Environment Archives - WMNF 88.5 FM

Yesterday Governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Edward Zakrzewski II who killed his wife and two children in 1994 in Okaloosa County.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports that President Trump visited the controversial migrant detention center and hopes it can serve as a model for other states.

WMNF’s Zoe Sax reports on how these groups are coming together to fight to keep Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program resources available.

WMNF’s Sarah Goebel reports Citrus County has issued a 60-day rabies alert after a captured cat tested positive for the virus. The area of concern is next to Highway 581 near Inverness and Floral City.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara, Zoe Sax.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Wed. July 2, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump visited a migrant detention center in the Everglades.

Trump praised what Florida is calling “Alligator Alcatraz” and hopes it can serve as a model for other states. 

Trump commended Governor DeSantis and other Florida leaders for the facility, as well as the speed at which it was built. 

“They did this in less than a week. And you look at it – it’s incredible. Look – the incredible thing is picking the site, ‘cause the site was one of the most natural sites – it might be as good as the real Alcatraz,” Trump said.

He also nodded to past tensions with DeSantis.

“We may have some skirmishes even in the future. I doubt it, but I will always come back because we just seem to – we have blood that seems to match pretty well,” Trump said.

The facility has drawn pushback from environmental advocates, including a lawsuit from the organizations concerned about the environmental effects on its Everglades location. 

Elise Bennett is with the Center for Biological Diversity.

“We have concerns about impacts to water quality, wetlands, endangered species, it really runs the entire gamut to some of our most important environmental resources,” Bennett said the day prior.

State officials say they will start building another facility in Camp Blanding in North Florida after Independence Day.

The post President Trump tours Everglades migrant detention center ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports one group hopes Trump will realize it’s not an appropriate use of the Everglades upon his visit today.

WMNF’s Madison Overmier reports on a law student who was honored for a paper claiming the Constitution was written only for white people and how the university is responding to the controversy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it is delaying by one month the planned cutoff of satellite data that helps forecasters track hurricanes. 

The bill would have required the Department of Management Services, which oversees the program, to submit recommendations for managing the “formulary” of prescription drugs. 

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara, Zoe Sax.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Tue. July 1, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

In the early weeks of August, a familiar buzzing starts in Tampa Bay. A sound that can only mean one thing- that it is time for Elisha Bixler to get to work. From August to October, residents might notice a basketball sized group of bees on the back of a chair, hanging from a tree, or invading the walls of your shed. This behavior often concerns homeowners but is exactly what beekeeper Elisha Bixler of How’s Your Day Honey, expects during swarm season.

Elisha explains that this “bee”havior is a normal thing for a hive that grows too large. Honeybees that have outgrown their current digs need to split and find a new place to live. “The colony, when they go, the Queen can’t fly very well, so when they’re going to their new home that they’ve picked out, they usually have to take a break somewhere.” They will form a large mass and wait, while they rest, protecting their queen, who is in the middle. They are too distracted and tired to be defensive or aggressive. They are just looking for a break and will most likely leave soon, but that doesn’t stop concerned homeowners who do not want hundreds of bees in their backyard. Elisha explains that then you just “put them into a bee box, and be done within 15-20 min, and then, really, you have a nice little starter colony right there. A swarm of honeybees is a wonderful way for a new beekeeper to begin.”

No two rescues are ever the same. Elisha often finds herself disassembling walls, or sometimes climbing 30 feet into trees to help relocate honeybees. Elisha recalled one hive in a ballpark light post that was 70 ft up, so she had to go up in, “a big lift truck, and I was harnessed in. But I mean just being that high up and the wind’s blowing, and you’re swaying, and you’re trying to drill into this metal pole that was a little sketchy.”

When Elisha gets the call, she packs up her smoker. “I use pine needles just because they’re so abundant here in the Tampa Bay area. I use a little bit of smoke…. because it distracts the bees. As soon as the smoke comes in it covers up their alarm pheromone, and it makes them think that there’s a fire and that they need to pack up. So instead of focusing on me, they’re going to go to their cells and start slurping up honey. They are busy starting to get ready to leave because they think there’s a fire, so they’re just distracted. Then I can come in and start removing the comb quickly. I’m trying to find the Queen as fast as possible, because if I don’t, a lot of times she’ll run into a hiding spot where I can’t get to her.” Without lungs, the smoke doesn’t hurt them, it is just a protective measure to keep the beekeeper safe.

Just a smoker doesn’t work all the time. In some cases, the bees are aggressive. “I’ve been doing it for so long that when I approach a colony I can tell by the sound. I can tell by how many bees come to my face. There are always bees protecting a colony, and if they come right out, they’re kind of zingy in a way, and they’ll come right to my face and I know right away, okay, I have to wear protective gear with this colony.”

Elisha uses a Thermal Imaging Camera to see in the walls and find the bees precise location without having to open up the whole wall. This can save the homeowner a larger repair cost. She tries to use the smallest amount of destruction needed when they are in a wall. Bixler explains though, that if the bees have been in the wall for a longer period of time, it can mean that there is a significant amount of honey in those walls. If the honey isn’t removed, it can lead to bugs or other mammals seeking a sweet treat. If you don’t want this problem, “walking the perimeter of the house and filling any gap you can fit a pencil into is a great preventive measure.” If a colony is already established and you don’t want your wall disturbed at all, making a cone shape from ¼ inch hardware cloth with a small exit hole and attaching it to where the bees are entering the wall will allow them to leave, and not re-enter.

