[Times photo: Jennifer Davis]
Dr. Fay Herrero of the Odessa Equine Clinic prepares to give the West Nile virus vaccination Thursday to Cruise, a thoroughbred, at Milbrooke Station boarding stables in Pinellas Park.

By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE

Some highlights of the news from around the region for the week just ended.

* * *

Panel joins fight to keep bull mural

INVERNESS -- Removing a controversial bullfighting mural from a Spanish classroom at Citrus High School would be "a censorship of culture," an advisory committee has determined.

The Citrus County School Board will be asked Tuesday to uphold that determination, possibly bringing to a close a debate that has swirled since school opened last year.

Pine Ridge resident Joseph P. Smith raised the questions about the painting after he saw a photograph of the mural in the St. Petersburg Times. He sought to have the mural painted over, saying bullfighting was a cruel blood sport.

Just as Smith was mounting an animal rights protest, officials notified him that the mural was slated to be painted over as a part of regular summer maintenance. But that never happened, and this summer, when new principal Mike Mullen took over, he convened a school-level committee to review whether the artwork should stay or go.

A county-level committee last week found that "bullfighting is not considered a sport: It is a symbolic contest pitting human intelligence, ingenuity and bravery against brute animal strength. . . . It is considered a solemn ritual. This ritualistic struggle of good vs. evil is one that some people cherish and other despise."

Computers may predict driving risk for seniors

ST. PETERSBURG -- Experts are now saying that a simple computer touch-screen test is the best way to predict which older drivers are a crash risk.

Later this month, driver's license officials will begin experimenting with the test in the Tampa Bay area. The test already has been in use at Tampa Bay's Area Agency on Aging for six years. It will become one of the tests the state uses to decide whether to take someone's license away.

The 10-minute, three-part test requires people to keep track of small cartoon icons of cars and trucks on a screen even as the test distracts them with visual clutter.

It seems simple, but the test gets faster and faster, measuring how quickly the brain handles visual information. One study found that drivers who score poorly on the test are more than twice as likely to crash in the next three years. And with aging baby boomers, state officials expect the issue to become more critical.

Now the state will add the Useful Field of View test when Tampa Bay area cases are evaluated at a regional office in Tampa.

Wildlife agency considers adding manatee sanctuary

HOMOSASSA SPRINGS -- As the annual winter migration of manatees begins, wildlife officials are preparing for another round of public hearings on proposals to safeguard the lumbering marine mammals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that a manatee sanctuary be established at the Homosassa Blue Waters, an area increasingly popular with both manatees and their fans.

Officials fear that the larger numbers of boaters and snorkelers attracted to the area because of the surge in manatee population could be driving the cold-intolerant creatures out of the warm waters they need to survive.

A public hearing is slated from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at the Plantation Inn Conference Center.

Brown Schools wants advisers to be advocates

LECANTO -- The average advisory council doesn't attract much attention, but administrators for the Brown Schools want their volunteer council members to actively educate the public, spread the word about Brown's good deeds and help debunk misunderstandings.

Using the former Heritage Hospital building as its base, Brown operates a residential treatment facility for youths ages 10-17 who are emotionally disturbed. The state Department of Children and Families hired Brown to do that work.

Brown has been a fixture in the news since it opened in July 2000. Stories have focused on bad reviews Brown received from state regulators, residents who have escaped or otherwise run afoul of the law and Brown's zoning battle with the neighboring upscale development Black Diamond.

Brown does not operate a juvenile detention facility, officers repeat over and over again, although many people think it does. And some people don't know the most controversial members of Brown's resident population -- young people deemed incompetent to proceed in juvenile criminal court -- no longer are part of the mix.

The school council will be asked to advise Brown leaders and support the school's efforts; they won't have any oversight or financial responsibilities.

Jazz Holiday offers prime seats for a price

CLEARWATER -- The Clearwater Jazz Holiday isn't completely free anymore.

Money is becoming a major issue for the event's volunteer board, and selling sponsorships and T-shirts is not generating enough money to put on a four-day, world-class concert, event organizers say.

So in a first for the Jazz Holiday's 21-year history, organizers have decided to sell tickets for the best seats in Coachman Park.

Five hundred preferred seating tickets for the Oct. 18-21 event went on sale last week at Ticketmaster outlets. They cost $15 for the Thursday and Friday shows and $25 for Saturday and Sunday.

The additional seats will almost double the amount of space that will not be available free to the general public.

The public demands famous acts, Jazz Holiday chairman Wayne Garcia said, and they cost big money. The headliners for this year's event include Jane Monheit and Nnenna Freelon.

In short . . .

TAMPA -- The usually slower Labor Day holiday, which featured cut-rate air fares this year, maxed out Tampa International Airport's parking lots. The situation surprised and alarmed TIA officials, who said remote parking lots may have to be employed to get through the holiday season.

WEEKI WACHEE -- State wildlife officials approved a ban on alcohol at a popular beach on the Weeki Wachee River. In addition, nighttime access and dogs are banned from the park west of U.S. 19 off County Road 550 in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. The rule takes effect in October.

TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Administrator Dan Kleman is looking across the bay and is a semifinalist for the Pinellas County administrator position. In a countermove, two Hillsborough County commissioners say Kleman's already shaky contract talks should be delayed until this bargaining chip is settled.

Coming up this week

Get your credit cards out, because the much-ballyhooed upscale International Plaza opens Friday, bringing tony stores such as Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom to the Tampa Bay market for the first time.

President Bush will make two stops in Florida this week, visiting Jacksonville on Monday and Sarasota on Tuesday to talk about education.

Personal calendars throughout state government have been cleared for Thursday, the day the normally obscure Revenue Estimating Conference meets to agree on the size of the state's budget gap, a critical funding issue with sales taxes lower than expected.

-- Compiled by Times staff writer Sharon Kennedy Wynne

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