Mote Marine Laboratory scientists are studying bull sharks in the Caloosahatchee River to determine if they’ve been exposed to human drugs. If the drugs interfere with their ability to reproduce, it could eventually devastate the species, which already faces numerous threats from humans and has been in a steep population decline since the 1970s. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

Agriculture is an important part of Southwest Florida's environment and economy, and will continue to play a role as the region grows and develops. That's the consensus of a study of the region's agricultural viability done by economists at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU's Valerie Alker reports.

While it may have seemed like we got a lot of rain over the weekend, water managers say it will take many more Tropical Storm Barry’s to pull the region out of its record drought. But fire officials are thanking the tropical system for helping them contain several area wildfires.

Some areas of the Florida received up to 7 inches of rain as Barry swept across the state. Here in southwest Florida rain gauges showed between 1 and 3 inches of rain on Friday and Saturday.

Wildfire Mitigation Specialist with the Florida Division of Forestry – Jerry LaCavera – says that was enough to cool several large fires they’d been battling.

“We actually got enough rain so that we were able to put the level of containment on both the Hendry County fire and the Picayune Strand fire that was still open at 100-percent containment. The fire in Big Cypress was also able to move to 95-percent containment because of help we got from the rain.”

LaCavera says Barry’s rains will help keep the wildfire risk down for a few days at least, but that it’s still extremely dry and the fire risk still increased. And water managers say Barry did nothing to change their long-term outlook…and that water use restrictions are still in place, across South Florida.

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Barry’s rains helped firefighters get a handle on several large fires they’d been battling in recent weeks. The fire in Collier County in the Picayune Strand State Forest is now considered 100-percent contained, as is another fire that had been burning in Hendry County.

Jerry LaCavera is Wildfire Mitigation Specialist with the Florida Division of Forestry. He says Barry solved an immediate need for moisture in critical areas, but that what’s really needed is a return to typical rain patterns.

“These once in a while large events are nice, but a lot of that water does run off because the ground’s so hard. We need the duration of rain to hit so they can soak in, do the good, and get both the water management water tables back up to where they belong, and the vegetation fully moisturized so we can lower the wildfire risk that way.”

LaCavera says the wildfire risk will be a bit lower over the next few days, but that the long-term outlook is still quite dry.

Water managers are reminding residents that Barry’s showers had no effect on water use restrictions…which are still in effect across South Florida.

After more than half a century the Admiral Lehigh golf course is closed and the resort will soon face a wrecking ball…but first people will get a chance to bid on its contents.

The City of Lehigh Acres literally grew up around the hotel and golf course. Potential real estate buyers from around the world stayed at the hotel in the 1950’s and 60’s while shopping for a new place to call home in sunny Florida.

Jim Davis is one of two auctioneers who’ll be calling the 3-day sale. He says he expects the event to draw a big crowd.

“People love it. People come for entertainment, honestly they do. And they’ll buy the strangest things, but they love it. And we have a crowd that follows us for our home auctions that we have at houses for estate sales, we’ll see the same people over and over again.”

The course’s cart barn has been converted into a giant storage shed filled with…well, lots of hotel stuff. TV’s and coffee pots by the score are lined up next to stacks of dozens of the same framed golf prints awaiting new homes.

The future of the land the golf course and hotel sit on is uncertain. There’s an effort to keep some or all of it as green space, but it is worth much more if developed.

The auction kicks off at 10 am Friday and continues over the weekend.

The Chair of the Florida Democratic Party was in Southwest Florida Thursday.

Former Congresswoman Karen Thurman attended a reception in Naples in afternoon and met with Democrats at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Ft. Myers Thursday evening. Thurman says after losing ground to the GOP in the Sunshine State following the 1994 election – Democrats are on the comeback trail – as demonstrated last November.

“Most importantly because we kept Senator Nelson, we were able to pick up a cabinet seat with Alex Sink, we were able to pick up two – we think three congressional seats, and we actually flipped seven republican state house seats and took them away from Republicans and made them Democratic”

Southwest Florida has been considered a Republican stronghold for years….attracting high profile members of the GOP and hosting many highly successful fundraising events. But Thurman says the Democratic Party is now poised to pay more attention to this area of the state – and take advantage of a shift in voter attitudes and allegiance.

Drug abuse and treatment professionals from around Florida will converge on downtown Fort Myers Monday (today) for a conference on addictive disorders.

Roughly 600 professionals from around the Sunshine State will choose from among 27 workshops throughout the day on topics such as interventions, gambling, and what’s being called “the graying of addiction”.

Executive Director of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida – Keral Kronseder-Vogt - says elders with addiction problems often aren’t identified because people tend to misinterpret symptoms.

“We tend not to see problems which initially seem like they are physical, which actually are related to a misuse of alcohol and medication. It’s a very important issue, and considering our population in SWFL, which is heavy on our elders, a topic that definitely needs attention.”

Kronseder-Vogt says while it’s a growing issue among seniors, prescription drug abuse is rising even faster among kids.

The conference gets underway Monday morning at 8 am at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers. The public is invited.

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Southwest Florida teens consistently rank near the top of the list when it comes to underage drinking rates in the Sunshine State.

Ways to combat that trend will be one of many topics presented Monday at the Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida’s 6th annual Conference on Addictive Disorders.

The Coalition’s Executive Director – Keral Kronseder-Vogt – says in the past underage drinking was often seen as a rite of passage, but it’s a lot more dangerous than previously thought.

“We know that if adolescents drink it’s not just that they have great danger of being in an accident and killing themselves and other. What recent research has indicated is that there is enormous, longstanding and perhaps permanent brain damage done to areas of the brain which determine the personality. Which determine our ability to make logical, reasoned decisions.”

Kronseder-Vogt says she expects rising underage drinking rates and the rise of methamphetamine addiction to be hot topics at the conference, as well as- at the other end of the spectrum - the so-called ‘graying of addiction’.

And she says while it is a professional addictions conference at Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers, anyone can attend. Information is on line at www.DRUGSWFL.org.