We are witnessing the death of our entire ecosystem. First to die were the fish: smaller fish first then medium sized and all the way up to 250 lb Goliath Groupers. (Endangered) Then went the endangered sea turtles: first the newly hatched babies and now the adults. Then the sharks began to die: from harmless nurse sharks all the way up to whale sharks. (1st ever recorded whale shark to die from this.) Then the manatees started dying: another of our endangered species. (With the body count nearing the thousand's.) Now the dolphins are washing up on shore and the birds have disappeared. The convergence of four unique harmful blooms, including the deadly Cyanobacteria resulting from unfiltered toxic water being released en masse into the ocean from Lake Okeechobee, are killing Florida’s endangered coastal marine life, including large mammals, faster than the bulldozers can haul away the endless mountains of dead carcasses lining the beaches that reappear daily for hundreds of miles. We demand that Governor Rick Scott take immediate and drastic action to ensure this #ToxicTide never happens again.  Sign and share today to tell Governor Scott to join 22 other states in creating an action plan to tackle harmful blooms. We are witnessing the collapse of our entire ecosystem and we will not sit idly by and do nothing, so today we stand together and fight back to #SaveFL! We fight back for our fish. We fight back for our manatees. We fight back for our dolphins. We fight back for our turtles. We fight back for our families. We fight back for our way of health and our way of life. Today we say ‘No More Death’ and we fight back to #SaveFL from the #ToxicTide! Many reports claim that this is merely a naturally occurring Red Tide, that it’s not a serious public safety issue and that it has nothing to do with human pollution – this is false. The government and some media outlets are trying to sweep this under the rug and lull you into a false sense of safety.  In reality, we are under attack from four unique blooms, two of which are toxic: Red Tide, Cyanobacteria, Brown Seaweed and Red Seaweed. These combine to create the perfect recipe for the toxic soup that is decimating our marine life, sending people to the hospital, causing permanent neurological and immunological damage to many of our most vulnerable loved ones, and causing human death in some instances.  Conditions are so dangerous and critical that Governor Rick Scott issued a State of Emergency to attempt to “combat” the toxic blooms. However, declaring a State of Emergency does nothing to address the root issues of agricultural runoff from Florida’s Big Sugar industry, Radioactive Phosphorus Mining, lack of oversight for septic-tank use, fertilizer use by resorts and golf courses, and the warming waters of climate change (a term Governor Rick Scott banned government employees and agencies from using) contributing to this life-threatening situation. That is why Governor Scott needs to follow the lead of 22 other states, like New York and Michigan, by creating an immediate action plan to address the destruction of our environment and mitigate the causes of toxic blooms in Florida’s priority waterbodies.  The State of Emergency temporarily halted the release of water from Lake Okeechobee, but that only lasted until people changed the channel. The toxic water releases began again to the tune of 1 billion gallons a day refueling the #ToxicTide as it continues to spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast, creating a massive Dead Zone that will likely take the better part of this century to heal.  On Sanibel Island beach alone, as of 8/12/18 they have collected over 276 TONS of dead marine life in just under two weeks. This is one of hundreds of such beaches. For the future health of Florida’s marine life and residents, sign and share today to tell Governor Scott to act now to establish an action plan for harmful toxic blooms. WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN!  Please fight back by signing and spread the message far and wide so the world can see what’s happening and then join us on social media for a front row seat to the legal showdown. @FLNaturekeepers across all platforms.

