Mysterious Killer of Honeybees Could Threaten the Things We Eat

By SETH BORENSTEIN
The Associated Press

BELTSVILLE, Md.
Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. Honeybees don't just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. Among them: apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash and cucumbers. And lots of the really sweet and tart stuff, too, including citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and other melons.

In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Even cattle, which feed on alfalfa, depend on bees. So if the collapse worsens, we could end up being "stuck with grains and water," said Kevin Hackett, the national program leader for USDA's bee and pollination program.

"This is the biggest general threat to our food supply," Hackett said.

While not all scientists foresee a food crisis, noting that large-scale bee die-offs have happened before, this one seems particularly baffling and alarming.

U.S. beekeepers in the past few months have lost one-quarter of their colonies - or about five times the normal winter losses - because of what scientists have dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder. The problem started in November and seems to have spread to 27 states, with similar collapses reported in Brazil , Canada and parts of Europe .

Scientists are struggling to figure out what is killing the honeybees, and early results of a key study this week point to some kind of disease or parasite.

Even before this disorder struck, America 's honeybees were in trouble. Their numbers were steadily shrinking, because their genes do not equip them to fight poisons and disease very well, and because their gregarious nature exposes them to ailments that afflict thousands of their close cousins.

"Quite frankly, the question is whether the bees can weather this perfect storm," Hackett said. "Do they have the resilience to bounce back? We'll know probably by the end of the summer."

Experts from Brazil and Europe have joined in the detective work at USDA's bee lab in suburban Washington . In recent weeks, Hackett briefed Vice President Cheney's office on the problem. Congress has held hearings on the matter.

"This crisis threatens to wipe out production of crops dependent on bees for pollination," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in a statement.

A congressional study said honeybees add about $15 billion per year in value to our food supply.

Of the 17,000 species of bees that scientists know about, "honeybees are, for many reasons, the pollinator of choice for most North American crops," a National Academy of Sciences study said last year. They pollinate many types of plants, repeatedly visit the same plant, and recruit other honeybees to visit, too.

Pulitzer Prize-winning insect biologist E.O. Wilson of Harvard said the honeybee is nature's "workhorse - and we took it for granted."

"We've hung our own future on a thread," Wilson, author of the book "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth," told The Associated Press on Monday.

Beginning this past fall, beekeepers would open up their hives and find no workers, just newborn bees and the queen. Unlike past bee die-offs, in which dead bees would be found near the hive, this time they just disappeared. The die-off takes just one to three weeks.

USDA's top bee scientist, Jeff Pettis, who is coordinating the detective work on this die-off, has more suspected causes than time, people and money to look into them.

The top suspects are a parasite, an unknown virus, some kind of bacteria, pesticides, or a one-two combination of the top four, with one weakening the honeybee and the second killing it.

A quick experiment with some of the devastated hives makes pesticides seem less likely. In the recent experiment, Pettis and colleagues irradiated some hard-hit hives and reintroduced new bee colonies. More bees thrived in the irradiated hives than in the non-irradiated ones, pointing toward some kind of disease or parasite that was killed by radiation.

The parasite hypothesis has history and some new findings to give it a boost: A mite practically wiped out the wild honeybee in the U.S. in the 1990s. And another new one-celled parasitic fungus was found last week in a tiny sample of dead bees by University of California San Francisco molecular biologist Joe DeRisi, who isolated the human SARS virus.

However, Pettis and others said while the parasite Nosema ceranae may be a factor, it cannot be the sole cause. The fungus has been seen before, sometimes in colonies that were healthy.

Recently, scientists have begun to wonder whether mankind is too dependent on honeybees. The scientific warning signs came in two reports last October.

First, the National Academy of Sciences said pollinators, especially America 's honeybee, were under threat of collapse because of a variety of factors. Captive colonies in the United States shrank from 5.9 million in 1947 to 2.4 million in 2005.

Then, scientists finished mapping the honeybee genome and found that the insect did not have the normal complement of genes that take poisons out of their systems or many immune-disease-fighting genes. A fruit fly or a mosquito has twice the number of genes to fight toxins, University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum.

What the genome mapping revealed was "that honeybees may be peculiarly vulnerable to disease and toxins," Berenbaum said.

University of Montana bee expert Jerry Bromenshenk has surveyed more than 500 beekeepers and found that 38 percent of them had losses of 75 percent or more. A few weeks back, Bromenshenk was visiting California beekeepers and saw a hive that was thriving. Two days later, it had completely collapsed.

Yet Bromenshenk said, "I'm not ready to panic yet." He said he doesn't think a food crisis is looming.

Even though experts this year gave what's happening a new name and think this is a new type of die-off, it may have happened before.

Bromenshenk said cited die-offs in the 1960s and 1970s that sound somewhat the same. There were reports of something like this in the United States in spots in 2004, Pettis said. And Germany had something similar in 2004, said Peter Neumann, co-chairman of a 17-country European research group studying the problem.

"The problem is that everyone wants a simple answer," Pettis said. "And it may not be a simple answer."

Bees vanish here, worldwide
Disappearing insects threaten Lake, Sumter honey production, agriculture

David Donald
Staff Writer

Honeybees in Lake and Sumter counties - and around the world - are mysteriously disappearing and no one knows why.

Some scientists are concerned that the vanishing bees pose a major threat to the food supply since the insects are responsible for pollinating many crops. "We'd be pretty hungry without them," said Sumter County Extension Office horticulturalist Gary England.

Billions of the insects have gone missing.

Lake County is a major producer of honey. Locally, the disappearances are having a devastating impact on honey producer Bill Rhodes, owner of Bill Rhodes Honey Company in Umatilla. He said half of his business has been lost over the last two years.
"We couldn't quite figure out what was happening," said Rhodes . " It's a hell of an expense."

Beekeepers have noticed the dwindling bee populations for several months. Rhodes said he began to note them following his company's decision to ship hives to California and South Dakota where they would help to pollinate crops, such as sunflowers. Such shipments of bees around the county for agricultural purposes are common in the apiary industry.

At their destinations, the bees were released to pollinate the crops. Some did not return to the hive and Rhodes took a financial hit. From a shipment of 5,500 bees, Rhodes said more than 4,000 vanished.

Science has offered many theories about the disappearances, including radiation from cellphones, pesticides, microbial mites or other environmental factors.

Rhodes has his own ideas.

He said he began to think about what was happening to his bees. He talked to other keepers and discovered they were encountering the similar losses. He began to piece together his own theory. Although he's not sure, he thinks a particular agricultural pesticide is responsible.

He said growers use the chemical to coat seed before planting. He said the pesticide was originally developed as a deterrent against termites. It caused them to become disoriented and die before finding their way back to the colony. Rhodes thinks the same thing might be happening to bees if they retrieve nectar from plants which might have been grown with the pesticide.

"The bees can't find their way back to the hive," said Rhodes . "What I saw what happening to my bees is a little scary."

France has suspended use of the pesticide because of the concern about bees.

According to the Department of Agriculture's Census data on colonies of bees and honey, In 2002, Lake County had 44 farms, trailing Polk County which had 59. However, Lake County farms produced 13 percent of the state's honey - more than any other county.

Beekeeper hobbyist George Williams, owner of Persimmon Lane Nursery in Howie-in-the-Hills, said he hasn't been affected by the sudden disappearances but has been following recent reports closely.

"It hasn't affected anybody that I know of here in Lake County ," said Williams. "It's a catastrophic thing for the big guys." He's concerned that the bees' immune systems are failing, but doesn't know why.

