USF St. Petersburg College of Business eyes building sites
By Kerry Schofield
The Crow's Nest
April 19, 2010
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Saturday, May 22, 2010
USF St. Petersburg Piano Man building gets a makeover for college of business faculty
USF St. Petersburg Piano Man building gets a makeover for
college of business faculty
By Kerry Schofield
The Crow's Nest
March 1, 2010
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USF St. Petersburg College of Business move saves jobs
USF St. Petersburg College of Business move saves jobs
By Kerry Schofield
The Crows Nest
February 15, 2010
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Students pay extra for online classes
Students pay extra for online classes
By Kerry Schofield
The Crows Nest
February 1, 2010
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Florida: intense red tide bloom may be linked to 2004 hurricane season
By Kerry Schofield
ST. PETERSBURG — A study by the University of South Florida reported that a widespread red tide bloom in 2005 may have been caused by high amounts of submarine groundwater discharge from the 2004 hurricane season. The red tide bloom affected coastal waters off west-central Florida from January 2005 through January 2006. It killed fish, turtles, birds, marine mammals and organisms living near the ocean bottom.
University of South Florida St. Petersburg Associate Professor Chuanmin Hu is a researcher in optical oceanography with the college of marine science. He studies toxic algal bloom images from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Fluorescence Line Height (MODIS FLH) NASA satellite.
“My expertise is to look at this alga from space, Hu said. “It’s just like taking a photo.”
Hu explained that the MODIS satellite sees ocean algae, river runoff, oil, and suspended particle forms in different shades of black. An algorithm is applied to the images that determines what type of substance is present. Once red tide is confirmed by satellite imagery, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in Florida collects water samples for testing to determine if the toxic algae is present.
“It can be seen in patches if it’s 20 miles off shore,” Hu said. “We look at primarily the west Florida shelf, our neighborhood, off the eastern Gulf of Mexico.”
Hu said the red tide patches are measured in pixels. Each pixel is associated with an estimated area the size of one square kilometer or 200 meters. The widespread bloom in 2005 was equivalent to 50 times the size of Lake Okeechobee and covered the entire west Florida shelf with depths up to 150 feet. Typically, a red time bloom is three to five times the size.
The 2006 study suggests higher than average rainfall from the 2004 hurricane season caused elevated groundwater runoff that provided nitrogen-rich food for the massive 2005 red tide bloom. Hu explained that red tide is a tiny, leafy plant about the size of a strand of hair. The toxic plant can swim and shake and is a living species.
“During daytime, if they need light, they swim to the surface and at night, they swim to the bottom,” Hu said. “They are very smart.”
Hu said that because red tide is a plant, it must eat nutrients to live. It eats natural fertilizers in the ocean and competes with other plants for food. Groundwater runoff provides food for the plant also.
“Any land-based runoff is a nutrient,” Hu said. “It has fertilizer, it has a lot of agricultural things and everything goes to the ocean.
Hu said these plants are harmful because they contain toxins. When the plant dies, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and releases the toxin into the water. Big fish eat small fish that have eaten the toxic plant and in turn birds eat the fish resulting in death.
“It’s a chain and there’s toxin in that algae,” Hu said. “It’s like a snake, so they die.”
Hu said that when humans inhale the toxin, they suffer from an infection and become sick. Small children with under-developed immune systems can possibly die from the toxin. Many human deaths occur worldwide from red tides. Different species of toxic algae inhabit the waters of Japan, China, Australia and England.
“In Maine, they call it brown tide,” Hu said. “It is a different species and has a different characteristic.
ST. PETERSBURG — A study by the University of South Florida reported that a widespread red tide bloom in 2005 may have been caused by high amounts of submarine groundwater discharge from the 2004 hurricane season. The red tide bloom affected coastal waters off west-central Florida from January 2005 through January 2006. It killed fish, turtles, birds, marine mammals and organisms living near the ocean bottom.
University of South Florida St. Petersburg Associate Professor Chuanmin Hu is a researcher in optical oceanography with the college of marine science. He studies toxic algal bloom images from the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Fluorescence Line Height (MODIS FLH) NASA satellite.
“My expertise is to look at this alga from space, Hu said. “It’s just like taking a photo.”
Hu explained that the MODIS satellite sees ocean algae, river runoff, oil, and suspended particle forms in different shades of black. An algorithm is applied to the images that determines what type of substance is present. Once red tide is confirmed by satellite imagery, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in Florida collects water samples for testing to determine if the toxic algae is present.
