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For 17 years as an Extension agent with the Florida Sea Grant program at University of Florida, Betty Staugler has been based at the UF/IFAS Extension’s Charlotte County office, helping coastal residents and people whose livelihoods depend on the marine ecosystem deal with issues including harmful algal blooms in southwest Florida.She's taking on a new role now as NOAA’s Harmful Algal Bloom Liaison, where her work will include developing new data-driven communication tools about harmful algal blooms to better serve decision-makers in addressing this growing concern.

We talk with someone from FEMA to get an update on their work in this area and what kinds of assistance people can receive from them and how to apply. We also check in with someone from UF/IFAS to get a first-look at how Ian impacted agriculture in the state. And we talk with Florida Gulf Coast University President, Dr. Mike Martin, to see how campus operations have been impacted and what the plan is for the rest of the fall semester.

Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and local police spent hours Sunday going through the apartment of the alleged Orlando shooter,...

This weekend in downtown Fort Myers a group of 25 people from diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and races will come together for a daylong, intimate conversation about structural racism and implicit bias. The goal is to get people to be open and honest, and self reflective, when it comes to their own thoughts and actions in life.

On Thursday, March 30 the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers is partnering with the Collier Community Foundation, and the Charlotte Community Foundation, to host a region-wide “On the Table” event with locations in all three counties. The aim is to facilitate conversations between people of all walks of life, on one day and often around meals, to try and generate authentic dialogue between people, some of whom may just be meeting for the very first time, about what issues or problems we’re facing, and how best to try and address those issues or overcome those problems.

The fear of deportation is growing for hundreds of thousands of immigrants across the country after a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which allows the Trump administration to revoke their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Trump administration also continues efforts to make good on its pledge to deport 3,000 people per day. Florida leads the country in the number of local law enforcement agencies partnering with ICE to deport undocumented people. And recently, the Trump administration has enacted sweeping travel bans and restrictions on citizens from some countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. To help us understand these new immigration policies and the impact here in our state, we talk with Fort Myers Immigration Attorney Ricardo Skerrett.

Most surrogates are paid thousands of dollars to bear a child for someone else, but many say that's not the main motivation. Women who are eager to get pregnant on behalf of others are inspired, among other things, by family history and a love of pregnancy.

Now that the accuracy of the article about sexual assaults at the school is being called into question, the conversation is changing and activists hope the attention will stay on sexual assault.

In April of 2023 a small group of southwest Floridians gathered to discuss their concerns about what they see as growing trends toward autocracy here in Florida. The primary focus of their concerns are the policies and positions being put forth by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the Republican-dominated state legislature, which they say demonstrate autocratic or authoritarian tendencies. That small group of people went on to create a nonpartisan nonprofit called Floridians for Democracy which works to bring people together who share similar concerns. They now have nearly 1000 members, and together they work to shine light on issues around freedom and what they see as government overreach.

We get some insight into the world of dementia caregiver support — and we we learn about a relatively rare form of dementia called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). It’s a type of dementia that affects the areas that control behavior, personality, language, and decision-making. People with FTD might start acting differently, like becoming rude or impulsive, or they may have trouble speaking and understanding language. It usually appears in people younger than 65, and unlike other forms of dementia, memory problems aren't usually the first sign, but instead changes in behavior or communication skills are more noticeable early on.