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As Tropical Storm Fay continues to make its way across the state, emergency workers are asking people to stay off the roads and out of the water. As of noon today, 10 deaths had already been linked to the storm. Most of the fatalities are traffic related. State Emergency Management Director Craig Fugate says flash flooding poses the biggest threat to people in Fay’s path.

“We are now moving into a part of the state that is much more hilly, that means flood waters of 10 to 15 inches can be much more dangerous than you see in other part of the state that are flatter. In many cases we’re not talking about water getting into someone’s house. We’re talking about water, particularly in some these smaller stream and creeks that can flash, water powerful enough that can really move a vehicle off the road,” said Fugate.

Less than a foot of water can sweep a vehicle off the road. Emergency workers continue to ask people not to drive across flooded streets.

Tropical Storm Fay has made landfall in Florida a record four times this week. The previous record holder was Hurricane Gordon which hit the state three times in 1994. Fay has been in Florida for almost six days now. State Meteorologist Ben Nelson said the storm could move into the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall again tonight.

“This is really unprecedented and towards midnight tonight we could have a 5th impact in the Pensacola area for Tropical Storm Fay as it traverses the panhandle coast,” said Nelson.

Besides Fay, meteorologists are also watching two more storms near the Virgin Islands that could strike Florida next week.

Federal emergency workers are in Florida assessing the damage left by Tropical Storm Fay. Thursday President Bush declared the state a federal emergency area. The declaration allows state and local governments to claim a 75 percent reimbursement on money spent cleaning up debris and saving lives. Today Governor Charlie Crist asked President Bush to make a disaster declaration on the state’s behalf.

“The President has been very gracious to us and very responsive to us, and again we are very grateful for the first declaration and hopeful for the second,” said Crist.

A major disaster declaration would allow the state to receive more money and personnel from the federal government to assist with cleanup efforts. So far the state has spent more than a million dollars just to activate the Emergency Operations Center.

Half of the school districts in the state shut down today as Fay continued to take out her fury on Florida. The storm could also give college students an extended summer break, but as Whitney Ray tells us, if universities open their doors and students don’t show, they could be dropped from their classes.

Hear it Here: Fay Could Force First Day Absentees of College Rosters

For the fifth straight day Fay brought winds and rains inland. K-12 students living in areas of the state flooded by the storm got the day off Friday, a vacation on loan.

“We’re going to find ways to accommodate these missed days without too much harm to summer vacation,” said Commissioner of Education Eric Smith.

Hear it Here: Fay Could Force First Day Absentees of College Rosters

Despite half the school districts in Florida closed because of Fay, State Universities like FSU, still plan to hold their first day of class Monday, but they’ll consider changing rules for students stuck in the storm.

A statewide policy allows universities to drop students from class rosters if they don’t show up on the first day. FSU Freshman Francesca Ciniao didn’t want to take the chance of being trapped in the storm.

“We just decided to make a run for it,” Francesca said.

Matthew Spaunburgh waited too long and drove through the storm to get to campus.

“I couldn’t see more than 10 feet ahead of me. I had to have my high beams on and I was scared driving through this. It was rough,” said Mathew.

Administrators are willing to bend the roster rule for students who don’t want to risk driving in the storm. They just want to be told in advance.

“If they hadn’t notified us in advance, the worst case scenario is they’ll be dropped from their classes. If they will get in touch with us as soon as they can we can put them back in those classes,” said FSU Assistant Vice President of Enrollment John Barnhill.

If things get bad on campus, it could be the professors who are absent on the first day. University administrators are watching the storm, and could decide to cancel the first day of class. Seven community colleges and the Universities of Florida and North Florida closed campuses Friday.

State and local governments in Florida will receive federal funds to help cleanup the mess left by Tropical Storm Fay. Thursday President George Bush declared the state a federal emergency area. The federal government will reimburse first responders and clean up crews 75 cents on every dollars spent protecting citizens and picking up debris. FEMA Coordinating Officer Tom Davies said federal disaster crews are working with state agents to survey the damage.

“We have public damage assessment teams out in the field, that’s a state and federal team combined through partnership, assessing the damage. They started in Key West and will move north as weather permits them,” said Davies.

More help is out there. If President Bush signs a major disaster declaration more federal funds and personnel would be dispatched to the state to help with the clean up.

Tropical Storm Fay could delay the state primary in some Florida counties. Heavy winds and rain forced election supervisors in south, central and northeast Florida to close early voting sites this week. More polling sites will shut down this Saturday as Fay rages through the Panhandle. Election workers fear flooded streets and fallen trees could keep voters from casting their ballots in Tuesday’s primary. Secretary of State Kurt Browning said the state’s prepared to close polling site if people can’t get to their precincts.

