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Tropical Storm Ernesto dumped plenty of rain on Florida as it moved across the state earlier this week. It didn’t do much widespread damage, other than knocking down a few trees and flooding some streets. That was a relief to federal and state emergency authorities who were on standby in case the storm intensified.

Federal response to hurricanes is the subject of an investigative documentary that airs tonight at 9-30 on WGCU-Television. For 15 months, a team of reporters and editors at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale detailed FEMA’s handling of the 2004 hurricane season. What they found was that the agency wouldn’t be ready to handle a major disaster. Something that became apparent after Hurricane Katrina last year.

Joe Demma is the Sun-Sentinel’s investigations editor. He tells
W-G-C-U’s Russell Lewis that FEMA awarded more than a half-BILLION dollars after the 2004 season to people who had little or no hardship.

Florida’s tomato industry finds itself in a quandary. After two straight years of heavy losses because of hurricanes, tomato growers now face problems of another kind: there aren’t enough workers to harvest the crop. The issue has quickly consumed the industry and it’s a major topic of discussion at this year’s state tomato conference in Naples. W-G-C-U’s Russell Lewis has the story.

Law enforcement agencies from around Southwest Florida started a new effort Thursday to solve ‘cold cases’. There are hundreds of unsolved murders and missing person investigations that go back twenty years or longer. Now authorities think they’ve found a new way to find the suspects. W-G-C-U’s Russell Lewis has the story.

The 2006 hurricane season begins today -- and for many Floridians that’s not welcome news. Two straight years of devastating storms have caused more than 100-billion dollars in losses and killed more than 13-hundred in the U-S alone. Now, as people brace for what’s expected to be another active hurricane season, finding affordable insurance is virtually impossible. W-G-C-U’s Russell Lewis has the story.

Every week, more than three-thousand people move to Florida. Those new residents bring cars--but also a need for housing and more roads. As Florida leaders cope with the population boom, environmental experts struggle to try to limit the impacts on wildlife. One innovative project in Collier County may help. W-G-C-U’s Russell Lewis has more.

After several years of responding to devastating hurricanes like Wilma and Charley, the Lee County chapter of the American Red Cross says it’s learned valuable information about handling major disasters. The national chapter admitted this week it made mistakes after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last August. Heidi Ruster is executive director of the Lee County chapter. She says her local organization is prepared...but they can always do a better job of getting bilingual volunteers and those in ethnic communities.

“I think we are very close to being there. I think it’s a constant process for us to recruit and train volunteers that reflect our population.”

Ruster says her chapter just landed a 20-thousand dollar grant for a Hispanic outreach program.

. Red Cross executive director Heidi Ruster says Florida’s chapters have been on the leading edge of help because of years of devastating hurricanes. The National Red Cross has admitted it made mistakes during Katrina last August...especially in providing assistance in ethnic and minority communities. Ruster says one-quarter of the local chapter’s 200 volunteers are bilingual.

“So, yes, we have many more volunteers than we used to have and people to be able to outreach to the appropriate communities and we can always increase that. But we’re a lot farther than where we were a couple years ago.”

Last year, Debbie Johnston’s son committed suicide after years of being bullied and teased by classmates. Johnston has worked with state lawmakers to craft stronger laws on bullying. It would require school districts to punish students who bully others and set state standards on bullying. The measure has sailed through the House...but Johnston says the State Senate hasn’t set a hearing date. She says the bill is needed...and now!

“Kids do better in school when they feel safe. Problems addressed early on cost a lot less to fix then problems that later go on to be a lifelong pattern of abuse.”

Johnston says some lawmakers mistakenly think the anti-bullying bill discriminates against some students.

Governor Jeb Bush says he supports the measure and met with Johnston about it last month.

Last summer, Debbie Johnston’s 15-year old son Jeffrey committed suicide after years of being bullied. The Trafalagar Middle School teacher has been on a crusade to get a law passed that cracks down on bullies and gives educators more tools to stop the abuse and force administrators to punish students who bully others. One bill has sailed through House Committees...but state senators haven’t begun any debate on a companion measure. Governor Jeb Bush supports the effort and met with Johnston last month. She says lawmakers must approve the bill this session.

“It means the world to be. Had it been in place Jeffrey wouldn’t have gone through the two years of torment that he had because it could have been addressed and this student who goes on to bully others is still not getting treatment.”

State lawmakers have only three more weeks to pass legislation before they adjourn in May