Florida plans $850 million in Everglades restoration projects in next year

Bergeron likened the River of Grass to an emergency room patient. Years of drainage for agriculture and development left it in critical condition, but with more funds coming in, progress on current and future projects can move at a more rapid pace, he said.

“Re-establishing clean water, the most important resource on the planet, will preserve a quality of life for future generations,” Bergeron said.

DeSantis’ host

DeSantis also was praised by Kate Arrizza, president and CEO of the Cox Science Center and Aquarium, which hosted the governor for his announcement on Monday.

“I would like to thank the governor and his staff for always supporting the mission of the science center, which is to open every mind to science,” she said.

Arrizza said one reason the center is thriving today is because it “was able to stay open during the pandemic and do it safely.”

A hallmark of DeSantis’ term was his rapid moves to reopen Florida, even as some medical experts and other state officials advocated a more cautious approach.

Arrizza said the center is about to break ground “on an entirely new science center that will serve over 1 million visitors annually, and we will become the number one ticketed attraction here in Palm Beach County. We’re excited families and tourists will come from all over the state to learn more about science and how to keep Florida’s natural resources protected.”

The groundbreaking is set for May. 1.

During Monday’s event, DeSantis praised donors Howard and Wendy Cox, for whom the museum is now named. It was formerly known as the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium.

Seeking Rents, an investigative newsletter that focuses on the way business influences public policy in Florida, reported last year that DeSantis approved $10 million in a previous state budget for the museum.

Seeking Rents said “part of the reason may be that a key Science Center booster is also a big DeSantis donor who records show personally lobbied the governor to support the project — and who had just given DeSantis (campaign efforts) another $10,000.”

“The Cox project offers a case study in how earmarks often get funded in Tallahassee, where people and organizations from around the state first lobby lawmakers to give them money — and then lobby the governor to let them keep it,” Seeking Rents reported.

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