1. Florida Lacks Language Laws for Disaster Communications, Leaving Counties, Residents on Their Own

By Rose Schnabel, WUFT

Why we recommend it: Rose Schnabel’s deep dive into emergency management communications shows how a lack of appropriate emergency communications leaves Florida’s non-English speaking communities especially vulnerable to disasters.

Despite Florida’s rich diversity of residents, emergency communications have failed to adequately reach all Floridians equally during disasters. WUFT’s Schnabel shows how this has led to major gaps in hurricane preparedness and response, exposing non-English speaking communities to greater risks. Instead, many are left to rely on informal community networks or untrustworthy sources for information. Schnabel’s reporting is grounded in historical context that reminds us how present-day disaster scenarios are part of a broader inequitable history.

This year for the first time, the National Hurricane Center launched Spanish-language advisories. The National Weather Service, which has offered Spanish-language forecasts for 30 years, is piloting a new artificial intelligence tool to expand their translation offerings to Simplified Chinese, Samoan and Vietnamese, with more languages to come.

2. Frozen Reefs 

By CD Davidson-Hiers, Nautilus

Why we recommend it: It sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi film – freeze coral larvae and store them in biological banks to be later reanimated and returned to Florida’s reef systems. But at a lab in Apollo Beach, Florida, scientists are making this technological dream a reality. 

CD Davidson-Hiers walks readers from the technical to the seemingly magical details of the cryogenic process and of coral’s own patterns of reproduction. Along the way, we meet some of the scientists who are pioneering this technique and begin to understand the urgency by which they are motivated as they work to preserve these cornerstone species that make Florida’s coastal waters the vibrant, biodiverse habitats that we all fear losing. 

In the wilds of Florida’s waters, corals’ biological clocks usually orient to a full moon in summer. Pillar corals spawn in August, roughly 80 to 90 minutes after sunset. An exhale—and the corals broadcast sperm and eggs into the water. These gametes mix and develop into larvae. Larvae swim and settle into polyps. Growing polyps become colonies. 

3. Florida Knew Prison Well Could be Contaminated but Let Women Keep Drinking

By Max Chesnes & Chistopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times

Why we recommend it: Max Chesnes and Christopher O’Donnell detail how women at a state correctional facility were unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals, leached into groundwater from a firefighter college nearby. The carcinogenic chemicals have been linked to health issues such as cancer, thyroid issues, weakened immune systems, and irregular menstruation. Yet even as a cleanup was underway in residential communities around the college, state officials neglected to protect female inmates from contamination. 

This powerful investigative piece highlights the state’s lack of accountability for the wellbeing of incarcerated individuals, even as the inmates themselves ask for help. The story is complemented by an interactive map of the history of groundwater contamination in the area, allowing readers to take a closer look at the raw data that provide evidence for systemic injustice. 

Water safety became an issue when several women at Lowell filed grievances fearing that their drinking water was tainted by the foam chemicals. Shauna Taylor, who is about halfway through a 12-year prison sentence for aggravated child abuse and neglect, filed hers to the secretary of the Department of Corrections in August. “Please provide me safe drinking water and send me to an outside medical specialist,” she wrote.

Adding to Taylor’s unease was that she never saw guards drink tap water, she told the Times. Prisoners can purchase bottled water but the $1.15 cost is out of reach for many at the prison who have no income.

Her grievance was denied.

“I think they feel we deserve less because we’re prisoners, that because we’re here, we don’t deserve treatment and proper care,” Taylor said.

4. After Disasters, Whites Gain Wealth, While People of Color Lose, Research Shows

By Amy Green, Inside Climate News

Why we recommend it: What happens when a disaster strikes—who gains, and who loses? In this story, journalist Amy Green weaves hard facts with powerful first-person accounts to provide insight into how systemic issues widen wealth gaps after disasters.

What makes Green’s article so compelling is her ability to bring these inequalities to life through vivid stories that stick with you. Her writing balances sharp analysis with emotional resonance, making a complicated topic accessible and impactful. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of the injustices baked into disaster recovery systems—and feeling the urgency to address them.

“I feel sometimes when you have Black skin, you got a strike against you,” said Love, dressed from head to toe in red, white and blue, including a red head scarf and striped sandals. “That is really sad in a country like this. And I love my country. I just don’t like the one-sidedness. It’s supposed to be liberty and freedom for all.”

5. Riding Out the Storm: A Florida Writer’s Diary, as Hurricane Helene Closes In

By Jack E. Davis, Sierra Magazine

Why we recommend it: The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was the second costliest on record, producing 18 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes, three of which directly hit Florida. Author Jack Davis keeps a diary through the anticipation and aftermath of Hurricane Helene from his home in landlocked Gainesville, capturing the competing emotions of apathy, excitement, anxiety, relief, and despair that Floridians feel during hurricane season.

Through his vivid account, Davis illustrates the contrast between Gainesville, an area that some might say “dodged a bullet,” and the devastation along the coast and further inland in Georgia and the Carolinas. His reflections point to a broader disconnect: how those less directly impacted can feel insulated from the full magnitude of destruction elsewhere. Davis urges readers to consider the growing vulnerability of coastal regions and the pressing need for collective environmental stewardship. 

