A server at a popular Naples restaurant has been charged with fraud. Pablo Pazimo was allegedly using a device called a skimmer to steal credit card information from customers at Brio Tuscan Grill.

Economic crimes investigator with the Collier Sheriff’s office, David White, says skimming is one of the most frequent forms of credit card fraud.

“they take the information that they skim off the back which is your credit account number, your name a couple symbols and then they just re-encode it on another card – they just create a counterfeit with your numbers”

White says the best way for consumers to protect themselves is to check their debit and credit card statements often. He does not recommend carrying large amounts of cash.

Mechanical roosters, an onshore iceberg and fallen live oak tree limbs are among large-scale sculptures that debuted Sunday afternoon on the grounds of a Civil War-era fort in Key West.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park has become a unique outdoor "gallery" during the annual Sculpture Key West exhibition. There are 28 works of art there and about 20 additional sculptures exhibited at two other Civil War-era forts and sites in Key West.

Program director for Sculpture Key West Karley Klopsenstein says there are many things that make the event unique.

“First of all you just can’t beat the site. I mean you have the ocean here You have this beautiful land. You have sunny, warm weather in the winters. And it’s a big draw for people just because of that.”

The exhibit includes large-scale works in traditional and experimental media, created by acclaimed national and international sculptors as well as emerging artists.

Many pieces are designed to be visible from air and sea as well as land, providing viewing opportunities for boaters and arriving and departing airline passengers.

The exhibition runs through April 14.

-----

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park has become a unique outdoor "gallery" this week during the annual Sculpture Key West exhibition. There are 28 works of art with about 20 additional sculptures exhibited at two other Civil War-era forts around the island.

Program director for Sculpture Key West Karley Klopsenstein says the exhibit includes large-scale works in traditional and experimental media, created by acclaimed national and international sculptors.

“We have a total of about 48 artists in the show this year in all 3 venues. They are from the United States. And also we have our international artists – artists from Poland, originally from Cuba, artists from Germany. And they are anywhere from students to professors and experts in the level of their field.”

Mechanical roosters, an onshore iceberg and fallen live oak tree limbs are among the sculptures.

Many pieces are designed to be visible from air, sea smf land, providing viewing opportunities for boaters and people on airplanes.

The exhibition runs through April 14.

“Ordinary people are the weapons of genocide”. That single idea was the underlying principle behind a presentation at Florida Gulf Coast University Friday.

Dr. James Waller is a social psychologist, and a professor in the field of Genocide Studies at Whitworth College in Spokane Washington. He’s also author of the book Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Mass Killings and Genocide.

He says he hopes people leave his lectures with more questions than answers…and an understanding of one fact: ordinary people are the ones who commit genocide.

“I think when we realize that…that’s part of the antidote to also realizing that we can be the end of genocide. I mean, it’s not something out of our control. We’re the ones doing it. We’re the ones committing the killing. And we can be the ones to stop that and to structure a society where…not that it’s never going to happen again, but that it’s less likely to happen than it’s been over the past.”

Waller ways during the 20th century an estimated 60 million people died through acts of genocide.

Waller’s presentation is one of several events surrounding a photography exhibit currently on display at the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida in Naples called Sudan: The Cost of Silence. The exhibit runs through March 9th.

-----

An author and professor of Genocide Studies spoke at Florida Gulf Coast University today – as part of a series of events organized by the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida hoping to draw attention to the current genocide in the Sudan.

He told a packed house that it’s people…just like you and me…who are the killers in every genocide. And until that fact is understood, he says, unthinkable acts of mass murder will continue happening around the world.

Education Director at the Holocaust Museum - Amy Macera (Mass-air-uh) - says while her job can be emotionally difficult…being around the young people who visit helps balance that out.

“Working with students is fantastic, particularly middle school students. They’re really starting to grapple with these questions of what is there place in this world…and what they should be doing to make meaning…and they hook onto this issue of the Holocaust and genocide and it’s really inspiring to see them get fired up about it and say, you know what, this is something I’m going to do something about in my life.”

The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida in Naples began as a student art exhibit called Out of the Ashes. Today’s lecture coincides with an exhibit of black & white photography at the museum called: Sudan, the cost of silence. It runs through March 9th.

Take the Girl Scouts of Immokalee, add a generous grant, and stir in an innovative young director and choreographer. The result is a unique teen theater group about to perform its first collaboration for the public. WGCU's Christine Buckley sat in on a rehearsal.

Palm Beach Post Tallahassee Bureau Chief S.V. Date is out with a new book. In the past he’s written tongue-in-cheek fiction. His titles include Smokeout and Deep Water.

But now he’s turned to biography. His book, called “Jeb, America’s Next Bush” is an unauthorized but informed biography of Florida's former Governor. Date reported on Bush’s Administration for the Palm Beach Post for 8 years.

Florida's smiling - and noticeably thinner - former governor was in Estero on Friday night, flanked by his wife, parents and sister. But family literacy, not politics, was the main item on the agenda. WGCU's Christine Buckley was there.

Monday wraps up the 10th annual Great Backyard Bird Count…organized by Cornell University and the National Audubon Society. Ornithologists use information from the annual tally to paint a continent-wide picture of what’s happening with bird populations.

Birders last year submitted more than 60-thousand checklists. To submit one yourself all you have to do is sit in your backyard for 15 minutes and note every bird you see. Then go to the website ‘birdsource-dot-org’ and enter that information.

Count spokeswoman - Pat Leonard – says it’s pretty amazing when people spanning an entire continent do something together.

