BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer After seven years, the University Lakes dredging project is finally underway. Contractors began mobilizing for Phase 1 in June, and the actual work began after July 4. Mark Goodson, who manages the project through the CSRS engineering firm, said the project's first phase of dredging will take at least a year to complete. In terms of money, the total Phase 1 construction cost is just over $32 million, while the price tag for the dredging across Phases 1 and 2 is approximately $70 million. Learn more about the project here. A bill passed by the state Legislature this session requires hospitals and operating centers to implement policies to evacuate smoke in operating rooms. Why are thousands of nurses around the state breathing a literal sigh of relief? An estimated 90% of all surgeries generate surgical smoke, according to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. Starting Aug. 1, the nurses will be breathing purified air in operating rooms. Dru Troescher-Battle, a 71-year-old retired science teacher, spends hours almost every day crocheting tiny clothes to fit Barbie and the others in her krewe. But her efforts have nothing to do with the nationwide hot-pink frenzy surrounding “Barbie,” the just-released movie that pulled in $162 million in its opening weekend Her adventure with the billion-selling Mattel Inc. doll began a few years back in an unexpected place: a meeting of her book club. | 