The Gulf has been a giving sea for humankind for at least 10,000 years. We, in turn, have only taken from it, with our appetite for more and more utterly unbounded since World War II. We have taken away its estuaries with our unceasing encroachments. We have taken away its clean water and given back filth. We have taken the black viscous mineral beneath it and turned it into plastic, clothing, roof shingles, petroleum, packaging, water bottles, and just about every manufactured thing we surround ourselves with. We are all, not just the industries we call evil, party to the global crisis we face. 

So, it irks me when we speak of hurricanes as natural disasters. Living and building in harm’s way, exploiting at will, and warming the planet—those disasters are of our own making.

6. Helping Queen Conchs Mate in the Florida Keys

By Jenny Staletovich, WLRN / Science Friday

Why we recommend it: Conchs are a widely recognized symbol of the Florida Keys, and yet, they’re struggling more now than ever. Overfishing led the queen conch fishery to closure, and this year, NOAA listed the queen conch as a threatened species on the Endangered Species Act. 

In this news feature from veteran environmental journalist Jenny Staletovich, in a WLRN collaboration with Science Friday, wildlife conservation and climate change come together in an immersive science story and audio segment. Staletovich expertly brings readers directly into the scene, giving us a window into the world of researchers who have been studying a perplexing question plaguing queen conchs off the Keys: Why aren’t they mating? 

Thanks to her thorough reporting, Staletovich walks us through just enough background information about the species and its struggles to understand the stakes at hand while breaking down complicated conch biology into simple terms. This piece is a prime example of great field reporting. Even without the captivating photos taken by Science Friday’s Patrick Farrell, we see scientists wading through choppy shallow waters off Molasses Key, conchs in oversized blue milk crates, and wire identification tags with ribbons that are white with red polka dots.

What was making the conchs near shore so indifferent to mating?

When scientists examined them, Delgado says, they found a startling clue: blank space in their tiny brains where hormones that trigger the secretion of eggs and sperm should be. The scientist who made the discovery told Delgado she’d never seen anything like it.

…

The ganglia that make up the conch brain appeared to be enlarged and less dense, as if the conch had prematurely aged.

“It seemed as if the nearshore animals were under chronic physiological stress,” Delgado says.

7. Wilderness Trap

By Brittney J. Miller, Florida Trend

Why we recommend it: Big Cypress National Preserve spans across 727,000-plus acres of freshwater wetlands, writes Brittney Miller in her October cover story for Florida Trend about a proposal to designate much of the 50-year-old preserve — home to the Miccosukee Tribe that has stewarded the swamp for generations — as federally protected “wilderness.” 

On the surface, such a proposal seems harmless — beneficial, even. But Miller digs deeper, embedding with Miccosukee and Gladespeople such as Betty Osceola, Houston Cypress, and Tim Spaulding on swamp buggies to report the deeper truth. Not only would these longtime members lose access to the resources they have used and stewarded for centuries, but it would also make them trespassers on their own land. The concerns go beyond cultural endangerment. Controlled burns, Everglades water restoration projects, and invasive species management are all at stake, too. 

Miller takes a deep dive into the shallow swamps of Big Cypress with care, fairness, accountability, and above all, attention to the close ties between people and their environment. 

It’s 9 p.m., and darkness has fallen over Big Cypress National Preserve. Mike Elfenbein is in the driver seat of his Toyota Tundra, inching it slowly down a dirt road. His eyes are trained on the roadside vegetation illuminated by the bright spotlights mounted to his truck.

He brakes hard, whipping out a handheld flashlight and training it on a dark shape in the grass. He sighs. “Just a stick,” he murmurs in disappointment, taking his foot off the brake and carrying on. The chase continues — a scavenger hunt for a Burmese python, one of the various threats to the preserve he has fought to protect for years.

The Cypress Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America — a conservation group that Elfenbein heads up — was explicitly forged to help create Big Cypress National Preserve. It has opposed wilderness designations ever since, he says, and is rallying with other stakeholders to protect their historic access to the land.

“Here we are, 50-something years later, the offspring of the people and the successors of the people who came before us,” he says, “uniting again to save this place.”

8. We Finally Know What Caused Florida Fish to Spin in Circles Until They Died

By Bethany Augliere, National Geographic

Why we recommend it: The weird wildlife news that dominated headlines this year was undoubtedly the “spinning fish” saga. For months on end, scientists investigated the concerning observation of fish spinning in circles, including the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish. 

After months of local news outlets delivering timely reports on updates from state wildlife officials — including reporters at WLRN, the Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, and more — scientists finally identified a most-likely cause. Biologist-turned-journalist Bethany Augliere brought the story to National Geographic, providing clarity about the mystery by walking readers through scientists’ challenging task of narrowing down possible explanations. Toxins from multiple species of dinoflagellates, a microscopic algae, were the likely culprit, Augliere reports. Using simplified language and explanatory quotes from expert sources around the state, Augliere makes the complicated toxicology behind the scary phenomenon more approachable. 

