“With the noxious odor of red tide hanging in the air and a fresh wave of dead fish washing up on nearby Gulf beaches, a large crowd of people incensed about the devastating algae bloom that has plagued the region for months directed their anger at Gov. Rick Scott (R) during a campaign event,” the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports.
The protesters forced Scott “to enter the restaurant through the back door and leave the same way after just 10 minutes as members of the crowd shouted ‘coward.'”
“The Republican governor is on the defensive about his environmental record as he tries to unseat Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Protesters gathered Monday took aim at Scott for cutting funding for environmental agencies early in his first term, arguing Scott’s cost-cutting and deregulation have kept the state from implementing measures that could have helped minimize naturally occurring red tide blooms.”