The Florida Department of Education announced today that independent auditors will be re-scoring the entire batch of 2006 3rd grade reading tests.

Department Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg says an internal investigation found what looks like a problem with the test, and that 3rd graders in ’06 may have had it easier than their predecessors. And because of that, the entire batch will face an audit - and be rescored.

“It isn’t related to the scoring of the test, it’s an equating issue. I just want to assure you that this was not intentional or deliberate.”

Blomberg says they’re still trying to get a handle on exactly what went wrong and that more details will be available later this week.

The just-released 2007 scores will not face an audit…but Blomberg says all future FCAT tests on all levels will be audited from now on.

And she says while the intention isn’t to cause grief to anyone, the re-scoring could have an impact on the letter grades school’s received last year.

For a complete look at the reading, math and science scores released Wednesday click here.

Southwest Florida’s housing market is in a slump – but recovery is just around the corner. That’s according to housing analyst Mike Timmerman who spoke to members of the Urban Land Institute Wednesday in Estero.

Mike Timmerman of Hanley Wood Market Intelligence told a group of about 100 realtors, builders and others the housing market moves in 36 month cycles – and the region is now in the 20th month of a downward trend. He says housing has taken a hit in Southwest Florida because of the large proportion of second homes and investment properties.

“where there’s employment based housing need, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville – the area’s where the housing is there for workers – those areas haven’t done as poorly as markets which are second home investors places...pricing didn’t increase as much so we didn’t have as many investors and speculators therefore they didn’t get as far ahead of the game as we did in Southwest Florida.”

Overbuilding in Southwest Florida has led to oversupply and Timmerman says right now builders are unloading units at or below cost. But he says it’s a buyers market right now - for those who can afford the taxes and insurance that comes with being a home owner. He’s hopeful state lawmakers will legislate a cure for those high costs in the upcoming special session. As for the over-abundance of housing stock, Timmerman says in-migration will eventually take up the slack.

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Southwest Florida’s housing slump is only temporary. That’s according to Housing analyst Mike Timmerman who spoke to members of the Urban Land Institute Wednesday in Estero. Timmerman told the group’s members that ups and downs are part of the housing cycle, but in the end, the region’s building industry and housing market are poised to do well.

“we had a huge amount of speculation that occurred – but from an overall standpoint the demographics are very good for sw Florida, we’re expecting a huge amount of in migration because of the quality of life – so obviously the long run for sw is very good – you do have blips and that’s what this part is – a blip in the market place.”

Timmerman says the biggest challenges in the housing market right now are in selling existing homes – some are overpriced and have been on the market too long. He says high property taxes and the high cost of insurance are also turning some potential homeowners into renters instead.

For a complete look at the reading, math and science scores released Wednesday click here.

Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill recently that will establish a paper trail for all votes cast in Florida elections. The legislation will provide optical scan machines for counties that do not already have them, appropriating nearly 28 million dollars to buy the equipment. Touch-screen machines will still be used to comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. State Representative Dave Aronberg, whose district includes parts of Southwest Florida, says it’s a first step in election reform, not the last.
“We didn’t have any confidence in our voting system. This started back in 2000, we tried to fix things by installing these electronic machines but then we found out the electronic machines were not perfect and there was no paper trail to make sure there was a backup. I just hope we can reduce the chance the of fraud to where it does not impact any elections but don’t think that we’re ever going to get rid of the possibility of it.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida applauded the law as an initial step toward comprehensive voting reform. It says in a release that the pattern of under votes – especially the 18,300 unrecorded votes in the 2006 Congressional election in Sarasota – and the inability of voting machines to allow for a recount, led to the change.

The 2007 Hurricane Season is just around the corner. But state emergency officials don’t want residents to worry about how many storms may hit.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say 2007 could be another busy hurricane season. They predict 13-to-17 named storms with seven to ten of those becoming hurricanes. And they forecast three to five of those could become major hurricanes. But spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management Mike Stone says even with all these numbers and the numerous other storm predictions being made, people should only prepare and worry about one storm at time.

“What we want Florida residents to understand is that they need to be prepared for the next storm. You hear a lot about historical activity, they put a lot of weight on the numbers. Well I’d like to remind folks that back in 92 there was a storm called Andrew that didn’t crop up until late August.”

