One of those lobbyists was Jim Smith, former state attorney general, and gubernatorial candidate. This reads like a Carl Hiaasen novel. Oh, now I see...the article was written by his son, Scott.
It took three reads to figure this out. It is so convoluted. It could only happen in Florida.
Lobbyists Got State to Pay Millions for Underwater LotsFour snips is just simply not going to do this justice.
Sands and Robinson were selling - and buying - six acres of underwater real estate off the Coral Gables shoreline. The property was a paradox: platted and zoned for 18 homes 50 years ago, then encased in the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Reserve and shielded from development two decades after that.
Sands and Robinson had a contract to buy the property from an 81-year-old widow and her family for $445,000. The family members say they didn't know about the developers' negotiations with the state. The state lawyers say they didn't know about the family's contract.
..."To get the deal through the Legislature, Sands and Robinson then hired another well-connected lobbyist: Jim Smith, a former state attorney general and two-time gubernatorial candidate who served briefly as Bush's secretary of state in 2002. Smith also had ties to the DEP: His lobbying partner is the brother of the DEP's deputy secretary.
...."Ultimately, Bush relented, and the Legislature approved the money. Bush did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.
The state took possession of Gables Under the Sea on July 28 (2006), ensuring the preservation of the sea grass beds off Lugo Avenue. More than four years after signing a contract to buy the lots, Sands and Robinson finally pulled a $7.2 million fortune from Biscayne Bay."
That only touches the surface of the story. Note that Jeb refused to comment.
And I was interested to read this about the Hiassen family, as I love Carl Hiaasen's books and columns.
All in the FamilyOne Hiaasen would have been enough to make the College of Journalism and Communications proud. But three alumni with the surname that makes politicians sweat are tearing it up in the competitive world of print journalism.
Scott Hiaasen, JM 1993, has been covering general assignment and legal issues at The Cleveland Plain Dealer for nearly two years. He worked at The Palm Beach Post for seven years. And he did a yearlong fellowship at Yale Law School.
Rob Hiaasen, TEL 1981, who works at The Baltimore Sun, is spending a year as a fellow at Stanford University.
Then there’s what’s his name, umm, Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald. He’s their father and brother, respectively.
“They were alike in the sense that they were well-read and very newspaper savvy,” recalled Prof. Emerita Jean Chance, who taught Carl and Scott. “They grew up reading good newspapers like the Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post. They had good noses for news.”
Professor Chance, good to see her name. She is a friend from long ago, a former professor at University of Florida.
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