“It can be seen in patches if it’s 20 miles off shore,” Hu said. “We look at primarily the west Florida shelf, our neighborhood, off the eastern Gulf of Mexico.”
Hu said the red tide patches are measured in pixels. Each pixel is associated with an estimated area the size of one square kilometer or 200 meters. The widespread bloom in 2005 was equivalent to 50 times the size of Lake Okeechobee and covered the entire west Florida shelf with depths up to 150 feet. Typically, a red time bloom is three to five times the size.
The 2006 study suggests higher than average rainfall from the 2004 hurricane season caused elevated groundwater runoff that provided nitrogen-rich food for the massive 2005 red tide bloom. Hu explained that red tide is a tiny, leafy plant about the size of a strand of hair. The toxic plant can swim and shake and is a living species.
“During daytime, if they need light, they swim to the surface and at night, they swim to the bottom,” Hu said. “They are very smart.”
Hu said that because red tide is a plant, it must eat nutrients to live. It eats natural fertilizers in the ocean and competes with other plants for food. Groundwater runoff provides food for the plant also.
“Any land-based runoff is a nutrient,” Hu said. “It has fertilizer, it has a lot of agricultural things and everything goes to the ocean.
Hu said these plants are harmful because they contain toxins. When the plant dies, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and releases the toxin into the water. Big fish eat small fish that have eaten the toxic plant and in turn birds eat the fish resulting in death.
“It’s a chain and there’s toxin in that algae,” Hu said. “It’s like a snake, so they die.”
Hu said that when humans inhale the toxin, they suffer from an infection and become sick. Small children with under-developed immune systems can possibly die from the toxin. Many human deaths occur worldwide from red tides. Different species of toxic algae inhabit the waters of Japan, China, Australia and England.
“In Maine, they call it brown tide,” Hu said. “It is a different species and has a different characteristic.
A garden in the rough
Dorothy Gilliam in her Midtown garden.
By Kerry Schofield
Neighborhood News Bureau
November 14, 2009
St. PETERSBURG — A garden grows to the sky. A garden filled with Japanese sunflowers, a magnolia tree and blooming orchids. A garden planted with a northern pine and butterfly tree, and palms and lilies. A garden imbued with grace.
Dorothy Gilliam grows her garden on two lots in Midtown. Her house is surrounded by hundreds of potted and soil-bound plants and trees. With the help of the Pinellas Opportunity Council, she is able to maintain her garden at the age of 90. She has lived in her wood frame home for the past 30 years. Gilliam said she takes care of the garden with help from family and friends and inspires others to grow gardens.
“I took care of all my business when I was well, but I can’t do it now,” Gilliam said. “I had both hips replaced.”
The Chore Services Program at the Pinellas Opportunity Council helps people over the age of 60, regardless of income, who need help with yard and in-home cleaning. Gilliam has a lemon and banana tree, a grapefruit and orange tree, and a beat and avocado tree. She has tomatoes, peppers, pineapples, sugarcane, ferns and cactus.
“It’s so beautiful,” Gilliam said. “I can stay out here all day.”
The federally funded Chore Program is a one-time per year service for those who qualify. Applicants fill out a questionnaire, which is submitted to the Department of Elder Affairs. An assessment is made based on their needs.
Kathy Russell, program director at Pinellas Opportunity Council said once a client is approved, a scoring system determines when the service will begin.
“Some people are in a bigger need than others,” Russell said. “Some of the elderly have health issues and are very frail.”
Russell said homeowners who have received city or county code violations for alley or fence overgrowth or for yard debris—old cars, tires, or appliances—get prioritization.
“We don’t want them to be fined,” Russell said. “Places in the county get fined $100 per day.”
Russell said the Pinellas Opportunity Council has offered chore services to Pinellas County residents since 1977. Due to the economic downturn and loss of funding, they have had to cut back. They have one crew of two people for yard cleanup that goes out at least twice a week.
“We really go in and clean it up,” Russell said. “Our mission is to keep people more self-sufficient.”
Steve Bell, maintenance supervisor at the Pinellas Opportunity Council, said a yard cleanup can take anywhere from two to five days. Some yards are littered with buckets, cinder blocks, lumber and junk.
“We don’t ever leave anything behind,” Bell said. “We find snakes and rats. You name it, we’ve come across it.”
Bell has worked with Pinellas Opportunity Council for 29 years and said the yard service is designed for people who really need it and whose yards are overgrown and neglected.
