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Toni Westland joined the federal workforce as a ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers giving lock and dam tours on the Mississippi River. She then had a stint in north Georgia at Lake Lanier, then moved on to Lake Okeechobee and then Manatee Park in East Fort Myers. At some point she had vacationed on Sanibel Island so knew she loved the J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge, so when the opportunity arose in 2002 for her to join their team as an education specialist, she jumped on it and has been at Ding Darling ever since. Now, she's taking an early retirement as part of the federal government's downsizing DOGE efforts.

In 2023, Florida received $205.7 million dollars as part of a multistate settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. It was distributed by the Florida Department of Children and Families and Lee County received about $5,500,000. Last summer, the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved a pilot phase of what's called a Paramedicine Program using some of that opioid settlement funding. That program was a success and last month, Lee Commissioners approved an agreement with Lee Health to create an expanded Community Paramedicine Program. It provides in-home care to individuals to reduce ambulance trips to emergency departments at hospitals for illnesses or injuries that are less likely to progress or develop complications.

Ukrainian filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov was in Mariupol when Russia invaded. "I just understood that we need to record everything," he says. His new documentary is 20 Days in Mariupol.

Low interest rates, high rents and working from home combined to push many young Americans to buy their first home over the last two years. But it's not without challenges.

The CDC says the coming end of the public health emergency means the agency will be scaling back the data it routinely collects and releases about the pandemic.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed 15 bills, including health-care priorities of House Speaker Jose Oliva, a plan to kick-start a hemp industry in...

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed 15 bills, including health-care priorities of House Speaker Jose Oliva, a plan to kick-start a hemp industry in...

Immokalee has historically been undercounted during the decadal U.S. Census counts. In 2010 about 34% of residents participated, and with just weeks left to go that number is currently less than 25%. We learn about efforts to increase those numbers with two members of the League of Women Voters of Collier County's Complete Census Count Committee.

There is a new wellness pharmacy coming to the Fort Myers Dunbar community later this year thanks to a $270-thousand dollar investment from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. Sozo Wellness Pharmacy is a lifelong dream of 41 year old Dr. Shadreka McIntosh, a fourth generation Dunbar resident. She joins us to tell us about her plans for the future.

We are living in an increasingly polarized world — particularly when it comes to political views. And while this might be something we all believe we feel, there is data that backs up what we’re feeling.We explore just how polarized we are in the United States, what might be causing it, and possible ways to address it and become less polarized with Dr. Myiah Hutchens, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Public Relations at University of Florida.