Monday, April 19th, 7-9pm
Society of Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse
823 North A Street, Lake Worth, FL 33460
In March, Several Mayan communities and organizations presented a Constitutional Petition to the government of Guatemala, calling for the immediate suspension of all mining activities taking place on Mayan land. The Petition follows a formal request by the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Committee of Experts to suspend the activities while they investigate reported violations of international law in the Country.
Father Erick Gruloos is a Belgian-born priest who for 30 years has been pastor of the Parish of San Miguel Ixtuhuacan, Guatemala, where a gold mine owned by Canadian corporation GoldCorp has been polluting the water and air and damaging people’s homes while refusing to pay compensation. Father Erick and his parishioners, including many indigenous Mam people, have been very active in opposing this mine – this Monday he will share his first-hand experience with us.
We will also show part of the documentary, the Business of Gold, which chronicles the resistance of the people of San Miguel.
This event takes place in advance of the LatAm Mining Congress, where representatives of Goldcorp and other mining companies with bad reputations will meet in Miami, April 28-30.
www.StopLatMining.info
For more information, contact Lynne at lynnejpurvis@gmail.com or 561-588-9666
Monday, April 19, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Letter from planner/land use lawyer Andrew Dickman supporting Amendment 4
Dear Friends:
After a lot of thought and soul searching, I have decided to publicly support “Amendment 4” sponsored by the grassroots organization called “Florida Hometown Democracy.” I normally don’t use this type of mass emailing, but I feel so strongly about this issue - one I have spent the last 20 years of my life working on – that I want you to understand Amendment 4. If you want off this list, just send me an email.
Amendment 4 is a ballot question that will be presented to Florida voters on Election Day this November 2010. This is a ballot question asking voters if they want to amend the State’s constitution so that local governments can change their long-range future land use plan only after a vote of the electors affected by that change. Currently those decisions are left up to your city and county elected officials.
In 1985, the Florida Legislature adopted what became know as the “Growth Management Act.” The general purpose of this Act was 1) to make all cities and counties prepare and obey comprehensive plans to control how and where future development would occur, and 2) to ensure that the public “participate to the fullest extent possible.” The idea was that planned growth would stop or slow suburban sprawl, protect important environmental resources, and help make our communities more livable and sustainable. The other idea was that citizens would get a significant role in how these decisions are made.
Twenty-five years later the State is a mess and citizens have no meaningful role other than a few minutes to speak to their local elected officials at the public hearing when future land use changes are made. Developers and their team of lawyers, lobbyists and experts almost always get their way, and, meanwhile, trust in the government approving these developments is at an all-time low. Simply put: the system is broken.
My family has lived in Florida for generations; I’m a certified planner, an attorney, and I have watched hundreds of amendments to the future land use plan get approved which collectively are ruining what I love about this state. It literally sickens me. In my view, the only solution is to balance the decision-making power between the developers, the local government, and the people. Amendment 4 will do this.
...
The opposition is mounting an elaborate campaign against Amendment 4 which is based exclusively on fear and speculation, not facts. As Election Day approaches, more and more of these kinds of fear-based messages will get targeted at you.
Developers and the indirect industries that rely on unfettered sprawl into rural and agriculture lands will stop at nothing to continue the status quo, even though every study since 1985 has documents that we have allocated so much land for future growth that it will take decades to build out. Yet local future land use plans continue to be amended all the time for more houses and strip malls, the cost of which to extend roads and schools to those locations are borne by the entire community. This is NOT growth management. In my view, the only way to instill fairness into this process is through Amendment 4 – give voters the opportunity to decide if their future land use plan should be changed.
I realize Amendment 4 is a significant change to the current system. But the current system has done NOTHING to protect natural resources, NOTHING to stop private condos from replacing recreational and working waterfronts, NOTHING to stop new incompatible developments from encroaching on existing neighborhoods, or NOTHING to build a broader economic base that isn’t vulnerable to the boom-bust real estate cycles. Florida, I have concluded, simply cannot wait for developers and elected officials to recognize the harm they are causing.
Once again, please visit the Florida Hometown Democracy website and get involved. But most importantly, vote for Amendment 4!
Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further and share this email with others as you see fit.
Cordially,
Andrew Dickman, AICP, Esq.
LAW OFFICES OF
ANDREW DICKMAN, P.A.
