Latest news with #FloridaParkService
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawsuit: DeSantis administration retaliated after leaked development plans for state parks
A new lawsuit alleges that Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration last summer worked to keep secret a plan to build golf courses, pickleball courts and luxury hotels at nine state parks. The suit, filed in Leon County by whistleblower James Gaddis, includes details of how public protests sent the Florida Park Service's Office of Planning scrambling to rush approval of new rules to allow such development at all of the state's 175 parks. It says Gaddis was the victim of "retaliation" by DeSantis, former Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Shawn Hamilton and the department's human resources director, Jake Vick. He seeks damages of at least $100,000, among other things. Gaddis was a park planning consultant, fired last August after he leaked details of the Great Outdoors Initiative – a plan to build lodges, tennis courts, flying disc courses and other amenities at state parks. Public outrage over the proposal led the Legislature earlier this year to unanimously pass a new park protection law that DeSantis signed in May. In his complaint, Gaddis – represented by Tallahassee civil-rights attorney Marie Mattox – says he was wrongfully terminated after he wrote a letter exposing plans for the 'destruction of state parks throughout Florida.' He's protected under the state's whistleblower law, his suit says, because he "reported and disclosed violations of rules, regulations and laws, and/or malfeasance, misfeasance and/or gross misconduct to persons both inside and outside of his normal chain of command ...." A complaint in a lawsuit tells one side of a story. A DEP spokesperson said the state agency is unable to comment on pending litigation. Gaddis said he was tasked with creating 'secret maps' in August 2024 for development that he says would have destroyed 'globally significant' habitats. When given an assignment to transform 1,000 acres of scrubland in Jonathan Dickinson State Park into three golf courses, he alleges, the instructions included 'not talk to any colleagues about these plans.' Two weeks into the job, he 'felt as if he was mapping out a future crime scene,' according to the complaint. Gaddis admits he loaded maps and documents, including an explanatory memo, onto a flash drive. He passed it to an unnamed intermediary, who then gave the information to reporters. After the Tampa Bay Times broke news of the initiative, public protests swept the state and DeSantis pulled the idea from consideration. And in the face of those protests, Gaddis' suit describes a state agency in "a panic." He says Assistant Park Service Director Danielle Terrell on Aug. 14 told staff how DEP intended to get rules and plans for the Great Outdoors Initiative approved by the end of the month. The plan involved in a flurry of activity, including maps and drafts of proposed new rules to be released Aug. 26, required public hearings for the new rules to allow development on Aug. 27, and eight public hearings to be held starting Aug. 27. Staff was not to answer questions from an 'angry mob,' the complaint says, and to 'record feedback.' But the public hearings were cancelled Aug. 25 and DeSantis later dismissed the development plans as 'not ready for prime time.' Gaddis says Vick confronted him with the memo that accompanied the maps and documents that made public DEP's plans. In a recorded meeting, Gaddis admitted he wrote the memo, expressed no regrets and immediately went on administrative leave. The next day, Gaddis received a letter of termination that said he had 'intentionally released unauthorized and inaccurate information to the public.' He now says his firing was retaliation and prohibited by Florida law. The suit also seeks injunctive relief that includes Gaddis' reinstatement as a park planner, a court order mandating that DEP obey state employment laws, and an order for DEP to pay all of Gaddis' attorney fees and court costs. After his firing, Gaddis set up a GoFundMe with an initial fundraising goal of $10,000. As of June 11, he had raised nearly $258,000. His next professional goal is to make "high-quality maps of conservation lands within the State of Florida, which has given me so much to be thankful for," he wrote on his GoFundMe page. "Once I am further along with next professional steps, I will be ready to explore my options with respect to giving back and advocating for additional conservation of Florida's wild spaces, which is especially critical as our state's population continues to increase." James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@ and is on X as @CallTallahassee. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis named in lawsuit over 'secret' plan to develop Florida parks
Miami Herald
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘Cherished' 3-ton animal featured in movies dies at Florida wildlife park at 65
A beloved and massive 65-year-old animal — the oldest of his kind in the Americas — living out his days at a Florida wildlife park has died. Lu the African hippopotamus was known for his 'calm presence and gentle personality' that drew in visitors at the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park for decades, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said. While he attracted a following at the central Florida wildlife park, he starred on the silver screen as well, featuring in movies and TV shows from the 1960s such as 'Daktari,' 'Cowboy in Africa,' the 'Art Linkletter Show' and the 'Herb Albert Special,' according to park officials. 'For more than 60 years, Lu was not just an animal in the park; he was a friend, a fixture and a treasured member of the community,' according to a statement on the Florida State Parks website. 'Children grew up visiting him, and many returned as adults with children of their own to say hello to the gentle giant.' The hippo was so beloved that when the Florida Park Service bought the property in 1989 and planned to rehome the exotic species living there, public support led to the governor making Lu a Florida citizen, helping him stay at his longtime home. He was born at the San Diego Zoo in January 1960, making him the oldest hippo in North and South America at the time of his death, according to Florida State Parks. Longtime park visitors recalled their years of experiences with the 'cherished' 3-ton hippo, who was also known for flinging poop at those who got too close. 'He was an icon that will be greatly missed at the park,' one visitor wrote on Facebook. 'I've been going to the park for over 50 years and he's always been a favorite (all) these years.' Another visitor wrote she was 'devastated' by the news. 'I have been seeing this wonderful guy since I was a little girl and I'm almost in my 30's,' she wrote on Facebook. 'He lived a long life. He is forever loved by me and so many others.' The state park is in Citrus County, about a 70-mile drive north from Tampa.
