Do Florida lawmakers want to make it harder to sue sugar farmers?
A state senator says environmentalists are misreading his bill. They say heâs responding to a recent lawsuit.
Â
Â
Updated Mar. 8
When sugar farmers burn the cane fields near her house, Debra Jones knows what to expect.
âYouâve got to sweep when itâs going, and it just bothers me breathing-wise,â she said, describing soot falling on cars and sidewalks in Pahokee. âIt comes down like black rain.â
Debra Jones, 65, of Pahokee. [ Photo courtesy The Berman Law Group ]
Jones, 65, is one of several residents suing sugar companies, arguing that the burning hurts their health and their properties. Her lawyers say Jonesâ family uses nebulizers to make breathing easier during the burning season.
Do Florida lawmakers want to make it harder to sue sugar farmers? msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Term: Until March 2024.
Salary: $20,869 for commissioners. Who ever is appointed vice mayor will be paid $21,562.
Belle Glade, a 6.9-square-mile city southeast of Lake Okeechobee, has an estimated 19,654 residents. It is overseen by five commission members who serve three-year terms. Three seats are up for election this year.
Seat C: Joaquin Almazan is running against Stephen Messam.
Seat D: Robert C. Mitchell is running against Mary Ross Wilkerson.
Seat E: Andrew Kenny Berry is running against Johnny Burroughs Jr.
About the races: Joaquin Almazan, vice president of Palm Beach County Democratic Party s Hispanic chapter, says supporting local business can close the racial wealth gap in the majority Black and Hispanic city. He is endorsed by the Palm Beach County firefighters union the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast AFL-CIO.
Calling it "unacceptable" and "unconscionable," the mayors of three western Palm Beach County cities are urging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to find a more convenient way to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine than through Publix.