Miami - T: (305) 758-3621 F: (305) 758-0508
Naples - T: (239) 434-0840 F: (239) 434-0940
P.O. Box 771390, Naples, FL 34107-1390
www.andrewdickman.us
After a lot of thought and soul searching, I have decided to publicly support “Amendment 4” sponsored by the grassroots organization called “Florida Hometown Democracy.” I normally don’t use this type of mass emailing, but I feel so strongly about this issue - one I have spent the last 20 years of my life working on – that I want you to understand Amendment 4. If you want off this list, just send me an email.
Amendment 4 is a ballot question that will be presented to Florida voters on Election Day this November 2010. This is a ballot question asking voters if they want to amend the State’s constitution so that local governments can change their long-range future land use plan only after a vote of the electors affected by that change. Currently those decisions are left up to your city and county elected officials.
In 1985, the Florida Legislature adopted what became know as the “Growth Management Act.” The general purpose of this Act was 1) to make all cities and counties prepare and obey comprehensive plans to control how and where future development would occur, and 2) to ensure that the public “participate to the fullest extent possible.” The idea was that planned growth would stop or slow suburban sprawl, protect important environmental resources, and help make our communities more livable and sustainable. The other idea was that citizens would get a significant role in how these decisions are made.
Twenty-five years later the State is a mess and citizens have no meaningful role other than a few minutes to speak to their local elected officials at the public hearing when future land use changes are made. Developers and their team of lawyers, lobbyists and experts almost always get their way, and, meanwhile, trust in the government approving these developments is at an all-time low. Simply put: the system is broken.
My family has lived in Florida for generations; I’m a certified planner, an attorney, and I have watched hundreds of amendments to the future land use plan get approved which collectively are ruining what I love about this state. It literally sickens me. In my view, the only solution is to balance the decision-making power between the developers, the local government, and the people. Amendment 4 will do this.
...
The opposition is mounting an elaborate campaign against Amendment 4 which is based exclusively on fear and speculation, not facts. As Election Day approaches, more and more of these kinds of fear-based messages will get targeted at you.
Developers and the indirect industries that rely on unfettered sprawl into rural and agriculture lands will stop at nothing to continue the status quo, even though every study since 1985 has documents that we have allocated so much land for future growth that it will take decades to build out. Yet local future land use plans continue to be amended all the time for more houses and strip malls, the cost of which to extend roads and schools to those locations are borne by the entire community. This is NOT growth management. In my view, the only way to instill fairness into this process is through Amendment 4 – give voters the opportunity to decide if their future land use plan should be changed.
I realize Amendment 4 is a significant change to the current system. But the current system has done NOTHING to protect natural resources, NOTHING to stop private condos from replacing recreational and working waterfronts, NOTHING to stop new incompatible developments from encroaching on existing neighborhoods, or NOTHING to build a broader economic base that isn’t vulnerable to the boom-bust real estate cycles. Florida, I have concluded, simply cannot wait for developers and elected officials to recognize the harm they are causing.
Once again, please visit the Florida Hometown Democracy website and get involved. But most importantly, vote for Amendment 4!
Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this further and share this email with others as you see fit.
Cordially,
Andrew Dickman, AICP, Esq.
LAW OFFICES OF
ANDREW DICKMAN, P.A.
Miami - T: (305) 758-3621 F: (305) 758-0508
Naples - T: (239) 434-0840 F: (239) 434-0940
P.O. Box 771390, Naples, FL 34107-1390
www.andrewdickman.us
Thursday, April 1, 2010
From Mecca to Briger, Scripps Biotech has been a bad neighbor to the greater Everglades bioregion
[Open letter to the environmental community of South Florida]
Hey folks,
Many of us stood together against the threat of Scripps Biotech development on Mecca Farms 5 years ago.. and we won that battle. But the fight to protect what's left of Florida's unique ecosystems and the endangered quality of life in our communities still continues on today.
In the past several years, we have made great strides in exposing developer greed, political corruption, and it's ecological impacts here in the greater Everglades bioregion. While the Briger Tract proposal for Scripps is smaller than the Mecca/Vavrus plan, it is the same Chamber of Commerce-lead Trojan Horse, intended to bust open one of the last, large forested places east of I-95 in south Florida. In fact, the site represents a habitat type even more threatened than what we fought for on Mecca Farms and its immediate surroundings.
The Scripps Phase II/Briger proposal is requiring a Comprehensive Plan change from Palm Beach Gardens tonite to invite Scripps and 682 acres of 'ancillary development'. We feel it is clear under County, State and Federal law, that the site should be subject to a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Our simple request is that all involved Agencies and Governing Bodies, including the Palm Beach Gardens, acknowledge and honor that process.
