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Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium's new 146,000 square foot facility just east of Sarasota has opened to the public.

We meet an Venice high school student who turned her attention to feral cats at the local level — and kittens in particular — and the need to both reduce their reproduction rate and to help as many homeless kittens become socialized so they can hopefully be adopted. Venice High School Junior, Maddie Canty, has been a Girl Scout for 12 years. Earlier this year she earned the Girl Scout Gold Award with her project called A Hope for Kittens. The Gold Award is the top award a Girl Scout Can earn. Her project focused on reducing kitten euthanasia by combining public education, direct care, and local policy change.

During Black History Month, WGCU Host/Reporter Bryant Monteilh gives us a daily reminder of the people, places and events who impacted our region. Listen daily throughout February for each new moment in Southwest Florida Black History.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In May, there are 28 shows at these venues. Each will stimulate your imagination and underscore the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

In November alone, more than 1.7 million people living in counties along or near Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast were plunged back into a moderate drought. And drought often precedes wildfires.

“Catastrophic rain” is what Florida officials said Sunday they expect when Tropical Storm Debby comes ashore Monday, likely as a hurricane.Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials held multiple media briefings Sunday as Debby started to move over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters and targeted the Big Bend area of the state.Florida Department of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie says the situation coming from Debby will change Monday.

State health officials reported 1,707 new COVID-19 cases, Monday, bringing the statewide total to 756,727 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 54 new coronavirus related deaths, Oct. 19, increasing the statewide death toll to 16,222 fatalities.

State health officials reported 1,976 new COVID-19 cases and 58 deaths, Monday for a total of more than 2.2 million infections and more than 36,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. As of Monday morning, more than 9.6 million people in Florida have received a vaccine, including more than two million who have received a first dose and more than 7.5 million people who have completed the two-dose series or received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.Sarasota School Board members are revisiting the district’s mask mandate amid recent new guidance from the CDC. Theme parks in Florida are loosening COVID-19 restrictions following the CDC's new guidance that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks in most settings.St. Armands Key Lutheran Church in Sarasota is hosting a vaccine clinic Sunday, May 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering the two-dose Moderna vaccine and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people with registered appointments and walk-ins alike.The Kaiser Family Foundation has been surveying the public's opinion toward COVID-19 vaccines since last December. 42% of rural Americans surveyed say they will wait and see whether to get the vaccine, will only get vaccinated if required, or will definitely not get the vaccine.The foundation's Liz Hamel says that percentage has less to do with geography and more to do with political opinion, noting that about one in five Republicans surveyed say they don't plan to get the vaccine at allGovernor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law, last Thursday, that makes permanent a popular COVID-19 emergency order allowing restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals.

So-called "food deserts" denote areas without access to grocery stores or fresh food, but Sarasota County Libraries and the Sarasota Housing Authority are…

Florida homeowners and renters in 18 counties who had uninsured losses caused by Hurricane Idalia have until Nov. 29, 2023, to apply for FEMA disaster assistance.