Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATTHEW BROWN (Associated Press)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday restored rules to protect imperiled species and shield their habitat from destruction after the measures were rolled back under former President Donald Trump.

Among the changes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for animals and plants newly classified as threatened. That means officials won’t have to craft specific plans to shield each individual species while protections are pending, as has been done recently with North American wolverines in the Rocky Mountains, alligator snapping turtles in the Southeast and spotted owls in California.

The restoration of more protective regulations rankled Republicans who said the Endangered Species Act was being wielded too broadly and to the detriment of economic growth. Meanwhile, wildlife advocates were only partially satisfied, saying some potentially harmful changes under Trump were untouched. read more

Sitting in front of a wall of wine and flanked by enormous wine bottles, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Thursday that permits the retail sale of much larger bottles of wine in Florida.

The measure was sponsored by state Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, and DeSantis signed it into law at a Fort Lauderdale wine store in LaMarca’s district.

LaMarca also said it never made sense to him to “criminalize” the sale of wine simply based on container size, adding that people should have the right to buy wine in the size bottles they want.

And, he said, there was a personal element as well.

“This is an Italian American-owned business, an Italian American governor, an Italian American state representative,” LaMarca said. “Wine is a big part of our culture, whether it’s the Italian side or the American side.”

New law

Current state law prohibits sale of wine in an individual container that holds more than one gallon, which is about 3.8 liters.

(It allows wine sales in reusable containers of 5.16 gallons. The limit doesn’t apply to sales between distributors and manufacturers.) read more

By LEA SKENE and BRIAN WITTE (Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore warned Thursday of a “very long road ahead” to recover from the loss of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge as the Biden administration approved $60 million in immediate federal aid after the deadly collapse.

Massive barges carrying cranes streamed toward the site to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete as a first step toward reopening a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage of the span.

Moore promised that “the best minds in the world” were working on plans to clear the debris, move the cargo ship that rammed into the bridge from the channel, recover the bodies of the four remaining workers presumed dead and investigate what went wrong.

“Government is working hand in hand with industry to investigate the area, including the wreck, and remove the ship,” said Moore, a Democrat, who said quick aid is needed to “lay the foundation for a rapid recovery.” President Joe Biden has pledged the federal government would pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge. read more