Information
on Beach Erosion and Re-nourishment - "Beach renourishment
projects" are programs supplying coastal towns with piles of sand, artificial beaches
and dunelines. These projects are carried out and largely paid for by the US Army Corps of
Engineers. The Corps has spent billions of dollars to carry out its engineered solutions
to natural depredations on all of the country's shorelines...
Tropical Storm Dennis Menaces Bahamas
- "Tropical storm Dennis formed in the western Atlantic Tuesday, prompting storm
warnings in the Bahamas and calls for people on the southeastern U.S. coast to stay
alert..."
U.S.
Franchise Systems Targets State of Florida for Hotel Expansion -
Atlanta-based U.S. Franchise Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: USFS - news), franchisor of Microtel Inn &
Suites, Hawthorn Suites and Best Inns & Suites, has set its sights on Florida. With 18
properties open or under construction throughout the state and over 65 in development,
USFS is targeting such cities as Orlando, Daytona Beach, Clearwater Beach, Jacksonville
Beach, Panama City and Pensacola for expansion...
Compensation triad addresses key
AF concerns - "Three pay initiatives targeting senior leadership's
concerns about attracting and retaining quality people are included in the fiscal 2000
National Defense Authorization bill. These compensation enhancements target pay raises,
and changes to the pay table and to the military retirement system..."
Two Students Arrested in Fla. Plot
- Two boys at a school for troubled children were arrested on charges they were plotting a
return to their former high school to kill students and teachers. William Tyler Black, 17,
and Jeffrey Burton Carter, 16, were charged as juveniles with conspiracy to commit
second-degree murder, Capt. Dick Schauland of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said
Wednesday...
Tropical Storm Could Affect E.Coast
- Tropical Storm Dennis formed today in the western Atlantic and was on a track that could
affect the East Coast this weekend, forecasters said. Dennis grew out of a tropical
depression southeast of the Bahamas and north of Puerto Rico, becoming a named storm when
its sustained wind speed topped 39 mph...
Storm fears again drive NYMEX
gas to higher close - NYMEX Hub natgas futures ended up sharply Monday in
active trade, lifted again by concerns about storms in the Atlantic despite news Bret
weakened after cutting only minimal amounts of Gulf of Mexico gas production...
AirTran
Internet Site Offers 10 Percent Discounts to Most Destinations - AirTran
(Nasdaq:AAIR - news) is offering 10 percent discounts for
travel to most destinations for customers who book their travel online at http://www.airtran.com/. The discounted fares apply for
travel between any destination, systemwide, and one of the following cities: Atlanta, Fort
Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Gulfport/Biloxi, Jacksonville, Miami, New
Orleans, Orlando, Savannah and Tampa. Travel can originate in either city. These fares
require at least a three-day advance purchase but do not require roundtrip purchase or
Saturday night stay. Fares apply for travel through December 16, 1999, and tickets must be
purchased on the site by August 29, 1999...
UniversalCom Selects
Siemens for Switching Solutions - UniversalCom Inc., an integrated
communications provider headquartered in Destin, Fla., has selected Siemens Information
and Communication Networks Inc. for equipment to deliver local, long distance, high-speed
Internet access and other communications services to businesses in the Gulf states...
Fla. Redistricting Plan Falls Apart
- A plan to redraw South Florida congressional districts due to a lawsuit claiming the
boundaries were designed to safeguard minority seats fell apart when Gov. Jeb Bush dropped
his support. Critics, including a black Democrat whose district would be redrawn and
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the plan would have
reduced the chances for blacks and Hispanics to get elected...
Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten
Peters - Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters takes getting out to
see the troops seriously. Secretary Peters(bottom in green flight suit) made a tandem jump
from a MC-130H Talon II, from Hurlburt Field, Fla., with members of the 24th Special
Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., Aug. 20, 1999. Taking off from Pope Air Force
Base, N.C. Secretary Peters made the tandem jump from an altitude of 8,000 ft. over Luzon
drope zone at Fort Bragg, N.C...
AF separates F-22 facts from myths
- As the fate of the F-22 Raptor continues to be debated on capitol Hill and in the press,
it's increasingly important to separate fact from myth. The following facts clarify
America's need for the F-22 and its role as the premier fighter of the 21st century Air
Force...
Challenging Convention(al) Wisdom: Hard Facts
about the Proposed Boston Convention Center - "As the political
leadership of Boston and the Commonwealth consider investing $700 million in a new
publicly owned convention center in South Boston, plans are already in place to enlarge
facilities in the nation's capital and in San Francisco. Discussions have also begun in
New York City, Atlanta, and San Jose to enlarge or replace facilities in those cities. In
each case, the goal is to bring in more out-of-state visitors and the dollars that come
with them. The success of each project is invariably assured by feasibility studies and
civic pride..."
