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News Archive Index
12-30-2005
The Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice is observing it’s 16 annual World Day of Peace on Saturday. Coalition members will gather at the Epiphany Cathedral in Venice and hear from speakers drawn from the area’s Catholic, Muslim and Jewish Communities. Organizer Shirley See-cord says the recently reported increase in hate crimes in Florida makes this observation very timely.
“it points out the need that now more than ever we need to be finding ways to understand one and another and work toward communicating which is one of the main aspects of this world peace day – is promoting understanding and communication between religious groups. It’s a crying need.”
Hate crimes in Florida increased more than 20 percent in 2004.
About 800 people attended last year’s World Day of Peace of Observance. This year’s event includes a Question and Answer Session via audio link with Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinish – who was a contender for the Democratic Presidential Nomination in 2004. The program begins at 10:00 AM and runs through 3:15.
12-30-2005
Home prices in Southwest Florida cooled slightly last month...but real estate experts say they see no signs of a bursting bubble. The November median home price in Lee County was 295-thousand dollars. That’s a 49-year percent jump from a year ago...but it’s an almost 30-thousand dollar drop from the previous month. Angela Parker is president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers. She says this region’s stunning real estate run-up of the last few years was bound for a slowdown.
“I see maybe a little leveling in the marketplace as far as more listings coming available where sellers might be in a more challenging position to be just a little bit more realistic with price points.”
The median price in Collier County was 479-thousand -- a 16-thousand dollar decline from October…but a 37-percent increase from a year ago. Punta Gorda’s median home price was 236-thousand dollars. Parker also attributes the general slowdown to Hurricane Wilma, which slammed into this region in late October.
The number of homes sold in Southwest Florida rebounded last month after Hurricane Wilma. But the prices buyers paid continued to decline. More than 800 homes changed hands last month in Lee County. That’s a slight increase over the same period a year ago...but triple the amount sold in October due to Hurricane Wilma. The median price, though, eased to 295-thousand dollars...down from 322-thousand dollars a month earlier. It’s still a 49-percent year-over-year increase. Angela Parker is president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers. She says the region’s housing market is fundamentally strong.
“Maybe not see those 65% appreciations each month as they were enjoying. But definitely still a lot of buyers flooding the marketplace. So it’s going to still continue to be a healthy market.”
The median is the price where half the homebuyers pay above that amount and half below. In Collier County, the median fell to 479-thousand dollars. Punta Gorda reached 236-thousand and Sarasota increased to 343-thousand.
12-29-2005
Two straight years of devastating hurricanes have left many Southwest Floridians needing to make home repairs. But it can be a daunting process to figure out the maze of contractors. Now one resident is offering a way to help. Diane Keeney lost her Punta Gorda home to Hurricane Charley last year. She interviewed potential contractors, did some interviews and checked public records. But in the end, she had problems with her homebuilder and didn’t like the experience. So she went through all of the state’s public records, the Better Business Bureau and other sources to set-up a database to help homeowners with a simple toll-free number.
“You can give us a call. We’ll run it through the database and see what there is. It doesn’t guarantee that the person is going to be a good quality person. It’s just public record. It’s not our opinion. It’s not anything of that nature. This is just what we found in the public record that most people have a hard time getting access to that information.”
Keeney says she can help homeowners in Charlotte, Lee and Collier Counties. The referral service will become fully operational early next month. The number is 800-696-5390.
12-29-2005
The total number of hate crimes reported by Florida law enforcement agencies INCREASED by more than 21-percent last year. The hike is reflected in the just-released report - "Hate Crimes in Florida" - that details incidents of hate-related offenses reported last year. Florida authorities reported 334 such offenses – up from 275 in 2003. The number of RACE-motivated hate crimes was also in the rise. The trend is worrisome to Art Teitlebaum, the southern area director for the Anti-Defamation League. He says global tensions are being reflected right here in Florida.
“I can tell you that there have been crimes against the Muslim community flowing out of the tension in the Middle East – and immigration issues, and they’re no different in kind than crimes against blacks, Jews, Hispanics or the like. We cannot tolerate in our society – if we expect to have an America that we can recognize – we cannot tolerate the targeting of innocent people because of their group identity.”
