Potential Everglades restoration projects:

• Kissimmee River restoration — $28 million
• Picayune Strand restoration (Naples area) — $24 million
• Indian River Lagoon project design (east coast) — $4.5 million
• South Miami-Dade/Florida Bay recovery — $4.4 million
• Seminole Big Cypress Reservation — $3.5 million

Decades-old ideas to restore the Everglades have new life because of interest in creating jobs. Potential federal projects in the Everglades could generate more than 3,000 jobs in the coming years, according to the South Florida Water Management District. Many jobs would be in construction and related industries such as engineering and manufacturing.

Some projects would likely be funded by the Army Corps of Engineers. Other projects have been included in the federal budget bill, spurring references to the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Projects Administration of the 1930s.

"Just remember what the CCC and WPA did during the Great Depression. They built things in national parks to create improvements and jobs," said John Adornato, regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. Already, Deerfield Beach-based Moving Water Industries landed a $13.6 million contract to supply pumps for the Everglades plans.

One of the biggest immediate projects is a $60 million bridge along the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) in the Everglades west of Miami. The water district estimates elevating the highway and building the bridge could create 600 jobs. Everglades environmental groups are enthusiastic about the renewed attention the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan — originally adopted in 2000 — is receiving.

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The Wachovia Bank brand will not be immediately replaced by Wells Fargo as the banks gradually combine, said Kathryn Dinkin, recently named Southeast Florida regional president for Wachovia. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has kept the Wachovia name prominent on branches, offices, and advertising since closing the acquisition on January 1.

A 13-year Wachovia veteran, Dinkin said her primary goals are to retain all of the bank's customers and employees. "It can be confusing to customers if you rebrand before you can deliver on that brand," she said. "We will do it very slow and thoughtfully."

In her territory — Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties — Wachovia had 139 branches and $18.5 billion in deposits in June 2008, for a region-best 16.5 percent market share. The bank currently employs 3,415 people in the region. Wells Fargo is in the process of filling its top position for Wachovia in Palm Beach County.

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Vice President Joe Biden visited South Florida to discuss how the federal stimulus package would impact transportation projects. Biden toured the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) alongside U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. The center is designed to serve as a transit hub connecting airlines, rental cars, buses, Metrorail, and commuter rail.

Transportation officials broke ground on the MIA Mover, a $342 million light-rail people-mover system that will connect the airport with the MIC. Biden called the MIC "the Grand Central Station of South Florida" and said it exemplifies the hundreds of transportation construction projects nationwide receiving stimulus funding.

The Florida Department of Transportation expected to receive $1.34 billion in stimulus funds. Miami-Dade County anticipated $260 million for transportation projects including mass transit and road building. Broward County estimated $40 million for mass-transit projects, while Palm Tran in Palm Beach County projected $20 million.

"We cannot remain economically competitive with the rest of the world if our transportation systems are inadequate," said Miami Mayor Diaz.

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