I hope to see all those concerned with the rare habitats of south Florida out in Gardens with us tonite.
Everyone should be able to down load or view our recent report about Briger online here:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6TlWTWa1h34Yzk5NWM3OGQtMjZjZi00ZTQ2LTlmYjQtY2FkNWEyNDBjNjg5&hl=en
Hopefully it will help inform and inspire your public comments for tonite.
Our plan for today is as follows:
-6pm protest at PBG City Commission (Military and PBG Blvd)
-7pm Hearing.. Please be there promptly, and plan to stay a while. It is a quasi-judicial hearing, so all who swear in will have the right to speak and cross-examine witnesses.
The report linked here is what we have been working on all month. After tonight, perhaps we can schedule a time to all take a hike and show more folks first hand what we have been documenting. As deeply impacted the area is by development, it is still very beautiful and impressively biodiverse out there.
We have attached some of our favorite photos of the site in the above link, including an endangered Hand Fern on the Briger forest (one of over 55 spotted by our citizen surveyors), to show images of what we are fighting over. aside from its inherent value as a rare species on the brink of extinction, the fern is a very attractive plant as well.
-panagioti tsolkas
co-chair, PBCEC
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Environmental groups call for a halt to the Juno Beach nourishment project in the wake of Leatherback sea turtle death
Press Release
March 11, 2010 - Juno Beach, FL
Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Reef Rescue, Cry of the Water and a host of sea turtle conservation groups sent a join letter today to the US Army Corp of Engineers requesting an investigation into the death of an adult male leatherback sea turtle and asking that dredging in the area be suspended until turtle safeguards are implemented.
On March 9, 2010 the dive charter boat Narcosis responded to reports of an adult male leatherback sea turtle floating on the surface next to the dredge borrow area for the Juno beach nourishment project. The Narcosis crew arrived on-scene accompanied by a Florida Law Enforcement vessel. Due to the size of the turtle, estimated to weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, it could not be lifted onboard. Narcosis lashed the turtle to the stern and towed it to the Riviera Beach Marina where FWC took possession. The turtle was placed in a FWC truck with a forklift provided by marina staff. The turtle was transported to the University of Florida in Gainesville where a necropsy will be performed. There was no immediate evidence as to the cause of death, but blood was observed on the face of the turtle.
The location of the dead turtle next to the Juno dredge area raises concern
An apparently healthy adult male leatherback turtle found dead next to the dredge area causes the environmental groups to strongly suspect the dredge likely had a role to play in the turtle’s demise. On January 8, 2010 a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle was killed by the dredge in the same area prompting a shutdown of the project while a faulty turtle exclusion devise was repaired. “This well may be the second turtle killed in connection with the project that we are aware of “said Ed Tichenor, director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue whose volunteers documented the recovery of the leatherback.
Little protection afforded for endangered sea turtles congregating offshore during breeding season
March 1 marks the beginning of turtle nesting season in Palm Beach County and beachfront residents are required to turn off lights or face penalties. However, the Juno project has been allowed to continue beyond March 1. The project which is months behind schedule and less than half completed is not expected to end until mid-April at the earliest. According to the permit issued for the Juno project increased beach patrols and nest relocation are added requirements the contractor must meet to protect nesting females after March 1. But according to the environmental groups these conditions are inadequate to protect male turtles (which do not come ashore) and females congregated in the nearshore environment during the day. In fact, sea turtles during the breeding season spend the majority of time in the coastal waters where they become vulnerable to dredging activities.
Link to US Army Corp of Engineers letter from environmental groups with attachments:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28204519
Link to leatherback turtle recovery photo slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W3Nn3R7v4E
###
Palm Beach County
REEF RESCUE
Boynton Beach, Florida 33425
(561) 699-8559
Email: etichscuba@aol.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
March 11, 2010 - Juno Beach, FL
Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Reef Rescue, Cry of the Water and a host of sea turtle conservation groups sent a join letter today to the US Army Corp of Engineers requesting an investigation into the death of an adult male leatherback sea turtle and asking that dredging in the area be suspended until turtle safeguards are implemented.
