Southwest Floridians have a new, free source for regional traffic information – from both their computers and their phones.

If you're stuck in traffic now answers why are just a phone call away. This region is the 5th to be added to the Florida Department of Transportation’s “511 Network”.

People can get real-time traffic information about conditions on 30 key roadways in Charlotte Lee & Collier Counties. The free service is accessed by dialing 511, or by going to the website SouthwestFlorida511-dot-com.

David Parks is Department spokesman.

“All of the information comes from FHP, Lee County Sheriffs, Collier County Sheriff…basically every emergency responder. When they’re responding to an incident we have a group of folks who are basically listening in on those scanners, similar to what’s used by other resources in town, to get the information they need, and then make the information available through 511 or southwestflorida511.com”

Similar service is provided in the Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale areas. 511 traffic programs are also in place in 33 states besides Florida.

Parks says the goal is to create a free, nationwide traffic network… available ‘round the clock by phone or the web.

Commissioners from the city of Sanibel and Lee County are tired of the ongoing algae problem. So officials voted today/yesterday to commit to another study…but this one they hope will prove that the algae is indeed caused by run-off from lake Okeechobee.

It was a unanimous vote by both city and county officials. They want to prove that there is a link between the runoff from agriculture into Lake Okeechobee and the runoff that eventually makes it down the Caloosahatchee River into the coastal estuaries. Ray Judah, county commissioner for District 3 says this problem is hurting the beaches and the economy.

“We’re having tremendous problems with red drift algae building up on coastal beaches. And we’re also having problems with red tide in our coastal estuaries.”

Judah says some people point out that due to the drought, right now there are no releases from the Lake down the river – but there is still a lot of algae. Judah says he hopes the new study will find the link between the lake and algae – even in the dry season. Officials are pursuing grants to pay for the study.

A group called ‘Citizens for a Better Fort Myers Government’ – along with the American Civil Liberties Union - launched a petition drive yesterday...in support of an elected, civilian police oversight board.

The group’s goal is to get the 25-hundred or so signatures needed over the next 100 days and then request the Fort Myers City Council call a special election. The council voted down such a review board last summer.

The group’s chairman – Anthony Thomas, Jr. – says he thinks the idea will get wide support.

“I really don’t think this is a partisan issue…I’m a republican, the vice chair of my committee is a democrat. We have white members, we have black members, Hispanic members…this is an issue about government. In the last election – in 2006 – the voters in America voted for change, they voted for oversight. And I believe they’re going to do the same here in Fort Myers.”

The Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida – Howard Simon – was on hand for yesterday’s announcement.

“It is clear that this is an effort to go over the head of the city council. We were here back in the late summer when the council gave most of the day consideration to the proposal for an independent civilian review board, it failed. Although there has been some change in the make up of the city council here.”

Longtime city councilwoman Veronica Shoemaker lost her seat last week to former Fort Myers Police Officer – Johnny Streets, Jr. She’d voted against the civilian review board. He said during the campaign that he’d support such a board.

Lakes Regional Park is going high tech. Park officials have announced the first wireless internet service in the Lee County park system. The service will be available around the south parking lot near the beach area. Senior program specialists with the parks, Tracy Arkin says her bosses thought wireless service might be a good idea to have.

“Our Director and deputy director thought that that would be a great idea that we could give to our patrons and participants in our parks if we kind of started implementing a wi-fi system.”

Arkin adds that her office is now getting the word out through banners, flyers and the parks brochures. She also says if this system is a success there is a good chance other parks in the county could also have wireless internet service in the future.

Bonita Spring Utilities has a plan to protect the environment, save its customers some money, and reduce the number of its trucks on the roadways.

The Utilities company says they will accomplish all three of those goals by using a process called membrane bio-reactor technology. It allows the utility company to take the wastewater and instead of producing sludge, that can be expensive and hazardous to get rid of, it will produce solid pellets. Those pellets will be turned around and sold to farmers as fertilizer. Executive Director of the Utility, Fred Partin, says this technology is not exactly new.

“I know it’s been used for a number of years…people will be familiar with the product known as mil-organite…I think over the years that’s basically the same product that we would be creating.”

Partin says the pellets would help alleviate the number of trucks on the roads since it requires fewer vehicles to transport. He adds, the new wastewater facility that is ready to open near Terry Street and I-75 will use the new pellet technology, but the older facility unfortunately doesn’t have the space for it.

