South Florida ports open again

South Florida ports open again    South Florida ports that closed Tuesday as a precaution against Hurricane Rita are open again today and have not reported any significant damage.
   The Port of Miami, which was considered to be in the greatest potential danger from the storm, closed as Rita approached. But the port experienced no damage. The hurricane passed south of the Florida mainland and the port was back to normal operations Wednesday morning.
   At Port Everglades, located near Ft. Lauderdale, the port was closed Tuesday morning to all traffic except oil and gasoline shipments, which continued to help prevent further shortages related to Hurricane Katrina. But other port operations were resumed Tuesday afternoon.
   As Hurricane Rita moves west across the Gulf of Mexico it is expected to impact port operations Thursday or Friday anywhere from Brownsville to Houston.