There are more than 140,000 DREAM Act students in the state of Florida that can apply for deferred action.

And close to 50 thousand in Miami-Dade county.

Is your backyard citrus tree failing?  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a new iPhone app that can that can probably help you identify the culprit.  Rebecca Blue is the USDA’s undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs which developed the free “Save Our Citrus” app.

A massive protest bringing together thousands of people from around the country is planned for the streets of downtown Tampa during the first day of the Republican National Convention. A group of organizers met today, and Steve Newborn reports they promise the event will be peaceful.

The National Harmful Algal Bloom Committee has elected Barbara Kirkpatrick, a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, as co-chair.

Kirkpatrick, a leading researcher on the effects of red tide on the human respiratory system, will chair the committee alongside Raphael Kudela, a professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz.

After a record 17-foot Burmese python carrying 87 eggs was caught in Everglades National Park Monday the Nature Conservancy reminds residents and visitors it has a 24-hour response team in ten counties including Collier, Hendry and Glades. 

There are four contested circuit judge seats on the ballot on August 14.  All voters in the five-county judicial circuit can vote for each race, no matter where the judge is located. The races are non-partisan.  The Naples Daily News explains.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/aug/08/four-circuit-judge-seats-collier-lee-county-elect/

Listen to the candidates from a recent Florida Bar forum held in Fort Myers moderated by former Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp:

Collier County Supervisor of Elections Jennifer Edwards says she’ll have no problem meeting the Justice Department’s Aug. 15 deadline for election records.

The Lee Memorial Health System is the recipient of what may be the largest philanthropic donation ever received in Southwest Florida – $20 million earmarked for construction of a children’s hospital.