Millions losing unemployment benefits today EWIRE Millions losing extended unemployment benefits toda y PAGE 1 r RULING FAVORS NSA 'P ...rES 0 '.- A federal judge justinied the lNalional Security Agencys telephone data collection. THE WIRE PAGE 1I AM EnliTinl nl TUE CSllU Pid (k of the Day Airhockey game, $250 In Today's Classifieds! AHEAD OF THE PACK North Por's Maddison Krstec earned a top cross-counltry honor. SPORTS PAGE 1 I, mm1 b2|iiiu1 NO3i n 62 VOL. 121 NO. 362 AMERICA'S BEST COMMUNITY DAILY SATURDAY DECEMBER 28, 2013 www.sunnewspapers.net $1.00 VIEWS ON NEWS Sales pitch om Patton, Allan Lane and Presi- dent Barack Obama were among 1,300 attendees at the Select USA Investment Summit held Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 inWashington, D.C. Two months later, Patton and Lane still were raving about the quality d t the number of leads they developed, and the expectation that those leads would produce results Bria rn for their respective EASON communities. GLEASON Patton, Charlotte EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR County's economic development director, said he developed a 250-name "electronic hit list" of contacts, includ- ing company representatives in India and China. "It's the best conference I've been to on a lead-generating basis," Patton said. "Are a number of people sniffing? Certainly." Lane said his North Port economic development office has received inqui- ries from India, Germany and Italy. "We plan to pursue direct foreign investment. That was promising for us," Lane said. "I think we have some serious prospects." One of the vehicles for foreign investors is the federal EB-5 program, which gives green cards to foreigners who invest at least $500,000 in a U.S. project. At the summit, Obama an- nounced a multiagency effort to help communities recruit such investors. Five of his cabinet members attended the conference. Don't be surprised to see Charlotte County mentioned in that advertising crawl at the bottom of the screen when you tune into the Weather Channel next year. The ads are part of Patton's marketing push approved this sum- mer by the County Commission. The ads will boast of the county's balmy weather, which will contrast nicely with the frigid forecasts with which our northern friends are dealing. Passengers on Allegiant Airlines visiting or returning to the markets the company serves also are likely to notice mentions of Charlotte County. Patton is targeting the 23 markets with direct mailing to 3,000 businesses, including so-called lenticular business cards that play on the same meteorological differences the Weather Channel ads highlight. The cards, which display two messages and graphics depending on how they are tilted, include one that reads "Need a new business attitude?" when held one way, and "Time to change your latitude" at another angle. *00 One of Lane's biggest challenges when recruiting new businesses is that his visitors have nowhere to stay. North Port is a black hole when it comes to hotels. Despite having two Interstate 75 interchanges, neither sports any hotels. While lodging in another county or city when visiting on business likely makes an impression on business travelers, Lane is acutely aware that his city also is losing out on tourism dollars that literally are passing through North Port. He eagerly awaits a resolution of the political impasse involving the operation and potential future resort development around Warm Mineral Springs. "We still think that is a strong and promising natural resource, and could be a strong regional attraction once the city (North Port) and (Sarasota) county decide what they want to do with that," Lane said. Brian Gleason is the editorial page editor for the Sun. Email him atgleason@ sun-herald.com, and follow him on Twitter at @bglesun. Head safely into 2014 Officials: Wrap up holidays with care By ADAM KREGER STAFF WRITER Christmas is over. But Christmas decorations aren't done they'll have to come down from the roof and off the tree, which, in turn, will need to be taken to the curb or put away until next year. Be careful climbing up and down that ladder. The New Year's party season is also here, and people who party will need to make sure they have a designated driver, who, in turn, should watch out for the other guy on the road. "The number one worry I have as a police chief is traffic collisions this time of year because of the influx of snowbirds," said Punta Gorda Police Chief Albert "Butch" Arenal. "The best advice I can give is don't trust a green light, and don't follow the car in front of you too closely." Arenal pointed out that despite Christmas being over, a lot of visitors are still in town, and drivers should continue to use extra caution. To re- mind people of this, the PGPD recently even enlisted the help