Waste and corruption are rampant in Florida

Since my arrival in Vero Beach six years ago, I have been amazed and disgusted by the corruption that is so rampant and open in Florida. Various authors (Carl Hiaasen, Tim Dorsey, etc.) have poked fun at this waste and corruption, and seemingly this was all the common man could do.

Environmentally, we’ve sat by and let “them” foul our drinking water, pollute our lakes and rivers, and kill off not only sea grass, but the fish that depend on it. And we’ve done this with the full knowledge that our state depends on its waters and beaches for the all-important tourist dollars. When we voted two years ago to supply funding to appropriate new lands to ameliorate these conditions, state agencies instead used those funds for staffing, new vehicles, and expenses. Happily, a judge has ruled that “the legislature has to comply with the law like everybody else.” But what happens in the appeals process when all the backroom “deals” are made?

Likewise, Class B biosolids (read, barely treated human and animal excrement) are dumped legally on farms so close to pristine environmental treasures (such as Blue Cypress Lake) that even the birds refuse to eat the fish from those polluted waters. Why Class B biosolids when Class A are fully treated?

In a state that has the highest numbers for both bicycle and pedestrian deaths in the country — and where texting while driving is still legal — I suppose I should not be surprised. Talk about corruption and backroom deals!

Wig Sherman, Vero Beach