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Ten years ago this Sunday, on January 12th 2010, a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, with an epicenter about 15 miles west of…

Protests and marches continue to spread and grow across the country since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. They are happening in cities and towns in all 50 states, and in cities around the world.

The Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers has been providing food for people in need across southwest Florida since 1983. Over the decades, it has faced trying times like during the great recession in 2008 and 2009; and during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. And now they’re facing another wave of challenges due to rising inflation and high fuel costs. We sit down with president & CEO, Richard LeBer, to get an update on how they’re handling these trying economic times and learn what people can do to help them in their mission.

Amy Keith started working for Common Cause Florida about a year and a half ago as Florida Program Director, leading the organization’s voting rights, redistricting, and accountability work, including its federal congressional redistricting case that’s still working its way through the system. As of December 1 she serves as the organization’s Executive Director.In that federal congressional redistricting case (Common Cause Florida v. Byrd) Common Cause Florida, Fair Districts Now, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, and individual voters from across Florida argue that the Florida Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis engaged in intentional racial discrimination in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution when they crafted the state’s current congressional map. She joins us to talk about that case, and the other issues Common Cause Florida is focusing on right now.

We're revisiting our conversation with developer Syd Kitson — the man behind the Babcock Ranch community — to reflect on the path he and his team have been on to make the dream of a Babcock Ranch community into a reality. Kitson was just named the 2023 TIME “Dreamer of the Year.” When developer Syd Kitson purchased the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch in northeast Lee & southeast Charlotte counties in 2005 he said he was going to create a sustainable community and preserve most of the land. While many people were skeptical at the time, Kitson has gone on to build pretty much exactly what he said he would.

In conjunction with the “Forgotten Florida: Photos from the Farm Security Administration” up now at the Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch in Collier County the museum conducted a “Forgotten Florida Teen Photo Contest” for students in Collier County to express their lives during the global pandemic. We’re joined by the winner of that exhibit, Marco Island Academy sophomore Kathryn Barry; and the Immokalee Pioneer Museum’s manager, Brent Trout.

We’re continuing our series of conversations with speakers from the Naples Discussion Group’s 20-21 schedule by talking with professor Ted Bridis, he is Rob Hiaasen Lecturer in Investigative Reporting in the Department of Journalism at University of Florida. He’ll be presenting a virtual lecture on Friday, January 29 on the Importance of Investigative Journalism in Our Current Environment.

Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera was born in Mexico and has spent her career focusing on U.S.-Mexico Relations and issues around the border. She lived along the border in Brownsville, Texas for eight years, and over the past decade has traveled along its length three times from Brownsville to San Diego collecting stories for a book she’s working on about life along the border. We talk with her about the current state of U.S.-Mexico relations.

Next Tuesday, August 18 a hearing at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be the next step in the process of determining the constitutionality of Senate Bill 7066, and the future of Amendment 4. We're going over the Amendment 4 story up to now, and get a sense of what the outcome of the upcoming hearing will mean, and what will likely happen next.

Back in early June when protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers were rapidly spreading and growing across the country we assembled a panel comprised of members of southwest Florida’s Black community to talk about what was happening. While protests have mostly stopped, efforts continue to try and address systemic racism and police violence. And, with the election just a week away with these issues in many ways central on the ballot, both nationally and locally, we have invited them back to talk about what’s happened since the summer and where things stand today.