This is regarding a video circulating the internet, where a group of individuals traveling at high speed on the water dragged a shark around and laughed at its distress.  This sociopathic behavior demands attention and prevention. This act of violence was in fact a criminal act. We as the people summon Palmetto, FL man Michael Robert Wenzel, born June 07, 1996, and his accomplices in this video to 1,000 community service hours. These 1,000 community service hours will be held under the supervision of The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  They will use that time to teach these men to treat our Florida wildlife with respect. Scheduling may involve either 125 days lasting 8 hours long, or as determined the FWC, given that it equals 1,000 hours and is completed within a year. Wenzel and his accomplices will pay for any costs associated. This may include hiring outside trainers and educators, on-the-clock hours, gasoline expenses, etc. We also demand that everyone in this video has their fishing licenses revoked permanently. We the people also request that Florida lawmakers pass a bill making this kind of animal torture a second-degree felony. We also demand that these people be punished for their crimes of animal abuse. This punishment should consist of jail time in addition to community service. [ Updates - 28 July, 2017 ] This act of violence is criminal per the Florida statute Chapter 828. We expect charges to be pressed as per law. The public is growing more concerned as no charges have been pressed yet. 828.12 section 2 states that a person who intentionally commits an act to any animal which results in the cruel death, or excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering, or causes the same to be done, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. s. 775.082 covers a wide variety of punishments, including imprisonment. We the people demand that Michael Wenzel and his accomplices be charged with animal abuse and arrested. The delay in action is causing the public to lose faith in the justice system. We expect to see these men arrested for crimes they have committed. Hyperlink - reference to story: http://wtfflorida.com/news-articles/boaters-drag-tormented-shark-around-laughing/

After hatching, baby sea turtles head to the brightest light they see. Under normal conditions this instinct directs them to the moon which in turn leads the turtles to the ocean. However, artificial lights (Light Pollution) from beachfront houses will confuse the turtles and cause them to head in the wrong direction. When these turtles head away from the ocean and to artificial lights, they lose their chance of survival. To prevent sea turtle deaths caused by light confusion, light ordinances in nearby Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach require that beachfront houses must turn off all lights when sea turtles are hatching. Failure to comply results in fines. Ordinances like these prevent thousands of sea turtle deaths each year. Unfortunately, my community of Atlantic Beach does not have this city ordinance. I have seen the effects of this firsthand. I have seen the bodies of baby sea turtles eaten alive by crabs. They never had a chance at life all because homeowners did not turn off their lights during hatching. This becomes all the more frustrating because there is a simple solution to end the tragedy. We demand the city of Atlantic Beach, Florida to implement a mandatory sea turtle protection light ordinance, including enforcement, equal to those in neighboring Jacksonville and Neptune Beach. The ordinance is needed to protect the endangered and threatened sea turtles who use Atlantic Beach to nest and hatch a vital new generation. Help me get the word out and give these little babies a fighting chance to live -- sign and share the petition today.

Hello,  I am starting this petition to repeal amendment 13. The reason being, this amendment has to many hidden agendas. This amendment is more than just banning dog racing. Please take the time to hear me out.  This amendment will not benefit dogs. Banning the dog racing is going to ensure thousands of dogs a death sentence. Little does everyone know is how much Grey hound racing has changed over the past 20 years. These dogs are not treated near as bad as everyone makes you believe (with that being said there is always bad apples in every bunch) Most of the owners trainers & caregivers love and cherish these dogs. They are let out in groups to socialize and play, consistently exercised and handled, when they are in kennels, they are in a/c. The dogs are fed a better diet then most our dogs in our own homes. And these dogs LOVE to run. If they didn’t want to run they wouldn’t. This is a game to them.  After this admendment goes though there are going to be hundreds to thousands of people without jobs. There are also thousands of dogs that are being thrown in shelters and most likely put to sleep due to the influx. The dog breed with become obselete and the breed itself will become endangered, maybe even extinct, or worse the breeding of this dog will become unregulated and one of the healthiest breeds will lose the status and the overall health of this breed will decline.  Also take into consideration that since this amendment passed it will continue to progress further on in this order: First, they ban the greyhound races. Then, they’ll come for the hunters and working dogs( police,hearders,cutting). The fisherman. The farmers. The horses and horse shows and racing. And finally, they’ll come for the loyal dog sitting at your feet. Because that’s been their endgame this whole time. And we just held the door wide open. please consider signing this petition to end amendment 13 and save the sport and the breed. 

