Education

Congratulations go out to:

Marcia Mullins, who received her Masters Degree in Non-Profit management (MNM) from the University of Central Florida . Completing the 2-year degree in 18 months, Marcia maintained a 4.0GPA and was accepted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society.

Tracy Mullins passed his Land Use Law Class at CFU with a 4.0.

Receptionist Megan Matlock passed Math and World Civilizations classes toward her Associates Degree at Polk Community College .

Legal Briefs

In the “good old/bad old days” of “Old Florida”, a lot of environmental damage was dealt with, with a wink, a nod and a cease and desist order. The 80's and 90's saw the beginning of the “slap on the wrist” doctrine. However, the turn of the century has seen stronger medicine applied to environmental damage as illustrated by DEP v. Jimmie Crowder Excavating and Land Clearing, Inc . In operations at the Big Buck Mine in Franklin County , the Jimmie Crowder Excavating (Respondent) dredged 32 acres of jurisdictional wetlands without a permit, discharged industrial wastewater from the site during mining operations, and failed to notify the Florida Department of Environmental Protection of its mining operations at the site.  The Respondent agreed to a Consent Order that requires them to pay $427,000 in civil penalties, restore the damaged wetlands and conduct offsite mitigation, provide financial assurance for the restoration and mitigation, provide a conservation easement on all wetlands on the site, and design and implement an environmental management system for the company's operations. This is quite a bit more than a slap on the wrist. Recent Federal Law allows private citizens to sue for environmental damages, which corporations commit. Monetary damages resulting from such actions must be assigned to conservation groups to mitigate and repair such environmental damage, as private citizens are not allowed to profit from such actions. MJA Consulting has joined forces with Environmental Sciences Incorporated to provide environmental services to clients, providing risk management advise to avoid legal entanglements over environmental damages. “Better to be safe than be sued.” CEO Michael Joachim provides “Expert Witness” Services to the public and private sector throughout Central Florida .