Officials at Southwest Florida International Airport want to know how much local demand there is for flights to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. So they’re conducting a local survey to find out.

The survey is the first step in determining whether southwest Florida has enough demand to support non-stop flights to destinations like Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Data from this survey will help airport consultants decide whether to move ahead with an in-depth economic impact study for Latin American and Caribbean markets.

Barbara-Anne Urrutia is PR Manager for the Lee County Port Authority.

“We just know based on talking to people and being told things in the community that people keep asking about service to Puerto Rico…service to Mexico. So we’re hoping that now that everyone’s talking it’ll actually turn into action, and maybe we can use that to our benefit so we can get some good service here.”

Urrutia says they’ll use data to try and convince airlines to add non-stop service out of RSW.

She says they did similar surveys for the U.K. and German markets. The German markets won.

The survey is available online at the Southwest Florida International Airport website.

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Airport officials want to know how much demand there is for non-stop flights out of Southwest Florida International Airport to destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America.

So they’ve released a survey seeking that information.

PR Manager for the Lee County Port Authority - Barbara-Anne Urrutia – says the survey’s needed because it’s basically impossible to get what’s called the ‘through’ data…in other words where travelers go after the first leg of their trip.

“We can only get our end of it and beyond that we don’t really know where people are traveling or where they end up. So it’s really hard to get that kind of data…it’s very proprietary among airlines. So that’s why we’re trying to get our own data to show airlines, because it is hard to share information like that.”

Urrutia says if they get at least a thousand responses…and it shows solid demand…their consultants will go ahead with a more in depth economic impact study of Latin American & Caribbean market demand.

She says they’ll then use all this data to try to convince airlines to add non-stop service from Fort Myers to destinations like Mexico and Puerto Rico.

The top ranked and undefeated Florida Gulf Coast University women’s basketball team is one win away from a trip to the Division II national championship tournament later this month in Nebraska.

A win would put the Eagles a step closer to the University’s first-ever national championship. Karl Smesko has been head coach since the program got started 6 years ago. He says while they were a solid 29 and 2 last season…this year’s success surprised him a bit.

“We lost our 2 starting guards…5th year senior starting guards…and we were going to be incorporating some new players, including a couple of freshman. So I knew we’d have a good team…I didn’t realize it’d be this good.”

Smesko describes the 31 and 0 Eagles as a balanced team – with a mixture of youth and experience. He says all the attention that comes along with being ranked number one in the nation is kind of nice…and good for the whole university.

“It’s been exciting to see the buzz created by us being numbers one. And the support we’ve had for these regional games. And we’re getting a lot of new fans, and a lot of people are checking out FGCU athletics for the first time…so that’s definitely a rewarding experience.”

Coach Smesko calls tonight’s game a ‘rematch’.

“Well Delta State is the one who knocked us out of the NCAA tournament last year. They’re ranked 4th in the nation – and are definitely a national championship contender. It’s going to take a tremendous effort on our part to stay in the game and hopefully win it in the end.”

The Lady Statesman…out of Cleveland, Mississippi…beat the Eagles 57 to 48 in the South Region Semifinals last year. So far this year the undefeated Eagles have beaten their opponents by nearly 40 points a game.

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the Division Two Elite Eight Tournament later this month at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Tip off’s tonight at 7:00 at Alico Arena on the FGCU campus. Tickets are still available.

Governor Charlie Cirst says Democrats and Republicans working together will be the key to solving Florida's most pressing problems.

Crist held his first State of the State address today, telling lawmakers they can achieve anything if they put Floridians ahead of their political parties.

His lengthy list of goals includes bringing tax relief to homeowners, developing alternative energy sources, creating paper trails for elections and protecting the environment. He also says giving raises to the state's best teachers is a priority.

“Under our proposal we would increase teacher pay by 10-percent for the top 25-percent of our teachers. This represents a doubling of the current program, and will go along way toward keeping and retaining Florida’s best teachers.”

Crist said the first bill he wants on his desk is the Anti-Murder Act, which would force judges to jail violent felons who violate probation. It’s inspired by three Florida girls who were raped and killed by ex-sex-offenders -- Jessica Lunsford, Carlie Brucia and Sarah Lunde.

Charlie Crist is the first Florida governor to talk about global climate change in his State of the State address.

He told lawmakers it's "one of the most important issues we will face this century"…especially in low-lying Florida.

“With almost 12-hundred miles of coastlines, and a majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state. Yet we’ve done little to understand and address the root causes of this problem, or frankly even acknowledge that the problem even exists. No longer.”

Crist said he would call a special summit of experts after the legislative session to study how Florida can respond to what he called this "monumental challenge."

He also greatly expanded the call to make alternative energy a priority, asking the Legislature for 68-million-dollars in incentives for ethanol and bio-diesel projects.

A Key West bicycle tour guide tooted Sabre Dance on a conch shell to win the men's division of the annual Conch Shell Blowing in Key West this weekend.

53-year-old Lloyd Mager, who began blowing the conch shell on his tours about 10 years ago, successfully blew the 1942 classical arrangement, crediting his win to his experience as a junior high school saxophone player and intense recent conch shell blowing training.

