Hurricane experts at Colorado State University have significantly upgraded their predictions for the current hurricane season. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean Florida is doomed.
William Gray—noted for his annual forecast—now predicts 20 named storms, including 10 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. That’s up from 15 storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 major ones.
Gray says most of the factors he looks at seem to indicate more tropical activity than he first forecast in May.

We had forecast a pretty active season then, but since then unbelievably we’ve had 7 named storms with another one now in early August forming, Harvey, and perhaps another one. So this is shaping up as a very active season. We don’t expect Florida to be hit by anything like the activity last year.”

Factors like warmer temperatures in the Atlantic, lower surface pressure, low vertical wind shear, and lots of rain in Western Africa contribute to the revised forecast. Gray says the period from August 20th to October 20th tends to be the height of hurricane season for Florida. He describes Dennis and Emily - 2 major storms before August 1st – as VERY rare. Spokesman for Collier County’s Emergency Operations Center - Jim von Rinteln – says it’s not unusual for forecasters to update their predictions mid-season. But, he says, predictions don’t have much impact on how his EOC prepares.

“Slow season or busy season doesn’t really matter in the sense that Andrew happened during a slow season in 1992. We can look at the 2003 hurricane season – which was a busy season with 15 named storms – and none of them came ashore. So from that standpoint, it wasn’t a big impact on Florida or for the continental U.S. So it really doesn’t matter if it’s a busy or slow year, it really depends on whether one affects your neighborhood.”

According to Gray’s updated forecast – there’s a 77 percent chance of an “intense” hurricane hitting the U.S. during the remainder of the 2005 season.

Authorities at southwest Florida International Airport pulled two men and a woman from a plane Wednesday… after screeners found what they considered to be “suspicious” items in their checked baggage. The plane was bound for JFK in New York – and then Cairo, Egypt – with 156 passengers aboard. Screeners found a combination of currency, drawings of aircraft and notes in Arabic. 153 other passengers also had to de-plane while TSA officials searched the aircraft with bomb-sniffing dogs. TSA spokeswoman – Lauren Stover – says the trio was questioned by the FBI, then released.

“They felt that there was legitimate reasons for the items that they had in possession… nothing was explosive in nature, or illegal or prohibited per se…it was just a combination of things, you know in the day and age that we’re living in would cause anyone to want to inquire a bit more about these items.”

The flight left after the search – arriving in New York about a half-hour late… without the three. Once they were released by the FBI – the passengers caught a later flight.

Clewiston’s Ocean Boy Farms is growing something a bit surprising on soil otherwise dominated by sugar cane. Heather Caputo reports on a recent visit to an organic shrimp farm in the heart of Hendry County’s agricultural land. (AUDIO)

Sarasota County Commissioner John Thaxton will sit on a statewide panel to review the use of impact fees. Counties and cities levy impact fees on new construction to pay for growth.

Thaxton was appointed to the 12-member body by Senate President Tom Lee. Other appointees include state senators, school board members, mayors and developers. The panel was formed after a failed proposal to create statewide guidelines for impact fees. Commissioner Thaxton says he was surprised by the appointment, because he’d been an outspoken critic of that idea… finding the approach too “one size fits all” for Florida’s diverse counties…

“To come up with some sort of formula that’s going to fit all those diverse needs I thought was ambitious…and probably the legislature shouldn’t be doing that on their own in a vacuum. At the very least, they should be consulting, in a very substantive way, county government.”

Thaxton says the panel will come up with recommendations on what role state government should play in how counties levy impact fees. The state currently plays no role in that process.

The panel will meet for the first time within the next month…and will present its recommendations to Governor Bush before the beginning of the next legislative session, in March.

Folks in Sarasota County can now sign up for e-mail updates, which will alert them if a sexual offender or sexual predator moves into the neighborhood. The sheriff’s office unveiled the service this afternoon. Currently, there are 300 registered sex offenders and predators in Sarasota County. Lieutenant Chuck LeSaltato is spokesperson for the Sheriff.

“We’re trying to be proactive in this sexual offender/predator situation. We know there’s a lot out there—living in our community. We want citizens to know who’s living around their area… if they have children. This way the kids know what the person looks like, because there will also be pictures.”

To receive the e-mail alerts—or simply check for the location of offenders in Sarasota County—log onto the Sheriff’s website…Sarasotasheriff-dot-org. The service is free to the county for one year… it’ll cost 7-thousand dollars a year after that.

Imagine – it’s mid afternoon. A 5:00 deadline for a major report looms. Your energy level lags. Time for a cup of coffee – the think drink. Valerie Alker had hers and then prepared this report about a pair of brothers in Naples who’ve turned the nation’s passion for coffee into a successful livelihood. (AUDIO)

Some part-time Southwest Floridians who leave for the summer are struggling with their neighborhoods over whether they can leave hurricane shutters up while they’re gone. As Mike Gulnac reports, it’s beauty versus safety.” (AUDIO)

Last night marked “National Night Out…” an annual event to promote safe neighborhoods. Across the country, folks left the lights on”… or took to the streets—in a symbolic stand against crime. Crime Specialist—with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office—Brian Clervoix says a march against crime in Immokalee demonstrated a united front.

“We’re just going to let the criminals know that—not only law enforcement—but people in the community are aware of what’s going on. And we’re pretty much going to try and get together and bring crime to a halt—especially in the Immokalee area.”

National Night Out began 21 years ago—the brainchild of “The National Association of Town Watch.” That’s a Pennsylvania-based coalition of neighborhood watch groups and law enforcement.

Based on current budget projections, the Lee County School District will not call for a sales tax increase. School board members voted late Tuesday against a plan to request a half-cent sales tax hike. Had it passed, the referendum would have meant a special election in November.
The vote hinged on a recommendation by Superintendent Dr. James Browder.

“Based on the projected increases in revenue, I am not recommending—NOT recommending—that we move forward with a sales tax referendum at this time.”

Dr. Browder pointed to increased revenue from impact fees as a major factor in his decision. He stressed that conditions could change that might make a referendum necessary… including what becomes of Florida’s class size reduction amendment. School board members have asked administrators for a budget update every 6 months… to reconsider whether a referendum is needed.

Florida’s new universal pre-kindergarten program begins this month. Parents need to register their children at one of five places listed at the end of this story. There, they’ll get a certificate of eligibility for their four-year-olds, and take it to the certified voluntary pre-k location of their choice. There are 126 providers in Lee, Collier, Glades and Hendry counties—ranging from public schools to churches to day care centers. Barbara Saunders is the head of the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida, which runs the program for the region. She fears parents will just put children on busses heading to public school. So, plans are in place to deal with any misunderstandings on the first day.

“We’re going to have staff stationed in all of the school districts. To not only redirect parents but to make sure the children are safe, parents know exactly who to call in their community to get the exact information they need and we’ll have lists of providers on hand. And we’re hoping that parents are understanding. This is the very first year of universal pre kindergarten.”

Parents can register at one of five locations in Southwest Florida – Child Care of Southwest Florida offices in Naples or Fort Myers, The Career and Service Centers in Immokalee and Fort Myers and the United Way House in Labelle. Children need to be four years old on or before September first. Bring a certified copy of their birth record and proof of Florida residency. The free program will offer 540 hours during the school year – which comes to about 3 hours a day. Transportation is not provided.