A Florida Gulf Coast University Professor – and contributor to this public radio station – is featured on tonight’s broadcast of the PBS science program, NOVA. Tonight’s show features the top five science stories of 2005. Dr. Jerome Jackson contributes to the segment about the re-discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker – a bird that had been considered extinct. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

Trial began today in Miami in a federal lawsuit over alleged contamination of Lake Okeechobee. A coalition of environmental groups says the South Florida Water Management District is illegally back-pumping polluted agricultural run-off from the Everglades Agricultural area into Lake Okeechobee. It says under a provision of the federal Clean Water Act, a permit is required to move that water. But water managers say the environmental groups are misinterpreting the clean water act...that no permit is required. Attorney for the District Scott Glazier says a ruling for the plaintiff’s could have a substantial ripple effect.

It could have an impact all over the country. Big water users in the west depend on big transfers of water to fulfill needs for drinking water. If you get an adverse ruling, it could applied across the country and wreak havoc throughout the country – that’s why there’s significant consequences

Environmental groups say the back-pumping threatens human health as well as plants and animals. Testimony is expected to last two weeks.

Trial began Monday in Miami in a federal lawsuit over alleged contamination of Lake Okeechobee. WGCU’s Valerie Alker has more.

Farmers got some high-tech information during last weekend’s cold snap. A statewide, automated weather network helped growers avoid crop losses. The weather reporting system is called FAWN. Every 15 minutes, special weather computers around the state calculate temperatures, winds and other climate information. The 33 high-tech stations are linked to the University of Florida in Gainesville and then the data are put on the Internet. Farmers use the free information to protect their crops this time of year from freezing weather. System administrator Larry Treadaway says the information is available around the clock.

“You’ve got to have the right information in order to prevent losses. You’ve got to know how cold it is and you’ve got to know how long it stays cold.”

Treadaway says the reporting network saves growers about 38-million dollars annually. There are reporting stations in Arcadia and Immokalee.

An environmental advocacy group says careless boaters are ripping up vital sea-grasses in Florida Bay. The shallow area by the Keys is part of the Everglades. The National Parks Conservation Association says when boaters run aground, they damage aquatic life and churn up sediment that suffocates plants. Program manager Jason Bennis says the thousands of acres of sea-grasses are building blocks to the Florida Bay ecosystem.

“And that sea grass is what provides the excellent beginning building blocks to the ecosystem and the food chain that many of the highly-prized recreational fish as well as commercial pink shrimp and spiny lobster depend on.”

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Southwest Floridians should take precautions to protect their outdoor plants and pets starting tonight. Temperatures are expected to drop well into the 30’s this weekend...with even colder wind chills.

National Weather Service Meteorologist – John McMichael – says tonight’s windy conditions will kick off a downright chilly weekend…

“We are going to have some wind tonight so we do have a wind chill advisory out – later tonight we could have temps in the 20-30 degree feel-like range towards morning, so people going out tonight should dress accordingly. Tomorrow night we’re looking for a radiational cooling night, which means the winds will be dropping off, we’ll have clear skies…and with the cold, dry air mass over us we’re expecting even colder temps – so by Sunday morning we could be looking at some freezing temps in the cold, outlying areas.”

There’s a freeze watch in effect tomorrow night and Sunday morning for Hendry & Glades Counties…as well as for inland areas of Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee & Collier Counties.

A spokesman for Florida Citrus Mutual says they don’t expect temperatures to stay cold enough for long enough to worry about freeze damage to crops.

Homeless shelters are opening tonight in Lee and Collier Counties.

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School vouchers

The Florida Supreme Court has chucked the state’s voucher system. The court ruled it’s unconstitutional. Vouchers allow some children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense. In Florida, 700 students use the program to transfer from public schools the state considers failing. But the high court said different schools have different standards and some are exempt from state testing. Governor Jeb Bush campaigned on this eight years ago and criticized the ruling. State Representative Jeff Kottkamp is a Cape Coral Republican.

Backers of an effort to ban same-sex marriage in Florida have begun a last-minute blitz to get the measure on the ballot. The organization that’s pushing for the amendment is well short of the signatures it needs. The so-called ‘Marriage Protection Amendment’ would ban civil, same-sex unions that offer the same rights and benefits of marriage. Supporters say the amendment is needed in case a court strikes down existing state law. The group, Florida4Marriage, is holding news conferences around the state before a February 1st deadline to turn in 600-thousand signatures. So far, they’ve collected 250-thousand. On the steps of the Collier County Courthouse, First Baptist Senior Pastor Hayes Wicker said the sanctity of marriage is at stake.

“And in these last few weeks we believe that all of us as pastors across denominational lines in the state of Florida must join hands together and do what is right to be good citizens as well as good Christians.”

Opponents say the measure discriminates against gay people and threatens other rights such as healthcare benefits for partners.