Port Charlotte Sun from Port Charlotte, Florida • 1

Advocates say commissioner erred in banning comments OUR TOWN AND WEEKLY HERALD Kill NEW POLAR SEA SPECIES DAYTONA500 RAIN, RAIN WONT GO AWAY 5Rf A marine census documents thousands of species in the Antarctic and Arctic, including many that could be new. SPORTS RAGE 4 Bad weather causes several starts and stops during the 51st running of the Daytona 500 AN EDITION OF THE SUN FRONT PME8 VOL.1 17 NOl 47 America's Best Community Daidt MONDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2009 www.sunnew8paper8.net 75 cents IS BF" Despite delay, digital Day looms the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers. Up until a few weeks ago, everyone expected the mandated digital switch to take place before the cutoff date of Feb. 18. Then, the federal government had a change of heart.

The government had offered a $40 coupon to LOOMS I P4 By NEIL HUGHES Staff Writer Despite the federal government's last-minute delay of the digital TV switch until June, most Southwest Florida stations will still make the jump this Tuesday, as they have been planning to do for the last five years. According to the latest Nielsen Media isn't relatively new, there's a good chance you're relying on the soon-to-be-defunct analog broadcasts of ABC, CBS and NBC, all of which will cut off before Wednesday. Local, over-the-air broadcasts of FOX and PBS will remain analog for a little bit longer. The main concern for local stations is hurri cane season. Last fall, the Federal Communications Commission asked stations in Southwest Florida if they wanted to turn off their analog signals early, as part of a transition period.

The stations declined, wary of potentially abandoning viewers who could need over-the-air broadcasts if a storm were to hit. This year, most stations in Southwest Florida have opted to switch early to avoid complications by the summer deadline, when hurricane season will be in full swing. "We want to make sure everybody is ready when June comes," said Greg Stetson, program director for WINK-TV, Research numbers provided to WINK News in Fort Myers, about 2.9 percent of the TV viewing market in Southwest Florida is not prepared for the digital switch. If you have cable or satellite, the changeover does not affect you. If you're watching via a rabbit ears" antenna, though, and your TV Crude oil is cheaper so why isn't gas? By CHRIS KAHN and JOHN PORRETTO AP Energy Writers NEW YORK Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year.

So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them. Not so. On Thursday, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher.

Tb drivers once again grimacing as they tank up, it sounds like a conspiracy. But it has more to do with an energy market turned upside-down that has left gas cut off from its usual SUN PHOTO BY LESTER KUHN le8terOlesterkuhnphato.com Dennis Qowthler and his mother Donna are the first through the gate at the start of the Rays spring training In Charlotte Sports Park on Sunday afternoon. Fans reminisce at the start of spring training Crashed plane on autopilot economic moorings. The price of gas is indeed tied to oil Ifs just a matter of which oil The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, drilled exactly where you would imagine. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange, that you see quoted on business channels and in the morning paper.

Right now, in an unusual market trend, West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities full, sending prices for the GAS P4 to do so in severe ice. "You may be able in a manual mode to sense something sooner than the autopilot can sense it," Chealander told The Associated Press in an interview, explaining why the NTSB also recommends that pilots disengage the autopilot in icy conditions. The preliminary investigation indicates the autopilot was still on when the plane crashed, he said That has not been confirmed by information from the plane's flight data recorder.

AUTOPILOT P4 AP PHOTO Abby 9 I Police Beat 12 jeans and careened into the pond beyond the outfield fences. Sopping wet, ball in hand, a thoroughly spent Fox then proudly held out his trophy for Ripken to autograph at the game's end. Somewhere along the line, the ball got lost Maybe during a sandlot game. Maybe to the neighbor's dog. He's not quite certain.

But Peters will never forget that day, and the way baseball grabbed his heart. It was no surprise, then, that the North Port By LARRY NEUMEtSTER Associated Press Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. The commuter plane that crashed near Buffalo was on autopilot when it went down in icy weather, indicating that the pilot may have violated federal safety recommendations and the airline's own policy for flying in such conditions, a federal official said Sunday. Steve Chealander, a National Transportation Safety Board member, said the company that operated the flight recommends pilots fly manually in icy conditions. Pilots are required pro Taliban group peace talks It was neat, except the part I remember most was that no one else was around and he still wouldn't give me an Fox chuckled.

Fox entertained better memories of the Tampa Bay Rays. I've followed them all the way through, way back when they were the Devil he said. It's great that they've moved so close that I can come down here a lot. (Spring training) is definitely when I pull major vacation time RAYS P4 planned visit to China by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Khan also announced the 10-day cease-fire.

"We reserve the right to retaliate if we are fired upon," he said. "Once Islamic law is imposed there will be no problems in Swat. The Taliban will lay down their arms." But provincial law minister Arshad Abdullah said the agreement would require the pro-Taliban group to convince the militants to first give up violence. Then, existing laws governing the justice system can be amended or enforced, he said. resident brought wife Jennifer, son Grand, 4, and 6-year-old daughter Gabriella with him to the Rays spring training opener to pass down his passion to the next generation.

Everybody on Sunday had stories to share. Venice resident Jim Fox remembered the days when the Texas Rangers roamed the same park, and security was so lax he was able to walk side-by-side with superstar Alex Rodriguez, uninterrupted, from the clubhouse to the field. Provincial government leaders confirmed they were talking to a pro-Taliban group about ways to impose Islamic judicial practices in the Malakand division, which includes Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the militants would adhere to any deal reached with the group if Islamic law was actually implemented in the region. Khan announced the militants had freed a Chinese engineer held captive for nearly six months as a positive gesture. Long Xiaowei who was kidnapped in August was freed Saturday, days before a 8 I Health 11 I Weather By DAWN KLEMISH Sports Writer PORT CHARLOTTE David Peters remembers his first experience at Charlotte Sports Park.

His Little League team was privy to first-class treatment at the Texas Rangers-Baltimore Orioles game that day. But great seats weren't enough. Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. blasted a home run that day, and Peters went tearing after it Tossing any misgivings about alligators aside, the 12-year-old rolled up his Pakistan, By NAHAL TOOSI Associated Press Writer ISLAMABAD Pakistani officials on Sunday hammered out a peace deal with a Taliban-linked group that could lead to the enforcement of elements of Islamic law in parts of the northwest, prompting militants in the blood-soaked Swat Valley to declare a 10-day ceasefire as a goodwill gesture. The agreement, expected to be formally announced Monday, could re-spark U.S.

criticism that Pakistan's truces with insurgents merely gives them time to regroup. Although INDEX FRONT: Nation Daily Edition 750 III 7 05252 "00025 II ii i a several of its past deals failed, Pakistan says force alone cannot defeat al-Qaida and Taliban fighters sowing havoc in its northwest and attacking U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Swat is a former tourist haven that has fallen under heavy militant sway despite a lengthy army offensive. Regaining Swat is a major test for Pakistan's shaky civilian leadership.

Unlike the semiautonomous tribal regions where al-Qaida and Taliban have long thrived, the valley is supposed to fall fully under government control. 2,11 State 6 I World i. High 76 47 al. i i i Mosny sunny, ess nurnw, nice. Two people hold flowers at a road block near the crash site of Continental Connection Hlght 3407 In Clarence Center, N.Y., Sunday.

14 I OUR TOWN: Obituaries 4 Crossword 8 I ijxfc inside for valuable coupons 1 SUN COUPON VALUE METER fuAUTTU Ry. Ry prtnfl training days UiAKLW Eager fara break though the naze SAYS Eagerly they Heady their pan As the cycte repeats the phase. 899,940.