The Florida Department of Health in Marion County has reissued a health alert for the presence of dangerous blue-green algal toxins in Orange Lake, near McIntosh.

This is a continuation of a previous Health Alert that was issued for the lake on March 4. This alert is being reissued after a water sample taken on April 21 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection indicated that toxins were still present.

In order for a health alert to be lifted, negative toxin analyses need to be obtained from FDEP-coordinated resampling of the bloom, or 30 days need to elapse since the last sampling date.

Residents and visitors are urged to be cautious in and around Orange Lake. The following precautions are recommended:

Blue-green algae are a type of bacteria that is common in Florida’s freshwater environments. A bloom occurs when a rapid growth of algae leads to an accumulation of individual cells that discolor the water. Floating mats are often produced that have unpleasant odors.

Environmental factors that contribute to blue-green algae blooms are sunny days, warm water temperatures, still water conditions, and excess nutrients. Blooms can appear year-round, but they are more common in the summer and fall seasons. Many types of blue-green algae are capable of producing toxins.

Blue-green algae blooms can impact the health of individuals and ecosystems, including fish and other aquatic animals.

For additional information on potential health effects of algal blooms, visit the Florida Department of Health aquatic toxins webpage.

To report an algal bloom, contact the Florida Department of of Environmental Protection at 1-855-305-3903 or report it online at the FDEP algal bloom monitoring and response webpage.

Any residents who believe their pet has become ill after consuming or having contact with blue-green algae contaminated water should contact their veterinarian.

To report symptoms from exposure to a harmful algal bloom, or any aquatic toxin, call the Florida Poison Information Center at 1-800-222-1222 to speak with a poison specialist.

To report fish kills, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute at 1-800-636-0511.

If anyone has additional health questions or concerns about blue-green algae blooms, contact the Florida Department of Health in Marion County at 352-629-0137 or via email at Info.Marion@FLHealth.gov.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Brawls broke out as massive crowds gathered over the weekend for an event aptly named "Mayhem at Lake George."

Aerial video from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office shows hundreds of boats at Lake George surrounding a crowd of people with a floating DJ stage in the middle. "Mayhem at Lake George" is an annual event hosted by Florida Watercraft Events where locals gather for swimming, dancing, music and drinks.

As the camera zooms in, four or five men can be seen pushing people off the platform and into the water, throwing punches at each other and kicking into the air.

Deputies can be heard describing one man laying on the DJ deck as "pretty bloodied up."

"We're gonna need rescue. We got one guy on the deck, looks like he's unconscious, bleeding heavily from the face," a deputy continued. "Lot of blood coming from the head and face."

The sheriff's office said they responded to the event with help from multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, County of Volusia Fire Department and the Seminole, Orange, Lake and St, John's County sheriff's offices.

In a post on Facebook, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office simply wrote that "arrests were made and several citations and warnings were issued." However, WESH reports that law enforcement made 42 stops during the event, giving 50 warnings and writing eight citations for Boating Under the Influence.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said while there were a handful of arrests, the majority of the crowd was well behaved, according to the news station.

“People are just out there to have a good time, but like anything else, when you have a huge concentration of people like this and you have alcohol involved, you do have some incidents,” the sheriff told WESH.

Patrolling "Mayhem at Lake George 2022" today was a team effort. THANK YOU to our partners with @MyFWC @SeminoleSO @OrangeCoSheriff @LakeCountySO @SJSOPIO@CountyOfVolusia Fire @USCGfor all the assistance pic.twitter.com/3qMQSm1FfL

— Volusia Sheriff (@VolusiaSheriff) May 8, 2022

Special to the Star-Banner

Crystal River/Homosassa

Capt. William Toney writes that a good push of cobia are making their way through the Big Bend. After a week of windy weather, this weekend should be prime time to head out in search of them. Starting at eight feet all the way out to 20, look at all your high profile rocks, wrecks and markers. The best bait is a live pinfish. Toney said he also likes a 10-inch Hogy rigged up on a heavy spinning outfit for sight casting to surface cruising fish. The cobia Toney most often sees are usually on the backs of big stingrays. Sometimes, jack crevalles will shadow them but a cobia will appear much longer and darker. A well-placed cast will get the bite with whatever jig was intended for trout. On occasion it could be a keeper fish. This month and next the 33-inch fork length in state waters will be a keeper fish but this will change July 1 to 36 inches. High incoming tide will be midday this weekend with a full moon.

