News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 2

FROM THE FRONT PAGE A2 1 Nation World THE NEWS-PRESS MONDAY, MAY 3, 2004 DRAWBRIDGE CORRECTIONS If you see an error in The News-Press contact Sheldon Zoldan, 335-0441 or Corrections appear on the first page of the section in which the error was made. COMING UP TUESDAY BUSINESS MONEY: "Surf Girl" focuses on business, teaches surfing in Hawaii. HEALTHY LIVING: Metabolism 101: What from being replaced. "I would hope that some of these bridges will be preserved and communities will say these bridges are part of our community, part of our heritage," Green said TRAFFIC FLOW A PLUS State transportation officials are concerned about more than aesthetics. They want the traffic flow on roads and waterways that fixed spans provide.

"You don't have the problems with opening times, so traffic flows a lot better," said Angel Rodriquez, mechanical and electrical engineering coordinator for the state Department of Transportatioa In addition, drawbridges have higher operating costs because they require a bridge tender to man the bridge 24 hours a day. Half the area's drawbridges are run by the state. The others are under county controL County officials say each bridge is looked at individually. High fixed spans are cheaper and eliminate the delays, but they also require extensive property acquisition to accommodate the approaches. They also tower over the area and block the views of many residents.

For example, if a fixed-span bridge would be built to replace the Matlacha bridge, the community would be devastated, b- 1 rtw1" said Paul Wingard, Lee's deputy director of transportatioa Likewise, a fixed span at the Alva bridge would run from State Road 80 into the heart of Alva. Sanibel's bridge is the only one county officials plan to replace at this time, Wingard said. The Matlacha bridge is in need of repairs also, but exactly what will be done is yet to be determined. LOOKING AHEAD Rock Aboujaoude, Hendry's engineer, said the Fort Denaud bridge, built in 1940, has at least 12 more years before it needs to be shut down. It recently underwent $400,000 in repairs.

"The locals like the quaint-ness of the bridge, but Hendry County must look ahead. "We see the growth," he said. That growth entails thousands of new housing units proposed along state roads 78 and 80 east of Alva, along the Lee-Hendry county line. Traffic counts show the number of cars traveling along State Road 78 east of Alva increased from L300 in 1994 to 200 last year. Drawbridges simply "aren't able to sustain the development," Aboujaoude said.

It's the same for the State Road 29 bridge into downtown LaBelle, he said. "It's inevitable," Aboujaoude said of its likely replacement. "They need police security guards," she said. But Levine said little could have been done to stop the gunmen Sunday. Club staff pat down patrons and use metal detectors to ensure no weapons are brought inside, but the security guard who tried to stop the men from re-entering with the firearms could not stop them.

One of the men pointed a gun at the doorman and said he was going ia she said. "He got in and just started firing," said Levine, who was not at the club at the time but has talked to numerous staff members who witnessed the shooting. "It was a free-for-all last night," she said. Neptunes' owner is in negotiations with local businessmen who want to renovate the club for a concert venue although hip-hop shows, which Levine said draw the most problematic crowds, including Saturday night's, are not in the plans, she said. Levine said if the talks go through, the Neptunes site could open as a concerts-only venue in a few months.

She has been asked to oversee the shows. She plans to bring jazz, blues, country, rock and other shows. "My goal is to get a lot of different music groups into that club again," Levine said. Continued from Al boat owners. "I hate to see it go, historically," said Lisa Langdale, a 15-year Moore Haven resident, of the drawbridge.

"It's just more of the good old days going to the new ways. "As far as function, though, it's serving its purpose." Officials have backed down in some cases, such as in St Augustine and Santa Maria Island. In other cases, such as Sarasota's 65-foot-high Ringling Causeway, fixed-span bridges were built despite residents' protests. In Moore Haven, residents are still getting used to their new river route. Completed in 2000, it replaced the original drawbridge built in 1955.

"A lot of people have a hard time finding things," said Lang-dale, who is also executive director of the Glades County Chamber of Commerce. The new bridge bypassed downtown completely. But, "There are signs now," she said. "It's working out." And Sanibel residents are embroiled in a lawsuit with Lee County to stop their drawbridge, built in 1963 and facing an end to its 50-year life span, SHOOTING Continued from Al Grady Clifford Love, 30, both of Fort Myers, in Sunday morning's shooting, which they say began as an argument just before 2 a.m. It turned violent when Davis and Love left, retrieved guns from their vehicle, returned and began shooting, police said.

