DeSoto County

The spill from the former phosphate plant in Manatee County earlier this year was a cautionary event. But the country's largest producer of phosphate currently has plans for a new mine in southern Florida.

The spill from the former phosphate plant in Manatee County earlier this year was a cautionary event. But the country's largest producer of phosphate currently has plans for a new mine in southern Florida.

About two dozen people spoke out Tuesday against Mosaic's plan to mine phosphate in DeSoto County. No one told county commissioners they support the mine, proposed 90 minutes southeast of Tampa.

Phosphate, the lifeblood of Florida's fertilizer industry, is gradually being mined out in the region where Polk, Hillsborough, Manatee and Hardee counties meet. Now, phosphate miners are coveting land to the south, sparking fears in an area that is a regional source of drinking water.

It's tax season, and for the first time, people filing tax returns will be asked if they have health insurance. Under the federal health law, there is a…

Just next door to one of Florida's richest counties is a place where hunger and poverty grow worse every year. In DeSoto County, the state’s…