On March 9, 2010 the dive charter boat Narcosis responded to reports of an adult male leatherback sea turtle floating on the surface next to the dredge borrow area for the Juno beach nourishment project. The Narcosis crew arrived on-scene accompanied by a Florida Law Enforcement vessel. Due to the size of the turtle, estimated to weigh as much as 1,000 pounds, it could not be lifted onboard. Narcosis lashed the turtle to the stern and towed it to the Riviera Beach Marina where FWC took possession. The turtle was placed in a FWC truck with a forklift provided by marina staff. The turtle was transported to the University of Florida in Gainesville where a necropsy will be performed. There was no immediate evidence as to the cause of death, but blood was observed on the face of the turtle.
The location of the dead turtle next to the Juno dredge area raises concern
An apparently healthy adult male leatherback turtle found dead next to the dredge area causes the environmental groups to strongly suspect the dredge likely had a role to play in the turtle’s demise. On January 8, 2010 a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle was killed by the dredge in the same area prompting a shutdown of the project while a faulty turtle exclusion devise was repaired. “This well may be the second turtle killed in connection with the project that we are aware of “said Ed Tichenor, director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue whose volunteers documented the recovery of the leatherback.
Little protection afforded for endangered sea turtles congregating offshore during breeding season
March 1 marks the beginning of turtle nesting season in Palm Beach County and beachfront residents are required to turn off lights or face penalties. However, the Juno project has been allowed to continue beyond March 1. The project which is months behind schedule and less than half completed is not expected to end until mid-April at the earliest. According to the permit issued for the Juno project increased beach patrols and nest relocation are added requirements the contractor must meet to protect nesting females after March 1. But according to the environmental groups these conditions are inadequate to protect male turtles (which do not come ashore) and females congregated in the nearshore environment during the day. In fact, sea turtles during the breeding season spend the majority of time in the coastal waters where they become vulnerable to dredging activities.
Link to US Army Corp of Engineers letter from environmental groups with attachments:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28204519
Link to leatherback turtle recovery photo slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W3Nn3R7v4E
###
Palm Beach County
REEF RESCUE
Boynton Beach, Florida 33425
(561) 699-8559
Email: etichscuba@aol.com
____________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Environmental Racism and Environmentalist Solidarity in Palm Beach County
Hey all,
Below are recent links to some of the work that the PBCEC has been doing in solidarity with community activists in Riviera Beach and Lake Worth regarding environmental justice issues. Please feel free to pass them along. It would also be nice to see support through positive comments after the articles, if you have a minute to type a note.
While these issues are huge problems, we recognize that they are only skimming the surface of environmental racism in Palm Beach County, which is rooted firmly in the racist policies that resulted in a war to steal this land from Seminole communities 200 years ago.
It's time for a unified movement to address the these concerns and change the foundation of a society that is built on greed and racism.
-Panagioti Tsolkas
PBCEC co-chair
News on Riviera Beach FPL power plant
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2010/01/fpl_plant_deals_dirty_on_the_r.php
News on dirty waste Plant in Lake Worth's Osborne community:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/recycling-plant-county-vow-to-look-into-complaints-261853.html?showComments=true&postingId=271424#commentsList
Here is a video from the joint Riviera Beach Civic Association/PBCEC meeting:
http://www.wptv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=17313@wp
These are the original 17 principles of Environmental Justice from the 1991 conference:
http://www.ejnet.org/ej/principles.html
Info on Environmental Justice and federal law (NEPA):
http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ej/justice.pdf
Below are recent links to some of the work that the PBCEC has been doing in solidarity with community activists in Riviera Beach and Lake Worth regarding environmental justice issues. Please feel free to pass them along. It would also be nice to see support through positive comments after the articles, if you have a minute to type a note.
While these issues are huge problems, we recognize that they are only skimming the surface of environmental racism in Palm Beach County, which is rooted firmly in the racist policies that resulted in a war to steal this land from Seminole communities 200 years ago.
It's time for a unified movement to address the these concerns and change the foundation of a society that is built on greed and racism.
-Panagioti Tsolkas
PBCEC co-chair
News on Riviera Beach FPL power plant
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2010/01/fpl_plant_deals_dirty_on_the_r.php
News on dirty waste Plant in Lake Worth's Osborne community:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/recycling-plant-county-vow-to-look-into-complaints-261853.html?showComments=true&postingId=271424#commentsList
Here is a video from the joint Riviera Beach Civic Association/PBCEC meeting:
http://www.wptv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=17313@wp
These are the original 17 principles of Environmental Justice from the 1991 conference:
http://www.ejnet.org/ej/principles.html
Info on Environmental Justice and federal law (NEPA):
http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ej/justice.pdf
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