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One of the systems that’s had to respond to social distancing in ways it’s never done before is the court system. To get a sense of how these past three months have unfolded, and what modifications have been made, and how things are proceeding as the state opens up, we’re joined by Judge Michael McHugh, Chief Judge of Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit, which includes Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties.

While many large tracts of land in Southwest Florida have been forever lost to development over the past century or so, quite a bit of it has been preserved thanks to the dedicated efforts of countless people and organizations — and the local, state, and federal elected officials who environmental advocates could convince that wetlands were valuable for their own sake. For example, more than 70% of land in Collier County has been preserved as public land. Think Fakahatchee Strand State Park, Picayune Strand State Forest, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Big Cypress National Preserve, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, just to name a few. We explore some of this fascinating history with the co-authors of the new book, “Enjoyment of the Same: A History of Public Lands in Southwest Florida.”

It’s been three and a half months since Hurricane Ian made landfall near Sanibel Island and swept across the state causing an estimated $50 to 65 billion dollars in insured damages and killing more than 100 people just here in Florida. While many people moved quickly to seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the storm hit, for anyone who has still not filed a claim, the deadline is tomorrow…Thursday, January 12th. Homeowners and renters have until 11:59 tomorrow night to file a claim for property loss, or damage to property, from Hurricane Ian.

More than four thousand Southwest Floridians from all walks of life sat down together back in March to talk about the problems that are affecting our region and its residents. Spearheaded by the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers, in partnership with the Collier Community Foundation and Charlotte Community Foundation, this is a follow up to an On The Table event held back in 2019. People attended one of about 280 "tables" and about a quarter of them filled out a survey that asked them to rank the issues they thought were most pressing. We dig into the results.

Lee County likely will not pursue a possible purchase of the former Bonita Springs Golf and Country Club, now owned by Barron Collier Companies. An advisory committee of the Conservation 20/20 land acquisition program voted against further consideration of buying the land. People who live around the property fear more flooding and other problems if homes are built on the land.

When Claudine Schneider was elected as a republican United States representative in Rhode Island, she was the first, and still to this date only woman…

As millions of Americans lost their jobs and incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention issued an unprecedented moratorium on evictions. That moratorium is set to expire on December 31 if lawmakers in Congress do not extend it. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates as many as 19 million people in 6.7 million households are at risk of being evicted if they don’t.

Nearly 500 students are now participating in the “Students & Seniors: From Our Nest to Theirs” program at Florida Gulf Coast University. Students earn service-learning hours by writing letters, and creating cards, videos, poems, stories, and works of art, which are then distributed to seniors living in care facilities in Lee and Collier Counties.

The 2020 General Election is just five weeks and one day away, and deadlines to register to vote and request a mail in ballot are approaching. We go over the deadlines, and get the basics on vote by mail, early voting, and voting in person on Election Day.

Homelessness is on the decline across the United States. In Florida, the homeless population decreased at a record rate in the last year, with more than…