     According to savethesea.org, over 100 manatees on average are killed each year, and much more are injured or deformed. Mortality rates have been climbing, up to 200 per year. The manatee population has been rapidly declining and has now been placed on the endangered species list. But there is a way to help prevent this. We could use propeller guards.         Propeller guards shield the propeller of a boat and are relatively inexpensive. They allow time for the manatee and other sea creatures to get out of the way and protect them from sharp propeller blades, saving countless animals. If we could enforce the law to use propeller guards, at least on rental crafts, driven by inexperienced boaters, we could preserve manatees and other sea life for generations to come!      I would like to champion a law requiring rental boat companies to equip all rental boats with propeller guards, preventing inexperienced boaters from injuring sea life. Your signature on our petition would be greatly appreciated! You can also visit our website at manateewarriors.webs.com.    

Recently breweries across the State of Florida started receiving notice from the Department of Health that they are not allowed to have dogs inside their brewery.  We consider this is a small minded authoritarian approach since it has nothing to do with public health.  Dogs have been a part of breweries since the time of the Ancient Egyptians and so far no one has suffered any kind of ailment as a result.   We have welcomed pets for over 7 years and now people will have to leave their 4 legged family member at home when they come in to our brewery or any other brewery in the State. Please contact your state legislator and encourage them to pass dog friendly legislation so that people can continue to enjoy having their four legged family members join them at their favorite brewery, winery, distillery or pub   http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx.  

I am writing this petition for the two people who have given me the world, my parents. I am also writing this petition to help cases that are similar to ours. My name is Juan Miguel Torres-Bruno. I am 26 years old, I'm from Orlando, Florida. My parents and me have lived in the U.S. for over 25 years, since I was nine 9 months old. My current status is DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) until September, 2019. I am the son of Martha Patricia Garcia and Miguel Eduardo Torres-Bruno. Both my parents have an order of deportation and have to leave the U.S. on January 2nd, 2019. From my understanding, I too have an order of deportation but I'm safe at the moment because of DACA. I am begging to whoever has the power to please reopen my family's immigration case and or approve their stay removal so that we can ultimately become American Citizens after living here for over 25 years.  I moved back home to Florida to be closer to my parents and my girlfriend of 8 years. What sealed the deal is my parents’ poor health, especially my mother’s. They are in their sixties, have a lot of health issues, are on a lot of medications, and do not have much money to their names. I don’t know how much longer they can continue to live in the condition they are in. They have been very stressed, nervous, and anxious for years about this whole situation. I moved back home to be close to them and now they have to leave the country they call home. We have a lot of family and friends here and we have jobs that allow us to live comfortable lives. We have many family members who are American citizens and permanent American residents. We want to continue living in this country and become American Citizens. Our immigration situation has really taken a toll on us.  We are good members of our community and of our society and we're good people. We have no criminal records, we came here legally, we work hard, pay taxes, work and drive legally, and have so many friends and family here. All I know is life in America. I have an amazing girlfriend who I hope to marry in the near future. I want my parents to be here and to be involved in our future in this country. The lives they lived in Peru and Argentina were a lifetime ago. Going back now and resettling their lives at their age would be even more stressful. Please hear us out and give us the chance, I believe we deserve to become lawful permanent residents and then lawful American citizens. I am very Americanized and the United States is where I call home. We know we’re not the only ones going through something like this. I truly hope you can see it in your heart to help my parents’ case. My parents have given me everything I could ask for and more. I’m extremely blessed for all that I have in life. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do thanks to these two wonderful people I call mom and dad. They have supported me through everything. Because of my parents’ hard work and sacrifices I went to college and got my bachelor’s degree. Through my parents’ beliefs and values I have become the man I am today. I know this may sound cliché but it is the truth; I owe my life to my parents. Please see where we are coming from. Thank you very much for your time. All the best and sincerely,  Juan Miguel Torres-Bruno  