Even if a rescue goes perfectly, Elisha says that about 20% of the rescued bees will still choose to fly away. Thankfully she lives on 5 acres without a lot of development surrounding her, so even those bees that don’t stick around will be safe. There is a way to keep the queens in the hive, so the bees stay, but instead, she lets the choice *bee* theirs.

Honeybees aren’t really in danger of extinction in Tampa because there is food production for them year-round, and we don’t have the cold weather in which they would go dormant, but one problem Elisha points out the proximity to the Port. Most wild hives that are caught are likely Africanized and legally will need to be requeened. Africanized bees, nicknamed Killer Bees, can be more aggressive than the normal European honeybees. Because of things like this, Elisha recommends that the average homeowner not attempt to do their own rescue without some education first. Luckily there are a few bee groups in Tampa Bay to choose from and helpful resources like the Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association.

Elisha often videotapes her rescues and uses her videos as educational tools online. How’s your Day Honey’s videos have millions of views and are changing the way people view bees.

To check out her rescues visit https://m.youtube.com/@howsyourdayhoney

As urban expansion continues, the need for ethical bee removal grows. Through services like “Honeybee Rescue,” How’s Your Day Honey demonstrates how conservation, education, and entrepreneurship can coexist. It sends a sweet message: communities can protect pollinators. For rescue inquiries, quotes, or to learn more, visit www.howsyourdayhoney.com

If you love the Sustainable Living Show, make sure to tune in every Monday at 11am on 88.5fm or listen to past episodes in the archives here. You can also stay up to date with show happenings on our Facebook page. Head over to the tip jar and direct your donation to Sustainable Living to show your monetary support. Remember, it takes a community to build a community.

The post Tampa Bay beekeeping with Elisha Bixler appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

Ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected visit to the controversial Alligator Alcatraz, environmental advocates are still pushing forward on a lawsuit to prevent it from happening. 

The group hopes Trump will realize it’s not an appropriate use of the Everglades. 

Elise Bennett is a senior attorney at The Center for Biological Diversity.

 The group, along with Friends of the Everglades, has filed a lawsuit to prevent the massive detention center in the Everglades. 

“What I would hope would be obvious to the president is that this is an incredibly backwards idea for a place that is, I think the pride of Florida, certainly the pride of the United States, and really gives us great international significance,” Bennett told WMNF.

The group is asking the court to put a pause on activity at the site.

“What we’ve seen here is a frenzied process that hasn’t included any of that thoughtful consideration, and certainly no opportunity for the public to understand and provide input on the impacts,” Bennett said.

The lawsuit alleges that the proposal hasn’t undergone an environmental review as required under federal law, and that the public has had no opportunity to comment.

The project has reached national spotlight and drawn public outcry, with hundreds of protestors gathering outside the location to demonstrate on Saturday.

A representative for Governor Ron DeSantis told the Associated Press that it will have ‘no impact on the surrounding environment.’

The post As Trump plans visit, advocates continue fight against ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ project appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it would stop the collection and distribution of data from three weather satellites.

The Florida immigration detention site is opposed by a range of groups concerned with its impact on local Native American tribes, the Everglades ecosystem and human rights for migrants.

By early August, the Florida Department of Transportation expects the northbound span will close to drivers for good.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports a Nordstrom employee in Jacksonville was told she would be fired if she didn’t remove her necklace representing Palestine.

In a six to three decision, the Court said the Texas law does not violate First Amendment rights and the law falls within states’ authority.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara, Zoe Sax.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Mon. June 30, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports on local opposition of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization, holding a summit in Tampa.

WMNF’s Zoe Sax reports on how this group is working towards taking pride celebrations back to its roots by joining the St Petersburg Pride parade.

Hundreds of men who were abused as children at two notorious state reform schools are in line to receive checks of more than $21,000.

The Commission for Public Higher Education would be an alternative to SACS, a longtime accrediting agency that has clashed with Florida education leaders in recent years.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara, Zoe Sax.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Fri. June 27, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

A round of strong thunderstorms moved into Pinellas County last night. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Largo.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports that a study, published in the National Bureau of Economic Research, says that there’s an increase in intimate partner violence in parts of the country with a near-total ban on abortion.

WMNF’s Sarah Goebel reports that DeSantis signed two bills in Tampa, dealing with mental health and substance abuse.

Gwen Henderson’s daughter, Ariel Amirah Danley, has filed to run for District 5 which includes downtown Tampa.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Thur. June 26, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

WMNF’s Chris Young reports the SunRunner bus route connecting Downtown St. Pete to St. Pete Beach, could lose part of its dedicated lane in South Pasadena.

State Representative LaVon Bracy Davis won a special Democratic primary election in the race to succeed the late Sen. Geraldine Thompson in Orange County’s Senate District 15.

Lawmakers in April passed the bill after widespread complaints about waterfront property owners in Walton County preventing people from using beaches.

High temperatures are not the only weather hazard in the forecast. Meteorologist Megan Borowski reminds us that if we can hear thunder then we are close enough to a storm to be struck by lightning.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Wed. June 25, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.

Israel bombed Iran just hours after President Trump announced a ceasefire. And the president was mad enough about it to curse at reporters this morning.

WMNF’s Madison Overmier reports on the summertime fertilizer ban in Pinellas County and how that protects water bodies.

A new study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research shows there has been an increase in intimate partner violence in places with a near-total ban on abortion.

The Florida Attorney General is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the state to enforce a new immigration law while lower courts decide whether the law is constitutional.

The Scoop producer Zoe Sax

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane
WMNF News Director Seán Kinane
WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Seán Kinane, Maddie Overmier, Sarah Goebel, Julia Ferrara.
Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com /

The post The Scoop: Tue. June 24, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF appeared first on WMNF 88.5 FM.