Navy report
predicts widespread Y2K failures for many cities - "A U.S. military
report predicts widespread ``probable'' or ``likely'' failures in important power and
water systems for many of the nation's cities because of the Year 2000 technology problem,
a far more dire assessment than anything the White House has made..."
Where would we put a conference center?
- "The LMI study, which was used to convince most of our commissioners to back this
project, doesn’t mention any specific location, but talk mentions property on
Okaloosa Island north of highway 98 as the planned location. Problem is, that
location sits smack in top of the 100 year flood plain..."
Florida Statute 125.0104
- Tourist development tax; procedure for levying; authorized uses; referendum;
enforcement...
Planet Hollywood To File Chapter 11
- "Theme-restaurant chain Planet Hollywood International Inc., partially owned by
film stars such as Sylvester Stallone, plans to file voluntarily for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection while it attempts to restructure its operations. As part of the planned
reorganization, the company's two largest shareholders and a trust for the children of the
company's CEO have agreed to provide a $30 million cash infusion to help keep the
international chain of glitzy restaurants going..."
Okaloosa County
Drinking Water - An Environmental Profile - Congress enacted the Safe
Drinking Water Act in 1974 to ensure that every water supplier provides drinking water
that meets minimum health-based safety standards, which are set by EPA. EPA has set
health-based limits for over 80 contaminants that may be found in drinking water. These
contaminants include metals (e.g., lead), fertilizers (e.g., nitrates/nitrites),
pesticides (such as atrazine), and micro-organisms (such as coliforms)...
Florida Court Airs Trial on Web -
"When 68-year-old Shirley Egan goes on trial on Monday on charges of fatally shooting
her daughter, the ailing woman will be center stage in the first trial the US judicial
system has ever broadcast over the Internet..."
Associate medical
examiner suspended in licensing flap - An associate medical examiner in the
Florida Panhandle has been suspended after his Missouri doctor's license was
revoked. The suspension initially will be with pay because Dr. Michael Berkland had
accumulated leave time he has not yet taken, said Dr. Gary Cumberland, the acting district
medical examiner, at his Pensacola office Monday...
Florida Court Airs Trial on Web -
When 68-year-old Shirley Egan goes on trial on Monday on charges of fatally shooting her
daughter, the ailing woman will be center stage in the first trial the US judicial system
has ever broadcast over the Internet...
(Real
Audio Enabled)
HYPOXIA IN THE GULF
OF MEXICO - "Nutrient over-enrichment from anthropogenic sources is one
of the major stresses impacting coastal ecosystems. Generally, excess nutrients lead to
increased algal production and increased availability of organic carbon within an
ecosystem, a process known as eutrophication..."
Special Series: "When Pigs Fly" is a
collection of articles and reports on the facts, problems and issues other communities are
having with their current or planned Conference/Convention Centers. This includes detailed
reports on how communities are trying to stimulate, maintain or revitalize their economies
through tourism related attractions, museums, sports centers and other related
ventures. To quote Dr. Ronald D. Utt (Federal Budgetary Affairs at The Heritage
Foundation):
"Mounting evidence from dozens of cities that rely on
costly tourist-related infrastructure projects such as convention centers, stadiums,
arenas, concert halls, and museums demonstrates that such projects contribute little to a
community's economic vitality. Worse, they divert desperately needed financial resources
from such basic government services as public safety, education, and
transportation..."
This ongoing series is intended to offer the communities of greater
Okaloosa County with the truth behind what really goes on in the planning and development
of such projects, and the often dire results and consequences to the communities
involved... - Carl Bergmann 08-09-99
Busy Hurricane Season Predicted -
People shouldn't be fooled by this year's slow start to hurricane season, government
scientists say. With the peak period about to begin, meteorologists are predicting more
storms than usual...
So what are we
getting for this hefty $7 million? - John LeGrand, Guest Columnist - Dealing
with dollar figures and trying to write about it can sometimes be tedious and dull. But my
friends, you should be interested in what you're getting for $7 million from your Destin
City Council...
Tourism - a taxing issue - The danger of
relying on travelers to sustain tourism, of course, is that the numbers do fluctuate, and
the condition of the overall economy affects tourism perhaps more than other industries
because it involves discretionary spending. And a state could end up in a
"Catch-22" situation: less money to spend on promotions, fewer travelers are
lured to vacation sites, resulting in less money to spend on promotions...