“I was thinking about it this morning it’s sort of like that type of artwork, pointillism I think they call it, where each point if you looked at it very closely you wouldn’t see much, but when you back off and look at the whole thing it’s actually a beautiful painting. And that’s kind of the way this works. Each person who is a report is a little dot, and then when you step back and look at it all you get a good picture of what’s going on with the birds in winter.”

Leonard says while most people enter their information online – they still do get a few checklists by mail. She says because of the sheer number of participants they highly encourage online submissions.

Over its 10 year history the count has helped ornithologists chronicle the shifting of a number of species’ migratory patterns.

Leonard says thanks to interested individuals and advances in technology… scientists now have access to more data than they would’ve even dreamed possible just a few decades ago.

“There’s something called an Avian Knowledge Network. And all the information from the Great Backyard Bird Count; all the Christmas bird counts; any other bird counts that are done elsewhere by university’s say, or other groups – there’ll all going into that database. There are 10’s of millions of records in there.”

Leonard says the network is part of the National Science Digital Library - whose main purpose is to collect digital data so it’s available for scientists around the world.

The 10th annual Great Backyard Bird County runs through Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings for much of peninsular Florida tonight – including Sarasota and Charlotte counties.

Crops are at risk. Florida Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Liz Compton says the greatest concern is ferns.

“in Putnam, Volusia and Lake counties the temperature is going to get as low as the mid 20’s and we’re told that 25 to 30 percent of that crop is vulnerable they’re in a very tender stage right now, …..so it certainly a big concern and a loss of the crop is significant”

Florida’s ornamental crop industry, which includes ferns – is a ten billion dollar a year industry. Other crops at risk for damage from the cold include citrus, strawberries, potatoes and blue-berries.

-----

Freeze warnings are in effect for much of Florida tonight – and the risk to agriculture is significant. Florida Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Liz Compton says ferns, strawberries, citrus, potatoes and blue-berries are in the most danger. She says many farmers will be spending the night in their fields.

“there will be a lot of farmers out, we’ve got folks out all weekend keeping there ear to the ground if you will checking to see how everybody is doing – yes it will be a busy weekend and I’m sure a lot of farmers are going to be out overnight hoping to protect their crops… I would imagine there’s going to be a lot of people not getting sleep tonight”

Compton says consumers could also be impacted down the line – by higher prices for produce and ornamental plants.

Tonight’s forecast from the National Weather Service in Ruskin is for lows of 32 to 40 in coastal areas of Charlotte and Sarasota counties and around 30 degrees inland.

The 26-year-old enigmatic Japanese superstar – Daisuke Matsuzaka - made his first official spring training appearance at a press conference Thursday in Fort Myers.

It cost the Boston Red Sox 51 million dollars for the right to even negotiate with Matsuzaka…better known as “Dice K”. And his 6-year contract is worth another 50-million-dollars...all for a guy who’s yet to thrown a pitch in the majors.

While Dice K got his share of baseball questions - he was also asked about his obvious international media allure. Of the 100 or so reporters on hand more than half were clearly from out of town.

Speaking through an interpreter – the jovial but matter of fact Matszaka said his massive contract has no bearing on his approach to pitching.

“The scale of the contract does not determine how I play baseball. And I feel responsibility…a little bit…but I am not pressured.”

Maybe the best indication of what the arrival of this right hander with rock star status means can be found in the large number of reporters who were interviewing other reporters…long after Dice K had departed the scene.

All eyes are now on Sunday when pitchers and catchers work out for the first time.

A group of state lawmakers will be at Florida Gulf Coast University tonight – to listen to homeowners concerns about property taxes.

The five-member Property Tax Reform Committee has been holding public hearings across the state since January. The intent is to listen to all sides before making any changes in how property taxes are accessed for both resident and non-resident homeowners. Committee Chair – State Senator Mike Haridopolis of Indiatlantic says so far he’s gotten an earful.

“the two primary things we’re hearing from voters thus far – one is assessments just don’t make sense, they are inconsistent across the state, let alone within communities – and the second thing we’re hearing is the fact that people basically believe government needs to go on a diet. government revenues on the local level are up 83 percent in the last five years whereas family income in that same time is only up 37 percent”

Haridopolis says the committee will make recommendations on how to more equitably distribute Florida’s property tax burden to the full legislature when it convenes in March. He says the next step in the process would likely be a constitutional amendment. Tonight’s public hearing at FGCU is from 6 to 9 in Academic Building 5 room 112 – directional signs will be posted.

-----

Southwest Floridians frustrated by high property taxes have a chance to vent tonight at a public hearing at Florida Gulf Coast University. FGCU is the next stop on a state-wide listening tour by five lawmakers who will make recommendations for tax reform to their colleagues when the legislature convenes next month. State Senator Mike Haridopolis chairs the Property Tax Reform Committee. He says so far, he’s heard a lot from seasonal residents – miffed because their tax burden is so much greater than year round homeowners.

“if you are a Florida resident you are protected by save our homes, that prevents an increase going up more than 3 percent in a given year, so if you see that property tax reduction this year – I think a lot of those returns would go to those non-homesteaded properties – because bottom line is when they get that reduction they are going to save invest and spend right here in Florida which helps us all”

The Public Hearing at FGCU is from 6 to 9 in Academic Building 5 room 112. Directional signs will be posted. Additional hearings are scheduled for Orlando, Melbourne, Ft. Pierce, Chiefland and Port St. Lucie.