Life inching back to normal in South Florida.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Jamie Malernee, Toni Marshall and Akilah Johnson

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The sounds of a slow recovery:

The cheers of homeowners getting power. The groan of generators tapering off. The flush of toilets working. The rumble of revving engines, tanks full of gas.

And the growing grumbles from the rest still waiting for such luxuries.

Kilowatt by kilowatt, gallon by gallon, the everyday noise of South Florida is inching toward normalcy. Nearly half of customers left in the dark by Hurricane Wilma had electricity as of Friday afternoon. More traffic lights came on. More boil-water orders were lifted. More gas stations opened.

Still, Broward County lagged behind surrounding Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in some noticeable ways.

Drivers reported more gas and shorter lines to the north; more power and...

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