Pope Benedict XVI makes his first official visit to the United States this week with stops in Washington, D.C. and New York City. A Rabbi from Sanibel will meet with him Thursday. WGCU’s Amy Tardif has more.

The Newport Guitar Festival has wrapped up at its first weekend in Miami Beach after three years in Rhode Island. Organizers say we're in a golden age of guitar making…and the "gold" part is now to be taken literally. Rick Stone reports.

A recent spate of coral snake bites throughout South Florida has emergency doctors sounding an alarm – not about the abundance of the colorful reptiles, but about a dwindling supply of the antidote. Mary Kate Leming has more.

State lawmakers continue budget negotiations this week in Tallahassee. The Florida House has approved a 65-billion dollar budget – that’s five billion less than last year’s. The Senate budget contains about 800-million dollars more. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

Stuck at home caring for sick adults, hundreds of Palm Beach County
middle school kids are losing out on childhood and endangering their
education. There's a program to help them...it's the only one like it in
the entire country. Rick Stone reports on the "Caregiving Youth
Project”.

Volunteers who want to learn how to care for animals during a natural disaster will be attending a workshop this weekend in Sarasota hosted by the Humane Society. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

A group from Sanibel is gathering once again to reach out and help women in Guatemala. They’re looking for more volunteers to help package birthing kits. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez has this report.

Naples is taking its first step towards addressing global climate change with an initiative to calculate the entire city’s greenhouse gas emissions. WGCU's John Davis reports...

The woman who has been in charge of news content and day to day operations at the News Press in Fort Myers for the past 7 years is leaving. Kate Marymont had been Executive Editor & Vice President since 2001. Starting today Marymont is “Vice President for Content” for the McClean (AIN), Virginia-based Gannett Company…which publishes 85 daily papers in the U-S, including the News Press. She told WGCU’s Mike Kiniry it’s a dream job…

Lee Memorial Health System holds a presentation on Sanibel Thursday night about the state of health care in southwest Florida. Wendy Humphrey reports.