Last week:Area fishing report for lakes and rivers in and around Marion County

More outdoors:Marion County boat ramp and park at Orange Lake to undergo nearly $2 million in renovations

Orange Lake/Lochloosa

Visit lochloosaharbor.com for updates.

Ocklawaha River

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that a lot of bass have been biting of late. The biggest generally are being caught using wild and domestic shiners. There also are plenty of specks being caught with minnows and jigs.

Salt Springs

According to Liz at Fat Daddy’s, anglers have had a lot of success lately catching bass and specks. The baits of choice generally have been minnows and jigs for specks. Bigger bass are being caught with wild and domestic shiners.

Forest Lakes

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that most anglers have been seeking specks and bass lately. Minnows and jigs have been the baits of choice for specks, domestic and wild shiners for bass.

Lake Weir

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that plenty of specks have been biting of late with minnows and jigs being the baits used most often. Anglers also have had great success with bass, and the primary bait of choice has been shiners.

Harris Chain

According to BassOnline.com, bass often can be found here in the open water. The canals have them at times, too. Many catches often weigh in between nine and 11 pounds. Specks also have been found here since the weather cooled the water.

Ponce Inlet

According to floridasightfishing.com, redfish have been the main target since March in Mosquito Lagoon with better numbers of redfish this year than the last few. Most of these redfish are ranging 20-30 inches. Anglers are targeting them mainly on live bait. Giant trophy redfish of more than 20 pounds are starting to congregate in bigger groups on the flats in the Indian River Lagoon and holes in the intracoastal waterway closer to Ponce Inlet. The big redfish are getting more active, but there generally are long waits for just a couple bites; other things are really heating up so not spending much time if at all until we get closer to summer and the big reds start really firing. Snook fishing around the tidal areas of New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet, even down into Mosquito Lagoon, have ramped up in the spring. There have been multiple trips lately with 10+ snook landed. Most of the snook are 18-25 inches. That will be steady from now throughout the fall.

There also have been a lot of black drum in the last couple of months. Pretty much everywhere in Mosquito Lagoon has had a big school of hundreds of 2-year-old drum in the 18-22 inch range, which means they had a great spawn two years ago. Speckled trout right started to bite again in late April, and that should continue through May and June. Those are historically the best times for a chance at a giant in the Mosquito Lagoon and upper end of the Indian River Lagoon. Those months are also the best time of year to catch a bunch of quality trout in the 18-24-inch range. Currently in Mosquito Lagoon most of the trout are up in the super-shallow water.

Tip of the week

According to halfhitch.com, May is when saltwater fishing for pelagic species really kicks off. King mackerel are in good numbers and steady fishing. Wahoo and dolphin push much closer in. Weed lines form offshore in the 10- to 80-mile range. What many call rips (big temperature breaks) form offshore in the 20- to 80-mile range as we transition from spring weather to summer weather.

Woman Using Airbnb on Tablet — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Daniel Krason

According to Airbnb, Florida destinations are major travel hotspots this summer. The company made the announcement on Wednesday after seeing signs that people are anxious to travel again after the pandemic.

Six Florida areas placed in the Top 10 trending summer domestic travel destinations when American guests searched in the first quarter, the company said.

The No. 1 trending spot was the Sunshine State’s very own Walton County. The other Florida hotspots on the list were Cape San Blas (No. 2); Mexico Beach (No. 3); Fort Myers (No. 4); Cape Coral (No. 6); and at (No. 9), Four Corners, which is in the surrounding areas of Orange, Lake, Polk, and Osceola counties in Central Florida.