Sumter County Extension Office horticulturist England said the bees may carry a parasitic mite that suppresses their immune systems. Without bees, he said crops which human beings depend on would fail to produce. "For some plants there is a requirement for insects to spread the pollen," he said. "A lot of crops depend on bees."

'Largest' Gopher Tortoise DiesFrom Injuries

A gopher tortoise described as the largest on record died from injuries suffered at a construction site, the Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday.

The creature's shell measured 16.41 inches long, more than an inch longer than the previous largest specimen on record, and it weighed more than 31 pounds. It was thought to be between 50 and 100 years old. The tortoise was recently crushed by construction equipment in Fort Myers and buried in March, the Humane Society reported.

Several days later, someone saw it emerge from the ground. It was treated and lived for about a month before dying Saturday, said Amanda Ebenhack, the Okeechobee wildlife rehabilitator who cared for it.

Gopher tortoises average 9 inches to 11 inches, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is a species of special concern, and it is illegal to take, possess, transport, or sell gopher tortoises or their eggs unless authorized by the wildlife commission.

However, companies can seek permits from the wildlife commission to kill gopher tortoises incidentally during construction as long as the company establishes and maintains an alternative tortoise habitat.

Bill cuts state's role in planning

By REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published May 3, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - State oversight of Florida 's fastest-growing communities - including Tampa and St. Petersburg - could be seriously curtailed if lawmakers agree to a pilot program proposed Wednesday.

Under a provision added to HB 7203, Pinellas and Broward counties, the municipalities in those counties and Jacksonville , Miami , Tampa , and Hialeah would be a part of a pilot that would significantly limit the ability of the Department of Community Affairs to oversee their growth management plans.

Sen. Daniel Webster, R-Winter Garden , billed the measure as a way to free overburdened community planners from the bureaucracy of state review.

But environmental groups worry loosening control could leave cities and counties with damaging, unwieldy growth.

"The many issues that people are complaining about today - overcrowded schools, overcrowded roads - most of those are the result of very bad planning and development decisions made by local governments ... before you had legislation that brought a state oversight role, " said Charles Pattison, head of 1000 Friends of Florida.

"Our biggest concern is the pilot will be dysfunctional, " DCA Secretary Tom Pelham said. The bill does a poor job of defining the agency's even limited role, he said.

Webster's amendment would make the pilot mandatory for three years for all named governments unless they specifically opt out by a super-majority vote of their councils or commissions.

If the Senate signs off on the measure, the bill would go back to the House for a final vote.

Springhill Pines decision put on hold after residents call development 'out of character'
By Erin Ehrlich
For The Herald

HIGH SPRINGS -- The fate of a 23-home development on 11 acres was put on hold by the High Springs City Commission after residents complained that the number of homes was out of character for the area.

The development, called Springhill Pines, is proposed to be built between Tillman Acres and Pinecrest. But the developer, a company called Prime Real Estate, was asked to come back to the city commission May 24 with a plan that shows a neighborhood more in line with the neighborhoods around it.

Some residents of Tillman Acres -- High Springs' largest development with 800 planned homes -- and Pinecrest attended the commission meeting and argued that the density of the development would be an eyesore, and most of them said the city should require a barrier around the lot to diminish any “clutter.” Christine Bareswilt, a Pinecrest resident, said she bought her property for the tranquility and privacy of the location and said she was concerned that the houses being built in her backyard would ruin that.

Many residents agreed that if the lots were bigger – they are planned to be one-fourth of an acre – then the development wouldn’t seem so busy.

The attorney speaking on behalf of Prime Real Estate, Gary Grunder, said he realizes the desire for bigger lots but because the zoning of the development requires water, a sewer system, sidewalks and possibly streetlights, there can’t be too much of an increase in lot size with the limited space.

Another argument some residents posed was a concern of an overcrowded city. One resident said everybody who loves High Springs moves there for the peaceful atmosphere but said the city is starting to get overcrowded because of all the new construction and relocating of people from around the state.

Grunder compared the development to a diamond. He said a one-half carat flawless diamond is worth much more than a one-carat flawed diamond, referring to the sizes of the lots and how the only way that city ordinances would be met was to make the lot sizes smaller.

“It makes neighbors unhappy, but it’s necessary with the city ordinances,” Grunder said.

Commissioner Kirk Eppenstein said he is fearful of High Springs turning into a city like Ft. Lauderdale or Gainesville with such a booming population. He also said the government has a responsibility to preserve the character of a community.

Mayor Pro-Tem Larry Travis agreed with Eppenstein and said, “This subdivision is clearly out of character.”

Eppenstein and Travis voted to deny issuing a conditional use permit, but Commissioners James Gabriel and Byran Williams, as well as Mayor Tom DePeter, voted against denying the issue, and then voted to delay a decision on the matter until the meeting in May.

Grunder and Prime Real Estate are being asked to redesign the development and come up with a new idea that might not be so controversial for residents in neighboring areas.

House OKs Transit Authority; Next Step Is Crist's Signature

By JOSH POLTILOVE and RICH SHOPES The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - A plan to create a regional mass transit authority in the Tampa Bay area is on its way to the governor.

The bill, approved by the House and Senate, forms the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Plans for the authority, which would represent seven counties - Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco , Pinellas and Sarasota - could include light rail, an express bus system and new toll roads.

"It's a tremendous victory in the Tampa Bay area," said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who made the bill his top priority this legislative session. "It'll have a huge impact in addressing our transportation needs."

The House approved the bill by a 117-0 vote Wednesday, and the Senate approved it last week. The proposal awaits Gov. Charlie Crist's signature.

Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the authority gives the seven counties the ability to build - not just plan - projects and transit systems on a regional scale and seek federal and state dollars.

The authority cannot levy taxes, but it can acquire property through eminent domain and sell revenue bonds to pay for toll roads. It can create and operate a mass transit system, establish a fare structure, and enter into partnerships with private companies to create transit hubs and park-and-ride facilities.

Galvano said the authority might start work by the end of the year; it has until July 2009 to develop a master transportation plan. Its 16-member board must meet within 60 days of the legislation's approval by the governor.

While developing the plan, the authority must hold public hearings in the seven counties.

Funding remains the big question. Some money might come from the state Department of Transportation, the federal government and public-private partnerships. The bill also creates a mechanism for selling revenue bonds to build toll roads.

To get it started, the state will provide $1 million this year to pay for office space and staff members, including an executive director, planners, engineers and lawyers.

Legislation Results From Hard Work

The legislation's passage culminates a yearlong push by Galvano and a three-year effort by the Tampa Bay Partnership, an economic development group, to address regional transportation needs.

"We've become, unfortunately, addicted to roadways, and it's ruining our quality of life," Galvano said. "We're backed up on our roadways, and we're choking on plans."

By not having a regional transit system, growth has been hampered and some businesses have been discouraged from moving to the Bay area, said Joe Smith, chairman of the partnership's transportation committee.

"We're the last urban center in the U.S. that doesn't have a transit system. We have people who can't get to work because they can't afford $10,000 a year for the cost of a vehicle," Smith said. "This was a significant step today, but it's really the first step in a much larger process."

The partnership teamed up with Galvano 15 months ago. Scores of transportation plans have emerged over the years.

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit proposed a $900 million light-rail system, but that was shelved four years ago. Likewise, a $1.5 billion monorail for Pinellas County died last year.

The problem, Smith said, is that the Bay area doesn't have an agency with enough clout to carry out large-scale transit plans. It also lacks the muscle to supersede local jurisdictional squabbles.

