To run the board that oversees protection for the state's wildlife, Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed a South Florida developer who was investigated for wrestling an alligator and an Orlando land-use attorney who steered a public contract to a private business that then hired him. Crist also reappointed to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission a Jacksonville construction executive who heads up a legal foundation that opposes environmental regulations.

Among the applicants Crist passed over: a biology professor from the University of Central Florida, a former state Department of Environmental Protection official and the conservation director of a privately owned wildlife preserve. More here.

And see here: Republican voters don't view global warming as a major threat to Florida, but that doesn't stop them from supporting Gov. Charlie Crist's environmental initiatives almost as strongly as Democrats or independents, a poll released Wednesday showed.