Local

Walking along a wooden path winding through Nease Beachfront Park in St. Augustine, Danny Lippi pointed to coastal trees sprouting from the shrubbery around him. The exotic species were brought here by warming temperatures — bringing business opportunities for the local arborist.

Georgia has issued more than 200 coastal swimming advisories since 2007. Some beaches are so perpetually polluted, they carry permanent warnings.

South Carolina - Officials in the Town of Pawleys Island say the latest beach renourishment project is on track and that crews should begin placing sand on the beach this fall.

WESTPORT, Mass. (WJAR) — Officials in Westport are drawing a line in the sand when it comes to people taking rocks off the town’s beaches. If you’re caught, it could cost you hundreds of dollars.

CLEARWATER — Hank Hodde will become Pinellas County’s new Sustainability and Resilience Coordinator in July

Straw banners have sucked victory from the jaws of defeat.

MILTON — At the April 11 commission regular meeting, the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners proposed amendments to the initial multi-year implementation plan that was accepted by the U.S. Treasury in May 2017.

BOGUE BANKS, BEAUFORT — The summer tourism season is almost here, and several towns in Carteret County are preparing their paid parking programs.

SEATTLE - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed several bills Wednesday designed to help the Pacific Northwest’s endangered orcas, measures that he said gave him hope the species might be saved.

CCA-Louisiana, volunteers continue Floating Islands Restoration Project

In 2018, sewer lines across Greensboro released more than 3.5 million gallons of untreated sewage onto roads and into waterways.

FLORIDA - In the April 2 St. Johns County Commission meeting, the Board of County Commissioners decided to move forward with a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for a paid parking program for off-beach parking lots. Based on the community feedback and public comment, however, county staff has a difficult task ahead with balancing the area’s expectations and limited resources.

KEY BISCAYNE FLORIDA - In another step toward burying power lines, Key Biscayne Village Manager Andrea Agha is asking the Village Council to approve a formal resolution of “intent” to borrow up to $50 million for the project through a bond issue.

Coastal Alabama leaders are joining up in opposition over two pieces of legislation that would remove cities from enforcing plastics.

Florida: The St. Johns County Commission made a move toward implementing a paid parking program for off-beach lots, but the final decision is yet to come.

A proposal to help fund beach renourishment by charging a parking fee at Pawleys Island (South Carolina) beach accesses narrowly survived a vote to kill the idea. The town’s ad hoc finance committee this week deadlocked on a motion to drop the proposed fee from its recommendation to Town Council.

The Naples City Council agreed Wednesday to spend the nearly $26 million it expects to receive from the Collier County sales tax increase on preparing for the next big hurricane and improving safety.

Nationwide, communities are becoming cognizant of the need to plan for the impacts of climate change, but too often, they aren’t sure how to implement climate adaptation plans, particularly in smaller, rural areas with fewer resources, according to officials at a climate leadership conference.

The Captiva Erosion Prevention District's board continued to discuss the proposed apportionment methodology for the island's 2020-2021 beach renourishment project at its regular meeting.

New Jersey - Little Egg Harbor Township ( Ocean County, New Jersey) held a special meeting March 15 with Mystic Island residents who live on the waterfront east of Radio Road. The township has seen the success of dredging Osborn Island lagoons through use of a special assessment levied on those waterfront dwellers and is now extending the question to the 526 property owners on 12 lagoons that lead to Rose Creek.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)

Local funds will match state, federal grants for S. Ponte Vedra, Vilano Beach

In some ways, Miami Beach is lucky. With high real estate prices and millions in tax revenue from a robust tourist trade, the city has been able to cobble together funds to wage its war with the sea in a way that poorer ones must envy. Under Gelber, it recently appropriated another $140 million, bringing the total program budget to $650 million.

The St. Johns County Tourist Development Council (TDC) and County Commission will look at possible changes to the amount and structure of the county’s tourist development tax.

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. - Paid parking has become a hot topic in many coastal communities from St Augustine Beach up to Neptune Beach.

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Visit South Walton has already started renovating five beach access points and adding three new ones.

Interstate 73 isn’t off the map, Myrtle Beach City Council said as it sped into the final reading of a tax and fee re-allocation ordinance package.

MANATEE -- As government officials began the annual budget process, the wish list for improvements across Manatee County ballooned quickly, prompting an inquiry into an untapped source of revenue — paid beach parking.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -(WMBF) - Three coastal cities have taken the initial steps to stop Horry County from collecting a 1.5 percent hospitality fee from inside city limits. The hospitality fee is collected on prepared meals, admission and accommodations.

RALEIGH – For coastal North Carolina, where many communities are still reeling from the effects of last year’s storms, the top local requests for help from the General Assembly so far fall in two interrelated categories: sand and money.

OAK ISLAND, NC (WECT) - About 130 people packed Oak Island Town Hall on Tuesday night for a special meeting with most in attendance to discuss the debate over whether the town should implement paid parking by the beach.

Residents heard an update on the county's 1-cent sales tax

There are growing concerns about both the safety and proliferation of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller.