Red Tide - Thanks for the great question, I'll be happy to respond with as much as I know, which admittedly from a scientific point of view is not a lot. First, I don't know of anyone at City Hall that isn't extremely concerned about the issue of red tide and not only the immediate discomfort and inconvenience it causes but also the potential for longer term environmental and economic harm, as the problem seems to get worse by the year. The big question becomes, what exactly to do? I'm not a marine biologist, and will be glad if someone more knowledgeable than I will correct me if necessary, but as far as I know there has been no definitive cause and effect relationship established between anything and red tide outbreaks.

The City Commission actually discussed this issue at a recent commission meeting, and decided to take a two-pronged approach. First Commissioner Palmer suggested that we consider stronger environmental regulation regarding pesticides, herbicides, and other potential pollutant or nutrient-rich runoff byproducts both locally and statewide, and the others agreed. Secondly, the commission agreed to make greater funding of related research something they will ask the state legislature to support this year as part of what we call our legislative agenda. Answering that cause-and-effect question is huge.

I hope this helps answer the question about what the city is doing about this alarming problem. I hope others who might be more expert and have suggestions will feel free to post as well.