In the midst of hurricane season, Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is making sure the Federal Emergency Management Agency does its job correctly. From Our Capitol Hill Bureau, Terry Gildea has the story. (AUDIO)

Two top neuroscientists speak in Naples Saturday about a treatment for Parkinson’s Disease called Deep Brain Stimulation. The talk runs from 9:30 to 11:30 at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club…it’s free and open to the public. Director of the Parkinson’s & Movement Disorder Clinic at Morton Plant Neuroscience Institute in Clearwater - Dr. Michael Andriola – explains the disease…and Deep Brain Stimulation. Mike Kiniry spoke with him. (AUDIO)

Fifteen percent of home buyers in Florida are from outside the country. That’s according to a survey by the Florida Association on Realtors. 986 realtors from across the state participated in the 2005 Profile of International Home Buyers in Florida – the first survey of its kind. Communications Director for the Florida Association of Realtors, Marla Martin, says the survey data quantifies what realtors have been saying for years – Florida is a top spot.

“So, not only do people want to move here from all across the u.s. but of course people would like to live here or have second homes here or investment homes here from across the world.”

58 percent of those homebuyers are European – led by the UK. Thirteen point seven percent of International buyers purchased homes in the Naples Ft. Myers area. Miami Ft. Lauderdale – is the top destination – attracting 30 percent of international buyers. Martin attributes the attraction to Florida to climate and lifestyle. She says she expects international sales to remain strong.

“Drug courts” are now common across the country – but the concept was actually born in Florida in the late 1980s – as a way of ending the revolving door of repeat drug offenders. Valerie Alker recently attended a “drug court graduation ceremony” at the Justice Center in Punta Gorda and prepared this report. (AUDIO)

As Lee County’s population dips during the summer months because of departing seasonal residents, jury selection becomes a challenge…that’s according to Clerk of Courts, Charlie Green. Lee County uses what’s called a jury yield system…that means substantially more potential jurors are summoned than might be needed. But Clerk of Courts – Charlie Green – says he must cast an even wider net during the summer months…

“We pull our jurors from licensed drivers who are living in Lee County and their address is in the county…and then we summon, say we need 50 jurors for a given day, we may have to summon 110…particularly in the summer…to get the yield that we need, because so many of our residents are seasonal.”

Green says they generally get enough jurors, but have sometimes come up short. He says they’ve even had to literally go outside and pull people off the street. He emphasizes that because only licensed drivers are summoned, Lee County residents without a license who WANT to be included in the pool of potential jurors should get a Florida state I.D. card, which stands in for a license. Residents can be called for jury duty once a year.

Commercial vehicle owners and operators – take note. The city of Cape Coral will conduct a commercial vehicle inspection check point in the coming weeks. The aim is safety. Cape Coral Police Spokesman Angelo Bitsus says every time the city sets up commercial vehicle inspection checkpoints – a significant number of trucks and vans come up short. Bitsus says inspectors will check brakes, tires, headlights and other equipment related to safety. They’ll also be on the look out for overloaded vehicles.

“They are a problem. They are more dangerous difficult to control and to stop. When vehicles are overloaded they can cause damage to roadways – and all that increases the potential for accidents”

Inspectors will also check paperwork – making sure vehicles are properly registered and drivers are properly licensed. The exact time and location of the checkpoint will not be revealed in advance.

Hurricane Dennis will likely delay efforts to unearth some of Cuba’s historic treasures. Dennis ravaged the island nation last week. One hard-hit region was Cienfuegos on the south central coast.

For years now, a team of archaeologists from the U.S. & Cuba have tried to organize an excavation near there… in hopes of uncovering clues to the island’s native people.

Ethnohistorian Dr. John Worth—head of the Randell Research Center on Pine Island— is part of that effort. He’d planned a trip to Cuba this weekend to discuss the project. He’s since cancelled it, because so many people are in survival mode.

“Most of our contacts down there—including a Cuban archaeologist who’s a friend of ours—have received just severe damage. He, for example, lost the roof on his kitchen. And so he’s trying to stabilize things now. And a lot of the buildings in the area—I think more than 25,000 structures have had damage in Cienfuegos alone. They’re really just trying to take inventory, restore electricity, and water.”

Worth still hopes the excavation project can get underway by early next year. He notes Dennis damaged many treasures already above ground. Many historic buildings took a beating. In Cienfuegos, that includes the internationally-known “Terry Theatre” as well as a storied bay-front hotel.

Booksellers around southwest Florida, and the world, are gearing up for Saturday’s release of J.K. Rowling’s new Harry Potter book.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the 6th title in the massively popular children’s series.

Its publisher – Scholastic Books – has printed a record-setting 10-point-8-million copies for worldwide distribution.

Owner of Sarasota News & Books – Caren Lobo – says nothing really compares to the demand for Harry Potter…

“This is geometrically different. It’s a publishing phenomenon, and I don’t think there’s ever been anything that comes even close to it. We sell hundreds of copies of other authors’ books on a regular basis, but Harry Potter has just imprinted itself on the imaginations of people all over the world.”

Lobo says she’s ordered 4 or 5 times as many of the new Harry Potter book than other best selling titles. Her store will stay open past midnight Friday.

Libraries are also “preparing for Potter.”

Lee County Library spokeswoman Heather O’Connell says they’ve ordered more than 300 copies…but that’s not all…

“We then order something we call most wanted books – and those are leased titles – so when we know we have something as big as Harry Potter we go ahead and do additional leases of those same materials so that we can have more available in the libraries to meet the patron need.”

O’Connell says the “most wanted” program began during the LAST Harry Potter release.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also setting records at the U.S. Postal Service. Amazon.com is shipping more than 900,000 copies for Saturday delivery…the largest single online fulfillment event in history.

While most southwest Floridians sat back and watched Hurricane Dennis churn past – a few were packed their bags to head north. State emergency managers in Tallahassee called 41 members of the Southwest Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team to duty even before Dennis made landfall in the western Panhandle. Two teams – one of flood/swift water rescuers, the other, structural collapse specialists - left Sunday. Spokeswoman for the local task force - Christie Knudsen says one team is already on its way home…the other is searching a barrier island.

“Apparently it was documented that some people stayed on the island during the storm…so local officials have asked Florida Task Force 6 to search the island and make sure those people are accounted for and well, as well as make sure there’s no one else needing assistance on the island.”

Task force 6 is made up of 72 members of fire departments around Lee County. It’s put to use locally, regionally or anywhere its needed. Members of the task force were called up 3 times during the 2004 hurricane season. After Frances, they headed to Brevard County near Cape Canaveral – after Ivan they went to exactly where they are right now… Knudsen says they’re even staying at the same high school as last year.

One month before the state's new universal pre-kindergarten program kicks off, Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings toured the state visiting participating preschools and holding
discussions on the program's implementation, goals and future. She was in Fort Myers Friday.
So was Amy Tardif. (AUDIO)