The authority was created to overcome both of those hurdles, he said.

Iorio Stresses Need For Mass Transit

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio is hoping one aim of the authority is to create a rail system for Tampa and Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

"At this point, the needs of Manatee and Pasco might be vastly different than the needs of Pinellas and Hillsborough. But because of this regional authority, we will be able to take a large, long-term approach and bring everybody to the table.

"The population in some cities might not be at the level where they need mass transit now, but it will be at that level someday," Iorio said.

The authority will have 15 voting members, including the mayors or designees of St. Petersburg , Tampa , Sarasota and Bradenton , and commissioners from Hillsborough, Pasco , Pinellas, Citrus, Hernando, Manatee and Sarasota counties. An additional four members will be appointed by the governor.

A 16-member citizen advisory committee, which does not have voting rights, also will be formed.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com. Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

Azzouz project goes to hearing

The Windermere Town Council will receive the embattled Main Street Shoppes plan Tuesday.

Rich Mckay
Sentinel Staff Writer

May 3, 2007

WINDERMERE -- The retail and office project that has been a source of controversy is scheduled for review by Windermere residents and the Town Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

At the first of two public hearings at Town Hall, 614 Main St., developer Kevin Azzouz and his associates at Veranda Partners will present their town-square project Main Street Shoppes, which is poised to reshape downtown. The Town Council won't vote on the project until at least June.

The long-delayed project has been in the works for about five years, pitting a powerful developer against an anti-growth crowd that wants to preserve Windermere's dirt roads and Old Florida feel.

The 50,000-square-foot project proposes to bring restaurants, shops, coffeehouses and offices, as well as public space for residents to sit and enjoy downtown.

But the sheer size of it, plus the fact that it would require a sewer system to be connected to downtown, has irritated the project's foes. They fear it will bring more traffic and development.

A public meeting about a year ago erupted into an unruly debate.

The mayor interrupted the developer, calling him a "crybaby" and later repeatedly interrupted him during a 5 1/2-hour meeting.

Since then, Azzouz, who had faced personal attacks on his character as well as vandalism of his home, has been making overtures to the town. Recently, at his expense, he published and distributed to every home a coffee-table book on Windermere's history written by a former mayor and the town's historian, the late Carl Patterson Jr.

But Azzouz, who typically brings lawyers and a videographer to tape Town Council meetings, said recently he has no intention of backing down.

David Pendergraft, a vice president for project development for Veranda Partners, said: "Our desire is to keep things as low-key as possible, listen to the public and answer any questions as best we can."

Resident Karen Fay, who has stated publicly that she does not trust developers, said there has been at least some change among most residents since last year's meeting.

"I do believe that they have come to a realization that there will be a development in downtown Windermere," she said. "But I can't, in my heart of hearts, believe that it will be readily accepted."

Azzouz has made concessions to the town, including voluntarily delaying the project for two years so the council could come up with new development guidelines, as well as whittling it down from the original 70,000 square feet.

Early estimates put the project cost at $50 million, but Pendergraft said there is no current dollar amount that the company will release.

Mayor Gary Bruhn said he was unsure how much of a crowd to expect or how long the meeting will be. He moved the meeting time up an hour to 6 p.m. in case it runs long.

Rich McKay can be reached at rmckay@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5470.

Drought cuts into region's reserves

Water levels are so low that recovery could take at least three years.

By KATE SPINNER

kate.spinner@heraldtribune.com
Get used to stinky water, brown grass and continuing watering restrictions.

The ongoing drought has so depleted Southwest Florida reservoirs that those reserves may take at least three years of rainfall to replenish. And adding to the region's woes is that a major water treatment plant expansion is years away from completion.

Regional water suppliers predict they will have only 1.7 billion gallons of drinking water in storage going into next year's dry season -- just a three-months' supply.

That prediction, based on average summer rainfall, falls 1 billion gallons short of the amount suppliers had in storage in October 2006, when drought conditions started to set in.

"This is a cycle we're looking at for the next two to three dry seasons," said Mike Coates, who manages the drinking water supply for the Peace River/Manasota Water Supply Authority, one of the region's largest water utilities.

The authority -- a key player in managing and distributing drinking water for Charlotte, Sarasota, DeSoto and Manatee counties -- draws its water from the Peace River, which often flows too low to tap in the dry season.

The only saving grace for the next two to three years would be long rainy seasons that keep the Peace River flowing high enough for water suppliers to tap 10 months out of the year.

To combat the predicted shortage, Coates said, the authority plans to reduce the amount of water it provides to Sarasota County by 2 million gallons per day. Sarasota , in turn, will draw that amount of water from its Carlton Wellfield.

Coates' dire predictions for later this year include that 2 million gallons of relief.

Meanwhile, water users in Charlotte County , where 95 percent of drinking water comes from the Peace River , are dealing with smelly, less-tasty water.

Water in the storage wells absorb minerals that are harmless, but unsavory. More minerals seep in as the wells become more shallow.

In times of plentiful rain, water authority customers receive better-tasting surface water and the authority can start to restore its reserves.

When summer rains swell the river between June and September, the authority begins to draw up to 42 million gallons per day until its 625-million gallon reservoir is full.

The plant can then treat up to 22 million gallons of water a day. During the wet season, water demand averages about 14 million gallons a day, leaving the remainder for storage in underground wells.

A $130 million project to expand reservoir and treatment capacity at the water plant will more than double storage and help alleviate shortages in the future. But expansion will not be complete until 2009.

Storage capacity at the plant now tops out at about 4 billion gallons, enough to ordinarily get current customers through the dry months.

But pumping limitations and low flows in the Peace River prevented the plant from drawing enough water to fill its wells and reservoirs last year.

Early this year, the authority received permission from state water regulators to pump water from the Peace at lower flows, but that still did not replenish supply.

The authority had to cease drawing water from the river on April 22.

Water demands, which rose to 17.2 million gallons per day in April, further depleted the reserves. Demand is predicted to increase again this month.

By the end of April, the plant had only 1.2 billion gallons of water in storage – 2.2 billion gallons less than it did this time last year.

By mid-June, storage will be down to a 14-day supply of 250 million gallons.

Adam Cummings, a Charlotte County commissioner who sits on the authority's board of directors, said the water crunch shows the plant is operating below capacity.

The plant is supposed to be able to provide 18 million gallons of water a day, even in drought years. It is only producing 16 million gallons a day, Cummings said.

He said the utility faced the same sort of crisis situation before it started work on its most recent upgrade, which was finished in 2003.

"We paid for a product and now for the second time it appears we may not be getting it," Cummings said.
Venice may back off plans for airport growth

By PAUL QUINLAN

paul.quinlan@heraldtribune.com
VENICE -- Facing a backlash over efforts to build a marina and resort at the airport, city officials on Wednesday recommended scaling back plans and overhauling the design process set to unfold in the coming weeks.

The retreat comes after a crescendo of opposition from residents to building a luxury resort on the 451 acres that overlook Caspersen Beach and line the Intracoastal Waterway, the largest undeveloped waterfront tract in Sarasota County .

Leasing land to a resort developer, city leaders maintain, would raise needed cash for airport operations and improvements, while boosting tourism and the local economy.

But residents questioned how much development, if any, is necessary on land that borders public beaches, trails and other recreational areas.

Last week, five developers presented their proposals to the City Council.

Some plans would cover the entire 451 acres at a cost of several hundred million dollars, while engulfing the city's only public golf course.

"Some of these projects would overwhelm the city," City Manager Marty Black said. "That finally stirred some folks to action."

