Angola was a community of escaped slaves, black Seminoles and self-emancipated Africans who made their home in the early 1800’s in Southwest Florida. Archaeologists are conducting the first underwater survey of the Manatee River in Bradenton searching for the town that has since disappeared. But so far it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Amy Tardif reports.

Starting Tuesday hunters across Florida can submit their applications for one of the 45-hundred permits available for the 2007 alligator hunting season.

Permits are issued on a first come, first serve basis for the 11 week alligator harvest…which begins August 15th and runs through the 1st of November.

Permits cost about 270 dollars and allow hunters to kill two alligators. Non-residents are eligible, but at nearly 4 times the cost.

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman – Gary Morris – says there are 2 different kinds of permits…

“One is for an alligator harvest unit that’s a specific body of water. We only allow a certain number of alligators be taken out of certain bodies of water, and that has to do with managing the population. There’s also countywide harvest permits that allow you to go into public lakes, NOT in incorporated municipalities and cities and harvest gators from those public water bodies.”

First declared an endangered species in 1967 because of demand for their hides…the large reptiles made a comeback and were de-listed in 1987.

More than 64-hundred alligators were killed during the 2006 season…up from about 34-hundred the year before. Once on the brink of extinction, there are now more than a million ‘gators in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Georgia.

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The state began accepting applications yesterday for alligator hunting permits for the 2007 season. The 270-dollar permits are issued in the order they were received. They allow hunters to kill 2 alligators…but only in specific bodies of water chosen during the application process.

And Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman – Gary Morris – says these permits have nothing to do with nuisance alligators.

“The nuisance alligator program is entirely different from the public waters hunt program. It deals with nuisance alligators you’d find in your swimming pools, your backyard, or ones that are threatening your pets, people or property. And generally that occurs in urban and suburban areas where the public waters alligator hunt does not occur.”

Morris says the FWC receives nearly 20-thousand calls on its nuisance alligator hotline each year. Killing an alligator in Florida without a permit is a third degree felony. The nuisance gator hotline is 866-FWC-GATOR.

Florida’s Senior United States Senator Democrat Bill Nelson and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu are urging their senate colleagues to expedite the construction and launch of a new weather satellite.

Nasa’s QuickScat Satellite provides high resolution measurements of sea-level winds which are an important component in hurricane forecasting. But QuickScat, which was supposed to have a five year life span, is now in its 8th year of operation – and could fail at anytime. Senator Nelson says it’s critical that it be replaced.

“if we suddenly lose this by it going on the blink it would lessen our accuracy of our hurricane tracking forecast by about 16 percent – we need every bit of information we can get so when the monster comes we want to know where it’s going to hit so you can get the people out of harms way.”

According to National Hurricane Center Director Bill Proenza, no replacement is planned. Design and construction of a new satellite would take 3 to 4 years and cost up to 400 million dollars. Nelson and Landrieu are asking the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to schedule a hearing on the importance of weather satellites. They have also introduced a bill to develop a replacement satellite.

Rookery Bay and the Society for Ethical Ecotourism in Southwest Florida are presenting a free program aimed at making ecotourism even greener.

Coordinator John Kiseda says eco-tour operators, fishing guides and ferry boat captains do a good job – but the program offers tips for doing it even better.

“as they are winding their way through the backwaters they can share information about the birds and ecosystems that they’re running through – plus some techniques they might use as far as slowing down their boats whenever a manatee or porpoise comes along so you can not only get a look at them but also explain to folks that you slowing down because there is an animal in the area and you want to go cautiously”

The program is Tuesday evening from 6 to 8:30 at Rutenberg Park in Ft. Myers. It will be presented by Alberto Chavez who has extensive experience leading tours in the Galapagos Islands. It will be repeated Thursday June 21st at Rookery Bay in Naples. Information is on line at www.seeswfl.org.

Police are asking for help to identify 8 skeletons found back in March, a few miles east of downtown Fort Myers. They say they’re still ruling nothing out, and remain guarded with details, but they allude to it being a potential dumping ground. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry has more.



Here are the details released Friday by the Fort Myers Police Department:

Individual #1

Age: Late 20’s to early 40’s, height 5 feet2 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, in life he had sustained injuries to his legs, forearm and chest. He has three wisdom teeth and has not had current dental care. He could have lived a transient lifestyle.

Individual #2

Age: 20’s to 30’s, height 5 feet 6inches to six feet tall. This person had healed fractures to his right fibula, nose and collarbone. He does not have wisdom teeth and he may have had braces.

Individual #3

Age: 20’s to 30’s, height 5 feet seven inches to 6 feet 3 inches, very good dental care with all four wisdom teeth.

Individual #4

Age: 20’s to 30’s, height 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall, with some dental fillings and all four wisdom teeth intact.

Individual #5

Age: 18 to early 20’s, height 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet four inches tall, excellent dental care. One of this individual’s wisdom teeth were removed. The other three remain.

Individual #6

Age: late 20’s to early 40’s, height 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall. This individual could have complained of hip or back problems. All four wisdom teeth are present and there are dental fillings in other teeth.

Individual #7

White male, possibly Hispanic, age 20’s to 30’s, height 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches. This individual still has all four wisdom teeth. He fractured his right wrist in life.

