Training for nuclear crisis stepped up

CRYSTAL RIVER - Federal regulators are pleased with the stepped-up training Citrus County added for workers and volunteers who would respond to a nuclear emergency.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency became concerned in December after reviewing training records for accidents at the Progress Energy nuclear plant in Crystal River. The review found that only 19 of the 228 first responders - a mix of volunteers and professional emergency workers - in an emergency had radiological emergency training.

The training entails eight hours of learning to use radiation monitors and wash down stations as well as how to avoid contamination.

In a new review, 189 of 228 first responders have received appropriate training, said Conrad "Buck" Burnside, chief of FEMA's radiological emergency program in Atlanta.

Since FEMA's findings in December, the county has engaged in a concerted effort to train first responders. Charles Poliseno, director of public safety for the county, said he and his staff met with volunteer firefighters and stressed the need for their participation.

LAND O'LAKES - A little ingenuity on the part of caffeine-craving students may put a stopper on a morning soda ban.

Pasco school district administrators propose doing away with a ban, part of its exclusive soft drink deal with Pepsi since 1999, on the sale of carbonated beverages in the morning.

The assumption has been that quaffing fattening but vitamin-poor sodas early in the day would spoil students' appetites for lunch.

Pepsi installed timers on some of the 350 soda machines, which block the machines from dispensing carbonated drinks until an hour after the last school lunch period.

But high school principals complain that students unplug soda machines to disable the timers. Once power is restored, the timers need to be reset to work. Policing the machines is a hassle for principals with more important things to do, said Chip Wichmanowski, the school district administrator who runs the drink program.

"You never can get over how ingenious students can be," School Board member Marge Whaley said Tuesday night as she announced what could be a rewrite of the soda rules.

LARGO - A majority of the Largo City Commission informally agreed to protect homosexuals and transgender people in a proposed citywide human rights ordinance and internal discrimination policy that could become one of the most inclusives policies in the country.

The policies being drafted by city staffers are subject to more discussion and a formal vote. But at a work session Tuesday, a majority of commissioners supported protecting classes of people that county, state and federal law do not.

"I'm proud of the city," said Commissioner Pat Burke, who was among the most vocal supporters of the measures.

A racial slur in the Fire Department first prompted the city to review its stance on discrimination.

If the commission passes what has been proposed, Largo would have some of the most inclusive discrimination policies in the country. It could even provide benefits to domestic partners of unmarried city employees.

Mayor Bob Jackson and Commissioner Harriet Crozier opposed the citywide human rights ordinance. Jackson opposed passing any ordinance at all, while Crozier supported the idea but said the city does not have the staff to enforce it.

BROOKSVILLE - In its bid to unionize Hernando workers, a municipal employees union has alleged unfair labor practices in a complaint to the state.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed a complaint with state regulators as part of a series of punches and counterpunches that have been thrown by union and antiunion forces recently.

Hernando employees are set to vote Friday on whether to unionize.

The complaint alleges that the county's human resources director sent letters to employees that misrepresented the threat to their salaries and benefits posed by collective bargaining and were designed to intimidate workers.

It also cites an April 1 incident in which a County Administrator Dick Radacky confronted the union's assistant organizing director Brad Gonzalez outside the County Commission chambers, calling him a "son of a b----."

Radacky, who has apologized for his treatment of the organizer, said he did not think his behavior would lead workers to feel threatened if they chose to take a pro-union stance. The administrator also defended the letters sent, noting that a labor attorney hired by the county had scrutinized them before they were sent.

INVERNESS - Living historical artifacts are munching on grass in the meadows of the Withlacoochee State Forest, where more than 60 Florida Cracker cattle make their home.

The Florida Cracker cattle don't have the roly-poly demeanor of a milk cow sidling up to the feed trough. Run from them and, with horns down, they will chase after you - just like the Spanish toros from which they descend.

The Florida Division of Forestry has set aside 180 acres in Hernando, Sumter and Pasco counties for the Florida Cracker herd, part of the state's effort to preserve the history and bloodline of the breed.

With little meddling from humans, Florida Crackers survived in the scrub for nearly 400 years, running wild through the pines and living on palmettos and oak seedlings. Unlike their corn-fed cousins, they are the product of natural selection, not selective breeding.

In the New World, the Cracker cattle thrived and built the foundation of the Florida cattle industry. In recent decades, they have been nearly driven out of existence by crossbreeding and the demand for big beef cattle. Stephen Monroe of the Florida Cracker Cattle Breeders Association estimates there are 600 left.

"It is a living, breathing touchable, tangible link to our history," Monroe said of the breed. "This isn't some artifact in a stagnant, cold, mildewed museum exhibit."

- ST. PETERSBURG - In a unanimous show of support, the City Council agreed Thursday to build a 986-foot boardwalk along the downtown waterfront. Boaters would be able to dock downtown, stroll along the boardwalk and walk to restaurants and attractions such as BayWalk and the Pier. The project's projected cost is $740,000.

- TAMPA - The group that owns the Tampa Bay Lightning lost $32.7-million on its hockey and arena operations for the fiscal year ending last June, with total losses eclipsing $100-million since 1999, according to a new consultant's report. The losses could lend support to Palace officials, who are trying to extract financial concessions in lease renegotiations with Tampa and Hillsborough County, and who also want to reduce or erase the St. Pete Times Forum's property tax bill.

- Compiled by Times staff writer Sharon Kennedy Wynne.

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