In a five-page memo sent Wednesday to the City Council, Black made three recommendations.

First, that the city immediately hire a consultant to begin hosting a series of public meetings that would address various development scenarios and how they would meet airport needs.

Second, that an 87-acre portion of the airport property along Harbor Drive be excluded from any development.

Third, that the council meet with the airport advisory board before it approves the latest airport master plan to jointly review airport operational needs and community priorities.

Black's memo also recommended that the council commit to several parameters that would govern any development project.

Those include that a public golf course would be maintained with operations "consistent with comparable public courses, including that rates must be reasonable, competitive and within prevailing rates in the community," the memo states.

To meet airport safety requirements, some of the land that makes up the existing public course, the 27-hole Lake Venice Golf Club, will almost certainly need to be taken over by the airport to provide an additional buffer around portions of runway, Black said this week.

But any resulting renovation of the course should meet Audubon standards for environmental protection to reduce water quality and fertilizer impacts and protect wildlife habitat areas, the memo says.

Moreover, Black recommended that the city commit to ensuring that access to any new development occur through a "new primary driveway" from U.S. 41 Business, in order to mute the traffic impact on the airport's surrounding neighborhoods.

The memo also asks that the council commit to ensuring the developer pay for infrastructure improvements and that no beachfront development should occur.

The ideas included in the memo emerged from a 90-minute meeting Wednesday between Black, assistant city attorney Wayne Hall and airport director Fred Watts.

"It sounds like a small step in the right direction," said Sue Lang, president of the Venice Neighborhoods Coalition, a community group that represents those who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the airport.

But Lang called on the city to protect areas further south along Harbor Drive from development and prioritize relocating the jet center to an area farther away from residential areas near Airport Avenue .

"People are being sickened by the fumes and the particulate is all over their cars and all over their foyers," Lang said.

None of the five developers who have pitched proposals for the airport have been removed from the running, Black said.
The City Council will consider whether to adopt Black's recommendations at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Lake Placid Growth Management Plan Suggests Another Look At Big Box Ban

By Douglas Carman of Highlands Today

Published: May 3, 2007

LAKE PLACID — The nearly completed draft of the Growth Management Committee's Area Vision plan, which will be presented later this month, might be a step toward easing the ban on big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Lowe's.

Realizing among other factors that Tallahassee might pass legislation that could cut the town's tax revenue, the committee included a suggestion for the town to consider amending the ordinance, emphasizing large green space buffers and small signs, committee chairman Ray Royce said. Still, he emphasized, it is not suggesting a total repeal of the ban.

"We are not suggesting that the town amend their code necessarily to allow big box stores," Royce said. However, "if each of us are going to pay a little less, we need even more people to make the pie, so to speak."

An ordinance enacted in 2005 banned any retail building that was more than 100,000 square feet in size from being built within the town limits.

Royce suggested the town, with the county, could force big box retailers to build their structures so that it could better fit with the town's architecture if the county approved of it. Then, theoretically, if it wanted the town's water and sewer services, it could be annexed into Lake Placid .

The big box clause was a very small part of the plan that took almost two years to draft.

This draft, which Royce described as being "95 percent complete," will not be released until some time today. However, he briefly discussed the draft with the Lake Placid Board of Realtors Wednesday.

Town Attorney Bert Harris will discuss it with the town council this coming Wednesday at the Lake Placid Elks Lodge, and a public hearing will take place May 22. Town Clerk Arlene Tuck said the venue for the public hearing has not yet been determined.

Among other highlights, the most recent available draft of the plan, created April 24, recommended:

- A central water and sewer system, with qualifying lots using a "performance-based" septic system.

- A standard development density of three units per acre.

- Making S.R. 8 a four-lane road while improving its intersection with U.S. 27.

- Setting aside a 25-acre plot for a future elementary school on the town's north side.

For Brooker Creek, a map of change

By THERESA BLACKWELL
Published May 3, 2007

EAST LAKE - Yet another idea has been proposed to safeguard big parts of the Brooker Creek Preserve. And, like the others, it has fans and foes.

The idea: Pinellas County commissioners would remove 1, 146 acres from the 3, 623 acres purchased years ago by the county's utilities department.

The carved out acreage would be off limits to any future development - for utilities or otherwise.

The acres would be both north and south of Keystone Road . And a detailed map would be drawn to make it clear to concerned environmentalists exactly where the lines in the sand are drawn.

County utilities would retain 2, 398 acres also north and south of Keystone. And those acres could be used for future utilities projects.

South of Keystone, utilities projects would be limited to pipelines or small structures to protect well heads on the lands it controls.

North of Keystone, utilities could build whatever is needed on its acreage - water blending facilities, tanks.

And 79 acres north of Keystone that now carry a utilities designation - some small parcels like a sulphur scrubbing plant, as well as the 46 acres already cleared for a blending plant - would no longer be parts of the preserve.

The complicated new proposal, detailed on a map, was unveiled to county commissioners last week by Will Davis, the county's director of environmental management.

While still a work in progress, the plan generally was supported by commissioners, who indicated they favor continuing to refine a new Brooker Creek Preserve map. They hope it will provide clarity.

"It will just stop this battle with this very small group from the community who doesn't want it touched, " Commissioner Susan Latvala said Wednesday.

The "small community" she referred to are environmentalists who have been vocal opponents of any kind of development in the preserve, which they regard as a natural treasure in the urban bay area.

Reaction to the plan has been mixed.

"The ones who spoke to me thanked me for being so progressive and identifying 1, 200 acres of utility land that would not be used in the future for utility uses, " said Pick Talley, utilities director.

But many environmentalists didn't support the new plan. They said they like the preserve's map as it is now - with all the preserve's acres shown in green, the designation for preservation.

They feel separating out acres for utilities sets them up for more intensive development, even for uses such as active recreation.

"That land north of Keystone is some of the most important land in the preserve, " said Mathew Poling, 17, the past senior executive of the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve.

"There's a large area of Sandhill habitat and there's very little of that left in Pinellas County ."

Poling led the Friends in a petition effort a few months ago, presenting commissioners with more than 2, 000 signatures from residents who want to preserve the 8, 300-acre preserve.

Lands set aside for utilities use will no longer be considered part of the preserve, he said, no matter what the map says.

"Right now, all 8, 300 acres are treated the same, " he said. "If this proposal is approved, a large piece of the preserve will be in jeopardy."

His fears may be well placed.

Latvala said Wednesday she would not oppose more ballfields in addition to the ones already proposed north of Keystone on utilities acres.

"A horse trail, a ballfield are not necessarily permanent, " she said.

"If it ultimately needed to be used for utilities, it could be reclaimed for that purpose."

Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or 727 445-4170.

On the web

Good or bad? You decide

To watch the Brooker Creek policy part of the recent work session on your computer, go to www.pinellas county.org/media /default.htm and click on BCC Worksession Meeting Video, Tuesday 4/24/07.

Tonight's Springhills hearing will be aired live

By CINDY SWIRKO

Sun staff writer

The contentious Springhills development will get another hearing before the Alachua County Commission tonight in a continuation of a 5-hour meeting Tuesday.

The meeting, which starts at 5 p.m. at the County Administration Building , 12 SE 1st St. , will air live on Cox Cable Channel 12.

Set to give a presentation tonight is the Coalition for Responsible Growth, a group that formed to oppose comprehensive plan amendments sought by the development at Interstate 75 and NW 39th Avenue .

Public comment will be taken. Commissioners can vote on the project, but it is not certain if that will happen tonight.

