Youth Assembly, SB 180, and more
- IRNA
- 18 hours ago
- 6 min read
August 29, 2026 Weekly Newsletter
Florida's Textbooks Went Quiet. The Lagoon Didn't.
In the summer of 2024, Florida's Department of Education asked science textbook publishers to soften how their books talk about climate change. WUSF and The Hechinger Report obtained the correspondence: in one marine science text, "climate change" became "changes in the environment." A line about climate-driven deaths worldwide was reduced to a vague statement about CO2 and human health. An environmental science publisher offered to cut a passage about the fossil fuel industry's political and economic power, and swapped a student reflection question about climate tipping points for one about local governments monitoring the atmosphere.
The reporting also found that the textbookss most likely to cover climate (environmental science, earth science, marine science) were approved at less than half the rate of other science books, and mostly got through only after edits. Meanwhile the state is rewriting its science standards, with no draft posted for public comment. Teachers interviewed described a "culture of caution," where nothing is formally banned but everything controversial is quietly discouraged.
When public institutions step back from teaching young people about the water and the coast they live on, the job doesn't disappear. It moves to the rest of us: to nonprofits, to volunteers, to the scientists and educators willing to show up on a Saturday.
On Saturday, September 12, the Marine Resources Council and the Environmental Learning Center are hosting the 2026 Youth Action Assembly at the ELC in Vero Beach, 8:30am to 5:00pm. It's free, and it's open to students in grades 6-12 who live, study, work, or spend time anywhere in the 156-mile Indian River Lagoon watershed.
IRNA is part of this team. Our Lagoon Committee Chair, Missy Weiss, sits on the 22nd Indian River Lagoon Steering Committee that shaped the day's program, alongside colleagues from MRC, the ELC, and Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School and more. We think it matters that a lagoon-wide youth program is being built by the same organizations doing the science and the advocacy, not by a committee in Tallahassee deciding what a Florida student is allowed to learn.
Students will learn about the lagoon's real problems (water quality, pollution sources, habitat loss), hear from working scientists and advocates, then break into small facilitated groups on pollution reduction, habitat restoration, community education, or policy. Each group builds a concrete action plan and presents it. Participants are asked to follow through on at least one item afterward.
No science background required. No prior activism required. Registration is open now, and sponsorships are available to keep the day free for every student who wants a seat. Share this info with a parent or youth who might be interested and help us pack the room!
The work that doesn't make the news (until it does)
An IRNA comment letter drove most of the discussion at the county commission's Aug. 18 hearing on Bluewater Bay, and there's a news article discussing it. We send a lot of letters and do a lot of advocacy but we don't always see news stories mentioning what we do. Thank you to Hometown News for highlighting it in the article.
As to the project in question, it is a 374-home project north of CR 510. The IRNA asked for things to be fixed first: when the road improvements actually get built and what secures them, a fair share section left blank, exhibits that weren't published with the agenda. Basic completeness questions.
Staff spent most of the hearing answering them. The county engineer allowed the improvement timing could be spelled out better and that the agreement can be amended to do it. Commissioner Joseph Earman said he wanted it cleaned up before the second reading. The developer's representative volunteered on the record to accept timing requirements on the traffic signal.
It passed 4-1 anyway, with Vice-Chairwoman Moss dissenting. What we got was a public record of what's missing and a commitment that wasn't in the document that morning. The second hearing will be in September.
PFAS Well Water Testing
IRNA is offering free, certified lab testing for PFAS ("forever chemicals") in private drinking water wells. Sign up, submit your water sample, and get your results, plus learn what they mean for your health.
We are especially searching for wells at or near Blue Cypress Lake, Fellsmere, Gifford, and Wabasso. There are only a few tests left! Reach out today!
Open to Indian River County home and business owners on private wells only (not connected to municipal water).
Questions? Contact Missy@IndianRiverNA.com
Florida's Senate Bill 180 was sold as hurricane recovery legislation, a way to keep local governments from moving the goalposts on homeowners trying to rebuild after a storm. What it actually does is bar cities and counties from adopting any development rule that's "more restrictive or burdensome" than what was already on the books, and the Legislature made that retroactive to August 2024. The freeze runs through at least August 2027 (and another hurricane before then could push it out another year).