The hate crimes report is prepared each year in accordance with the 1989 Hate Crimes Reporting Act. Race-motivated hate crimes represented more than half of all such crimes reported last year, a slight jump from 2003.
While the report also shows a decrease in the number of such crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation – and a slight shift toward hate crimes targeting individuals, rather than property.
12-29-2005
The chair of the Charlotte County School Board says the district is in compliance with the state’s class size requirements – despite numbers from the Department of Education to the contrary
State law mandates that there be no more than 18 students in pre-k through 3rd grade classrooms. The State Department of Education determined that in Charlotte there were 18.4 students per class. But school board Chair Sue Si-frit says the state’s numbers need to be doubled checked.
“Everything I’ve seen up until this point would indicate that we are inn compliance – however this DOE just came out and said we are not in our k-3 grade levels. So I am certain it is something we will checking into a filing a claim with the state to have them look at them the way we calculated them”
Si-frit says she’s certain the district will appeal the finding. She says the district carefully tracks student enrollment numbers because they are so critical to funding. If the state’s finding is upheld the district stands to lose 81 thousand dollars in operating funds – with the money re-directed toward its building budget. The statewide analysis determined school districts in Franklin, Gulf, Manatee Marion and St. Lucie counties also failed to meet class size requirements.
12-28-2005
More than 2-thousand phone calls to Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers in 2005 led to nearly 360 arrests…and that’s a record-setting year for the 25-year-old program. Among those arrested…three murder suspects, an accused bank robber, a number of sex offenders and a hit and run suspect. Crime Stoppers coordinator – Trish Routte says back at the beginning of the year they brainstormed for ways to help the community understand what the program is all about. She says they decided that while advertising, like billboards, buses, and TV ads helps, what’s really most important is getting out into the community to speak to neighborhood watches, and similar groups. She attributes much of this year’s success to that outreach…
“I think a lot of it has to do with public education…the fact that the community understands how crimestoppers works – and that they trust that we are a safe place, that they can call and give information on wanted fugitives or unsolved crimes and nobody’s going to know that they called. That trust and that factor of being able to provide information without people knowing is a very important thing I believe.”
Routte says because true anonymity is really what makes the program work…they go to great lengths to NOT know who’s calling with tips.
“We will never ask anybody’s name, and even if they try to give it to us, we will not take it. Because the only way that we can protect our callers and their anonymity is by not knowing. We do not have caller ID, we do not trace our calls, we do not record our phone calls…in fact when someone calls in we do not even write down if they’re a male or a female, or if they’re calling from Lee County or Collier County or Ohio.”
Routte says callers are given a number – so they can call back later to get followup information. Tips that lead to arrests are worth cash rewards ranging from 25 to 1-thousand dollars. The number: 1-800-780-TIPS.
12-28-2005
Cape Coral Police say people are using all terrain vehicles and dirt bikes illegally in certain parts of the city. They’re cracking down and issuing warnings. Police believe ATV’s and dirt bikes were popular presents this season. Now they’re worried about young riders using them properly - which is somewhat difficult to do. Owners of most ATV’s and dirt bikes don’t register their vehicles, which makes it illegal to operate them on the road. That’s a criminal offense carrying a fine of up to 500 dollars. Also, the driver must be licensed by the state, and have a motorcycle endorsement if they’re riding a dirt bike. And Cape Police spokesman Angelo Bitsis says there’s more.
“Also registered dirt bikes and ATV’s have to be insured, they have to have the proper lighting equipment and anyone under 16 who operates and ATV or dirt bike is required to wear head gear and eye protection. When it comes to riding the vehicles off the road there is a city of Cape Coral ordinance that prohibits the driving of motor vehicles – including ATV’s and dirt bikes – they are motor vehicles on vacant lots or any other vacant land not owned by the operator not owned by is or her immediate family.”
Driving them on vacant land you don’t own is a code violation in Cape Coral. It carries a 100 dollar fine. Bitsis says the only other way to ride on vacant land is to have express written permission from the landowner. The state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 200 Florida deaths were attributed to ATV accidents between 1982 and 2002. 488 people were injured in ATV accidents in 2003, 19 of them fatally.
12-27-2005
About one-sixth of all the electricity generated in the US is used to cool buildings. Now the U.S. Department of Energy is about to mandate a 30 percent increase in the energy efficiency of new home air conditioning units and heat pumps.