Springhills wants authority to increase the amount of retail space it can build. That would allow it to bring in big box supercenters.

Proponents say it will boost the economy, improve the tax base, help improve roads and provide more shopping.

Opponents say it will create too much traffic, promote sprawl and stress the environment.

Meantime, a televised replay of Tuesday's Springhills public hearing, which was held at the Santa Fe Community College gym, will air on Friday at 8 p.m. on Cox Cable Channel 12. A replay of tonight's continuation meeting will immediately follow.

See Friday's Sun for more information.

Belleview advances plans for single-family homes

BY HARRIET DANIELS
STAR-BANNER-

BELLEVIEW -Two properties already annexed into Belleview and planned for single-family subdivisions cleared a regulatory hurdle Tuesday.

During the Belleview City Commission meeting, developer Tom Cafaro said his goal with both properties is to design single-family home sites. The city's land-use designation allows more units per acre than Cafaro, with Belleview-based Landsport Development, Inc., plans to construct.

Cafaro said he is not interested in the higher density count; instead, he plans 64 lots between the two properties. Cafaro developed Hidden Grove, a gated community in Belleview.

A final hearing on the proposed changes in the properties' designation is scheduled for the May 15 commission meeting.

On the north side of town, off Southeast 98th Lane , the property will convert from the county's medium-density residential designation, which allows four units per acre, to the city's low-density residential designation, which allows six units per acre. Cafaro said plans for the 9.7 acres include 44 home lots.

The other site, fronting Southeast 52nd Court on the city's south side, will still carry the low- density residential designation in the city, but will enjoy the maximum use of six units per acre, compared with the one unit per acre allowed under the county designation. Twenty home sites are planned for the 5-acre property.

"Even though the city allows six units per acre, you can't do that with current requirements to include drainage, roads and curbs," Cafaro said.

In describing the subdivisions, Cafaro said the goal is to create housing for the local work force.

"It's a hot button right now because we need homes that police officers and teachers can afford," he said.

The homes, including lot price, are expected to be in the $185,000 to $225,000 price range.

According to Belleview's land development coordinator, Jeff Shrum, after clearing the city, the land use and zoning amendments will head to the state Department of Community Affairs for approval.

"They are small-scale amendments, and on all of those we send up, we are requesting that they not review them because they are small," Shrum said.

Several residents who live near the property on Southeast 98th Lane voiced concerns about the change. They are fearful that the road is too small to support increased vehicle traffic, questioned the impact to underground caverns and wondered how area schools would cope with more students.

Mayor Tammy Moore took issue with several questions from the audience.

"We are talking about 30 or so homes here or there and we get lynched, and the county puts in 700 homes around us and it's OK," she said. "When Belleview expands it's a problem, and I don't understand."

Shrum said the city was receiving a large number of residential land use and zoning amendments.

However, with the housing market cooling down, the next cycle of amendment applications focus more on commercial development - especially retail service development to fill the demands of a growing residential base.

Harriet Daniels may be reached at (352) 867-4125 or harriet.daniels@starbanner.com.  

Task force on springs likely to receive funding

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER

Sun Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE - As Florida 's springs continue to face threats from encroaching development and other pollution sources, state lawmakers are poised to back a study on the springs' predicament.

The House has unanimously backed a bill (HB 299) that would create a nine-member Florida Springs Stewardship Task Force that will collect data on the state's 33 largest springs, which each release about 65 million gallons of water a day. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation before the end of the week.

Some critics say the study bill is another sign the state is falling short on its efforts to protect the springs, while lawmakers and some environmental groups say they believe the legislation represents an initial move to do more to save the springs.

"It's a little late, but better late than never,'' said Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, who is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill (SB 1486).

Oelrich said the task force, which will report its findings back to the Legislature early next year, will provide information allowing lawmakers to take further steps to help the springs.

Rep. Debbie Boyd, D-Newberry, sponsor of the House bill, said she too would have liked to have done more for the springs this year.

Her original bill was much more ambitious, calling for a detailed study of the springs and the development of policies to protect them.

But the bill carried a price tag of $25 million, meaning it had little chance of passage in a tight budget year. So Boyd scaled back her bill to the current task force proposal.

"I just felt like a very humble first step was better than no step at all,'' Boyd said.

Sen. Nancy Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, who has been an outspoken critic of the state's lagging efforts on springs protection, said she was disappointed with the legislation, questioning how much value another springs study would have.

"We don't need to study them,'' Argenziano said. "We're either going to protect them or not.''

Argenziano, who is leaving the Legislature this week to join the Public Service Commission, had her own springs legislation that would have provided extra protection for four large springs, including Ichetucknee Springs in Columbia County and Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon. But the bill never advanced.

"Our springs are showing the wear and tear,'' she said. "As soon as we start losing them, it may be too late.''

Some environmental groups, which worked on the springs legislation, called the task force a positive move.

"It moves us forward on identifying the sources of water pollution that are killing our springs,'' said Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida. "It puts government in a position to come up with some solutions to solve the problem.''

At one point in the session, Draper had called the legislation "the anti-springs bill,'' when it had a provision emphasizing a "non-regulatory'' approach to protecting the springs.

But Draper said the final version was much improved and called for the task force to identify "other water pollutant controls'' in addition to voluntary "best management practices'' for protecting the springs.

"It broadens the focus of the study commission,'' Draper said.

The bill creates a nine-member task force that will include representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Department of Community Affairs. Others will represent water management districts, business, development, agricultural and environmental interests.

The task force will report its findings to lawmakers by no later than Jan. 31 of next year - roughly a month before the 2008 legislative session begins.
Statewide drought continues

By BRIAN SKOLOFF Associated Press
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 10:03 PM EDT

OKEECHOBEE - Florida 's worsening drought conditions - one of the driest periods on record - could result in year-round water restrictions for residents and farmers as forecasters say no real relief is in sight.

Lake Okeechobee, a backup drinking water source for millions in South Florida and the lifeblood of the Everglades , is nearing a record low at 9.6 feet, four feet below average.

“Maybe the time is right to look at year-round restrictions,” Chip Merriam, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, said Tuesday.

Last month, the district instituted temporary water restrictions aimed at cutting residential use by up to 30 percent, mostly outside watering of lawns and gardens. Farmers have had to cut back 50 percent. The state also announced that the fragile Everglades ecosystem would be cut off for any new or additional water supplies, meaning utilities will have to find new sources of water to supply demand for population growth.

It was the first time in history that Everglades water was deemed off-limits.

Merriam said the agriculture industry could soon begin losing crops. Tourism is also taking a hit as many of the state's inland waterways dry up, removing opportunities for boating and fishing.

The drought conditions are the second worst on record since 1895, said Ben Nelson, state meteorologist with the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

While summer months typically bring steady storms, officials say even average rainfall won't break the drought. In the last 18 months, South Florida has received 49.3 inches of rain, nearly 17 inches less than the 30-year average.

“Water conservation is going to be extremely important,” Nelson said.

State officials estimate that 50 percent of drinking water produced daily in South Florida is used for watering lawns and gardens.

The drought is also creating prime wildfire conditions, historically a good thing for the Everglades because it cleanses the system and allows for new growth. But with so much development along the edge of the vast wetlands, communities could be in danger as summer storms bring lightning that sparks dry brush.

The lack of rainfall is a mixed blessing for the health of Lake Okeechobee , said the district's Susan Gray.

High water levels have kept vital sunlight from reaching the lake bottom, inhibiting plant growth and keeping the natural system from revitalizing itself.

“The lake has really needed this,” Gray said. But the low water levels will also give way to the spread of exotic plant species that will have to be removed.