“I’ve been concentrating and focusing on getting out clearer and concise loud, crisp notes. I played saxophone and trumpet in junior high school in NJ about 45 years ago so it helps to have a little bit of the right ambiture.”

The contest was a highlight of the annual Old Island Days Festival that ends in May and celebrates Key West's cultural heritage.

Blowing the fluted, pink-lined shell has been a Florida Keys tradition since the early 1800s, when seafaring settlers used it as a signaling device. Key West natives are called "Conchs".

While it’s going to be several years - at least - until they’re actually building homes…a group of architects has gathered at Babcock Ranch to share visions for the proposed community’s first homes.

Once complete there’ll be about 19-thousand homes at the Babcock Ranch Community. The master plan calls for them to be as efficient, and ‘Green’ as possible...so developer Kitson & Partners brought in the principle architects from about a dozen firms to explore specific designs.

Director of Architecture and Sustainable Planning for Kitson/Babcock - Larry Peterson – says they’re trying to come up with design that looks like they belong on a real ranch…

“Not that we’re trying to build an historical village…it’s not a Disney-themed kind of an idea. But what we are interested in is how architects think about these new housing designs as they put new kinds of requirements in that they haven’t had to deal with in the past 50 years…like passive sustainability and hurricane resistance, and be very energy efficient and economical for people to operate.”

But Peterson says the plan calls for more than just efficient housing.

He says they’re starting a native plant nursery, and intend to landscape as much of the community as possible with drought resistant, indigenous plants grown on site.

The design forum wraps up Tuesday. Peterson says there’ll be another like it to discuss designs for commercial buildings.

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Lush, thick, green lawns amidst lots of rare flowering plants from around the globe…that’s exactly what designers hope yards in the Babcock Ranch Community WON’T look like.

Director of Architecture and Sustainable Planning with Kitson/Babcock - Larry Peterson - says the design plan for the proposed 19-thousand home community calls for as much native landscaping as possible. And it’ll be grown right there on site from a native plant nursery.

“So that all the plant palets and all the kinds of things that we would use to put in the medians of roadways and along the sides of roads, and our public spaces and civic spaces, and all of our churches and schools…that they’d all be native stock that was grown right here from the ranch.”

Peterson says residents will be able to pick amongst the nursery plants to ‘customize’ their yards.

He says they’ll also limit irrigation, and yard turf selection to less water-needy varieties…but because of that, he says residents might have to put up with a bit more brown than they’re used to during the driest parts of the year.

The father of the Wall Street Journal reporter killed in Pakistan in 2002 by terrorists while working to track Al-Quaida operatives after 9/11, spoke in Naples Sunday night.

Judea Pearl was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for The Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida. Following his son’s death, Judea Pearl formed the Daniel Pearl Foundation. He says it’s committed to promoting cross-cultural understanding using the three vocations in which Daniel excelled: journalism, music and dialogue.

“We bring Muslim journalists on fellowships to work in US newsrooms. We train hundreds of high school students in the art of balanced and objective international reporting and we bring together hundreds of musicians in musical concerts worldwide to promote intercultural respect. And we also sponsor public dialogue between Jews and Muslims to explore common ground and to air grievances.”

The music day is in October around Daniel’s birthday. 400 concerts are planned in 39 countries around the world dedicated to the ideals of tolerance and humanity.

Judea Pearl, and his wife, Ruth, are co-editors of the book, “I am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl,” winner of the 2004 National Jewish Book Award for Anthologies.

The Marco Island Historical Society hosts its Spring Appraisal Fair Saturday. Along with local experts – three appraisers from PBS’s Antiques Road Show will be on hand to examine heirlooms and treasures. We spoke to Ken Farmer who’s been with the program since 1997. He gave us gave a glimpse of what goes on off-camera at the Road Show.

Click these links to hear the Ken Farmer interview in its entirety.

Most of the panhandle is under a tornado warning this evening as a massive cold front moves across Florida…and we could see some severe weather here in Southwest Florida too.

The state’s storm prediction center is forecasting a ‘high’ risk of severe weather for northern Florida. That means numerous tornadoes are expected. A ‘moderate’ risk is forecast down to about I-4.

Warning Coordination Meteorologist – Daniel Noah – says while it’s only a quote ‘slight risk’ here in southwest Florida that still means a decent chance for very severe weather.

“Any storms that do develop, the atmosphere is very cold aloft, so the potential for very large hail and damaging downburst winds is there, however the most significant severe weather will remain in Northern Florida.”

To put it in perspective, the February 2nd tornadoes occurred under a “slight risk” forecast. Those tornadoes killed 21 people and caused millions of dollars in damage in Lake, Volusia and Sumter counties.

Noah says it’s rare for such a large region to be under a high risk.

“We don’t get into a high risk from the storm prediction center very often in the state of Florida. And when it does happen it is a big event, it’s significant. We’re talking widespread, prolonged severe weather across the panhandle through Jacksonville overnight.”

Noah says a combination of a warm front over the panhandle and the southern end of that massive cold front are causing the severe weather.