“In 1992 when Hurricane Andrew came through, Miami-Dade’s election was postponed for one week. The rest of the state continued and the rest of the state’s returns were withheld until the other counties had their elections. And it’s tricky, you can only imagine the issues that could come up with that, but we have a plan in place and we’re working that plan,” said Browning.

Browning says he should know by Monday if voting will have to be postponed in some counties.

Tropical Storm Fay is helping alleviate two years of drought in some areas of the state. The storm has dumped close to 30 inches of rain on some parts of Florida. Lake Okeechobee is swelling with all the extra rain. The lake is about 3 feet higher than it was at this time last year. While Fay is getting credit for its efforts to end the drought, the storm is also being blamed for six deaths in Florida. Governor Charlie Crist was quick to turn the focus from the positive effects of Fay back to a more serious issue.

“We’ve had a drought over the past several years and from a drought prospective water is good, but we want to stay focused on the task at hand for the present and that is to make sure we don’t have anymore deaths or injury, as much of that as possible from this storm and our hearts and our prays go out to the families of those who have lost family members,” said Crist.

Two of the six Floridians killed in the storm drowned.

Capitol police found a suspicious white powder earlier this week in a letter addressed to Governor Charlie Crist. The letter came from South Florida. The find was made during a routine mail screening conducted away from the Capitol. The Governor deferred all questions to Department of Law Enforcement Executive Director Gerald Bailey, who said the agency is close to an arrest.

“There was a direct threat to the Governor in the letter. We do have persons of interest. We’re pursuing that now. There had been some speculation that this may be related to some similar letters that went
to Senator McCain. As far as we can tell, they are not. We are sharing information with the Secret Service, as they are sharing with us. Again, ours appears to be isolated,” said Bailey.

Bailey is confident the governor is safe. Each year, the state screens more than 4 million pieces of mail.

Tropical Storm Fay continues to move across the Florida Panhandle at a snail’s pace.
As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the storm has left virtually no part of Florida untouched.

Inmates at the Wakulla County jail have been filling sandbags for two days.

So far more than 4,000 of these bags have been filled and picked up by residents.

Early Friday, people were lining up in the rain for the 40 pound bags.

“I’m going to put it in front of my door, maybe my back door too,” Wakulla resident Pat Ross said. “Just try to keep the water from coming in.”

The governor, who toured the coastal county, thanked emergency workers and the inmates.

“In a time of need, we’ve got to all pull together,” Governor Crist said. “Everybody deserves a second chance. Thank you very much and God Bless.”

Three years ago, the 70-year-old Bo Lin grocery store in St. Marks was flooded when Hurricane Dennis produced a surprising 10 foot flood surge. Fay is expected to push tides three feet above normal. Store owner Joy Brown is hoping for the best.

“If we see it’s starting to get bad, we’ll start putting everything up as high as we can, just as we did when Dennis came through here. I hope it doesn’t get like that,” Brown said.

As many as 2,000 homes in Florida have already been flooded. By the time Fay is done, she will have left no part of the state untouched.

More and more Floridians are trading their 9 to 5’s, for college text books. 5-hundred and 70 thousand Floridians are unemployed and the number is growing. As Whitney Ray tells us, when the economy gets bad college classrooms fill up.

Hear it Here: Unemployed Floridians Head Back to School

Marlynn McWade-Murray is a junior at Flagler College Tallahassee. Marlynn lost her job as a loan originator. She decided going back to school is a better investment than going back to work.

“Even if I do find a job, if its just minimum wage, it doesn’t pay me,” said Marlynn.

With more and more businesses closing, Florida’s unemployment rate is exceeding the national average at 6.1 percent. Last year about 100,000 Floridians lost their jobs. Florida’s Commissioner of Education said the state is seeing more unemployed people returning to college.

“As people are laid off or looking for new jobs, new opportunities, the tendency to go back to college and get some new skills, some new training drives the numbers up dramatically,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Eric Smith.

It’s not just the jobless who are heading back to class. Bobbie Chappell works for the state. She went back to school after watching some of her coworkers lose their jobs.

“With the trend in government, I feel personally its time to get that degree, because the government’s not as secure a workforce as it use to be,” Bobbie said.

Nontraditional students are more likely to attend a college close to their homes and families, which is good news to the state’s 28 community colleges. Admissions coordinators say the majority the unemployed Floridians returning to school are former construction workers and real estate agents.

Tropical Storm Fay is dumping 20 inches of rain in some parts of central and north Florida. After the wind dies and the rain stops parts of the state will remain flooded. Health workers are asking people to stay out of the water to avoid sickness and diseases. The standing water can contain sewage, and attract mosquitoes. Florida Surgeon General, Dr. Ana Viamonte-Ros said when the flood waters recede, home owners could face another danger.

“Mold will be an issue as well as mosquitoes in the areas were the flood waters have passed. We are doing all types of reconnaissance in the areas where the storm has passed. Depending on what we find. We suggest some mold initiatives as well as some spraying in those areas and we’ll let the public know about that,” said Viamonte-Ros.

