The flooding caused by Hurricane Irma was a wake-up call about the need to better protect wetlands. A newly passed measure will help ensure that happens across Alachua County.

Cheer: The County Commission, for approving a countywide wetlands ordinance. Commissioners voted 4-1 this week to pass the measure, with Chairman Lee Pinkoson in dissent. It extends buffer zones and other wetlands protections that already apply to unincorporated areas to undeveloped portions of the county’s cities.

The measure was a long time coming, as it was initially authorized by voters in a 2000 referendum. Given that wetlands and the flow of water aren’t bound by city limits, such protections are needed across the area.

Wetlands help prevent the flooding caused by storms like Irma as well as filter out pollutants before they enter the aquifer, our drinking water source.

Jeer: The Florida House Criminal Justice subcommittee, for advancing legislation that would allow guns in public schools. HB 621 would authorize school principals and district superintendents to designate certain individuals to carry concealed firearms on school properties.

The notion that armed civilians are effective in stopping mass shootings, such as the one that happened at a Kentucky school last week, is a myth that has been debunked by research. Putting guns into high-stress places such as schools only increases the chances someone innocent will be shot.

Cheer: State Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, for sponsoring a bill that would protect people who make public records requests from expensive legal battles. The bill and a companion measure, SB 750 and HB 273, would prevent government agencies from responding to records requests by filing a civil lawsuit against the person making the request.

The legislation unanimously passed the House on Thursday but has stalled in a Senate committee, which the Tallahassee-based First Amendment Foundation reported is due to objections from the League of Cities and Association of Counties.

They should drop any opposition to a measure that would only protect the public’s right under the state constitution to access public records, which helps ensure transparency and accountability in government.

Jeer: The federal official who oversees offshore oil drilling and President Donald Trump, for creating uncertainty over whether Florida is truly exempted from such drilling.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced this month a plan to dramatically expand offshore drilling — only to later say Florida would no longer be included, in what was widely seen as an effort to improve Gov. Rick Scott’s expected bid for U.S. Senate seat.

But the acting director of the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management told a congressional committee last week that Zinke’s declaration “was not a formal action” and didn’t officially remove the state from the plan.

Trump, for his part, was reportedly angry about Zinke’s decision, the political website Axios reported. The move failed to follow the legal process required to exempt an area from drilling, putting the plan at legal risk.

A letter signed this week by both of Florida’s U.S. senators and most of its House delegation — but not Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Gainesville — reiterated their objections to drilling off Florida’s coast due to the threat it poses to the state’s environment and tourism-based economy.