Technology allows people to do a lot of everyday chores by remote. People can check their voicemail anywhere there’s a phone. Smart homes allow folks to turn the lights on and off from miles away…And there are similar trends in medicine. Ryan Warner reports. (AUDIO)

Forecasters warn the coming hurricane season could rival last year’s. A new U.S. Senate bill would restrict the National Weather Service from providing free information to the public. Florida lawmakers say it’s not only a bad idea, but a dangerous one. Benjamin Shaw has the story from Capitol Hill. (AUDIO)

Sarasota city leaders— along with some residents of public housing—traveled to the Big Easy this week—to get ideas for the future of public housing. The tour’s aim was to give local leaders a look at how the Department of Housing and Urban Development is addressing public housing in New Orleans. HUD recently stepped in to assist Sarasota’s housing authority… And the HUD specialist in charge – Carmen Valenti – spent the past 3 years working in New Orleans.
Sarasota Mayor - Mary Anne Servian – says the focus is getting new ideas for replacing the city’s dilapidated Janie Poe complex.

“We certainly don’t want to put back on the site only public housing. We know that that’s a model that fails…concentrating poverty doesn’t work. What we do know is working is these models across the country of public housing where they’ve received grants and they’ve redeveloped the properties into mixed income properties.”

Servian says the mixed-income model has been used effectively in New Orleans. The idea is to seamlessly combine public, low-income and market-rate housing in the same area. The Janie Poe complex is a 128-unit public housing complex built in the early 1970’s.

Lee County might not get the all the federal funding for beach renourishment it was hoping for.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a major cut in renourishment funding last week. The projects replace eroded shorelines and sandy beaches—washed away by wind and waves. Under the proposed bill, Lee would still get $750,000 to help restore its beaches…but that’s less than a third of what county officials are hoping for. Marine engineering manager with Lee County’s Natural Resources Division Steve Boutel says any federal funding is good news.

“Even if we come out at the end of this process with $750,000 it’s still a success from our perspective. When you look at how difficult it is to secure any federal funding...for beach projects right now in particular, that’s something that we consider to be a very positive result of a lot of hard work from people here at the county, and those in Washington working on our behalf.”

The $750,000 must still get approval from the full House. Then, the Senate will begin discussion on its version in June.

Eden Winery in Alva, near Fort Myers, stands to benefit from a recent Supreme Court decision, which allows wineries to ship directly to out-of-state customers. Ryan Warner reports. (AUDIO)

Enrollment is now open…for voluntary universal pre-kindergarten in Florida. Parents can sign up four year olds for the three hour daily program—spurred by a constitutional amendment.
Even as the state is asking parents to register their children, it’s also looking for private providers to sign up. The number of registered preschools is well below the number believed to be needed, by August, to begin the program. One school already involved in the process is Save Haven – a ministry of Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church in Lee County.

“Do you have medical records? Not with me. You can bring them any time before he starts. Just the latest shot record and physical within two years.”

Chris Shields is the director. She says the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since she placed a large red sign in front of the church.

“We have been so busy. We’ve had three or four calls every single day and then people just showing up which is fine too because then they can see the program in action. We’ve got one classroom full already and we’re working on a second.”

As many as 150 thousand four-year-olds could take part in the state-funded program. It’s estimated that will require at least 10 thousand private and faith-based providers. However, some say they can’t handle the new students for the $2500 the state is paying per-child, per-year for the three hour a day program. Formal applications were mailed to potential providers last week. Parents and providers can register on line at vpkflorida.org.

Weather buffs can get free training to become SKYWARN “storm spotters"…today and tomorrow in Lee County. Skywarn is a partnership between local emergency managers, the National Weather Service, and volunteer storm spotters. Willing participants are certified to recognize and report severe weather… like tornadoes, microburst winds and hail. Lee County Emergency Management Coordinator - Terri Kelly – says Skywarn volunteers help the experts gather data radar can miss.

“The radar is about 100 miles from here, so they can only watch from about 20-thousand feet up. So they have to get more eyes on the weather patterns…on occasion we do have some significant weather occurrences, smaller tornados, hail, large amounts of lightning and things like that…something that’s just out of the ordinary.”

Skywarn volunteers may also be contacted in the event experts are unsure of what they’re seeing… in hopes of getting ground level reports. Call the Lee County Emergency Operations Center to register. The training is free.

WGCU’s Assistant News Director and host of Gulf Coast Live Ryan Warner recently returned from Israel. He traveled with members of “Temple Shalom” in Naples. He has this essay about his journey to the Middle East…(AUDIO)

A recent ruling to allow a new phosphate mine at the headwaters of the Peace River is getting mixed reviews from Charlotte County officials. The ruling comes after a 2-month trial during which the county challenged the proposed Horse Creek Mine. That creek – located in Hardee & Manatee counties - supplies 15-percent of flow to the Peace River – which, in turn, feeds Charlotte Harbor. The ruling by Administrative Law Judge – Robert Meale – advises the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to grant a permit for the Mosaic Company’s proposed 42-hundred-acre strip mine. It’s the first phase in a more than 20-thousand-acre proposal.
Although initial reaction among local government officials & environmentalists was negative, further review of Judge Meale’s 450-page ruling revealed 24 new stipulations, says Charlotte County Commissioner, Adam Cummings…

“My initial reaction was dismay that the permit was granted. As we got further into evaluating the recommended order, we got to thinking that this isn’t so bad after all. Some of the conditions that the judge has built into it may help move us incrementally along toward improved regulation of the industry.”

Those conditions include blocking mines in some pristine areas - and requiring Mosaic to guarantee cleanup, even if the company goes under. Judge Meale’s findings can be accepted, rejected or modified by Florida D.E.P Secretary - Colleen Castille. Once she issues her final order, it will either be challenged or accepted by the county.

Fourteen arrests have been made for false claims in Miami-Dade since four hurricanes swept through Florida last summer. The arrests lead to a Congressional investigation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It found 5000 people in Miami were given money for dubious reasons. Jill Morrison has more from Capitol Hill. (AUDIO)