Drought conditions are being felt across the Southeast in Alabama , Florida and Georgia , where a massive wildfire has burned 87,000 acres. Officials in Florida say it may be several years before the state returns to normal conditions.

Very little water in sight

By Rachel Simmonsen

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

A pier that once stretched into Lake Okeechobee now hovers above dry, cracked earth, a scene that water managers say perfectly illustrates their now-familiar refrain: "This drought is serious," said Chip Merriam, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

And it's not likely to end anytime soon.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at Jaycee Park along the lake's north shore, water managers and a state forecaster warned that the lake, a backup source of drinking water for much of South Florida , is nearing record low levels.

And even soakings from summer tropical depressions probably won't be enough to pull the region out of the drought.

"If you can imagine 3 feet of rainfall over this lake anytime soon, we would still be in a drought," Merriam said of Lake Okeechobee , which was about 9.65 feet above sea level Tuesday.

Without significant rain soon, the lake is projected to drop in June to 8.97 feet, its all-time low, which was recorded during the most recent drought in 2001, Merriam said.

Statewide, 2006 was the third-driest year since 1895, according to Ben Nelson, state meteorologist with the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Forecasters had expected El NiÒo, the warming of equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean , to bring plenty of rain before this summer.

But El NiÒo, a phenomenon that usually occurs every three to seven years, lasted only until February, not through this month, as forecasters had predicted, Nelson said.

They now expect La NiÒa, the opposite phenomenon of cooling equatorial Pacific waters, to form this summer, which could bring more bad news to Florida : La NiÒa means there's a good chance there will be more hurricanes, and of a greater intensity, in the Atlantic Ocean this summer, Nelson said.

But that doesn't mean the storms, and the rains that come with them, will hit Florida .

It also doesn't mean the rain would be enough to end the drought: Historically, La NiÒa coincides with droughts in Florida , Nelson said. Forecasters expect the next dry season, which runs roughly from November through April, to be drier than normal.

Signs of the drought abound along Lake Okeechobee , where waters have receded to reveal grassy islands that once were submerged. Water managers closed four locks last week, saying the lake was too low for safe navigation. Boaters complain they can't use many boat ramps, because they're too dry or buried in muck.

Still, the drought is not all bad news, water managers said Tuesday. They're taking advantage of the low water levels to try to restore the lake. The district plans to spend about $7 million to remove about 500,000 cubic yards of muck, mud full of pollutants that is 3 feet thick in some parts of the lake.

"Fish don't like it and plants can't grow in it," said Susan Gray, director of the district's Lake Okeechobee division.

The district also plans to remove exotic plants, such as cattails and torpedo grass, and to plant native species once rains start to refill the lake.

In the meantime, many submerged aquatic plants, which were wiped out in the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes, have rebounded now that the lake levels are low enough for sunlight to penetrate to the lake bottom. Water managers aren't sure how much has rebounded, though, since the lake is too low for scientists to survey in boats, Gray said.

During Tuesday's news conference, water managers stopped short of predicting that the governing board of the water manager district will enact tougher water restrictions at its meeting next week.

But district officials said residents shouldn't expect an end any time soon to restrictions, which limit South Florida residents to watering lawns two or three days a week.

"This is not just a local drought," Merriam said. "This is affecting the whole state of Florida ."

A pier that once stretched into Lake Okeechobee now hovers above dry, cracked earth,

a scene that water managers say perfectly illustrates their now-familiar refrain:

"This drought is serious," said Chip Merriam, deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

Plan would reroute Lake O water

By Jason Schultz

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

STUART — Environmentalists and Martin County commissioners hope the south shall flood again - at least the land south of Lake Okeechobee - in order to clean up the St. Lucie River.

Commissioners unanimously endorsed a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposal that would restore a natural flow-way for storm water to drain south out of Lake Okeechobee into the Everglades instead of being released into the river. Heavy lake releases in recent years have polluted the St. Lucie River and endangered fish, oysters and sea grass.

"This is the only viable solution for the St. Lucie River," said Chuck Locke, a member of the Rivers Coalition, a group of business and recreation groups aiming to clean up the St. Lucie and Indian rivers.

Water used to naturally drain that way but since has been stopped by a dike around the lake, said county water quality chief Gary Roderick.

The flow-way might be difficult for the Corps to implement because it does not have enough capacity to store water south of the lake to clean it up before it goes into the Everglades , Roderick said.

The corps is trying to rehabilitate the Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake because of concerns that the dike could fail and flood surrounding areas, said Alan Bugg, the corps' chief of construction and operations.

Bugg said the corps already is working on a similar plan that would involve a 12-foot-high spillway near Belle Glade that would let water drain into a southern flow-way. That plan would eliminate the need to rehabilitate the dike.

That plan faces major hurdles as well. It would require buying 140,000 acres for storing storm water and relocating a sugar mill in the path of the flow-way.

Okeechobee's low water level called 'a mixed blessing'

By CURTIS MORGAN

It may be hard to tell by the pontoon boats resting on muddy creek bottoms and the sagging business at marinas and bait shops, but there may be a bright side to the low water in Florida 's largest lake.

The drought inadvertently has given Lake Okeechobee -- strangled by dark, polluted water over the last few years -- a chance to breathe again, to soak in sunlight and sprout sprigs of green life.

State water managers said Tuesday they will put $7 million into projects to help speed a revival of aquatic plants and shoreline marshes that -- when the waters do rise again -- could produce cleaner, clearer waters and, in coming years, healthier populations of fish and wildlife in the lake.

The key work will entail driving bulldozers and dump trucks onto a lake bed where bass boats usually float, to scrape up and haul away a dried and cracked layer of an ooze churned by hurricanes onto the shoreline marsh. The black, phosphorus-laden mix of fine clay, decaying plants and algae covers a huge swath of lake bottom and has been a festering source of pollution in the lake for decades.

Susan Gray, a deputy director with the South Florida Water Management District, said the aim was to make something good out of a severe drought that has put South Florida 's farms and suburbs on the toughest water restrictions ever and the lake in a slide toward a historic low.

At 9.65 feet above sea level Tuesday, Lake Okeechobee is expected by month's end to recede beyond the the all-time low of 8.97 feet, hit on May 24, 2001, at the peak of the last serious drought. The 730-square-mile lake, which normally serves as the region's reservoir, no longer can replenish coastal cities if their well fields begin to run low.

''These low conditions are a mixed blessing,'' Gray said. ``It we can get that organic muck out, the submerged plants can come back and that benefits the lake's water quality and fishery as well.''

The district, working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, did similar excavation in 2001 with great success after a decade when the lake was frequently held too high for sunlight to penetrate more than a few inches, drowning the plants and marshes in darkness.

The marshes, which cover about a fifth of the lake, are the key to the entire ecosystem, providing critical habitat and food for everything from fowl to fish, including the lake's renowned large-mouth bass and popular panfish such as crappie and bream.

''With the water being as polluted and dirty as it is, you cannot recover these plants until the water gets really low,'' said Paul Gray, Audubon of Florida's Lake Okeechobee sanctuary manager.

By 2004, aquatic plants such as eel grass and tape grass had rebounded six-fold to 60,000 acres. But after bad hurricane seasons that year and the next, the lake was in even worse shape than before, down to an estimated 2,500 acres of submerged plants. The crappie stock, Gray said, could collapse without a rebound this year.

The muck removal, which should start within weeks once environmental permits are finalized, will focus on Lake Okeechobee 's western marsh and on a shallow bay near Clewiston.

