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Higher diesel prices are forcing the moving industry to raise its prices. Major carriers are tacking on an 18 percent fuel surcharge. That figure comes from the American Moving and Storage Association. Last September, the fuel surcharge was just 8 percent. That means it’s more than doubled in one year. Sales Manager for Atlas Van Lines in Fort Myers, Peter Klopf, says he’s never seen surcharges this steep.

“That’s the highest I’ve seen it in the 22 years I’ve been in the business. It’s usually anywhere from nothing to, say, about 5 percent would be traditionally over the last few years. You know, when it would spike a little bit, we’d take on a fuel surcharge… but nothing like it is now.”

The surcharge could add hundreds of dollars to the price of a move, possibly more. But, Klopf doesn’t believe it’s high enough to dissuade people from moving.

Animal Control workers from Lee and Collier Counties are on the ground in Mississippi—rescuing pets made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. Ria Brown of Lee County Animal Services says her colleagues are treating injured pets and creating a log of what animals were found where, so owners can hopefully come and reclaim them.

“They’re taking them to specific locations so people will know if their animal is recued it’s at that location. But they’re also not letting any animals that have not been surrendered by their owners out of the state for sixty days because a lot of rescuers have come in and want to help, but if they take those animals out of these those people may never be reunited them – and some have nothing else left”

Brown says volunteers need equipment and medical supplies. Cash donations are also welcome. The Florida Animal Control Association organized the pet rescue operation. The volunteers from Lee and Collier could remain in Mississippi until September 22 or 29th – when a new team will replace them. Meanwhile, the Lee county Humane Society has taken in 75 dogs rescued from the Gulf Coast – and they’re looking for volunteers to walk them.

With Katrina fresh on their minds, members of the Southwest Florida Urban Search and Rescue Task Force are preparing 20 local firefighters and paramedics today to respond to flood and swift water emergencies. The local urban search and rescue task force is comprised of approximately 73 firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics representing seven local emergency response agencies. They along with members of other fire departments in Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto Counties are participating in a 40-hour flood rescue training course.
Deputy chief of the Bonita Springs Fire Department, Ken Kraft is the task force program manager. He says it there are plenty of incidents locally that beg for such training.

“Locally we’re talking things like Blind Pass, New Pass down by Fort Myers Beach and Bonita springs, events that took place when you had the 90 day flooding back in 1995 in Bonita Springs – that’s a floodwater example of the operations that would be needed there – getting people out of the water from their cars and their houses that are floating are all types of incidents pretty much identical to what you’re seeing in the footage taking place in Louisiana and Mississippi.”

They simulate rescuing patients from rapid moving water, in still water such as a flood and then raging water like at New Pass. The task force also trains for specialized rescues that involve confined space, trench, low/high angle rope and structural collapse situations.

Southwest Florida’s growing senior population as well as baby boomers who will soon be senior boomers – are stressing out area health care providers. But changes in how health care is delivered could reduce stress and optimize care. That was the message Thursday at a community healthcare symposium hosted by Lee Memorial Hospital System. Valerie Alker has more. (AUDIO)

There are many pre-teen and teenaged girls considered “at-risk” in southwest Florida. And that’s evidenced by a growing waiting list at the region’s only alternative school—established specifically for young women. The non-profit PACE Center for Girls in Immokalee is one of 19 such schools around the state… and it’s described as the only alternative school for at-risk girls between Sarasota and Collier Counties. PACE is non-residential – and only accepts girls between 11 and 18, from the Immokalee area, who are having trouble in traditional public school. Executive Director – Theresa Miller – says PACE has had a waiting list since the day it opened…and the list just keeps growing.

“We’ve bought property and are going to be building a new program. And we’re building to serve 80 girls, and we already have enough people on our waiting list to fill those slots. We need to serve more girls. We need to be able to meet the need…and I know we won’t ever, we’ll always have some more waiting…but we’ve had girls wait for 2 years to get into our program. And you think of their life of chaos, and what happens in 2 years.”

The PACE Center in Immokalee currently serves 40 girls. More than 125 girls have been through its program since 1998. Miller says the school has a 93-percent success rate…and provides 3 years of follow-up with its graduates. PACE recently received a 25-thousand dollar grant from Fifth Third Bank to help build a new library, and fund transportation for students. PACE employs certified teachers, but also relies on volunteers.

Governor Jeb Bush recently sat down with Israel’s envoy to Florida and Puerto Rico. During last month’s meeting in Miami, Bush and Consul General, Dr. Yitzchak Ben Gad, focused largely on economic ties. Each year, Florida does about 200-million dollars worth of business with Israel. Speaking recently on WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live, Dr. Ben Gad said he sees biotechnology as the future of the Israeli-Florida relationship.

“We would like to have, let’s say, Israeli scientists with American scientists from Florida… Israeli investors with Floridian investors to come here—to have joint ventures. That could promote the economy of Israel and Florida at the same time. And we could do it in a very good atmosphere. Israel has something to offer. Florida has something to offer.”

Economic ties between the Israel and Florida recently got a boost—with the merger of Teva Pharmaceuticals and Ivax Corporation. Teva—based outside Tel Aviv—acquired Ivax— a global drug company, with headquarters in Miami.

The past year has been tough for business on Sanibel and Captiva Island, but economic analysts says the outlook is optimistic. Wendy Humphrey reports.

Hundreds of people—concerned about the future of the Gulf of Mexico—gathered at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota Wednesday – for discussions on how best to restore, protect and improve the world’s ninth largest body of water. The Gulf of Mexico Alliance – a coalition of federal and gulf state representatives– is holding a series of 10 such workshops. The Alliance formed after a federal commission—last year—called for a comprehensive national ocean policy… emphasizing the need for integrated management plans. The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program co-hosted the event with Mote. Its Director - Lisa Beever - says several issues came to the fore.

“Non-point-source pollution & nutrient loading is one, funding is another, loss of habitat and conservation of habitat is the third, the fourth is red tide, and the fifth is education and stewardship. There’ll be a Gulf of Mexico Action Plan developed over the next few months, and the outcomes of these stakeholder workshops will go into the development of that plan.”

Beever says there WAS talk of Hurricane Katrina – and what impact its devastation may have on the gulf. The U-S Coast Guard is currently responding to seven major oil spills in the southern Louisiana area. Beever says the effects of Katrina will certainly add to the already long list of problems the gulf is facing. She DOES expect to see some effects in southwest Florida in the coming months…. But says it's too early to predict what they may be.

Governor Jeb Bush says Florida would be better prepared to deal with a storm as powerful as Hurricane Katrina than the Mississippi communities he has visited. But he also says no state could respond without massive federal help. Bush visited hurricane-damaged Mississippi communities yesterday. He visited National Guard troops, firefighters, law enforcement officers and other first responders from Florida. He also met with people planning to relocate to Florida.

"We got to get you in school. We got to get you some shoes and a new shirt. I'm sorry you guys have to come to Ocala but you're going to like it, it's a beautiful place, nice people. What do you do for a living? There's a lot of work in Ocala sir, a lot of work. Cabinet builders - you can work as long as you want. You will have enough work, I mean we have shortages in the trades. You'll get a job immediately. And when you get your first paycheck you'll notice that there's not an income tax."

Bush says Florida officials would have evacuated vulnerable areas on the coastline, mobile homes and low-lying areas significantly earlier than was done on the Gulf Coast. He says Florida hospitals and nursing homes would not have been left without aid, and this state would not create mass shelters without food and water. Bush says he would retain control of a recovery effort rather than handing it over to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.