Officials at a Florida Keys marine mammal rehabilitation facility initiated a dolphin "chat line" of sorts this weekend, hoping a pregnant deaf dolphin's calf will learn to communicate with other dolphins after it’s born. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

Researchers at Florida Gulf Coast University have won a national award in recognition of their successful community program to restore oyster reefs in Southwest Florida. The work was concentrated in Charlotte Harbor where years of development and subsequent poor water quality have destroyed or diminished many oyster reefs. The program was headed by Marine Science Professor Aswani Volety – who says oysters are an important part of the Harbor’s ecosystem.

“for one thing they filter tremendous amounts of water removing algae, bacteria, sediment and pollutants – cleaning the water and also in doing so they allow the light to penetrate the bottom layers and that enables the sea-grasses and other plants that live on the bottom to grow better and they provide a 3 dimensional structure that provides food and habitat for over 300 marine species.”

The researchers involved residents who live on canals adjacent to Charlotte Harbor in growing oyster larvae. The growth was monitored to determine what areas are most conducive for oyster reefs. Material for the oyster larvae to attach themselves was then put down.

An innovative hurricane safety partnership between the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and Florida Keys emergency management officials was honored last week at the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans.

The awards committee cited the proactive tourism hurricane safety program to communicate the need for visitor evacuations in the event of an approaching storm. It's the first time in the almost 30-year history of the award that a tourism agency has been honored. Former National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield praises the program.

"You’ve got to be proactive and it's really unusual to have a tourist development council like this be that proactive. Usually they do everything they can to keep the tourists there and to keep the tourist dollars coming in. But you don’t ever want to have that loss of life on your conscience there from a hurricane. One of the best practices - I use this as an example everywhere I go."

The program was developed in 1998. It features a communications plan designed to reach Keys visitors with information about impending evacuations. In 2005, the program was expanded to include information on hurricanes and safety plans for tourists before they even arrive in the Keys.

April is swimming pool safety month in Florida – as proclaimed by Governor Charlie Crist. It’s a noteworthy designation. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death of children under age five in the Sunshine State, as well as in California and Arizona.


The reason for the high number of drowning deaths is obvious – year ‘round pool use. There are an estimated one million swimming pools in Florida – many of those are in backyards. The Florida Swimming Pool Association has developed safety guidelines that are posted at its website - Floridapoolpro.com. Spokeswoman Wendy Parker says constant supervision tops the list.

“if there are kids in the a pool it’s good to designate a person as the pool watcher and then just trade off – if the phone rings get everybody out of the pool – don’t go inside – because above all watching your children at all times near any body of water is going to be the best prevention…”

Parker says the guidelines also include installing pool barriers – and – and putting alarms on doors and windows that open to the pool area. Battery operated alarms can also be installed in swimming pools – that are set off by lots of splashing. 65 percent of drowning deaths of young children in swimming pools happen at home

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Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of five in Florida, California and Arizona. Those numbers prompted Governor Charlie Crist to proclaim April “Swimming Pool Safety Month”. Wendy Parker of the Florida Swimming Pool Association says the best protection for children is constant supervision when they’re in the water. Barriers are also important.

“those would be a mesh fence put up around the pool, a safety cover that actually is an automatic cover that would prevent anyone from falling under – alarms on doors and windows that go to the pool area so that if a door was opened by anyone it would alert anyone in the home and a battery operated alarm in the pool as well.”

There are about a million swimming pools in Florida – most of those are in backyards. 65 percent of drowning deaths of young children in pools happen at the home of an immediate family member.

Floating trash and debris along some area canals is a problem Water District officials feel they can finally get a grip on.

The South Florida Water Management District’s Big Cypress Basin has a plan to deal with trash floating through canals into Naples Bay, which causes massive amounts of pollution. They deployed the first of many TuffBoom Barrier’s into the canal system Thursday. Crews put the first one at Golden Gate Weir number one. Tuffbooms is a floating barrier that pushes floating debris to the banks of the canal for cleanup. Big Cypress Basin director Clarence Tears, says the booms, similar to the types used in logging, should remain a permanent fixture.

“They should ultimately never have to be replaced, but what we may have to do…you know over time…is see if the angle that we’re trying to deflect the surface debris is enough. So there may be some fine tuning but other than that it will stay in place for the long term.”

Tears says the rains and floods from last year sent a lot of lawn and residential debris through the canals. Crews install the second of three booms Friday at Golden Gate Weir number two.