Heating and cooling a home uses more energy and costs more typically, 56 percent of a utility bill - than any other system in the house. So the federal government is raising the national minimum standard of Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating or SEER from 10 to 13 in all residential AC units starting January 23rd. The SEER rating represents the energy level a product consumes. There will still be 10 to 12 SEER equipment on the market until it’s sold out. Service Experts of Southwest Florida general manager Mark Oetzel says there are advantages and disadvantages to buying a higher SEER air conditioning unit or heat pump.
“It all depends on what people want to spend on their air conditioning. If they are in need of an air conditioning system now obviously a higher SEER efficiency product is going to cost more. So it will be more out of their pocket up front to buy 13 SEER. The savings will come through the usage of the product, but if you’re for instance a seasonal person that’s only down here a few months out of the year and you basically turn your air conditioner almost off while you leave, the old standard would be just fine for you.”
Oetzel says the pay back over the life expectancy of a more efficient air conditioner far outweighs the upfront cost of buying a more expensive one. The air conditioner manufacturing industry had challenged the 13 SEER, which the Department of Energy had first issued in January 2001, but the industry recently withdrew its challenge. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy provides tips for buying energy-efficient units on its web site. Interestingly, Energy Star model air conditioners – those which meet strict federal guidelines – are only a 12 SEER or higher.
Service Experts of SW Florida – www.ServiceExperts.com or 1-888-HEATCOOL
12-27-2005
Once found all across the sunshine state –red-cockaded woodpeckers now exist only in isolated clusters. In hopes of reversing this trend, biologists with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission are relocating some of the protected birds from areas with excess numbers, to areas with critically small populations. Wildlife biologist – Robin Boughton says red-cockaded woodpecker populations are now largely restricted to public lands. She says that’s why the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission began moving…or translocating…the birds as part of the Southern Range Translocation Cooperative. The cooperative is a group of private, state and federal partners from Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia collaborating to help the species recover.
Boughton says the relocated birds come from strong populations, like the Apalachicola National Forest near Tallahassee, or Fort Stewart in Georgia.
“They can donate juvenile birds – those are birds that hatched and fledged this year – and we move pairs of those birds to populations in the southeast that are smaller than 30 groups.”
Recent relocations have brought dozens of pairs of the birds to the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Charlotte County, and to the Ocala National Forest south of Gainesville. Boughton says they just go to the birds’ trees at night and put a net over the cavity they live in…
“We catch them in the evening and then we drive straight to where the birds are going to be released. And then we put them into artificial cavities that we’ve placed in good habitat…and then in the morning when the sun comes up and the birds wake up we release them by pulling a screen off of the cavity.”
Once moved, the birds are left alone – and won’t be monitored until spring, when they hopefully pair up and begin to breed. Boughton says the success rate is between 50 and 60-percent. She says that means the birds stay with their new population and breed the following year. The federal government lists red-cockaded woodpeckers as endangered. Florida considers them a “species of special concern”.
12-26-2005
Once upon a time the Caloosahatchee River meandered its way from marshlands just west of Lake Okeechobbee to Ft. Myers where its waters met up with the Gulf of Mexico. It was barely navigable and often flooded. Then it was dredged and straightened becoming part of the intracoastal waterway – allowing boats to travel from Ft. Myers to Ft. Pierce. Now portions of the old river are being restored. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.
12-26-2005
Don’t know what to do with the tree once Christmas has come and gone? Why not recycle it…and get a free bag of mulch?
From December 27th through January 7th – southwest Florida residents can drop off their old Christmas trees at any one of five Forestry Resources Landscape Supply outlets in Lee or Collier County – and get a free bag of mulch in exchange.
Trees should be free of ornaments, tinsel and trimmings.
Forestry Resources Vice President – Alan Shaffer – says it’s a true recycling program…
“Meaning that we produce soils, and wood mulch is a component of soil products. So when those trees come into our facility and then ground and composted into a soil product it will be then packaged and end up on shelves or used by professional contractors.”
Shaffer says otherwise, discarded Christmas trees generally wind up in landfills. Go to www.gomulch.com for more information.
12-21-2005
Beginning tomorrow, commercial airline passengers should expect some changes in the way they’re screened before boarding.