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF
CONVENTION AND CONFERENCE CENTERS -
"In many communities throughout North America today, development or expansion of a
meeting facility is being considered as a means of creating positive economic impacts to
achieve the economic development goal... But what if they don't come?"
If We Build It, Will They Come? -
Any major public investment project carries with it both costs and benefits. The costs are
commonly clear and obvious in the short term, the benefits are distant and uncertain, the
risks less well known. That is particularly the case with a major convention center,
especially today...
CITIES IN DENIAL: THE FALSE PROMISE OF
SUBSIDIZED TOURIST AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEXES - Mounting evidence from
dozens of cities that rely on costly tourist-related infrastructure projects such as
convention centers, stadiums, arenas, concert halls, and museums demonstrates that such
projects contribute little to a community's economic vitality. Worse, they divert
desperately needed financial resources from such basic government services as public
safety, education, and transportation...
A 'Dead
Zone' Grows in the Gulf of Mexico - "It can stretch for 7,000 square
miles off the coast of Louisiana, a vast expanse of ocean devoid of the region's usual
rich bounty of fish and shrimp, its bottom littered with the remains of crabs and worms
unable to flee its suffocating grasp. This is the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone,"
which last summer reached the size of the state of New Jersey..."
House limits online liquor sales
- "New law would allow states to prosecute out-of-state firms that sell alcohol over
the Web to minors and residents of dry counties. A bill to limit online alcohol
sales passed the House late Tuesday by a vote of 310-112, troubling small Web merchants
who say the law will hamper them from competing against big national rivals..."
Report Clears Blue Angels Leaders
- A Navy report released this week has cleared two Blue Angels flight leaders of
wrongdoing in how they handled allegations of adultery and other improprieties within the
precision flying team...
Reynolds' complex may become school
- Burt Reynolds' former ranch and movie studio may one day be filled with school books and
children. On Wednesday, the Palm Beach County School Board voted 6-1 to buy the actor's
153-acre Jupiter Farms complex for $3.85 million. The deal takes the property out the
trust it had been in since Reynolds filed for bankruptcy a few years ago...
Selling Florida Short -
"... what really got my attention was a series of ads targeting winter-weary New
Yorkers. First came a spot for the Bahamas showing a beautiful girl on a white beach. Then
came one for the Barbados showing a beautiful girl on a white beach. And finally came one
for Florida, and guess what? It, too, showed a beautiful girl on a beach..."
Man Wanted In Florida Arrested In
Costa Rica - A U.S. man wanted in Florida for allegedly murdering and
dismembering his girlfriend in 1994 has been arrested in Costa Rica, police said
Saturday...
Stop-Loss nears completion - The last
active duty member affected by Stop-Loss measures, implemented during Operation Allied
Force, is slated to re-deploy around Aug. 27, according to Air Force personnel officials.
The intelligence officer, who was given the option of returning sooner, opted to see the
job through...
UNIVERSITY OF
FLORIDA STATE PARKS "PET TEST" SURVEY COMPLETED - A one-year "pet test" survey
conducted by the University of Florida for the Department of Environmental
Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks has concluded that about 70% of survey
respondents in the five test parks (which allowed pets in overnight camping areas for the
first time in over 40 years) support allowing pets in state park campgrounds rather than
continuing to exclude them...
"HOT!
HOT! HOT!"
"A cool front is bringing much needed relief to the mid-section of the United States,
easing a heat wave that raised temperatures into the 90s and 100s..." click here for our
NorthWest Florida Weather
Bank begins credit checks on travel
cards - Bank of America, which merged with NationsBank a year ago, began
performing credit checks on government travel card applications received on or after July
1, 1999...
ZZ Top on 1st tour
since 1997 - "Starting Sept. 15, ZZ Top will tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd
starting in Pensacola, Fla. The tour will last through a whopping 63-city arena tour. It
will culminate with a millenium concert..."
Fla. Prisons To Videotape Inmates
- "State prison workers will begin videotaping all instances where inmates are
forcibly removed from their cells following a prisoner's death after a confrontation with
officers..."
Orlando Resorts Shun Some
Tourists - Several Orlando companies that offer time-share properties have
told their solicitors not to offer discounted theme park tickets in their sales pitches to
people from certain countries...
Guards Accused in Inmate Deaths
- An inmate sentenced to die for killing a prison guard in 1987 was beaten to death in his
cell over the weekend by prison guards, according to authorities who have started a murder
investigation...
5-year-old shot by brother
- A 6-year-old boy fatally shot his 5-year-old brother Wednesday as the boys played with a
shotgun they found in their grandparents' bedroom, police said. Cory Andrew Wilson was
pronounced dead at his grandparents' home in this West Palm Beach suburb...