The result has been a statewide rollback of local growth management. A DeSantis-appointed judge in Orange County just voided the county's vote to strip higher-density development rights from 1,300 acres of pasture, clearing the way for a nearly 2,000-home subdivision that commissioners had rejected. Palm Coast has been blocked from raising impact fees for roads, fire stations and parks. Edgewater has shelved a proposal requiring native plants in new landscaping. Treasure Island's city attorney is warning that a citizen ballot measure may be unenforceable. Surfside is settling lawsuits and letting builders proceed under the old rules rather than fight.
Lawmakers say the damage was unintentional, but they haven't fixed it. The Senate passed a repair bill this year and the House refused to take it up. Jason Garcia lays out the whole picture at Seeking Rents (click here for the full story).
Data center issues in Florida election clear out incumbents (TCPalm) - Voters in Indiantown removed three incumbent council members in favor of candidates skeptical of local data center development, prompting the immediate resignation of the village attorney.
Three Corners negotiations are extended 30 days (Vero News) - The City of Vero Beach has approved a second 30-day extension to allow developers additional time to review municipal markups and finalize the master development agreement for the 38-acre Three Corners waterfront project.
Humiston Park bids come in far below estimates (Vero News) - Contractor bids to rebuild the hurricane-damaged boardwalk at Humiston Park came in significantly under municipal estimates, leaving the City of Vero Beach fully funded to begin construction this fall.
IRC approves landmark Attainable Housing Trust (Hometown News) - The Indian River County Commission unanimously approved the creation of an Attainable Housing Trust to facilitate land acquisition, land banking, and partnerships using surplus county-owned land and diversified funding to expand local affordable housing.
Florida Amendment 3 vote could strip funding from kids' programs (TCPalm) - Proposed property tax relief under Florida's Amendment 3 threatens to eliminate millions of dollars in tax revenue that directly fund essential child care, early education, and maternal support programs across the Treasure Coast.
Science research students at Vero Beach High School are looking for expert advisors, and Dr. Nikki Mosblech is building a registry of people willing to help.
If you have professional or academic expertise in a scientific field (water quality, marine biology, engineering, health sciences, agriculture, statistics, anything a high schooler might build a research project around), you can sign up to be matched with a student who needs guidance on their study. Teachers and students will use the registry to find advisors whose background fits their topic.
This is a good fit for anyone in our world who has spent a career working on Indian River Lagoon or other water issues. Students doing serious research benefit enormously from someone who can tell them whether their methodology holds up, and the time commitment is generally modest.
To register, fill out the form here.Questions about the expert advisor registry can go to Nikki Mosblech at nicole.mosblech@indianriverschools.org.
Sebastian awards airport construction contract (Hometown News) - The Sebastian City Council unanimously approved an approximately $1 million construction contract funded primarily by federal and state grants to expand the local municipal airport's apron and double its aircraft parking capacity.
USA 250 women of the Treasure Coast, behind the story (TCPalm) - A retrospective highlights notable and influential women with ties to Florida's Treasure Coast who shaped local communities and made lasting contributions to the nation in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary.
Meet 'A Land Remembered's Nonfiction Cousin (Vero Minute) - Gregory Enns' book, Cow Creek Chronicles: The Rise and Fall of an Early Florida Cattle Ranch, chronicles the true history, culture, and frontier saga of an early Florida cattle ranch and its surrounding land between Fort Pierce and Okeechobee.
Florida tornado produces minor damage in Port St. Lucie (TCPalm) - A weak EF-0 tornado touched down in Port St. Lucie, traveling over two miles and causing minor structural damage to dozens of homes without inflicting any injuries.
Stuart Summer of Slime over, but St Lucie future uncertain (TCPalm) - Ed Killer reflects on the devastating environmental and economic toll of the 2016 toxic algae outbreak in the St. Lucie River while expressing optimism that extensive infrastructure repairs and updated Lake Okeechobee water management plans will help prevent future disasters.
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