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Thousands of Jimmy Buffet fans wrapped up their annual Parrot Heads convention in Key West Sunday, marking the first significant infusion of visitors and cash into the community since tourists were ordered to evacuate the island chain ahead of Hurricane Wilma.
It brought some relief to hotels, restaurants and other Key West businesses struggling to make up an estimated 50 million dollars in sales lost because of Wilma. Chair of the Florida Keys & Key West Lodging Association, Joy Smatt - a resort manager herself - says the resorts and their employees are encouraged.
"I think they're feeling wonderful. I know that our employees, fortunately we were able to make them whole with their salaries, however I know that a lot around town, they're just so beside themselves they're so happy that finally business is coming back and we're getting back to some sense of normalcy."
Although Wilma hit October 24th, the order for visitors to leave came five days prior, also forcing the island's biggest event of the year, Fantasy Fest, to be shortened and rescheduled to Dec. 7th through the 10th. Tourism-related employment accounts for approximately half the workforce in the Keys.

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The Beaches of Ft. Myers and Sanibel are open for business. That’s the word Lee tourism officials are working to get out. They met Friday for the first time since Hurricane Wilma passed by. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

Florida U-S Senator Mel Martinez and Representative Mark Foley toured citrus groves destroyed by Hurricane Wilma this week. The Republicans pledged to lobby for federal compensation to help citrus growers. They’re also working on an agriculture bill to help farmers whether they specialize in citrus, dairy, horticulture or sugar. Meanwhile, State Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson toured battered farmland in LaBelle, pledging to lobby for state help. WGCU’s Amy Tardif reports.

As it swept across the state – Hurricane Wilma dropped about a foot of rain on Lake Okeechobee…and may have caused a “sloshing effect”. Water managers say this could mean more problems for the already-troubled body of water…and to the rivers and estuaries to its east & west.
For the second time in as many years, hurricane-force winds have stirred up nutrient-rich sediments from the bottom of Lake Okeechobee.
Randy Smith is spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.


“We’re still assessing the damage – but we do know that hurricane winds from Wilma created a rise in the water level on one side, and lowered it on the other…so we probably had some sloshing affect. And that stirs up sediment that hasn’t been disturbed – before last year’s hurricanes – for probably 50 or 60 years.”

Smith says freeing these sediments from the lake bottom decreases the lake’s water quality. Wilma moved across the state quickly, so the amount of rainwater that fell on the lake was low. But it still raised water levels to about 16-and-a-half feet.

Because of this, managers began releasing water from the lake down the Caloosahatchee River on Sunday. Smith says several factors will determine how long the releases continue.


“We’re going to have to see how mother nature works with us as far as the rainfall amounts we get – how effective the evaporation rate is. The intent is to decrease the amount of the releases when the lake starts to show signs of going back down.”

Wilma also wreaked havoc on the district’s stormwater treatment marshes. The manmade filter marshes take nutrients out of lake water before it enters the Everglades.

Smith says the storm cut directly across the area where marshes are located. And while they’re still assessing damage, he says visual inspections show that much of the plant life used to take nutrients out of the water has been pushed up onto the banks. He says the district might have re-plant the marshes to help restore their effectiveness.

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Republican Congressman Connie Mack and Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz joined forces Wednesday. They met with members of the House Resources Committee to debate the pros and cons of opening up the Eastern Gulf to natural gas drilling. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea (gil DAY) has more.

Almost 200 people turned out today in Port Charlotte for a Caregivers Conference - hosted by the AARP. The event was along the lines of a two hour pep-rally. Seniors, struggling to care for ailing partners, heard from motivational speakers. Topping the list was Dr. William H. Thomas, a gerontologist who promotes holistic approaches to aging, and the care of older people. He’s also the author of “What are old people for? How elders will save the world”. He spoke to WGCU’s Valerie Alker.