The district already has removed 50,000 acres of torpedo grass and other exotic invasive plants through controlled burns and herbicide treatments and intends to replant native species, such as bulrush, once summer rains kick in.

But when they do come, said Ben Nelson, state meteorologist with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, there are global climate indications that it might not be in enough volume to end the drought.

Nelson said a La Niña condition, dictated by cooler waters in the Pacific Ocean , could prolong a drought that began in 2006, the third-driest statewide on record. In the last 18 months, South Florida 's rain gauge is 17 inches below average.

That means that without above-average summer rains and widespread cooperation with regional water-use restrictions, Lake Okeechobee could face worse low-water threats next year.

That would be too much of a good thing, Gray said. Lake life thrives when the water levels hit 15 feet at the end of the rainy season, totally saturating the marsh, then drop to 12 at the end of the dry season.

If the lake stays too low too long, he said, some of the marsh and bottom plants wind up baking in the sun and dying off.

''We're headed for too low,'' he said. ``Basically, once you get the lake down from 10 feet, you've got 100 percent of the marsh drained. You're getting all the benefits you need.''

Study to focus on Kings Bay alga

By Terry Witt

Two Clemson University researchers have begun a two-year study of Lyngbya alga in Kings Bay to determine how it can be controlled.

Professor John H. Rodgers Jr. and doctoral student Brenda M. Johnson met with state and county officials last week in Crystal River to discuss potential management options.

Rodgers said they would be looking for a solution that is environmentally sound, economically and socially acceptable and is no worse than the problem they are trying to cure.

“The science is beyond spray and pray now,” Rodgers said.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is funding the $100,000 study.

Lyngbya is a blue-green alga that forms large, dense mats on the bottom of the bay. The mats float to the top and can be several acres in size and can smother eelgrass, a food for manatees. Manatees use the bay as a wintering area during cold weather.

The alga, which has characteristics similar to bacteria, is found throughout the bay, but is concentrated in the northern section. Citrus County uses mechanical harvesters to remove Lyngbya from the bay, but in other areas of the United States an algae-killing chemical that is copper-based is used to control it.

Ultrasound technology and the use of grass carp were two additional methods suggested by audience members for controlling the spread of Lyngbya.

However, grass carp could not be used is an open system such as Kings Bay because the carp could escape and move into other water bodies, Rodgers said. A half dozen audience members said they were opposed to the idea of using chemical controls to poison and kill Lyngbya in Kings Bay.

“I think the chemicals with the environmental groups will be a hard sell,” said Gail Jannarone of the Kings Bay Association.

Johnson, who will use the bay study for her doctoral thesis, said she would experiment with ultrasound. She said the two theories of ultrasound are that it either bursts the cells or retards the growth of algae.

She hopes to grow Lyngbya in a laboratory setting at Clemson University and expose it to various control methods to determine what works best.

Most of the research will take place at Clemson. However, Rodgers and Johnson took water and algae samples from Kings Bay after the meeting. Southwest Florida Water Management District official carried them to the sampling sites in the bay.

Johnson said she is keenly aware that manatees feed in the bay and use it as a wintering area. Any proposed solutions would factor in the presence of manatees, she said.

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=33931@wfor.dayport.com

Retirees, county square off over water rates
County urges conservation; seniors say bills are too high

BY RICHARD CONN
OCALA STAR-BANNER-

 They came in droves. They clapped, cheered and booed voraciously as they fought proposed increases to their water bills. And at the end of more than three hours of sometimes heated debate and discussion, at the very least, they got a reprieve.

Hundreds of residents from Stonecrest, Spruce Creek South and Del Webb Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club poured into the McPherson Governmental Complex on Tuesday. The crowd, which spilled into an outdoor courtyard, had hopes of stopping county commissioners from approving water and sewer rate increases that would have sent their water bills soaring.

Instead, commissioners voted unanimously to continue the public hearing on the matter at their June 5 meeting.

Jack Benstock, who, along with fellow Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club resident Burton Sugarman, spoke for most of the throng in attendance, said the planned increases would hit hardest senior citizens who live on fixed incomes.

"The proposed rates will be extremely high for us," Benstock said. "Some residents can't afford necessary prescription medication."

Andrew Neff, director of the county's utility system, told commissioners that residents in the Spruce Creek and Stonecrest communities had been paying 26 and 28 percent less than the county's average customers and those rates had never been properly adjusted for inflation. The county has purchased systems at different monthly rates.

Neff also said those communities had far exceeded their recommended water usage. Currently, those communities use 22,000 gallons of water a month, far above the 12,600 gallons a month recommended by the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Commissioners directed Neff to return June 5 with information about increases based on inflation and the current rate of each of Marion County 's separate utilities, and then tier the rate system to encourage water conservation. Under the tiered rate structure, those who use the most water would pay the most.

Neff said he had hoped the plan would have encouraged residents to curtail their water usage, which would leave them with lower bills.

"What we were trying to stress is that if you throttled back your usage to a more reasonable rate, you're not going to be paying as much as you think," Neff said.

Commissioner Jim Payton said that while he sympathizes with residents who complained of higher water bills, he also sensed an "unwillingness to embrace conservation" from many of those residents who spoke in opposition of the rate hikes. "That bothers me a lot," he said.

Payton's comments drew jeers from the crowd.

Sugarman said he was happy with the commissioners' decision to delay the vote on a rate increase and study the numbers further.

"I think it's a step in the right direction," he said. "The new rates they had proposed were exorbitant, they were absolutely ludicrous."

Sugarman also said he believed any new rate system should be based on the amount of water currently used in Spruce Creek and Stonecrest, and residents should not be asked to significantly scale back their consumption because of the varying size of lots in the communities.

"Some of us have yards that are absolutely enormous," he said.

But commissioners all agreed that water conservation methods need to be implemented countywide.

St. Johns River Water Management District issued a violation to the county for Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club last month because the community used 903.5 million gallons of water in 2006, more than 50 percent over the allotted amount.

Kirby Green, the water management district's director, said the district has the right to impose fines against the county, which could total millions of dollars if usage amounts are continually exceeded.

Richard Conn may be reached at richard.conn@starbanner.com or 867-4045.

St. Marks Greenway gets aid
Department of Community Affairs gives $915,285 to purchase 160 acres
By Jeff Burlew
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The state, the city of Tallahassee and Leon County are teaming up to preserve hundreds of acres of land at the St. Marks River headwaters.

On Tuesday, Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham presented a $915,285 check to city and county officials. The grant money is being used to help purchase an additional 160 acres for the St. Marks Headwaters Greenway, a passive park that the county is expected to develop over coming years.

Blueprint 2000 and the Florida Communities Trust have been teaming up to acquire property around the river since 2002, said David Bright, a Blueprint 2000 planning manager. Combined, they've spent about $5.2 million to buy 754 acres. Florida Communities Trust has contributed about 60 percent of that in grant money.

"Basically what we're doing is protecting something that's relatively pristine and using it in some ways that are educational to the public," Bright said.

Once finished, the park will include multi-purpose trails for biking, hiking and horse riding. It will have a picnic area, a swing and a couple of boardwalks over wetlands, which will be good for watching wildlife.

Pat Plocek, director of the county's parks and recreation, said an entrance has been proposed by Baum Road about halfway between Buck Lake Road and the railroad tracks. He said it could be five or more years before the park is ready. For now, workers will be removing exotic plants and improving the habitat for wildlife.

Can Polk Schools Handle Growth?