Four Fort Myers residents Jarvis Martin, 24, Jearld Brown, 31, Dan Loggins, 32, and Angela Freeman, 22 were shot and taken by private vehicles to Lee Memorial Hospital. Martin remained in critical condition Sunday night, hospital officials said. Brown and Loggins" were in fair conditioa No information was available on Freeman. Two others Shenika Edwards, 23, and Fidel Alviar III, 21 suffered minor founds, possibly from ricochet. They drove themselves to Southwest Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released, police said.

Police are continuing to investigate, including what the original argument was about and the motive for the shooting. Martin's mother, Eatha Martin, said her son had gone to Neptunes on Saturday night to celebrate his cousin's birthday. "Jarvis is a good kid. He is a family man," she said, adding he your metabolism really Is, its impact on your weight, what will speed it up and what won't. LIFESTYLES: Once a hub for potters, painters and poets, the Richards Building in Fort Myers may be past its glory days.

WEDNESDAY BUSINESS MONEY: Small business owners need to plan for vacations for them and their kids. FOOD DINING: Cin-co de Mayo is here. We give you some recipejto help celebrate. Delivering your world THE NEWS-PRESS A Gannett Newspaper 1 120th Year, No. 126 DELIVERY PROBLEMS 335-0233 or (800) 468-0233; If you don't receive your paper, please call our Customer Service office before 10 a.m.

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ix A. Heme IS DAVIS LOVE is the father of four children ages 1,3, 4 and 6. Eatha Martin, who works in The News-Press' customer service department, already lost two sons to violence. In 1995, 21-year-old Albert Martin III was fatally stabbed by a teenage girl during a fight over a box of cookies outside a store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

A year later, 20-year-old Kevin Martia believed to be upset by his brother's death, shot himself in a deadly game of Russian Roulette. Eatha Martin said Sunday that the support and prayers of those at her church, Jesus Christ Outreach Center, are helping her deal with this third tragedy. "Through Christ we'll make it," she said. Levine believes the fight began about three weeks ago when Davis and Love were arguing with Martin inside the club. The men were immediately ejected, she said.

Eatha Martin wants better security at clubs. "They can't last forever." The bridge handles' about 18,000 cars a day. 1'. "When it was only 10,000, it's no big deal," he said. "You'd" open the bridge when a boat comes, have a few cars waiting." Now, it creates too much of traffic jam.

Originally, there was discus sion about adding another span to" the current bridge, splitting traffie-into a north and south spaa But state transportation officials quickly turned it down. Now efforts are under way to reroute traffic, add turn lanes-and restrict bridge openings during morning and afternoon" rush hours, all to avoid the need for a new bridge. For now, state officials have backed off any bridge plans-while widening of State Road 80 is completed. But it will come up again. LaBelle Mayor Sherri Craichy said a fixed-sparw bridge would decimate the community.

The approaches alone would bypass the historic buildings and deposit cars into the parking lot of the U-Save supermarket along State Road 80. "We have a traffic problem, not a bridge problem," she said. "No one is going to change" the character of the city of La--' Belle without considering city of LaBelle." The shooting came a day be- fore the Fort Myers City Coun'l cil is to decide on amending an ordinance to allow more all-age concerts at city bars. In April 2003, the council? passed an ordinance that hibits anyone who is under 21" and not accompanied by a par- ent or guardian from attending- bar shows. The proposed changes would allow all-age shows for1 "legitimate concerts" if the clubs provide adequate securi-n ty.

Mayor Jim Humphrey op-' poses any changes, citing a 40 1 percent decrease in police calls to clubs since the ordinance-was passed. Humphrey said Sunday that" he will ask council to consider this shooting as evidence that changing the ordinance could lead to more problems. "That's the kind of violence! we need to stop. We need tcj keep young people from going to these clubs," he said. Levine disagrees.

I The shooting has nothing to! do with underagers, she pointing out that this crowd, was 21 and older. "I never had a problem with! the kids," she said. Anyone with about the shooting is asked to; contact Fort Myers Police at 334-4155 or, to remain anony-. mous and be eligible for a re-S ward, CrimeStoppers at (800); 780-TIPS. 33916 Pfl CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 335-0335 or (800) 468-0335; Legal Notices: 335-0258; Obituaries: 335-0324 Our classified department is open 8:30 a.m.

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