============================================================ DIGITAL DIGEST � http://www.naplesnews.com � January 2, 2005 ============================================================ Subscribe to the Naples Daily News: http://web.naplesnews.com/circulation/ OH BOY! NEW YEAR'S BABIES ARRIVE New babies, like a new year, usher in new beginnings. Collier's first baby, a boy, was born at NCH Healthcare's The Birth Place at 1:07 a.m. on New Year's Day. Sometimes, new beginnings don't get off to the easiest of starts. Of the first four babies born on New Year's Day in Collier, all had problems or were premature, said Gail Collins, the shift coordinator at The Birth Place. PATHOLOGIST CLAIMS JEROME COULD STILL CONTAIN CARCINOGENS A medical consultant for residents in eastern Collier County who blame health problems on creosote spilled near their homes said people currently could be exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. Dr. Ben Thomas, a Houston pathologist, recently completed a draft report saying Florida's environmental protection agency failed to test for a toxic cocktail that may explain myriad illnesses in Jerome. BANKING MARRIAGE ENDS RUN OF STATE'S LARGEST COMMUNITY BANK The banking marriage that will wipe the name of Naples' hometown bank from the Florida landscape starting Monday began with a rocky courtship seven months ago. When first approached, Naples-based First National Bankshares of Florida initially rejected its Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp suitor. In June, a bank sales broker approached First National's chairman and CEO, Gary Tice, with a proposal � a First National and Fifth Third union. WAR CASUALTIES CREATES A VOID FOR FAMILIES DURING HOLIDAYS Scores of families throughout Florida rang in the New Year without a father, sister, husband or aunt, welcoming 2005 with one fewer hug and kiss as the ball dropped. These men and women died in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting for freedom far from home. Their families now face the lonely prospect of living without these soldiers and, in some cases, raising children who may never remember their mom or dad. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com PERSPECTIVE: RALF KIRCHER: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY ... AND THEN THE WATER CAME I didn't think as much of it as I should have when Lak Mamoi, the hotel maid, was pounding on my door Sunday morning. It had been a late Christmas night, and I wasn't in a hurry to get up, even when I heard her screaming and pounding. Pilak � the addition of the prefix on her name is a sort of diminutive when people use her name � is somewhat excitable, and staying in a four-room guesthouse on Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, you get to know the staff pretty well. See more of today�s Perspective stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/perspective BUSINESS: RISING INTEREST LIKELY TO PUT A DAMPER ON BANK EARNINGS IN 2005 NEW YORK � After two years of record profits, the banking business is likely to get a little tougher, and maybe a little more concentrated, in 2005. Banks are expected to see earnings weaken a bit in the coming year due to rising interest rates and sluggish stock market returns. And more mergers are anticipated after 2004's wave of big acquisitions � although the deals are likely to involve smaller players. See more of today�s Business stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/business NEAPOLITAN: THEIR SOCIAL CLUB: ADULT DAY CARE FACILITY GIVES CAREGIVERS A BREAK There's a lull between the chicken patties and the white sheet cake. Ken Clement, a 68-year-old blind man, stretches back in his chair as workers buzz around him cleaning up lunch-less Styrofoam plates and morsels that missed mouths. "They call getting old the golden years, I think there's a lot of lead in 'em," says Clement, a one-line king. See more of today�s Neapolitan stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapolitan
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