It seems odd to find heroes in the middle of a crisis that has no immediate solution. Heroes are supposed to sweep in and save the day -- and I don't believe anybody is going to be able to quick-fix the punishing fresh water releases from Lake Okeechobee. 

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson does diddly in Washington, but when there's something going on back home, he's a master at hanging out with the drama.

UPDATED: Gov. Rick Scott wasted no time issuing an executive order declaring a state of emergency in Martin and St. Lucie counties Wednesday following the presence of algae blooms in local waterways and a stormy commission meeting a day earlier during which residents and public officials pleaded for government action.

Algae blooms are everywhere in Martin County. They lie like a blanket on the C-44 Canal, on the St. Lucie River, throughout the estuary, even at the beach.

Martin County residents apparently need more things to be afraid of this summer. Sewage and other polluting runoff in their waterways aren't enough.

Now the clever folks at the Parks and Recreation Department in this Treasure Coast county are saying, for good measure let's scare the pants off people who want to spend a few hours at the beach.

They've introduced what they call their "trash-free parks program."

"Trash-free." Could there be a better example of a useless euphemism? Or a silly misnomer?

It seems strange, and a little vexing, to hear so few Democrats lamenting the impending loss of so many spectacular women in their caucus -- some of the Florida Legislature's most significant figures.

So you think Barack Obama is Mr. Nice Guy? Don't even. On Monday the president of the United States thumbed his nose at the city of Orlando and the 49 dead and more than 50 wounded in the June 12 terrorist attack on a crowded gay nightclub.

Today Big Brother gets that little bit bigger. He gets to shield us from harm, suppress our right to know. Apparently, on the lips of a terrorist, the English language is too politically incorrect for the American people to handle.

Let's talk about Omar Mateen's wife.