Individual #8

Age: 20’s to 30’s, height 5 feet six inches to 6 feet tall, with god dental work and all four wisdom teeth intact. He might have been an athlete, weight lifter, or had a job that required heavy lifting.

Anyone with information can call police at 1-877-667-1296, or 239-339-4008.

Thirty two veterans were reconized in Naples Wednesday for the roles they played in liberating Europe from Nazi domination during World War II. Allied landings on Normandy beaches on what would come to be known as "D-Day" are now considered the turning point of the war fought on three continents and many fronts. WGCU's Christine Buckley was at the ceremony and has this story.

The former director of the Environmental Protection Agency will deliver the keynote address at a symposium in Key West beginning Friday. Christine Todd Whitman will talk about dwindling fresh water resources.

Christine Todd Whitman, who directed the EPA from 2001 to 2003, kicks off the Fifth Annual Truman Legacy Symposium, a conference concentrating on one aspect of former President Harry S. Truman’s tenure as chief executive.

“Truman really took things to a level that raised the awareness of the American people on the importance of preserving land and preserving the precious resources, like water – something that we don’t make more and most people seem to not understand that. They think it’s a free commodity that doesn’t need help whatsoever. You look at Lake Okeechobee and see what’s happening to water there and water throughout Florida and translate that around the country and the world and you’ll see what an enormous issue it is.”

Titled "Harry S. Truman and the Environment: From Los Alamos to the Everglades," the symposium is at the Little White House in Key West where Truman spent 175 days during his 1945-1953 tenure in office. Its timing coincides with the 60th anniversary of Truman’s dedication of Everglades National Park.

Whitman also plans to discuss current U.S. environmental policy and the importance of leadership relationships at both government and grassroots levels.

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The Fifth Annual Truman Legacy Symposium kicks off in Key West Friday. This year’s theme is the environment, marking the 60th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman’s dedication of Everglades National Park. Christine Todd Whitman, who directed the EPA from 2001 to 2003 delivers the key note address. She says President Truman, who served from 1945 to 1953, was ahead of the curve.

“And it was very hard to be ahead. It always is hard in environmental issues to be ahead of the curve because it’s hard to convince people about a problem they may not be seeing. And yet that’s really what he did with his environmental legacy.”

Other presenters include Michael Grunwald of "The Washington Post," author of "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida and the Politics of Paradise, one of Truman’s speechwriters as well as Truman’s grandson Clifton Truman Daniel.

The symposium takes place at the Little White House in Key West where Truman vacationed when he was President.

FLoridians want significant tax relief but don’t want to compromise their quality of life. That pretty much sums up the results of a recent survey taken as the special legislative session aimed at property tax cuts approaches.

During the boom years of the mid 2000’s increasing property values led to a spike in property taxes – especially for business owners and part-time residents. And residents benefitting from the state save our homes amendment have felt trapped in homes that have been too large or small. Lawmakers listened and promise a fix, but county officials are wary. Charlotte County Administrator Bruce Loucks says taxpayers can’t have it both ways - tax cuts will also mean cuts in service.

“a lot people are going to be impacted different ways, for some people they don’t get – they don’t see the benefit they get from government services and that’s fine – those are the people that it doesn’t matter one way or the other what the impacts are however if you’re a person with children and you need parks and libraries then I think the impacts will be more significant. These impacts are going to be hitting different segments of the population differently"

Loucks says if lawmakers proceed as anticipated a resident of Charlotte County with an annual tax bill of 2000 dollars will see their taxes decline by about 380 dollars a year.

By law, counties are required to provide for the public’s safety – so those services would not be impacted. Other’s most likely will be. The special session starts June 12th.

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County officials will have their sights focused on Tallahassee next week as state lawmakers begin a special session aimed at lowering property taxes. In a recent poll nearly all respondents said they want significant property tax cuts. But they also said they don’t want local governments to make up for those cuts by reducing services. Charlotte County Administrator Bruce Loucks says that’s wishful thinking.


"Government cannot reduce its revenues without reducing expenses . We collect 150 million dollars in property taxes from residents – 80 million of that goes to those constitutional offices – so half of the ad valorem taxes we collect we cannot impact – so for budget reductions to be made they have to come from the other half of the county sources that funds things like libraries and parks and some of those discretionary services."

The constitutional officers are tax collector, elections supervisor, property appraiser and clerk of courts. The state government also has final say over the sheriff’s budget. Loucks says there’s little fat to cut from Charlotte County’s budget – it’s spent millions over the last three years repairing infrastructure damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Charley in 2004.

There is an ancient art form that until the last fifty years or so remained hidden from the world. It is the sand Mandala. Created by Tibetan Buddhist monks, the Mandala was never seen by outsiders. There is not one left from ancient times. But as WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports, a group of Tibetan monks are in southwest Florida this week creating a Mandala to share important lessons from their unique art form.

One need only look at the current state of Lake Okeechobee to understand the severity of the current drought. It has dehydrated to record low levels, threatening the back-up drinking water supply for South Floridians and forcing severe water restrictions. But state officials say some good will come of it. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez has more.