Everglades rescue plan scaled back

Governor Charlie Crist has had to retreat from the proposed scale of a massive land purchase to rescue the Everglades. The battered economy has made the $1.34 billion deal with U.S. Sugar Corp. unaffordable. Crist said the facts of the economy have changed and observers expect an announcement on a revised program soon. The state originally hoped to buy 180,000 acres, and could drop that total to 75,000 acres, including 30,000 acres of citrus groves west of Clewiston that the company wants to unload, plus 45,000 acres south of the lake that would suit the restoration goals.