State's sugar deal puts town's fate in limbo
As Clewiston prepares for the eventual departure of U.S. Sugar, local views of the future range from uncertain to bleak, with a few optimistic holdoutsCLEWISTON -- Fearing a bitter future when United States Sugar Corp. leaves the town that sugar built, people here are rallying around their mayor's call for a role in negotiating the company's controversial exit.
''We should have a seat at the table to help out in the decision-making,'' Mayor Mali Chamness insisted in the face of news that U.S. Sugar would sell its holdings to Florida water managers and leave the business in six years as part of an ambitious Everglades restoration project.
Chamness' rallying call drew applause from the 300 farmers, business owners and residents who packed John Boy Auditorium this month for an emergency meeting about the area's future.
So intertwined with U.S. Sugar is this community of 6,500's economy that the June 24 announcement of the sale to the South Florida Water Management District was met with shock and disbelief. U.S. Sugar employs 1,700 people, provides 25 percent of Clewiston's tax base and is responsible for more than half of its economy.
Miami HeraldThis story is a perfect example of Two Americas.
OOH, there is no doubt Clewiston's future is under a cloud and the townspeople mentioned here have valid reasons to be in shock.
But, OTOH, big Sugar's 'other' labor force (abused guest workers) worked under 13th Amendment violations, lived in shock, and had uncertain futures, without 'freedom loving' intervention. The only relief offered to the 'other' labor force was deportation.
OT: After years of being near the top or #1 on Human Rights list for human trafficking, Florida is reversing course.
Deportations on the rise in Florida 
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