WEEk oF SEPTEMBEr 11, 2024
VoLUME 62, NUMBEr 43
Fire rescue tax OK’d Final read is Sept. 18 By CRAIG GARRETT
news@breezenewspapers.com
FORT MYERS — ISLANDS, BEACHES AND NEIGHBORHOODS
In celebration of 20 years of paddlers enjoying the Great Calusa Blueway, Fort Myers — Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods is hosting the free Calusa Blueway Challenge from now through Feb. 28.
Blueway marks 20 years with challenge and prizes
F
ort Myers — Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods reported that visitors come from all over the world to experience the Great Calusa Blueway in Southwest Florida. As the popular paddling trail celebrates 20 years, paddlers have a chance to participate in a challenge and earn points for prizes and discounts. The marked canoe and kayak trail stretches almost 200 miles from Bonita Springs through Estero Bay, Fort Myers Beach, the Pine Island Sound and Sanibel, Captiva and Pine islands, up the Caloosahatchee River to the Lee County line. It is home to marine life, shore
birds and crustaceans as it meanders the back bay estuaries and mangrove tunnels. Attractions include Mound Key Archeological State Park, Lovers Key State Park, the Mound House, Randell Research Center, J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Manatee Park and others.
Sanibel — A tentative fire-and-rescue millage rate was green-lighted Sept. 4. The three Sanibel Fire and Rescue District commissioners agreed to so-called rollback resolutions that hold rates but boost revenue as the value of island property inches up after Hurricane Ian. The hearing that included pay raises and unsettling details about insurance and the costs of running a rescue unit was public and ran about 35 minutes. A second and final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18. Commissioners set the island’s fire-andrescue rate at 1.3915 mills, or about $1,000 a year for the owner of a $700,000 Sanibel home. The city has 26 firefighters and administrators. Around 6,500 people had lived on the island prior to Ian. See TAX, page 20
IslanderInsIde
Take the Calusa Blueway Challenge By checking in at locations along the trail, paddlers can earn points to be used for prizes, as well as discounts and deals. Points may be earned at attractions, restaurants, parks and nature spots along the trail. Visitors can paddle on their own, experience a guided tour, shop at a local business or grab a bite See BLUEWAY, page 20
School district looking into developing policy for AI By MEGHAN BRADBURY
news@breezenewspapers.com
The big question remains — how does the School District of Lee County create a policy around artificial intelligence aka AI? “AI is a hot topic today and that is mostly because of the intersection of artificial intelligence technology with consumers,” Chief Information Officer Dwayne Alton said at the school board's meeting on July 30 meeting. They have been reviewing policies from other districts, such as Dade County.
“The technology is the easy part for us. How do you prepare people? How do we give them guidelines?” he said. “(When you) start using AI tools, you can make some bad decisions. How do we properly prepare people from student, to teacher, to administrator in the building? That is a lot of where the work is right now.” Florida Gulf Coast University Department of Computing and Software Engineering Dr. Leandro Nunes de Castro said AI development changes very quickly, so the question becomes how do you introduce one thing related to AI that is
not going to be obsolete in two, or three years. “How do you implement things that changes faster?” he said are challenges for schools. Alton said the district has been using AI for some time, dating back to 2014 as mostly behind the scenes. For example, it has been used for internet filtering as well as cyber and physical security through artificial intelligence. “Now in the K-12 world, there is a lot of concern about academic integrity. As a See AI, page 20
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