Dear Elected Officials, We desperately need your help. This is about a hero’s dignity and respect. I am the wife of a US ARMY Staff Sargent. His name is Rafael Gutierrez. He retired from the Army last November with 22 years of active duty military service under his belt. He wasn’t planning on retirement, but he was found “Unfit for Duty” by the ARMY after being injured in theater. Even though his retirement date was Nov. 27, 2013, on February 6, 2014, he was told by someone at the Florida VA office that he still needs to wait anywhere from 2 to 15 more months to start receiving his pay. Add this to the months we’ve already been waiting. We were told at the time of retirement, that the entire process would take 45 days and we planned financially for 60, just in case. When we called the Florida VA, 71 days had passed. We were told his processing hadn’t even started and had to wait 2-15 MORE months because they were backed up. This was disheartening and EXTREMELY infuriating. We have 2 kids, 16 and 18, and our son is in the Autism Spectrum, anxiety, and depresion. The medications and medical appoitment co-pays are getting ridiculously high. WE CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER! Let me tell you about my husband, and why he is a HERO. SSG Gutierrez has been deployed and/or away from us so many times that of the 20 years we’ve been married, we’ve actually been “together” less than 15. Through his deployments he suffered from severe PTSD and constant headaches but was told that it would all “go away” with time, and did not receive treatment for either. This first started back in 2004. He VOLUNTEERED for his deployments. He could not sit by and watch in the News his military brothers & sisters fighting and barely getting by, and do nothing to help. Ask anyone who has served with him and they will testify to this. He knows damned well that in order for his family to be happy, they must be free, so he went and fought, as was his job, for the freedon of his, YOUR, our Country. You are reading this because of heroes like him who have always protected our rights.  His last deployment was to Afghanistan. His headaches got progressively worse until one day he lost consciousness at the wheel of a Humvee. The vehicle was a total loss. He suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder, back, hips, knees, and head. He was medically evacuated from Afghanistan to Germany on Oct 2009, from there he was sent to Ft Gordon, GA. They told him in Germany that they couldn’t perform the required tests. In GA he spent months seeing doctors but not given any physical therapy and was told not to exercise without medical supervision. This resulted on a man who previously weight a healthy 235 pounds with a 7% index body fat, accustomed to physical labor and exercise, to gain 75 pounds sitting in a room, taking medications that made him gain weight (he wasn’t receiving a medical/hospital diet and had to survive on take-out), waiting alone is a room for someone to do something and give him answers. Needless to say, none of this helped his already set and untreated PTSD and depresion. He was NOT a person. He was NOT treated as a hero, with respect. He was just another patient to fill with pills. Nobody gave a rat's behind. This resulted in high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and worsening of the injuries mentioned above, still, no one attended the extra problem that weight gain represented. Of course, this led in more pills. It was a something out of a horror story. After a while, and by our request, they transferred him close to home to the Warrior Transition Battalion in Orlando. Having him home made a big difference, specially in his diet, but the weight caused by the medications wasn’t coming off. Still, it wasn’t being addressed. As to why he lost consciousness and the reason for the headaches, which had by now become severe migraines (about 5 per week, each lasting anywhere from 16 to 48 hours), no answers. We finally DID get an answer, 9 months AFTER the accident, at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, at Bethesda, MD, where he was finally examined extensively by a group of specialists. They discovered he had suffered 2 brain injuries during his first deployment to Iraq in 04 when he was told that everything would “go away,”and/or his vehicular accident in 09. After returning home, everything went back to private doctors prescribing pills. The communication between his doctors was so bad that he almost OVERDOSED and had to go through a week of cold turkey detox. The symptoms were ten times WORSE. This went on from 2009 to 2013 where he was hospitalized at the VA Hospital in Tampa for 3 weeks last September. There, his weight problem had finally reached an all-time danger high with diabetes. He was told once too many times that he was the most difficult case they’ve seen, because no matter what they tried, the migraines would not go away, and there was “nothing we can do.” He still has them. He needs help on daily simple things like driving, getting dressed, remembering his meds (over 15). He has trouble concentrating, remembering, getting organized; he still can’t exercise as before and he’s still dealing with losing weight. Since Tampa, he has finally been able to lose 40 pounds just by switching his medications and the times when they were taken. THIS is the DIFFERENCE that a CARING doctor makes. Needless to say, this has been a very disappointing journey. Once the military finally decided that he was unfit for duty, he was given his retirement date with a disability percentage of 90%. The VA gave him 100%. This brings us to the right-now. While we are still under the ARMY’s umbrella, waiting for the first VA check that was supposed to take 45 days from November 27, 2013, we’re being paid a lot less while, of course, still having the same expenses. Our emergency savings are gone, yet we still have to wait 2-15 more months?! I stay home for my soldier because he needs a 24/hr caregiver, he can’t hold a part time job for OBVIOUS reasons…what are we supposed to do while the people who are supposed to support their heroes the most just say “it will go away,” “there’s nothing we can do for your pain,” and “you have to wait” even longer? My husband has never been treated with the respect a wounded soldier deserves and now it has come to the unthinkable, we have to borrow money from relatives to pay for our kid’s graduation, braces, the normal simple stuff that goes on everyday like food, rent, utilities. Our electric service was discontinued twice since this all hit the fan. This is humiliating. God forbid we have a real emergency while living check to check, AFTER giving SO MUCH for this country. Guess what are the worst triggers for his migraines? Stress, high blood pressure, depression, anger, frustration. He’s back to the severity of when this all started years ago. YEARS! His progress is not only STALLED but REGRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously? This is why our government spent so much in trying to get him better? Paying medical expenses and hospitalizations through 5 years, just to go back to where we started ---- no, I'm sorry, WORSE than when he started.  We are DONE waiting and going along with excuses. We DEMAND the respect and the benefits we deserve NOW, not in 15 months! We CAN’T wait, and we shouldn’t have to, but we can’t do it alone. We need the backup and the help from our elected officials; from YOU. How can we get my husband back his dignity? PLEASE HELP!! in desperate need,  Gretchen Gutierrez   …and remember…not all of our fallen heroes have passed away, the one that need us most are still among us. DON'T let them fall any deeper.

