TALLAHASSEE -- Claiming that Florida isn't doing enough to clean up the state's polluted waters, a coalition of environmental groups has filed suit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency, saying it should do more to make Florida comply with the Clean Water Act.

Environmental activist Linda Young, along with the Florida Public Interest Research Group, Save Our Suwannee, Friends of Saint Sebastian River and the Sierra Club, say the state is bending the rules set out by the Clean Water Act 30 years ago. The EPA is supposed to enforce the act.

The groups filed suit this week in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. They say the state bowed to polluters, including power companies, paper mills, chemical companies and sewer plant operators, and loosened rules that protect waterways from further pollution.

Some polluted waterways, they said, were pulled off a list of officially "impaired" waters simply because the state didn't have good test results, not because the waters have become cleaner.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Sparks said the state hasn't seen the suit, but the agency has defended its position in the past. DEP officials say they are setting priorities for cleaning the state's polluted water bodies more efficiently, and using sound science to do it.

Murder defendant barred from court over behavior

BARTOW -- When Lance Sheffield's first-degree murder trial begins today, he won't be in court and may not have an attorney there defending him.

Polk Circuit Judge Charles Brown barred Sheffield, 21, from the courthouse Tuesday and acquiesced to a request from the Public Defender's Office to withdraw from the case after Sheffield urinated on the pants leg of Assistant Public Defender Mel McKinley.

"I'm off the case. I won't do it anymore," an enraged McKinley told Brown. "I'm not going to continue to be humiliated like this."

Though Sheffield has not asked to represent himself, Brown ruled that he effectively did so by refusing to cooperate with any attorney assigned to his case and also had waived his right to be present in the courtroom.

Brown said he hopes to persuade a private attorney to serve as a "friend of the court" to ensure Sheffield's rights are not violated.

Sheffield is charged in the April 2000 fatal shooting of Victor Hood, a 53-year-old Amtrak employee killed during a robbery attempt outside a Winter Haven bar.

On Monday, with jury selection scheduled to begin, Sheffield refused to dress for court. Instead, he defecated on a holding cell floor and smeared himself and the walls with feces.

Man teens allegedly beat is released from hospital

LAKELAND -- A 25-year-old Lakeland man found beaten in the trunk of a car in Pinellas County has been released from Northside Hospital but is still in poor condition, authorities said.

Two teens were arrested on charges of trying to kill Mark Anthony Rivera on Nov. 25. They told deputies Rivera had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old female friend.

Deputies are investigating the sexual assault allegation, Polk sheriff's Capt. Joe Halman Jr. said Tuesday.

James Huggins, 18, of St. Petersburg, and Brian Wood, 17, of Pinellas Park, jailed in Polk County, also are charged with kidnapping, burglary and battery.

Bones at Miami Circle suggest decapitations

MIAMI -- Scientists have found two human bones among the Indian ruins recovered from a downtown Miami site, an indication that decapitations may have occurred in the area.

The two bones, both vertebra, which were found in the 38-foot Miami Circle at the mouth of the Miami River, support a theory that severed heads may have been placed toward the water to scare off possible enemies.

"It kind of takes the warm, fuzzy aspect out of the circle," said archaeologist David Carr, who helped discover the area in 1998.

The Miami Circle is believed to have been carved by Tequesta Indians more than 2,000 years ago. It was found during a predevelopment examination by archaeologists, on ground that was supposed to be the site of an apartment building.

Centuries-old Indian artifacts, including pottery, cutting devices, hair pins and other materials, have been recovered from the area and are on display at the Historical Museum of South Florida.

The land was purchased for $26.7-million by the state and Miami-Dade County, ensuring that it would not be built upon.

Widow accepts settlement in air controllers' mixup

SARASOTA -- The widow of a novice pilot killed during instruction when two small planes collided nearly three years ago has accepted a $1.4-million settlement, ending her lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration.

Shirley Heffner, 77, originally filed a $30-million claim against the FAA, which was found liable for the March 9, 2000, crash because two air traffic controllers at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport were at fault for not keeping the two planes farther apart on the same runway.

Charlie Heffner, 80, was among four people killed in the accident. He was cleared for takeoff by controllers, who then cleared another nearby plane six seconds later. That plane rolled into Heffner's path, and flames engulfed both planes following the collision.

The FAA is also being sued by the families of the other three crash victims: Lori Lynn Bahrenburg, 26, Charlie Heffner's flight instructor; and the occupants of the other plane, Julius Taubman, 81, and David Mouckley, 74.

Gulf Coast university president gets hefty raise

FORT MYERS -- The president of Florida Gulf Coast University has been awarded a 30 percent raise by the board of trustees.

William Merwin's salary is now $240,000, up from $184,705. The school also provides him with a residence, a car for official business, a $25,000 business expense account and a $4,000 official travel allowance for his wife. His contract runs through June 2005.

Back to State news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk