Why aren’t Florida officials coming to the phone?

Sunday’s Tampa Bay Times article on Florida’s polluted waters contained many notable things, from the damage caused by the environment to the complete failure of a state that doesn’t take the crisis seriously.

But one line of the story was more surprising than most. “The Environmental Protection Agency refused to make secretaries or staff available for interviews.”

If one sentence had to explain how this ecological disaster occurred, it would be because it captured the indifference of Florida’s political leadership and the light emptying of accountability that is characteristic of state governments.

The Times team interviewed more than 100 scientists, politicians, lawyers and environmentalists about the state’s polluted oceans for over a year. The team traveled to Florida, analysed millions of sampled results and submitted more than 140 public record requests to government agencies.

These interviews and documents contain thousands of pages of reports dating back to the 1970s, showing that the state has been unable to control pollutants for decades, putting hundreds of Florida waterways at risk. One secretary of a former state environmental secretary called the Times findings “embarrassing,” adding that “obviously there’s more to be done.”

The DEP question was simple. What is Plan B, as your approach isn’t working?

In a statement provided by a spokesperson, the agency said increasing pollution across the state is a concern, but changes in the environment take time. Canned food reactions add little to the conversation and less to the public’s understanding of complex issues.

The unstable sector of environmental response was another example of how state agencies could use taxes to hide behind government spokespersons. For Florida, few resources are more important than the health of the waterways that sustain its people, drive Florida’s growth and support the multi-billion dollar agriculture and tourism industry. What do you do if contaminated water can’t call environmental regulators?

This rog arrogance has become common in Tallahassee. The agency head has employment, salary and pensions, but answers the public. Just consider the last few weeks. State officials have not answered questions about the Florida Highway Patrol’s plan to stop and retain immigrants on the highway. They were mothers about reports that state regulators may have filled consumer complaints against property insurance companies. Officials have not provided details about new initiatives to house migrants detained in state facilities. And as of Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis had not explained how $10 million in the state settlement was diverted to his wife’s pet charity.

These are just recent examples, but they show that serious questions about issues in the series are unanswered. Brush off comes in a variety of forms, from bias to query bias to rejecting full comment. But the message is the same: I get lost.

Florida’s sunshine is amazing – on paper. But the right to access public records is a constant struggle. It’s getting so bad in Tallahassee that even the governor’s own party legislators have issued letters of demand to several state institutions, citing “deep frustration” that the administration doesn’t want to provide records or documents.

Certainly, part of the council’s dig at Desantis is the theatre, the theatre of the lame governor who has kicked lawmakers for many years. However, state officials have also normalized the barriers between formal acts and those who empower them. It’s a daily hassle for reporters, but it leaves millions of Floridians in the dark. Residents need and deserve information to build their lives and businesses and make decisions about their future.

This is a group exercise. Next time, you will be filming an email to the person when they read “rejected comment” or “rejected response” – they are readily available – and then write “Answer the question” in the subject line.