The director of the Glades Health Initiative in Belle Glade is in Toronto this week at the International Aids Conference. Twenty years ago this rural community in western Palm Beach County had an AIDS infection rate reportedly fifty times greater than the national average. What’s it like today?

At first researchers thought mosquitoes might be spreading AIDS in Belle Glade. That theory was disproved. The culprit was instead a culture of poverty and related drug use combined with a large migrant population and flawed statistics gathering. Today the number of AIDS cases in Belle Glade is close to that in other depressed communities in Florida. Zunilda Jackson is an HIV Counselor at the Glades Health Initiative in Belle Glade.

“the highest hiv population we have unfortunately is among African Americans –and unfortunately it’s a young community – a tender age community – and I attribute to the high number of younger people taking drugs”

But although the number of AIDS cases in Belle Glade is inline with statewide statistics – the overall percentage in Florida is up considerably since 1985.
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Twenty-one years ago scientists from the Centers for Disease Control set up shop in Belle Glade to try to find out why the number of AIDS cases turning up was 50 greater than the national average. They suspected mosquitoes spread the virus – but years of research proved otherwise. Today, as AIDS researchers from around the world meet in Toronto – work continues on the ground in Belle Glade to halt the spread of HIV. Counselor Zunilda Jackson says substance abuse and a culture of poverty are the primary culprits in the disease’s spread.

“a lot of times they get into drugs or alcohol and their mind is totally compromised – to the point where they don’t know what they’re doing and if they’re doing it right or wrong”.

Jackson says flawed statistical gathering in the 1980’s led to the high number of AIDS cases reported in Belle Glade. She says today most new cases are reported among the African-American community – and that many of infected are very young.

Students in Collier County head back to school Monday. And they will find some changes when they return to their classrooms.
The Collier County School System hired nearly 400 teachers over the summer and now have a total of 28-hundred. District spokesman Joe Landon says those extra teachers will get to work immediately:

“We’re welcoming 44,000 students today and that’s about 1,100 more than we welcomed a year ago. So we’ve got 1,100 students who are new to the district this year.”

The yellow and black school buses will travel more than 270 routes, transporting a total of 20-thousand kids to campuses every day. Also new this year: all student-athletes in Collier County will now be required to prove their ages before they can compete. It stems from Immokalee High School’s use of overage students in soccer and football.
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Charlotte and Lee County Schools have already returned from their summer breaks. Now they’re joined today (Monday) by their counterparts in Collier County. More than 44-thousand students start class today in Collier – an increase of a thousand over last year. The district added 400 new teachers to accommodate them. In addition, nine elementary and middle schools have added a dress code. District spokesman Joe Landon says a handful of campuses tried it last year and they noticed improvements immediately:

“Reduced discipline problems and just students overall seem to be pleased with the way things go when they’re wearing uniforms.”
Landon says the Collier school dress code usually consists of a collared shirt and khaki pants.

Also new this year: student athletes are required to prove their ages before they can take the field. The district made the change after Immokalee High School played several overage students in soccer and football.

The director of the Glades Health Initiative in Belle Glade is in Toronto this week at the International Aids Conference. Twenty years ago this rural community in western Palm Beach County had an AIDS infection rate reportedly fifty times greater than the national average. What’s it like today?

At first researchers thought mosquitoes might be spreading AIDS in Belle Glade. That theory was disproved. The culprit was instead a culture of poverty and related drug use combined with a large migrant population and flawed statistics gathering. Today the number of AIDS cases in Belle Glade is close to that in other depressed communities in Florida. Zunilda Jackson is an HIV Counselor at the Glades Health Initiative in Belle Glade.

“the highest hiv population we have unfortunately is among African Americans –and unfortunately it’s a young community – a tender age community – and I attribute to the high number of younger people taking drugs”

But although the number of AIDS cases in Belle Glade is inline with statewide statistics – the overall percentage in Florida is up considerably since 1985.
-----

Twenty-one years ago scientists from the Centers for Disease Control set up shop in Belle Glade to try to find out why the number of AIDS cases turning up was 50 greater than the national average. They suspected mosquitoes spread the virus – but years of research proved otherwise. Today, as AIDS researchers from around the world meet in Toronto – work continues on the ground in Belle Glade to halt the spread of HIV. Counselor Zunilda Jackson says substance abuse and a culture of poverty are the primary culprits in the disease’s spread.

“a lot of times they get into drugs or alcohol and their mind is totally compromised – to the point where they don’t know what they’re doing and if they’re doing it right or wrong”.

Jackson says flawed statistical gathering in the 1980’s led to the high number of AIDS cases reported in Belle Glade. She says today most new cases are reported among the African-American community – and that many of infected are very young.

Local students are heading back to school, but for 15 high school juniors and seniors classes are going to be a little different this fall. Stephanie Westendorf has more on a way for high schoolers to speed up graduation.

Sunday marks the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Charley. The category 4 storm made landfall in Charlotte County and damaged half the homes and businesses. According to a new study, the psychological damage remains, especially among seniors.

Mental Health researchers at the University of South Florida began tracking the number of depressed and anxious elderly people in Charlotte County before Hurricane Charley. The number, about 4 percent, was typical of any elderly population. After the hurricane the number jumped to 15 percent. Researcher Lisa Brown attributes the increase to prolonged stress.

“a lot of people indicated they are still concerned are have worries about home repairs, not only having the money for home repairs but finding reliable people to repair their home – just having disrupted lives andnot planning on such a prolonged period of having to put everything back together”.