of Santa Claus - a very close friend of John Steciw. Dec. 18 and 23, Santa rode along with officers Mark Bala and Bonnie Sills. Not only did the officers spend time taking Santa around town to visit children, they also had the big guy assist with traffic stops. Violators pulled over on one of these lucky days were let off with warnings and candy canes instead of tickets. "We have Santa cut them a break," PGPD Lt. Joe King said. "And he's pretty busy this time of year." SAFELY 114 From paralysis to playmaker SUN PHOTOS BY STEVE KNAPP, sbigdaddyknapp@aol.com Machale Harville stands with his grandmother Ruth Harville before the senior night activities begin. This photo was his profile picture on Facebook. DeSoto County t-" senior Machale Harville stands on the sidelines waiting to play while the offense has the ball against East Lee County this past football season. By STEVE KNAPP SUN CORRESPONDENT Machale Harville, a senior at DeSoto County High School, missed his team's final two football games this past season. "It makes me want to cry, really. I miss my football family so much and not to be with them as we finish the season is heartbreaking," he said. Harville fell victim to the "aging out" rule for Florida high school athletes. Anybody who reaches the age of 19 years and nine months is ineligible to participate in high school sports unless the person gets a waiver showing good cause why he was still in high school at that age. Missing paperwork and failed attempts to get the official documents to the state in time ended Harville's high school athletic career. Before you think Harville is just some dumb athlete who was held back after he failed school a couple of years and eventually fell victim to this rule, you should hear the whole story. I remember the first time I met Harville. He was at the high school football field standing by the fence and watching practice. I talked to him and he said he wasn't playing football because he was still in middle school, but his grades weren't good enough to play anyway. He had that instant likability about him. Middle school struggles "It was while watching them practice I realized how much I missed playing and I wanted to be able to play when I got to high school," Harville said. "I had a lot of work to do to get my grades up, but I did it." Harville was that kid who didn't care about school and grades when he was in middle school, but he did like sports. "Middle school, yeah, that was my fault. I got to playing around and said I wasn't going to do any more work. They told me if I didn't do my work they were going to fail me, and they did," Harville said. Middle school was a difficult time for Harville as he was the oldest student in the class and by far the biggest. It put pressure on him to get good grades, but he wasn't prepared for middle schoolwork. He skipped a grade in middle school to catch up with his classmates and that put him further behind in his academic knowledge. HARVILLE 15 Summer of showers brings floods: no hurricanes By CHRISTY FEINBERG SENIOR WRITER Editor's note: The Sun is recapping its most com- pelling and talked about stories of 2013. Look for stories to follow each day, through Dec. 31. This year won't be known for devastating hurricanes, thankfully. The hurricane season started off quickly, with Tropical Storm Andrea forming and coming Best of & 2013 ashore north of this area just days into the season, which began June 1. The storm dumped several inches of rain across the region, flooded streets, spawned a tornado and caused some beach erosion on Manasota Key. Local officials called Andrea a "dress rehearsal" for hurricane season... though it actually served as more of a prelude to a summer of soaking rains. Despite Andrea's early appearance, the hurricane season itself would prove to be an uneventful one that generated 13 named storms, only two of which became hurricanes. This year, SHOWERS 114 SUN FILE PHOTO BY BRIAN GLEASON A cyclist navigates floodwaters covering West Marion Avenue in Punta Gorda as rains pounded the region for the second straight day in September. West Marion Avenue was one of several Historic District and downtown roads closed due to flooding. INDEX I THE SUN: Obituaries51 Legals81 Viewpoint 10 Opinion 11 1Police Beat 12 1 THE WIRE: Nation 2 Business6-8 World 101 State 12 1 Weather 121 SPORTS: Lotto CLASSIFIED: Comics7-101 Dear Abby 101 TVListings 11 Daily Edition $1.00 ... w -, Look insidefor valuable coupons CHARLIE SAYS ... lil!A Higi oillllw '" SUNC",po This year's savings to date... | CA USAT ,:, $85 39 ,1 gd : I CALL USAT "I alwaysfeel like...somebody's 111111111 VALUE METER $85 ,393 : 941-206-1000 watching me..." 7 05252 00025 8 Mostly cloudy with no chance of rain :L.-.......---------------....-......... .----- harlotte Sun^ AND WEEKLY HERALD p I A