“We’ve touched people’s lives,” Bell said. “I’ve had people crying because they were so happy and thankful.”
PCUL weatherizes homes with stimulus money
Diana Williams and the Pinellas County Urban League
Weatherization Team.
ST. PETERSBURG — Diana Williams, a retired daycare provider, lives in a concrete block home in St. Petersburg. The hot sun glares through her broken front window while the air conditioner runs nonstop. The hot water heater rumbles and bedroom closets reveal open holes around piping. Williams’ electric bill is $250 in peak months—30 percent higher than the norm.
The Pinellas County Urban League is weatherizing Williams’ home with stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which President Barack Obama proposed in 2009. The PCUL recently received $2.6 million for household weatherization services for low-income households in Pinellas County.
“The Urban League was there for me,” Williams said. “I’m very excited but kind of bashful.”
Williams, 60, wants lower utility bills and hopes the stimulus money retrofits will help. They include a new refrigerator, water heater, air conditioner and solar window screens. A low-flow showerhead and faucet aerator will reduce water usage. Attic insulation, window caulking and ceiling hole repairs will stop air leakage.
“I’m short of funds to do things, and the Urban League stepped right in,” Williams said. “They’re just like Santa Claus.”
Williams’ has lived in her 1950s St. Petersburg home for 30 years. She turns the air conditioner up high or turns it off altogether to save money. She works limited hours at the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
“Blessed comes,” Williams said. “I really appreciate the Urban League.”
President and Chief Operating Officer Gregory Johnson said the PCUL has been weatherizing homes since 1977 through various funded programs. In Pinellas County, 90 to 100 homes will be weatherized in November and December. Over the next two years, 360 more homes are scheduled for the process. The total number overall depends on additional funding.
“This is an addition to our normal allocation,” Johnson said. “Some of this money is on top of what we already have.”
Johnson said homeowners qualify for the program through a short application process. The homeowner must show eligibility documentation and their income must adhere to U.S. poverty guidelines.
“It’s based on your income and your household size,” Johnson said. “We can pretty much approve them at the intake.”
Johnson said homeowners go on a waiting list after they have been approved. It can take up to 60 days to start weatherizing a home. Work can begin sooner depending on how many priority points are assigned to a household.
“If they have a high burning energy bill, their energy bill is outrageous, they have small children in their household or they have someone who is disabled or elderly—we try to get those homes first,” Johnson said. “This is about impacting the quality of life of those people that can use the assistance.”
Ludell Hill, director of programs at PCUL, said each qualified homeowner is entitled to receive a maximum amount of funding.
“We can spend up to $5,000 per home for weatherization and then there’s another $600 in additional costs for health and safety that we can do around the house,” Hill said.
Hill said diagnostic equipment is used to test the home. A blower door is a cloth door equipped with a computer and fan that measures air flow and pressure. By blowing air through the home, inspectors can detect where air is escaping.
“Often times what you feel with some of these homes, the top plate was not sealed so air can come in all around,” Hill said.
Hill said that a thermal imaging camera is used to test for heat. The infrared device shows heat entering the home through the attic and walls. Energy loss can occur from the duct system, which could be torn. If holes are present, then cool air escapes into the attic .
“They have what is called a pressure pan that can determine what is leaking,” Hill said. “It’s got a little science to it.”
Abubakar “Duke” Mensah has been a senior housing inspector with PCUL since 1994 and is specially trained in weatherization. He said a typical home inspection examines the structure of the home but not energy loss.
“What we normally do to homes, nobody else can do that unless they are a weatherization agent,” Mensah said. “Without the blower door and this type of equipment, you would never know these things.”
University Area Building Contractors is one of five general contracting companies registered with PCUL that is participating in the weatherization program. James Robinson, construction manager, oversees up to three projects at one time. He works with subcontractors and a crew of five people.
“We’re ready to go right now,” Robinson said. “The majority of the work is subcontracted out because different trades require different expertise.”
Robinson said it takes anywhere from three to 10 days to weatherize a home. A masonry home may not require as much work as a frame home.
“The $5,000 limit will start the process of making the house energy efficient,” Robinson said. “The homeowner is very happy to get the work done, but they want you to do more.”
Robinson said there is probably more that could be done and this program gives the homeowner a good start. It also depends on the homeowner’s living habits.
“At least what gets done will be a tremendous improvement,” Robinson said. “It will also stimulate jobs, which should put money back into our economy.
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