The last private piece of a 125-acre island in Estero Bay will soon get another chance to become part of the Koreshan State Historic Site.
A subcommittee of Lee County’s Conservation 2020 will get a new environmental review on Mound Key next week. The county’s land preservation program wants to buy the archaeologically significant site but the brothers who own it are still exploring their options, while asking for 15 million dollars. resident of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Andrew McElwaine, says they’d love to see the site preserved but the asking price is very high.

“What you’d hope is that the owners would be cognizant of a couple of things, one is the unique value of the resource. The second is the tax consequences of taking all that money. Where with a bargain sale or if they really can justify that it’s worth that much, if they sell it at less than that they could reap significant tax benefits.”

Archaeologists believe the island was the capital of the Calusa Indian empire that dominated Southwest Florida for thousands of years. It was also the site of the first Jesuit mission in North America in 1567.

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The island that was the first Jesuit mission in North America in 1567 and the capital of Southwest Florida’s Calusa Indians has one last piece of private property on it. Three Fort Myers brothers whose family bought the land in 1896 have offered it to Lee County’s Conservation 2020 program for 15 million dollars – or they could build as many as 6 homes on it. But Conservancy of Southwest Florida President Andrew McElwaine says the brothers should consider other pricing methods.

“Work with 2020 to take it in a series of payments and things of that nature, donate a portion of it – sell the rest. You know the tax consequences would be enormous for selling at that price where they could do the right thing and reap some real tax benefits by doing so.”

Lee County wants to buy the 9-acre tract to add it to the Koreshan State Historic site. A new county report gives the property high marks for native plant cover and for the presence of mangroves and island hammock. It’s also home to two major Calusa Indian mounds and it’s home to the Grand Canal dug by the Calusas more than 500 years ago.

A Naples 8th grader has become the first child in Southwest Florida to benefit from video conferencing technology that allows him participate in classroom activities from home. Benjamin McDonough is too “medically frail” to attend regular classes at Oak Ridge Middle School - but now he can thanks to a broadband inter-net connection WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.“This story was produced with support from the Independent Television Service and the Lance Armstrong Foundation as part of local activities for “A Lion in the House”. The PBS program profiles five children with cancer over a span of six years. It airs June 21st, 22nd and 25th on WGCU-TV.

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Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne won Senate approval as Interior secretary on Friday. His confirmation heairngs highlighted the administration's pro-development policy on offshore energy exploration. Though the confirmation was never in doubt, he was challenged by two democrats.
Florida Democrat Bill Nelson stood on the Senator floor emphasizing why he opposed Kempthorne - because of the nominee’s strong support for putting oil and gas rigs off Florida.
“During my three decades of public service, that I have held fast to a promise to fight to keep big oil away from Florida’s coastlines – to keep that industry from soiling our home; and, from ruining our economy. In Florida, a clean, healthy environment is the infrastructure of our tourism-driven economy and, it is the source of sustenance for millions of residents and visitors, alike.”
Administration policy calls for opening 3.6 million acres of the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling. The Senate confirmed the Idaho governor as the 49th interior secretary, replacing Gale Norton. Senator Mel Martinez, the Florida Republican, was one of the 85 who voted in favor.
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Idaho governor and former Senator Dirk Kempthorne won senate approval Friday as the next Secretary of the Interior despite opposition from key Democrats, including Bill Nelson of Florida.

Dirk Kempthorne becomes the 49th Interior Secretary. He succeeds Gale Norton, who served from 2001 until her resignation in March. He worked to develop consensus on management of Idaho's and the West's natural resources. He helped develop an historic bipartisan agreement for returning salmon runs. And he worked with western governors and federal officials to change the approach to forest health and wildfire management. But Florida Senator Bill Nelson doesn’t believe in how Kempthorne might treat his region – by being lenient on adding oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

“And in America, where we have only three-percent of the world’s oil reserves, our addiction to black gold will not be broken by more drilling, but by mounting an aggressive effort to fully exploit greater efficiencies and alternative fuels. As a part of my promise to Florida, I have said I could not support an interior secretary who would advance this administration’s willingness to acquiesce to the oil lobby and its ever-increasing desire for greater profits beyond even the recent, record levels.”“

Administration policy calls for opening 3.6 million acres of the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling. Nelson was one of only 8 senators who voted against Kempthorne’s nomination. Senator Mel Martinez Republican of Florida voted in favor of Kempthorne.

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Storm experts from Florida delivered a pre-hurricane season briefing to members of the state’s US House of Representatives delegation on Thursday. As we hear in this report from Bob Costantini, the now- famous face of the nation’s chief Hurricane tracker appeared in person:


THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER’S POINT MAN, MAX MAYFIELD TOLD MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA DELEGATION AND STAFFERS THAT AT LEAST FOUR SEVERE STORMS ARE BOUND TO FORM IN THE ATLANTIC.

HE BOASTED THE CENTER’S TRACKING MODELS ARE GETTING BETTER EACH YEAR:

“The reason for that is improved observations, faster computers and much improved computer models. We’ve been very honest with people in saying that where we need help is with the intensity forecasting.”


MAYFIELD PUT IN A PLUG FOR A NEW INTENSITY-SPECIFIC STUDY CENTER WHICH COULD BE IN FLORIDA.

AND REPUBLICAN REPRESENATIVE MARK FOLEY OF PORT CHARLOTTE—WHICH WAS SLAMMED BY CHARLIE IN 2004 - IS STRESSING HIS CONSTITUENTS LISTEN TO MAYFIELD WHEN HE HITS THE AIRWAVES:

“I want people to first and foremost pay attention to his warnings. Understand we all have to be better prepared with water and things in our own homes—self reliance.”

IN THE WAKE OF KATRINA, OFFICIALS WITH FEMA SAY THEY ARE BETTER PREPARED THIS YEAR, FOLLOWING A MAJOR UPHEAVAL AT THE AGENCY.

FOR WGCU, I’M BOB COSTANTINI ON CAPITOL HILL.

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