Brown also says there’s a certain amount of grieving involved – for lost trees, a lost way of life – and for friends who moved away from Charlotte County after Hurricane Charley.
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A new study finds Charlotte County seniors are still stressed from Hurricane Charley...two years after the fact. Mental Health Researchers at the University of South Florida measured depression and anxiety in about 15 percent of seniors - the average in that population is a fraction of that. U-S-F researcher Lisa Brown says those numbers may not come down anytime soon.

“when you think about the fact that we live in a state that has a six month hurricane season that reoccurs every year it takes it toll on people and there’s a sense of waiting for the shoe to drop. Maybe it doesn’t happen this year – maybe it will happen next year”

But Brown says seniors can take some steps to help alleviate anxiety and depression. Most important, she says, is making a hurricane checklist that includes people – both local and out of state. She says a safety net that includes caring friends and relatives can do a lot to relieve stress.

Sunday marks the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Charley. The category 4 storm made landfall in Charlotte County and damaged half the homes and businesses. According to a new study, the psychological damage remains, especially among seniors.

Mental Health researchers at the University of South Florida began tracking the number of depressed and anxious elderly people in Charlotte County before Hurricane Charley. The number, about 4 percent, was typical of any elderly population. After the hurricane the number jumped to 15 percent. Researcher Lisa Brown attributes the increase to prolonged stress.

“a lot of people indicated they are still concerned are have worries about home repairs, not only having the money for home repairs but finding reliable people to repair their home – just having disrupted lives andnot planning on such a prolonged period of having to put everything back together”.

Brown also says there’s a certain amount of grieving involved – for lost trees, a lost way of life – and for friends who moved away from Charlotte County after Hurricane Charley.
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A new study finds Charlotte County seniors are still stressed from Hurricane Charley...two years after the fact. Mental Health Researchers at the University of South Florida measured depression and anxiety in about 15 percent of seniors - the average in that population is a fraction of that. U-S-F researcher Lisa Brown says those numbers may not come down anytime soon.

“when you think about the fact that we live in a state that has a six month hurricane season that reoccurs every year it takes it toll on people and there’s a sense of waiting for the shoe to drop. Maybe it doesn’t happen this year – maybe it will happen next year”

But Brown says seniors can take some steps to help alleviate anxiety and depression. Most important, she says, is making a hurricane checklist that includes people – both local and out of state. She says a safety net that includes caring friends and relatives can do a lot to relieve stress.

A decision by the Transportation Security Administration may end plans to resume commercial flights into the Marathon Airport in the Florida Keys. Marathon is about 50 miles northeast of Key West International.

The last commercial flight in and out of Florida Keys Marathon Airport was in 2000. For the past two years, business owners and residents have worked with Monroe County officials to attract airlines back to the terminal that had frequent commercial air service for years.

The Marathon-area raised 300,000 dollars and the county received more than two and half million in federal grants. The efforts were led by Keys Tourist Development Council member June Helbling, who lists the attributes of the Marathon airport.

"We certainly can justify more air service coming in to Monroe County. Key West is maxed out. We have a better facility. We have a longer airstrip. We’re smack dab in the middle. We can readily service both the lower keys and the upper keys.”

Helbling helped the community raise more than four million dollars for the effort and it worked. Continental Connection agreed to begin roundtrip service from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale in October. Delta Connection would begin service to Atlanta in November.
But the TSA now says it will not provide security screening, citing budgetary and other problems. Monroe County Airports Director Peter Horton says they’re disappointed and frustrated.

"That the federal government gave us the money for the air service grant, gave us the money that we needed to bring the terminal back to shape and the airport back to shape – prepare it for the TSA screening and now the TSA after working with us for 6 months is telling us that they’re not going to serve us.”

The TSA suggests both airlines could operate like charters, which follow certain rules and don't need TSA screeners. But Horton and the carriers reject that option. They instead hope the TSA will change its mind. A recent study revealed the commercial service would mean an economic impact of more than forty million dollars to the Florida Keys.

Southwest Florida International Airport officials added extra security in light of new terror threats targeting jetliners. All departing passengers had to dump beverages, shampoos and lotions. Lee County Port Authority spokeswoman Susan Sanders says travelers took the new measures in stride -- and security lines have been short all day.

“I thought they might be backed up because I’m sure that many of the passengers, especially those on the early flights, had a lot of things in their carry-on bags that are covered under this new security directive. So I figured it would take some additional time. But the lines have been moving really well.”

Repair work on the dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee is on hold – while engineers work to determine how best to bolster the aging structure.

The 300-million-dollar project started in January…but engineers discovered some of the concrete they’d poured wasn’t setting up correctly.

Corps spokeswoman Nanciann Regalado says unexpected sand deposits were weakening the concrete - so repairs were stopped to make sure they were done right…

“We’re getting ready to start a pilot project in fact. Everything’s going to be done on a scale that would allow us to go back and re-evaluate without being so far down the path that we have a major, major project stopping and then starting over again from scratch.”

The pilot project gets underway next month near Pahokee on the lake’s southeastern rim.

The 25-year federally-funded repair job began after a state consultant said the 143-mile-long dike was at risk of collapsing.

Cayo Costa is a throwback to Florida’s past. The barrier island, north of Captiva, has a seven-mile strip of sandy white beach accessible only by boat. Most of the island is a state park and officials are trying to maintain its natural habitat. Their job is made harder because of a population of feral pigs. For years, the state has trapped and killed the hogs. Recently, a few pigs attacked beachgoers and now officials are struggling to keep Cayo Costa’s pig population under control under increasing public scrutiny. W-G-C-U’s Valerie Alker has the story.