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Around the state

Officials tout reactivation of Cecil Field Naval Station

By wire services
Published August 10, 2005

JACKSONVILLE - Six years after the last F/A-18 Hornets left the Cecil Field Naval Station, lawmakers and city officials are trying to persuade the Navy that the 23,000-acre former base could replace Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia, which has severe noise and encroachment problems.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez and U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, both Republicans, visited Cecil Field on Tuesday.

"It is easy to understand why this was one of the premier jet fighter bases in the country," said Crenshaw. He said estimates show it would cost about $250-million to reopen Cecil, a fraction of the $2-billion needed to build a new base.

"Florida has the facilities and the weather and Cecil Field, by default, is the place to go," Martinez said. Jacksonville decided to push for reopening Cecil after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission added Oceana to its list to consider for cutting or closing. Since the Navy left Cecil Field in 1999, aerospace giants including Boeing, Embraer and Northrop Grumman have moved in, and the city has demolished most of the old military buildings.

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a management plan for a large expanse of the Gulf of Mexico around the Dry Tortugas that includes a new large no-fishing zone.

Dry Tortugas National Park is a vast marine ecosystem about 70 miles west of the Florida Keys. The Cabinet plan would create a "Research Natural Area" of nearly 61 square miles that would be off limits to recreational fishing but would allow recreational snorkeling and scuba diving as well as research. Commercial fishing is already banned in the area, part of the larger national park.

Also Tuesday, the Cabinet heard that the coral reef system that butts up against the Florida Keys may need more protection.

In the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, coral cover decreased from 7.2 percent to 6.8 percent between 2003 and 2004, sanctuary officials reported.

PUNTA GORDA - Charlotte County plans to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Charley with an outdoor celebration Saturday expected to draw national television coverage.

The event will take place at Gilchrist Park, on the waterfront near downtown Punta Gorda, which was devastated when Charley slammed into the county on Aug. 13, 2004. Charley was the first of four hurricanes to hit Florida during an unprecedented season.

Tourism officials planned the celebration to show off the repaired and cleaned-up area, said tourism director Becky Bovell. NBC's Today Show and a crew from the Weather Channel are expected to cover the event, she said.

The celebration will include a 25-foot sculpture, The Spirit of Punta Gorda, made partially of hurricane debris and incorporating a clock stopped at 4:27 p.m., the time the storm hit.

[Last modified August 10, 2005, 00:36:13]