The investigation uncovered other intriguing findings, including a toxin new to the Florida Keys, according to [Alison] Robertson [a marine scientist]. The toxin is associated with a European algae species, though the team found no trace of the algae in any of the samples. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead,” she says.

9. Can Florida’s Corals Survive Climate Change? Fate of One Small Reef May Hold the Answer

By Allie Skowronski, Miami Herald

Why we recommend it: Allie Skowronski captures the devastating impact of record-breaking ocean temperatures on Florida’s reefs, centering on the urgent efforts to save one small reef in South Florida that could hold answers for the future. Skowronski skillfully balances the heartbreaking, visceral reality of dying corals and the hopeful work of scientists breeding heat-resistant strains.

By taking readers underwater, the article makes the stakes feel personal and immediate while presenting complex science in an accessible way. It serves as a poignant reminder of what’s at risk and the resilience and innovation needed to protect Florida’s marine ecosystems in the face of climate change.

It was starkly evident to scientists and divers who frequent South Florida reefs. During bleaching, coral shed the algae that give them their dazzling colors and provide them important nutrients. The bleaching victims, with all or swathes of their hard exoskeletons turned pale white, stand out like bones.

It may take a year to see how much recovers and to assess the final toll. But it’s already clear that the record heat worsened what has been a precipitous decline for corals off South Florida. In just a half century, the undersea reefscape bordering the coast has profoundly and permanently changed.”

10. High Winds, Tornadoes Lash Florida as Hurricane Milton’s Eye Begins to Push Ashore

By Alex Harris, Joey Flechas, and David Goodhue, Miami Herald 

Why we recommend it: Hurricane Milton devastated communities across Florida with powerful winds, catastrophic storm surges, and unexpected tornadoes. This article offers a vivid and compassionate account of its destructive impact. The reporters not only capture the chaos of the storm’s landfall but also delve into the deeper, often overlooked human costs – the economic, emotional, and mental toll of living through repeated natural disasters.

By blending real-time coverage with intimate storytelling, this piece provides an important perspective on resilience and recovery, spotlighting the challenges that Florida residents continue to face as they rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

“Two weeks ago, Helene came and this city was floating,”said Javier, as he and his wife boarded up a window. “This street didn’t flood though.” Still, they won’t be risking it as Milton tears through Florida.

“That last thing I’m thinking about is what this house will look like,” said Javier, an artist. “I’m thinking about our safety.“

Over his shoulder, a polystyrene slab and lime green seat cushions were jammed between a glass window and several wooden boards screwed into the frame. He held a power drill in his right hand as Isabel hoisted an umbrella over his head. As he stepped toward another window, his T-shirt commemorating an exhibit by artist M.C Escher came into clear view — a close-up image of an eye.

11. Before the Bicentennial: Muscogees from Tallahassee Area Forced into the ‘Unknown Land’

By Ana Goñi-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat 

Why we recommend it: Ana Goñi-Lessan’s deeply reflective article delves into the forced displacement of the Muscogee people from the Florida Panhandle, weaving their traumatic history with Tallahassee’s bicentennial celebrations. The piece critiques the city’s fraught relationship with its Indigenous past, such as the superficial use of Indigenous names on street signage, and raises important questions about historical erasure and reconciliation.

By balancing historical nuance with emotional depth, Goñi-Lessan challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the enduring effects of colonization while honoring the resilience of the Muscogee Nation in preserving their cultural heritage.

[Andrew] Frank, who has researched Native American history for almost 30 years and has taught at FSU since 2007, said historians have uncomfortable relationships with anniversaries for this reason.

“They tend to become celebrations, not moments of commemoration,” Frank said. “For lots of people, the creation of Tallahassee was not a good thing. This allowed for the expansion of slavery, it meant the removal and sometimes the eradication of Indian communities. This is not a moment of uplift, for other people it was.“

“That’s the messiness of history.”

12. The Annual Sugarcane Burning in Florida Involves Stark Injustices

By Cynthia Barnett, Sierra Magazine

Why we recommend it: In the fall through spring, Florida farmers in the Everglades region of Florida burn hundreds of thousands of acres of sugarcane to rid the cane stalks of their bulky leaves. Though a longtime practice in South Florida, the smoke has been shown to create respiratory and heart issues for nearby residents, many of whom are African American and live below the poverty line. The state has denied any systemic injustice at work in exposure to cane-burning smoke, but the issue has garnered attention due to a race and class divide: Award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett reports that state policies “do more to limit burning when the wind blows east toward more affluent areas of Palm Beach County.”

Barnett writes of efforts—and pushback—to move Florida cane growers towards green harvesting, while photos by Miami-based photographer Rose Marie Cromwell bring us into the Glades communities facing this public health crisis.

The fires…demonstrate that what’s legal is not always just. Farmers stress that they raise their families in the Glades too, and they would not put their communities at risk. That view misses the complexities of public health: how ethnicity and income create greater vulnerability to illness in a place like Pahokee, a primarily African American town where a third of families live in poverty.

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Cover image: Nassau River by Hannah Brown