Bruce Ritchie

I'm on Substack now covering issues related to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, shared by and fought over for decades among Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Here's my first post: bruceritchie.substack.com/p/more-than-...

Green, Rogers debate Apalachicola River issues in their only faceoff before Nov. 3 Green, a Democrat, said she opposes river dredging while the GOP's Rogers says he would not rule it out. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/green-roge...

Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s 106-mile “Rivertrek” annual fundraiser launches tomorrow, Oct. 28, from Chattahoochee, Florida. The launch was rescheduled from earlier this month because of high water levels. apalachicolariverkeeper.org/rivertrek/?e...

A U.N.-backed inquiry is reporting that Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine by intentionally attacking energy infrastructure, which left millions of people without electricity and heat in freezing temperatures.

Q&A with Philip W. Clayton, TriRivers Waterway Development Association. "People will take advantage of barges going up and down the [Apalachicola] River... I guarantee you they will," he said. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/q-and-a-ph...

Czech President Petr Pavel says a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was “quite close” – until Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel. 🔗 vist.ly/5pjp8

"And progress came and took its toll And in the name of flood control They made their plans and they drained the land Now the glades are going dry "And the last time I walked in the swamp I sat upon a Cypress stump I listened close, and I heard the ghost of Osceola cry"

Czech President Petr Pavel said the U.S. diesel deal with Russia derailed peace progress with Ukraine and gives Moscow “new hope.” “It will be much harder now,” said Pavel. 🔗 vist.ly/5ph74

American's don't save enough. Americans don't spend enough. Pick one. www.theatlantic.com/economy/2026...

agreed, many many questions about the deal that go beyond the headlines, but ultimately, agree on the conclusion- this will not meaningfully reduce diesel prices. buying Russian diesel by a country who exports >50 million gallons per day is an abomination

The Baysavers group says a shipping canal is taking freshwater from where it’s needed in the Apalachicola River and sending it to where it isn’t wanted. A public meeting on the topic is set for Wednesday. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/group-enli...

Trump says anyone who does not refer to AI as ‘super intelligence’ is ‘THE ENEMY' politi.co/4rTNZOd

Georgia governor candidates clash over data centers; RiverTrek launches next week (with eyes on the weather); “Imagine a Day Without Water” on Oct. 16. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/rivernotes...

Trump will not reimburse federal government for taxpayer-funded advertisements politi.co/4AQRLMj

#Florida GOP gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds unveils a conservation initiative called "FL's Coastal Corridor" that's based on the FL Wildlife Corridor -- which the Legislature this year refused to fund. floridaphoenix.com/2026/10/05/b... via @mitchperry.bsky.social

"The Corps’ current effort to manufacture need from the prospect of future traffic rests on an unmistakable ‘if you build it, they will come’ theory,” Georgia EPD director Jeff Cown wrote to the federal agency. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/georgia-an...

Maxwell: Where are the audits? State law says Florida should’ve long ago audited the billions of tax dollars DeSantis spent on “Alligator Alcatraz” and elsewhere. Yet not a single audit has been released. And CFO Blaise Ingoglia says that’s…

“The business case for dredging is far from clear, with no documented commercial users since 2008 and no clear business case for need today,” a Florida official told the US Army Corps of Engineers. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/florida-ag...

In Opinion President Trump’s efforts to ban certain news organizations from the White House is alarming for two reasons, the editorial board writes: “It continues both Mr. Trump’s attempt to prevent the free flow of information in American society and his utter disregard of the law.”

New report ranks Atlanta area as no. 1 in new data center growth as officials worry about water use. "They are going to require more power," Douglas County's Gil Shearouse said. "And last time I remember, power requires water to produce." bruceritchie.substack.com/p/georgia-of...

A photographer in the Chatsworth Nature Preserve in Los Angeles captured a real-life image of something you would never see in cartoons: a coyote who successfully nabbed a road runner, instead of falling from a cliff, getting hit by a train or having an anvil land on him.

Environmental groups already faced an uphill climb in their challenge to a 2017 water reallocation for Atlanta-area cities. With oral arguments set for November, a 2025 Supreme Court ruling could also play against them. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/appeals-co...

august gas prices set a new record: the national average in august was $4.056/gal, beating 2022's august record ot $3.940/gal, costing Americans $1.35 billion more than august 2022, or $10.51 billion more than august 2025

Florida Senator Moody wants feds to formalize role of counties on dredging Moody said designating a coalition of six Florida counties as a "cooperating agency" will help avoid mistakes that led to a dredging permit being denied by Florida in 2005. bruceritchie.substack.com/p/florida-se...

Nevada sues Dept. of Interior over cuts to 'already meager' Colorado River water allocation thenevadaindependent.com/article/neva...

Shout out to my (former -- sniff!) @politico.com FL colleagues for great coverage of the Florida primary from last night into this morning with Kimberly Leonard's FL Playbook. They're owning the international politico.com home page this morning.

I'm back from vacation but my mind is still on the river.

Yet another instance in which I'm joining a legal hearing, which should be PUBLIC, by telephone — and the participants are asked if it's OK for a journalist to join. 😳

“Water links us to our neighbor in a way more profound and complex than any other.” — John Thorson If we're all connected by water, is anyone reporting and writing stories to help define that connection? I write in the FL Specifier about my efforts. floridaspecifier.com/featured/cov...

The only real feedback from the commission meeting today on the reduced harvest limits was "Sounds like it's going well," from Chair Rodney Barreto.

Florida slashes Apalachicola Bay oyster limits. Despite a recent die-off, an agency spokesperson insists the bay's oysters are on the rebound. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

ACF Rivers News: Flint River lawsuit is nearing an agreement. City of Griffin, Georgia and Flint Riverkeeper are granted a court hearing to outline next steps in the environmental group's federal lawsuit over alleged sewage discharges. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

"I hope it's all fixed before I die," Flint Riverkeeper's Gordon Rogers said of the airport's pollution problems earlier this year. "It's certainly not going to be fixed before I retire." open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

Has the UN designation made much difference for Florida's Apalachicola Bay? I haven't seen it. thecurrentga.org/2026/07/22/t...

ACF Rivers News: Federal legislation seems to push forward Apalachicola River dredging. “It’s concerning in what it doesn’t address, not in what it does,” said Jim McClellan of the Apalachicola River Counties Alliance in Florida. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

I wish this could be a model for Florida, but I'm afraid Gannett has a hold of too many local newspapers here. www.ajc.com/business/202...

I'm always happy to see other reporters in the Deep South trying to cover the environment and energy. Here's Kala Hunter at the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga.: www.ledger-enquirer.com/profile/2765...

This is fascinating, and encouraging (I hope) for our struggling papers in the Deep South: www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/a...

Drought's busted? Not so fast says Georgia water planner. But Apalachicola Riverkeeper says downstream water users still are absorbing the cost of refilling upstream reservoirs. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

ACF Rivers News: State report points blame at sewage discharge for May 20 Chattahoochee River fish kill in Atlanta. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...

South #Florida mayor wants site of Gov. Ron DeSastrous' Everglades concentration camp turned over to National Park Service. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c... via @miamiherald.com

Parched Georgia farms find relief Rains ease drought along the Flint River but agricultural water-use planning and conservation efforts continue. Georgia farms play a key role in determining how much water flows to Florida and where it comes from. open.substack.com/pub/brucerit...