Officials with the Transportation Security Administration – or TSA - say the changes are necessary to allow screeners to better focus on serious terrorist threats.
Passengers are now allowed to bring scissors with blades no longer than 4 inches…and screwdrivers less than 7 inches. Box cutters, ice picks, lighters, ninja-style throwing stars and tools with long cutting edges are still NOT permitted.
TSA spokeswoman - Lauren Stover – says the rule changes reflect security upgrades put into place since the September 11th terrorist attacks.
“We are now well beyond 911 where we’ve got layers of security in place. All of the cockpit doors have been hardened to protect against anyone gaining access to the cabin area. Scissors under 4 inches don’t pose the threat to us in civil aviation that they may have posed post 911.”
Stover says several recent studies found nearly a quarter of screeners’ time was being spent on these newly excluded items.
She says travelers should expect more additional screenings – like pat downs and shoe inspections…
“With these changes we want the public to know that they may be subject to more random searches and maybe some pat downs…if we find somebody’s wearing something very bulky that may be obscuring something. So just want people to understand that we’ve got new changes in place so our screeners can focus on the bigger threats, which are explosives.”
Some other holiday travel tips to keep in mind…don’t wrap carry-on presents in case they require inspection.
And because explosive detection systems used on checked bags can damage unprocessed film - be sure to pack it in carry-on luggage.
12-21-2005
Collier County officials are celebrating a big increase in the rate of recycling. Last month, Collier County residents diverted more than 3-thousand tons of garbage from the landfill. That’s a 77-percent increase over November 2004. County Public Utilities Spokeswoman Margie Hapke says much of the spike is due to new, larger recycling bins. The carts can hold three times as much material as the old bins and every county resident got a new one in October. Hapke says it’s all about preserving the landfill.
“The longer that we can keep the landfill open and accepting just garbage. The longer we’re going to be able to control disposal costs. If we ever lose our landfill, disposal costs are just going to skyrocket.”
Hapke says the landfill is projected to reach capacity in 25 years...that’s far better than a few years ago when it was thought the landfill could only sustain two or three years. She says if Collier residents keep recycling at this rate, the life of the landfill will only get longer
12-20-2005
Southwest Florida birders are joining tens of thousands of their colleagues across the nation by participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count.
The count is a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society. Volunteers follow specific routes through designated areas about 15-miles in diameter. They count every bird they see or hear for the entire day.
Data collected over the past century allows researchers and biologists to study long-term trends in bird populations across North America.
Wildlife biologist for the Ten-thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge - Terry Doyle – says in southwest Florida, the count reflects the rapidly changing landscape.
“For instance the Naples Christmas Bird Count has been going on for at least 30 years…and there’s been a lot of changes in that habitat within that count circle. If you just looked at that you’d see some dramatic changes over that 30 year period.”
The Bird Count took place on Christmas Day of 1900 as an alternative to a popular event called the “side hunt” – during which teams spent the day trying to shoot as many birds as possible.
12-16-2005
The state’s tourism leaders predicted Thursday that 2006 will be a strong year for visitors...this despite the threat of hurricanes.
For two straight hurricane seasons, deadly storms have battered Southwest Florida. But apparently, that’s not enough to keep tourists from visiting this area. The state’s tourism agency expects a three-percent increase of visitors to Florida. That’s about 2-and-a-half million more people than came here this year. Marietta Mudgett is executive director of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce. She expects a good portion of them to consider the Gulf Coast.
“I think with Florida, we’re still clean...a clean state. We’re working on our roads, of course, trying to make them better for everybody and we just have so many things that we can offer here you just can’t get any place else.”
The state tourism predictions also take into effect the possibility of more hurricanes hitting Florida next year. Tourism is the state’s biggest industry.
Despite the rosy outlook from state tourism leaders, Southwest Florida officials appear a bit more cautious. Jack Wert is executive director of the Naples, Marco Island and Everglades Convention and Visitors Bureau. He says an expected three-percent hike in visitors statewide next year is good for Florida...but the state has begun to lose valuable and important convention business due to hurricanes.
“I think we’re certainly going to have some challenges in the late summer and fall time period when primarily group meeting business planners seem to be shying away from our area and pretty much all of Florida.”
Tourism is worth 57-billion dollars to the state economy annually. Officials estimate a record 80-million people will visit Florida next year.
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