Plastic Free Florida, an organization of volunteers taking action to curb plastic pollution in the state. That amount is roughly the equivalent of dumping two garbage trucks full of plastic into the oceans every minute. At that rate, the 2016 World Economic Forum report predicted, the world’s oceans could soon hold more plastic than fish.

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Florida

Indiana Fever player has her Florida State women’s basketball jersey retired

Published

18 minutes ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

Indiana Fever player has her Florida State women’s basketball jersey retired

Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard’s Florida State jersey was retired Sunday.

Howard wore No. 33 for the Seminoles from 2010-14, starting 127 games. She also holds heralded spots in program history:

1,811 points, fourth-most
1,046 rebounds, second
186 blocked shots, fourth

Howard’s scoring total was second when she left the program. She led FSU in career rebounds before Fever teammate Makalya Timpson (2021-25) grabbed more. The blocks were third most when Howard left, but Timpson has more.

The Fever selected Howard fifth overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft, and she played her first two seasons in Indiana. She returned in 2025 free agency, averaging 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds for the league semifinalists.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube page for Fever Insiders Live.

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Florida

Coast Guard rescues eight boaters 35 miles off Florida coast in disabled boat

Published

18 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Coast Guard rescues eight boaters 35 miles off Florida coast in disabled boat

VENICE, Fla. (CBS12) — A Coast Guard boat crew rescued eight boaters on Saturday after their 26-foot boat broke down 35 miles off the Venice Inlet.

At 9:30 p.m., the US Coast Guard (USCG) says an Air Station Miami aircrew located the disabled vessel in two to three foot seas and sent a boat crew to the boat’s location.

The boat was reported overdue by an officer with the Venice Police Department hours earlier at 1:44 p.m., per USCG.

See also: Florida deputy rushes into blazing trailer to pull residents to safety

The Coast Guard says all eight boaters were brought back to the boat ramp uninjured.

“Before going out on the water, make sure you tell someone where you are going and when you will be back,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Beasley, a Station Cortez boarding officer. “We recommend being as specific as possible so rescue crews have a reliable place to start searching in case of emergency. Boaters should always have Coast Guard-approved life jackets, VHF radio, signaling devices, and an emergency position locator beacon or personal locator beacon.”

USCG also highlighted the importance of mariners taking a safety course before going on the water.

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Ole Miss football fans chant, ‘We want Lane’ as Rebels defeat Florida

Published

2 days ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Ole Miss football fans chant, ‘We want Lane’ as Rebels defeat Florida

Ole Miss football took home a win in the “Lane Kiffin Bowl” in Week 12 with a 34-24 come-from-behind win vs. Florida.

Just as the Rebels closed off their 10th win of the season, moving one step closer to appearing in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, Ole Miss fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium made one thing clear to the Rebels brass and Kiffin: They want Lane.

As captured by the ESPN broadcast, “We want Lane” chants broke out in the Ole Miss student section after Kiffin has been linked to the Florida open head coach vacancy, on top of numerous other Power Four conference openings. It appeared not to faze him, as he remained locked in on the final 60 seconds of the game:

Given what he has done in seven seasons at Ole Miss, Kiffin has become a regular on coaching hot boards as positions become available across college football.

On top of his ties to the state of Florida, former Gators coach Steve Spurrier, who told USA TODAY Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer last month that he is a fan of Kiffin and thinks he is a “very good coach.”

“I wanted to be Steve Spurrier,” Kiffin said during a recent appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “When I watched him and his offenses in the visor and kind of the way he’d throw jabs at other coaches and team and stuff, I was like, Steve Spurrier is the man. That’s what I want to be.”

Kiffin himself has talked at length about his name being tossed around in the coaching carousel, including saying on an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” that he will never “make a decision based on money” and that he hasn’t made one based on money in his coaching career.

The win over Florida moved Ole Miss’ record to 54-19 overall under Kiffin.

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