Stone says people need to come up with a plan now for any oncoming storm. And people can take advantage of the upcoming sales tax holiday on hurricane supplies. The holiday runs from June first through the 12th.

One area woman says the lack of entertainment and options for food were good enough reasons to create a new festival. This Saturday the fourth annual Asia Fest comes to Ft. Myers.

Judy Wright – a Chinese American woman living in Naples founded the festival four years ago to help bring a taste of Asian Culture to Southwest Florida. But she says the first her motivation was simply to have more activities for her family.

“I raised my children here. I am Chinese and there were just not many things for them to do. There weren’t very many shows or forms of entertainment for them to see…quite frankly there were not many restaurants for them to go to. So I felt the need to do that for the families that are here that are interested in maintaining the culture for their children”

Wright says the festival was originally held in Naples but this year it moves to the City of Palms. Asia Fest is this Saturday from 11 to three at the Alliance for the Arts in Ft Myers.

Two state lawmakers will introduce a bill in next year’s legislative session to create a new state song. Governor Charlie Crist set a precedent by excluding the current one from his inauguration.

The Florida Legislature made Steven Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” the state song in 1935. In recent years the song’s references to “darkies” and “plantations” have come under fire. Now some say it’s time for a change. The Florida Music Educators Association is heading up the project to find a new state song - and spokeswoman Katherine Mason says all state residents can participate.

“Florida citizens can engage either by submitting a song if they are a songwriter or they can vote on-line once we have the final three. we’re really looking for a song that’s inclusive and is reflective of the environment and values of our state today…”

If an existing song is submitted it must include the copywriter’s permission. It’s asked that the song be about three minutes in length – and easy for just about anyone to sing. Contest rules are available at Just Sing Florida.org. The winning entry will be most likely be adopted by lawmakers as the new state song next spring.

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The Florida Music Educators Association has kicked off a search for a new state song. Lyrics in the present song, “Old Folks at Home”
reference “darkies” and “plantations”. Governor Charley Crist excluded it from his inaugural. Spokeswoman for the music educators, Katherine Mason says the new song needs to be inclusive and singable.

“the national anthem is something that a lot of people can’t sing and that’s because it’s a wide interval range and there is a requirement for this song which is a vocal range that should not exceed a ninth – so that pretty much means something that’s pretty much singable by most people”

All Florida citizens are invited to submit songs. Applications and submission guidelines are on-line at justsingflorida.org. A committee will narrow the songs down to a top three – and those will posted at the website where the public can then vote. The top pick goes to state lawmakers for approval in the 2008 legislative session.

It looks like the funding for Everglades Restoration is closer to reality after a near unanimous vote in the United States Senate today.

The Senate, with a strong push from Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, voted for the re-authorization of the Water Resources Development Act. This is the first time since 2000 there has been a congressional action for water issues on a national scale. Director of Policy and legislation for the South Florida Water Management District, Ernie Barnett says even though the vote is from the senate, the house version is similar.

“The good news for the state of Florida is that there is very little difference between the Senate version and the House version…so there won’t be a lot of negotiation between the two. There are a lot of smaller provisions regarding Everglade’s restoration that we’re working out. But by and large the house and senate versions look very close.”

Barnett says this vote basically is permission for the state to work on future projects but it will be a few more years before lawmakers authorize the funding needed to complete everglades restoration.

Officials at Florida Gulf Coast University held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the building that will house the university’s young school of engineering. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry has more.

More than 3000 people are in Ft. Lauderdale this week for the 21st Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference.

In addition to Emergency Managers and others from Florida, there are also attendees from Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Charlotte County’s Emergency Manager Wayne Sallade says that’s because Florida has learned its lessons well and become a leader in dealing with hurricanes and their aftermath.

“Hurricane Andrew was Florida’s Katrina. It was an absolute failure at all levels of government, failure to respond quickly, failure to respond efficiently and yet Florida has taken that to heart and has developed the finest disaster response system in the world and everybody acknowledges that.”

The conference kicked off with a speech from Governor Charlie Crist – and wraps up on Friday with a briefing by Hurricane Forecaster William Gray. What’s predicted to be an active season begins June 1st.