Florida
Florida is one of America’s highest generators of plastic waste
Brook Crist collects trash in Lake Boca a day after the 2024 annual Boca Bash
Brook Crist, of Pompano Beach, collects trash in Lake Boca a day after the 2024 annual Boca Bash.
Brook Crist
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.
TCPalm staff share their top restaurant recommendations in Vero Beach, Sebastian, Fellsmere.
Indian River County is home to many unique restaurants, far too many to choose from.
There are so many restaurants on the Treasure Coast to try, but it can be hard knowing where to start.
Here are the TCPalm staff’s recommendations for restaurants in Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere.
Indian River County restaurant recommendations
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
Florida
Pilot program aims to build $200K homes in Central Florida to help low-income families buy, not rent
ORLANDO, Fla. – For many Central Florida families, the dream of owning a home feels further out of reach than ever.
With the median home price now topping $400,000, a new pilot program in Orlando is trying to change that by building new homes for about half the cost.
A lot off Quill Avenue in Parramore may not look like much right now, but organizers say it could soon be the site of a new home priced around $200,000 for low-income families.
“We just really wanted an opportunity to bring actual affordable housing to people who have basically been forever renters,” said Satrina Whithead with the GXVE Homes Initiative.
The GXVE Homes Initiative says the goal is to help families earning between $16,000 and $65,000 a year get a chance at homeownership. Whithead said the homes could range from 500 to 1,400 square feet, depending on the lot size and location.
The Orlando Regional Realtor Association reports the median home price in the area is now more than $400,000. Whithead said GXVE hopes to sell homes for about half that.
“There’s nothing wrong with profit, but at the end of the day, I want to help where the need is greatest,” Whithead said.
Organizers say they are already planning to build in Parramore and are working to close on two additional properties. They also say they have properties planned in Sanford and Mims, with a goal of bringing eight homes a year to Central Florida.
“You can pay 80 percent of your salary on rent just to have a place to live. So getting that number back down to around 50 percent is extremely important,” said Mike Harris, vice president of GXVE Homes.
Florida Made Tiny Homes, which is partnering with the organization, said it plans to build concrete homes that exceed safety requirements for the area.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything available on the market in that price range, much less new construction,” said Dylan Grace, co-founder of Florida Made Tiny Homes.
Program organizers say they expect to start construction in the fall and hope to complete the first home within six to eight months after work begins. For more information please click here.
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida juvenile probation officer is facing more than 100 felony charges after investigators said she leaked confidential court and law enforcement information to people tied to a drug trafficking investigation.
Crystal Gaynell Ann Lawson was booked into the Orange County Jail on Thursday, according to Orange County Corrections records.
Investigators said Lawson improperly accessed the Comprehensive Case Information System, or CCIS, more than 100 times and shared information from active criminal cases with members of a drug trafficking organization.
FOX 35 Orlando reported Lawson was arrested on 113 felony counts of computer crimes for unauthorized access. Investigators said she allegedly accessed the database 106 times between January and May.
Lawson is accused of using the database to search for active criminal cases tied to members of the organization. Authorities said some of the information that was leaked included arrest warrants and documents connected to an active investigation.
Lawson was hired by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in February 2022. As part of that job, she was given access to the CCIS database. Authorities said she was fired later that year after an arrest, but her database access was not terminated.
See also: ‘Elf,’ ‘Couples Retreat’ actor jailed with no bond after Florida arrest
Investigators said the leaks resulted in lost evidence, unrecovered assets and at least one person fleeing to avoid arrest before later being taken into custody.
Lawson previously worked for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, where she had access to the court information system as part of her job. Authorities said she was later fired, but her database access was not terminated.
Orange County Corrections records list Lawson’s case status as “presentenced” and show multiple entries for “offense against computer users.”
The records list the arresting agency as the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and show bond amounts of $10,000 on several listed case sequences. The jail record also notes an “ICJIS Affidavit.”
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