Around the state

New Catholic college to offer courses in fall

NAPLES -- The fledgling Ave Maria College has gotten state permission to recruit students, grant course credits and advertise classes at an interim site this fall while its 750-acre campus is being built in rural Collier County.

The first major Roman Catholic college in the United States to be founded in 40 years, Ave Maria will open its campus in 2006 with about 600 students, officials said. Its eventual capacity will be about 5,000 students.

The Ave Maria Foundation, whose chief benefactor is Thomas Monaghan, former owner of Domino's Pizza and the Detroit Tigers, opened Ave Maria College in 1999 in Ypsilanti, Mich.

In November, Monaghan and Barron Collier Cos. announced they would jointly develop a new campus in Collier County. The interim site in Naples is now a branch campus of the Michigan college. It will offer freshman and sophomore classes this fall.

Bills give active-duty military personnel a break

TALLAHASSEE -- Floridians called to active military duty could break leases and cancel auto insurance policies without penalty under a pair of bills a state Senate committee approved Tuesday.

Sens. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, sponsored the measures (SB 482 and SB 570) after receiving e-mails from soldiers hit with hefty lease and insurance fees after being called up.

The measures were approved by the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee and now head to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Limit on environmental challenges upheld

TALLAHASSEE -- A law that could prevent residents and environmental groups from challenging development permits has been upheld.

Leon Circuit Judge L. Ralph Smith's ruling Monday upheld the measure that was tacked onto a popular Everglades restoration bill during the closing moments of last year's legislative session.

Several environmental and community groups sued in August to block the law.

The challenged provision says only environmental organizations that have been in existence for at least a year and have 25 or more members living in the county where the permit is being sought can challenge projects.

False ID business allegedly operated in three states

MIAMI -- A man has been charged with manufacturing thousands of false IDs and selling them through distributors in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

David Cruz of Homestead was arrested Tuesday following a two-month probe by the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. If convicted, Cruz could face a five-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine on the third-degree felony.

Cruz, 32, manufactured 14,000 false IDs, selling for $30 each, during the two years of his storefront operation, investigators estimated.

Orders were placed at 87 distributors, where information and photos were taken and sent to Cruz's business. The IDs were manufactured and sent back to the distributor, where customers paid for them, authorities say.

Police say many of the document solicitors were illegal residents or minors under legal drinking age.

The fake documents were designed to look like a government-issued ID card.

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