During the pandemic, more people are booking Airbnb stays for long-term vacations. During the first quarter, long-term stays hit a record high, doubling compared to the same period in 2019. For every five nights that are booked, one of them was a long-term stay on the platform, said Airbnb.

“The world has changed, and in 2022 people are traveling differently than they ever have before. Because of remote work, people are spreading out to thousands of towns and cities. Airbnb guests have already planned stays in over 72,000 cities and towns this summer,” Airbnb said in a press release.

During the pandemic, the travel sector was hit hard since many people were ordered to stay at home and were frightened about the virus’s dangers before the vaccine became widely accessible. People will be eager for holidays again by summer 2022. Domestic and international Airbnb bookings have returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the website.

“Domestic travel is strong and represents more than half of the nights booked in the first quarter of 2022 for summer stays and exceeds Q1 2019 levels,” Airbnb said in the press release. “International travel has recovered to pre-pandemic levels and continues to grow, with more nights booked for international summer stays compared to Q1 2021.”

Airbnb recently announced that it was taking steps in cracking down on unauthorized parties during Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends. One of those measures includes prohibiting guests who lack a history of good reviews from making one-night reservations in entire home listings during those summer holidays, the company disclosed earlier this month.

Of course, Airbnb whole-house rentals are only adding to Orlando’s ongoing housing issue crisis, which has reached levels that convinced legislators to ask for the declaration of a state of emergency.

Are you interested in Florida travel? For stories like this and much more: Florida Insider is dedicated to educating, entertaining and informing its readers about everything Florida. Easy to read content at the palm of your hands and covering the stories that matter.

A program established to provide free tools and resources to owners of affordable housing properties looking to protect against the threat of climate change and natural disasters tripled its reach Thursday.

Keep Safe Florida will now operate in the Miami, Orlando and Tampa Bay areas. Homeowners in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties around Miami; Orange, Lake, Osceola and Seminole counties near Orlando; and the Tampa Bay counties of Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas counties can now take advantage of the program.

“Protecting, preserving and providing more housing for residents is both a critical need and a critical focus for our city,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said. “As we respond to a changing climate and continually seek ways to make our community more sustainable, healthier and more equitable, the Keep Safe Florida program will be a valuable tool to increase resilience and safety for residents.”

The 2022 Hurricane Season is predicted to be another year of above-average tropical activity. As the Florida Legislature gears for a Special Session focused on property insurance, experts warn the state is headed for a threatening cocktail consisting of a fractured home insurance industry, rising threats from climate change and sea level rise and the second-highest population growth in the country.

“Floridians know all too well the destruction caused by major hurricanes and other climate events, and lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color are on the front lines of the climate crisis,” Jacqueline Waggoner, president of Enterprise Community Partners’ solutions division, said. “Housing providers must take steps to protect lives and homes before the next storm hits.”

Keep Safe Florida launched last year in Miami as a pilot program from Enterprise and Truist Charitable Fund. That partnership has grown to include the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, the Florida Housing Coalition and the Institute for Building Technology and Safety. In the first year, Keep Safe helped 45 owners and operators of affordable housing properties access free property assessments and resilience resources.

Enterprise expects to help 150 between the three regions over the next year. Some of the assistance available through the program includes helping owners and operators understand which properties face the highest risk of damage from natural hazards; identifying strategies for high-risk properties and providing resources and recommendations to reduce the potential harm properties and residents face from storms and other disasters; along with providing information to multifamily housing owners and managers about the resources available to help implement resilience strategies.

“The TBRPC and local governments across the region are defining how extreme weather and future sea level rise will impact our communities, and specifically the affordable housing stock,” St. Petersburg City Council Member and TBRPC chair Brandi Gabbard said. “With the Keep Safe Florida tools and technical support, our region will move to the next level by working with building owners and managers to evaluate 50 properties and sites.”

Anyone interested can check out Keep Safe Florida online.