A sweet deal — for some

A sweet deal — for some

Scripps Howard News Service: With as much fanfare and publicity as possible, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and representatives from U. S. Sugar and the South Florida Water Management District announced that the state would purchase 187,000 acres of land, plus equipment, a railroad spur and a mining operation from U.S. Sugar for about $1.7 billion.

Those who have long seen the sugar cane and agricultural lands in the Everglades Agricultural Area as the “missing link” between Lake Okeechobee and the “River of Grass” were euphoric about the purchase, seeing it as the way to re-create the water flow between the lake and the Everglades via a managed system of reservoirs and wetlands. It is certainly an nvironmental coup of epic proportions.

But for the 1,700 U.S. Sugar workers who depend on this company for their livelihood it is quite a different story, despite the planned six-year transition and the company’s payouts to its employees.

SFWMD Executive Director Carol Ann Wehle said the district would work with the local community, the Florida tourism people and those in economic development to create an economic strategy. But this isn’t an economically booming area to begin with, and this strategy needs to be well thought out and implemented as soon as possible. No politics. No posturing.