Back in 2016, Hurricane Matthew caused a state of emergency and sparked evacuations throughout Florida. Near the day of landfall was Florida’s Voter Registration Deadline. After a Federal court overturned the governors decision, the Voter Registration Deadline in Florida was extended by 6 days to allow Floridians time to evacuate or prepare for the deadly storm.  Floridians find themselves in the same position today with Hurricane Michael. Govenor Scott, Floridians should focus on ensuring the safety of their familiy in the shadow of this deadly approaching storm- extend the deadline as we did in 2016. 

My name is Spencer, a rising senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Just months after surviving the worst day of my life, I was stunned to learn that the Florida agency responsible for granting concealed weapon permits didn’t do background checks for over a year. The reason: the staff couldn’t figure out how to log into the background check system. The man running the agency, Florida Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam, claims that *only* a few hundred concealed carry permits fell into the wrong hands. I’m calling BS. I’ve started this petition, and I need your support. Florida is the only state in the U.S. that allows an agency completely unrelated to law enforcement to issue weapons permits. In 2002, the NRA lobby was successful in getting the weapons permit process transferred to an agency with an official elected statewide. That official, Adam Putnam, actually called himself a “Proud NRA Sellout”. During his almost eight years in office, he’s made it a priority to speed up concealed weapon permits. We just learned that his agency failed to do its job. And now he’s running for governor to lead the entire state of Florida. I think his failures on an issue as critical as this should lead to his resignation and a quick exit from the Florida governor’s race. If you agree with me, please sign and share my petition. Tell Adam Putnam his inability to prioritize citizens’ safety over the NRA is an indication that he’s not suited to be the next Florida governor.