Health workers are asking storm victims to bathe and put on clean clothes if they come in contact with the standing water.

Wind and rain from Tropical Storm Fay continue to damage homes in Florida. The damage has people checking their insurance policies. Since the National Hurricane Center hasn’t upgraded Fay to a hurricane, regular deductible rates apply, not hurricane rates. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said many people will actually pay less to have their homes repaired, unless they didn’t purchase flood insurance.

“Since it’s a tropical storm the traditional hurricane two deductible percent or five percent deductible doesn’t apply, so they’ll be applying the all other perils 500 dollar deductible. Right now most of the damage, obviously, will be damage from rising water. About 30 percent of Florida home owners have flood insurance and many of these areas affected are in flood zones and it’s fortunate that most of those policies will be covered with flood insurance,” said McCarty.

Commissioner McCarty is asking all Florida policyholders to review their insurance policies and call their agents if they have any questions.

The Attorney General’s Office is investigating reports from people who say they’re being ripped off. Since Monday, hundreds of people have called the state’s price gouging hotline to report business owners jacking up prices in the wake of Tropical Storm Fay. Investigators from the Attorney General’s office will look into about 90 of those claims. A majority of the complaints are about rising gas prices in cities hit by Fay. Some people have called to report business owners inflating the price of water. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said people should report any suspicious spike in food and fuel prices.

“Price gouging continues to be a concern for us especially now in the post clean up period that’s going to occur in the next few days. We encourage anybody who has a question or concern about somebody who’s coming to sell a product or they see a price going up in an extraordinary way to call our hotline,” said McCollum.

The price gouging hotline number is 1-866-9-NO-SCAM. That number again is 1-866-966-7226.

Fay continues to act erratically but is on the move west after stalling off Daytona Beach. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, residents along the panhandle coast are doing little to prepare but wait.

The first breezes from Fay were being felt midday Thursday on the coast in Panacea, 40 miles southwest of the state capitol. Boats remained moored at the Panacea Harbor Marina, where manager Ben Sanson says his staff is making minor preparations.

“We are still making sure everything’s tied down real well, and that boats don’t go floating off into the ocean,” Sanson said.

The local grocery store has not seen a flood of people stocking up…yet. At the State Emergency Operations center, the call is for a lot of rain but little wind. Still, there is uncertainty.

“I mean, nobody knows for sure exactly where this thing is going to go,” Governor Charlie Crist said. “That’s why it’s so important for people to stay in touch with local news reports, stay in touch with local officials.”

These beach goers were unaware Fay could be heading their way, and were unconcerned when we told them to expect a lot of rain.

This tide is exceptionally low right now, but local residents remember Denis three years ago when an unusually high storm surge destroyed dozens of homes.

Chris Calvert wasn’t taking any chances with his 24-foot boat.

“If the storm’s surge is 6 foot like they say some of the models might be, it’ll swell up and push our boat into the lift. So we want to get it up while we can,” Calvert said.

Fay has dumped up to two feet of rain on parts of Florida, and the panhandle is not expected to fair any better.

College kids across the state are moving into their dorms this week but with the state’s 11 public universities losing 174 million dollars to budget cuts they can expect less. As Whitney Ray tells us, students moving into their new dorm rooms can expect fewer creature comforts and fewer study partners.

Hear it Here: Universities Drop Enrollment to Balance Budgets

Omar Butcher is moving back into the dorms at Florida State University for his senior year. Omar worries about budget cuts diminishing his quality of education.

“I think it trickles down from the top all the way down to the bottom. Even down to the student,” said Omar.

For the second year in a row, Florida’s 11 public universities have less money to spend. Universities statewide have laid off faculty and frozen unfilled position. Raises are also out of the question. FSU says it’s getting harder to keep quality professors.

“There are universities that aren’t cutting, and if they’re not cutting and they have the money to hire faculty at a higher rate than what you’re paying them, then there’s definitely going to be a loss, and we’re experiencing that as well as all the schools in Florida,” said Assistant Vice President of Enrollment at FSU, John Barnhill.

To save money, enrollment was lowered statewide. Nathan Cook’s daughter studied hard to get admitted.

“She was the valedictorian of her class,” said Cook.

FSU cut enrollment by a thousand students. Fewer students on campus means less money being spent back to school shopping. Florida TaxWatch said fewer people buying computers and notebooks, means less state revenue.

“There’s a lot of money being spent by these people when they come to the university. If they go elsewhere in the state, or just stay at home and are not spending money, then that’s money the state loses,” said Florida TaxWatch Director of Communication Rob Weissert.

Until the tax revenue increases it will be hard to convince lawmakers to restore funding to higher education. The University System’s Board of Governors is asking lawmakers for 65 million dollars to keep quality professors from leaving the state.