An area of low pressure located between the southeastern tip of Florida and the Bahamas could develop into a tropical depression in the coming days. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say a hurricane hunter aircraft may investigate the system this morning. Hurricane Specialist - Richard Pasc says how long the system remains over water will determine whether it strengthens.

“The conditions appear favorable enough for it to potentially strengthen into a tropical depression in the next day or so. Right now it looks like it’s going to move over the Florida peninsula during the next several days, which would limit its opportunity to strengthen. Slow-moving systems like this of course with all the moisture available could easily produce large amounts of rainfall.”

Pasch says people in south Florida and the Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress. Meanwhile, forecasters continue to track Hurricane Maria and Tropical Storm Nate, both near Bermuda and moving away from land.

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24 Florida-based dog and handler teams with the search and rescue program - B.A.R.K head to Hurricane Katrina ravaged areas soon. B.A.R.K stands for “Bay Area Recovery K-9's” - The specially trained teams - several from Southwest Florida - were called in by Louisiana to scour the swamps of the Gulf Coast. And as Kathleen Moye reports, in the coming weeks, they’ll lead a fleet of hundreds of airboats looking for survivors and casualities. Donations can be made to Suntrust Banks. (AUDIO)

MDA

The muscular dystrophy association has pledged one million dollars to the Salvation Army for Hurricane Katrina relief. Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the first Labor Day MDA Telethon – broadcast from a single station in New York City. This year it’s being broadcast on about 200 stations across the country – including the WB Network Channel in Ft. Myers. Cheryl Kunkel is District Director for the SW Florida MDA.

“Labor day telethon for the mda is tradition – and we definitely have people who watch every year and reach into their pockets and help no matter what. We know the community always comes together for us. But we also figured that donations would be down – about by half – and they are. But we’re really hoping that the other half is going to hurricane relief.”

In 2004 the MDA Telethon raised almost 61 million dollars - nearly 600 thousand in Southwest Florida. Kunkel says all the money raised in the region stays here. The MDA provides support for about 300 families dealing with neuro-muscular disorders in the five county area. It also pay for medical research at the University of Miami.

Thousands od domestic pets and wild aimals have also been affected by widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina...and local animal services agencies are pitching in to help. Mike Kiniry reports. (AUDIO)

With both fuel onboard for helicopters rescuing survivors of Hurricane Katrina as well as relief supplies from the Keys, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Confidence departed Key West Thursday morning bound for the northern Gulf coast. Amy Tardif reports. (AUDIO)

As the number of homes without power in South Florida shrank to 10,000 Thursday, Florida Power & Light announced it had released 1,000 contract workers to go to the devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. About 500 linemen and 500 tree-trimmers were released to work in the areas hit by Katrina's second attack. Reporter Ryan Warner saw them heading that way as he drove eastbound on Alligator Alley this morning.

“There’s been a steady stream in the opposite direction of tree trimming trucks after electric power trucks, one after another after another ostensibly heading from South Florida up to the disaster areas and it’s quite reminiscent of the steady stream of vehicles that came after Hurricane Charley to help folks in Charlotte County and the other devastated areas last season.”
In addition, BellSouth announced that less than one percent of its customers affected by Hurricane Katrina in Broward and Miami-Dade counties remain without telephone service.About 1.45 million homes went dark when Katrina struck South Florida last week.

Some Florida universities have offered to temporarily admit college students from areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Florida Gulf Coast University officials say they will offer in-state tuition for students whose studies were interrupted by Katrina. Spokeswoman Susan Evans says it's the least the university could do.

"We just feel so much for what they're going through and we know that this is one small but very important way that we can help. As a university we're here for students and we want to bring these students here and open our doors to them. They're welcome to stay as long as they would like with us and make that process as smooth as possible."

Evans says there is also room in student housing if the students wan tto live on campus. They will pay the same rental rate as current residents. Five displaced students have already enrolled at Florida State University which also help them find off-campus housing.The University of North Florida in Jacksonville, the University of South Florida in Tampa and Florida International University in Miami also say they would admit displaced students for the semester. The National Association for College Admission Counseling set up a message board on its Web site for parents, students and colleges to communicate about recovery efforts.

People traveling to Gulf states in response to Hurricane Katrina may want to consider getting booster shots before they leave Florida. As a result, the Sarasota County Health Department held a special immunization clinic Thursday. Sarasota health educator Dianne Shipley says people traveling to help Katrina victims could be at risk without proper vaccinations:

“While there are no required immunizations normally for hurricane relief, when there’s standing water as there is in the case of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and there’s a lot of debris in that water, there’s an awful lot of risks that go along with that and certainly if somebody steps on a nail, if they incur some sort of a sting from an insect or particularly get a snake bite or something like that, drinking the water that may not be potable or consumable; and there are other immunizations other than tetanus shots that people can get for that, hepatitis A being one of them.”

Shipley adds the goal is to make sure those going to help not become an impediment to the operation by falling ill. The Florida Department of Health recommends Tetanus shots for hurricane relief workers. The cost of the vaccine is approximately 22 dollars. The Sarasota health department will offer additional immunization clinics as needed.

The American Red Cross is actively raising funds to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina. In Southwest Florida—where memories of Hurricane Charley are still fresh – contributions are pouring in. We spoke with folks Thursday writing checks for the cause at the Miromar Outlet Mall in Estero. We hear from Laurie Vega, Margie Rydell, Roger Bishop, Pat Healy, Mike Adams and Jack Love.

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The American Red Cross raised more than six thousand dollars Thursday morning at Miromar. Volunteers will raise additional funds today at the Edison Mall in Ft. Myers—and later in the day at the Bell Tower Shops. They accept checks, cash and credit. Contributions are tax deductible.