Snook Season Closes May 1

The recreational harvest season for snook will close beginning May 1 in all of Florida’s Gulf of Mexico, Everglades National Park and Monroe County coastal and inland waters. The harvest season for snook will remain closed until Sept. 1 in these areas.

Seasonal harvest closures protect Florida’s valuable snook populations and help sustain and improve the fishery for the future.

The recreational harvest season for snook will remain open until June 1 in Florida’s Atlantic coastal and inland waters, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River. Anglers may keep one snook between 28-32 inches total length per day from these waters.

Renaissance Offers SeaWorld Discount Luxury Packages

ORLANDO – The ride Manta opens this summer at SeaWorld Orlando, and The Renaissance Orlando Hotel at SeaWorld has opening vacation packages:

• The Kids Eat Free Package allows children 12 and under to eat all meals free off the children’s menu with a
  paying adult in Tradewinds Restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner or in Boardwalk for dinner
• The Two-Room Package includes two deluxe oversized guest rooms  and breakfast for two adults and two children. These hotel rates range from $149-$329. Both deals are valid through September 17, 2009 using promotional code MAJ appears in the Promotional code box when making your online reservation, or call 1-800-380-7917 in the US and ask for promotional code MAJ.

Manta will glide, swoop and dive at a rate of up to 60 mph on over 3,000 feet of track. Riders will become the manta ray as they take flight and travel through air and water, face-down, in a horizontal position, underneath the belly of the coaster train that is shaped like a giant manta.

See Marriott’s Renaissance Hotels

Westin Element Opens in Orlando

ORLANDO – Slated to open in August 2009, Starwood Hotels & Resorts will open ELEMENT Orlando Convention Center/International Drive. This ELEMENT hotel, inspired by Westin Hotels, will offer an extended stay experience that weaves together intuitive design, unique social venues and eco-friendly touches.

The hotel’s 137 rooms can be customized by guests and will feature a Westin Heavenly Bed, complete kitchen and an oversized, spa-inspired shower. Hotel amenities will include an integrated technology center and library. Visit starwoodhotels.com.

Naples Zoo Welcomes White Tigers

NAPLES – This summer, Naples Zoo welcomes one of the rarest creatures of the natural world, white tigers. For a limited time, Memorial Day through Labor Day, these four-year-old white tigers will be in the lush Tiger Forest exhibit near the new Black Bear Hammock exhibit.

These striking cats will be seen stalking past giant bamboo or splashing in the naturalistic rockwork pool. In concert with the new bear exhibit and just arrived young purebred South African lions, white tigers will be a wild part of the summer fun in Southwest Florida. Visit www.napleszoo.org.

Clifford In Miami at Miami Children’s Museum

MIAMI – As visitors to the Miami Children’s Museum pass by the Lighthouse and arrive on Birdwell Island, they will discover the world of Clifford, Emily Elizabeth and their friends at the “Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog” Traveling Exhibit.

Developed by the Minnesota Children’s Museum, this exhibit invites kids to explore art through textures and multi-media materials in this engaging blockbuster exhibit. There is even a nine foot Clifford! The exhibit is included with paid admission to MCM, and will be available from June 27 – October 11. See www.miamichildrensmuseum.org

Animation Show Featers Cartoon Network Stars

TAMPA – Capturing the phenomenon of motion drawing can be traced all the way back to Paleolithic cave paintings—and is still popular in some of your kid’s favorite Cartoon Network shows. ANIMATION, an all-new summer exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry, goes on a quest to understand how animation really works. This traveling exhibition brings together art, math, science, and technology. Visitors will have an opportunity to explore the process of animation, surrounded by colorful larger-than-life graphics of popular cartoon and animation characters from Cartoon Network. See www.mosi.org.

Science Exhibit With Mr. Potato Head

ORLANDO – Orlando Science Center presents “The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head,” May 23 – August 9. The exhibit will feature the much-loved Mr. Potato Head, leading adventures in outer space, the jungle, archeological sites and under the sea. See www.osc.org.

Brief: NASA May Delay Moon Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL – The Orlando Sentinel reports that budget pressures could delay America’s return to the moon to past a previously discussed date of 2020. The story says that NASA’s internal plans had called for Ares V to go to the moon in 2018, though the agency had announced a public goal of 2020.

Internal deadlines are used by NASA to keep programs on track and to provide a margin of error for developmental problems.

But because of growing budget woes, the agency is resetting its internal date to 2020.

More info is available at The Orlando Sentinel.

Worobel Promoted at Hilton Singer Island

WEST PALM BEACH - Crestline Hotels & Resorts, Inc. appointed Gina L. Worobel, to Director of Sales & Marketing for the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort in Singer Island. The 223 guest room hotel is an upscale property located on the tranquil four-mile stretch of sandy beach on Singer Island near Palm Beach.

Avissar New Miami Marine Dean

CORAL GABLES – Dr. Roni Avissar, a Duke University climatologist who has studied the way Amazon deforestation affects precipitation patterns around the world and was one of the first to employ a specially equipped helicopter to collect environmental data, has been named the new Dean of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. He will begin his post on June 1.

“Dr. Roni Avissar is a distinguished scientist and prominent scholar who will bring strong leadership to the rich academic resources of the Rosenstiel School,” said University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala.

Born and raised in France, Avissar is a professor at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering. He joined the Durham, North Carolina-based University in 2001, serving for five years as the W.H. Gardner Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

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