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Ever since the mid-90s there has a been a place in downtown Fort Myers where parents could bring their kids for an immersive experience focused on science. It was originally called The Imaginarium Hands on Museum and Aquarium and featured hands-on displays and activities and an always-popular touch tank where kids can pet and feed cownose rays, among many other exhibits and activities that have evolved over time. The Imaginarium merged with the Southwest Florida History Museum and re-launched as an independent nonprofit called the IMAG History and Science Center which still offers the public an immersive experience focused now on science AND history. This Saturday, they are celebrating their 30th anniversary so we get some history, and a look at what’s happening there today.

It's not just passenger cars: Delivery companies are updating their vans and trucks with electric models as they look to save on fuel and cut maintenance costs.

In a special episode of the Gulf Coast Life Book Club, we welcome legendary Sanibel author Randy Wayne White. Our conversation was recorded live at the Player’s Circle Theater in Fort Myers and hosted by Macintosh Books and Paper of Sanibel.

FGCU resumes on campus instruction today as the fall semester begins. About 15,000 students are enrolled to start classes — about the same as last year. Classes will include a mixture of in-person and virtual models. The university has embarked on an extensive, campus-wide education campaign to “Protect the Nest.” We’re joined by FGCU President, Dr. Mike Martin, to get an overview of reopening plans.

A new study conducted by Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary found that groundwater levels in the sanctuary have dropped substantially over the past two decades, mostly due to downstream canals. Lower water levels during the dry season contribute directly to threatened wood stork nesting failures, reduce water recharge and wildfire protection benefits, and contribute to poor downstream water quality.

The Laboratory Theater of Florida in downtown Fort Myers is currently performing the Southwest Florida premiere production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning drama “Fairview.”The play tackles themes of implicit bias, prejudices, stereotypes, race, surveillance and privilege, but through an innovative and powerful defiance of convention.We explore the play in a conversation with the production’s Assistant Director Makayla Davis, actors and cast members Zaria Brown and Tijuanna Clemons, and Laboratory Theater founder and Producing Artistic Director Annette Trossbach.

In her latest book, “The Promise of Whiteness: Its Past and Its Future” Dr. Martha Bireda explores the psychological underpinnings of the mentality of white superiority in the U.S. and its roots beginning with the early history of European settlers on the North American continent, dating all the way back to the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Dr. Bireda has more than 30 years of experience as a lecturer, consultant and trainer for issues related to race, class, and gender, working with educators, law enforcement, and business, and civic leaders.

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.

According to the U.S Census Bureau, seniors are expected to make up over 20% of the country’s population by that year, and that percentage will be considerably higher here in Florida where 21.3% of the population is already over 65. This means considerably more seniors are going to require assistance from senior living communities, and there is already a shortage of staff in this country to handle the current levels at existing facilities. Our guest says technology is going to have to be the key to making sure the system can handle the growth.

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.