By Tom Palmer & Julia Crouse
The Ledger

BARTOW - By next spring, schools will join roads and utilities on the list of public facilities that need to be considered when planners review new developments.

The principle involved is called concurrency, which means before development can occur, provisions have to be made to make sure public facilities will be adequate to serve the new development's residents. There will have to be adequate roads to handle the additional cars, sufficient utilities to serve the new houses and enough classrooms for the extra children.

Legislators amended the state growth-management law in 2005 to require schools' inclusion in the mix.

Polk County is supposed to implement school concurrency by next March 1, but planning has fallen behind schedule.

Tom Deardorff, Polk's director of long-range planning, said the difficulty is the complexity of the variety of school districts at different grade levels, which requires a great amount of data collection and analysis to coordinate concurrency among the various school attendance zones and grade levels. He said the analysis will be ongoing because of periodic changes in school attendance zones, which could affect concurrency in specific development locations.

SCHOOL district's ROLE

The School District has to do its part to make sure schools aren't overcrowded and current schools are at their maximum capacity. That means districts must continue building new schools, adding classrooms and rezoning current schools, said Larry Helton, the district's contract administrator in its facilities planning department.

School concurrency will be based on school zones for elementary, middle and high schools. If a school in a development's zone or adjacent zone does not have capacity, then a developer cannot build houses there.

For example, if a development is proposed for the Kathleen High area, then there would need to be room at either Kathleen High or one of the three other high school zones it touches. In this case, it would be at Lakeland High, Lake Gibson High or Mulberry High.

If one or more of the adjacent school zones had room, the law says it would be reasonable for the district to rezone students or to spot zone areas within the development to that school with capacity, provided it is financially feasible.

What would not be reasonable would be to force a school to be year-round or go to double sessions to accommodate growth, solutions that have been suggested to maximize capacity, Helton said.

The School Board plans to enact policies eschewing year-round schools or double sessions except in the case of emergencies.

If none of the schools in the example cited above has room, development cannot continue until its impact on schools is mitigated by a land or financial donation to build more classrooms in the area.

Deardorff, Polk's director of long-range planning, told county commissioners there may be a time lag between the time people move into new homes and the construction of new classroom space. That's because school capacity, like road capacity, is considered concurrent if the project is scheduled to be built within three years of the approval of the development that needs it.

And even when a new development doesn't meet concurrency, developers can get the go-ahead to build anyway if they agree to "mitigation." Under the proposed rules, mitigation can consist of the donation of buildings or land or actual construction of a new school or an addition to an existing school.



SCHOOL SITES

Quen Wilson, Polk County 's director of concurrency and capacity, said the selection of school locations is also an issue because it affects concurrency.

"We have differences with the School Board as to where schools should be located," he said, explaining schools that are located in relatively remote locations - Sandhill Elementary School east of Lake Hamilton is a good example - require expensive utility line extensions and could encourage development to spread farther into rural areas.

"We don't want them to push the urban fringe," he said.

Deardorff has laid out a schedule to advance the school concurrency adoption in the county's growth plan and subsequent changes in the county's development regulations to implement it.

However, the standards, which will be uniform through Polk County, must win approval of the Polk County School Board and all local governments as well as the County Commission, he said.

Deardorff said planners are running slightly behind a schedule announced at the annual County Commission retreat on April 5. Under that schedule, a draft of the school concurrency plan was supposed to be completed last month and meetings would be scheduled in May to get public comment.

Deardorff said recently that he and fellow planners were still working on the plan and it now looks as though the public meetings won't occur until sometime in June.

The next steps will be hearings before the Polk County Planning Commission and the County Commission between July 10 and Dec. 12.

Julia Crouse can be reached at julia.crouse@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535

Growers Learn From BrazilianFact-Finding Expedition

By Gary Pinnell of Highlands Today

Published: May 2, 2007

SEBRING - When it comes to citrus greening, said Bobby Barben, "Assume you've got it."

The disease has been found in several Highlands groves, and citrus growers believe it will be worse than canker, which caused the death of millions of Florida citrus trees.

Barben was one of 17 Florida citrus growers and industry officials who spent a week in Brazil to see how psyllid insects have infected the citrus industry in the northern part of the South American country.

"We got to see what greening looked like, where it's farther along than we are," said Barben, of Avon Park. He and his family own groves in Highlands, Hardee, Polk and DeSoto counties. "Some felt like they had lost the battle. They were giving up. They were going to rent their land to the sugar cane people."

Other Florida growers went to Vietnam to see if guava trees really ward off psyllid insects. Both countries have been fighting greening for several years.

Psyllid History

According to the USDA, citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing or yellow dragon disease, is thought to have originated in China in the early 1900s.

Psyllids — gnat-sized insects shaped like grasshoppers — spread bacteria to citrus trees. Psyllids don't infect each other with bacteria; they become infected by feeding on immature leaves and sap from diseased trees.

One species, the Asian citrus psyllid, was first discovered in Kissimmee and Orlando, according to a 1999 Florida Division of Plant Services bulletin. The psyllid — so small, it's difficult to see — also attacks nursery stock, particularly orange jasmine and boxwood orange.

Infected trees eventually produce misshapen bitter fruit that's unsuitable to eat or drink, said the USDA Web site, www.aphis.usda.gov. A typical orange from an infected tree may ripen at the top, but remain green at the bottom. A normal-appearing fruit, when cut open from top to bottom, may have small, dark seeds that won't produce fruit. The white navel cord, which normally runs in a straight line from the top stem to the bottom navel, will stray off center, lopsided.

Citrus plants infected by the citrus greening bacteria may not show symptoms for 2-3 years following infection. The first noticeable symptoms frequently include the appearance of yellow shoots on a tree. Leaves become a mottled yellow and green. As the bacteria moves within the tree's circulatory system, the entire canopy yellows.

Trees usually die 3-5 years after becoming infected; they must be removed, the USDA Web site said.

There is no known cure for the disease.

Locally

"We've had it longer than we realize," said Barben. He's sprayed some blocks of trees four times – some a few weeks ago – and he's still finding psyllids.

"I just sprayed them, and I'm asking myself, am I going to have to go back again?" Barben said.
In one grove the American group inspected, the Brazilian growers had removed the diseased trees, replanted within four weeks, and four to six weeks later, they found greening on trees they'd missed, Belcher said.

"It's pretty dismaying to me," Barben said. Because some trees are in close proximity to homes, wells and lakes, spraying and other chemical treatments are limited.

Highlands growers are used to spraying three or four times a year. In Brazil, said Barben, they're spraying 12 times a year. "And they are still losing the battle."

"Brazil is not exactly sure how they're going to manage these groves," said Bryan Belcher, production manager for the Joe Davis groves. "They're not sure that all the things they're doing is going keep them in business. But they know if they do nothing, they're not going to be in business. It's the same here."

Good Neighbors

One of the problems: if Barben and Davis exert maximum effort, and the neighboring grove owners don't, psyllids will multiply, and all will have the disease. And there are groves in the Heartlands which have been left unattended for years.

Should the government step in?

"That's being discussed at every meeting we go to," Barben said. "We talk about that all the time.
"There's no law in place right now," Barben said. "And I doubt if (Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson) has any appetite for pushing down groves, after canker."

In 1998, Florida had 79 million trees; now there are 65 million trees. Many were lost to canker, some to housing developments.

"I just don't know what I can do about my neighbor right now," Barben said. "I'd like for those guys to get educated and feel the same alarm I do."

So what's the bottom line?

Brazil hasn't found the solution, Belcher replied.

"My goal is to hang on. Something will develop down the road that will help," Barben said.