In 2001 cats began disappearing from a neighborhood near St. Petersburg. After some investigation and eye witness accounts – the blame fell on coyotes. Nearly absent from the state at the turn of the last century, the wily carnivores are now present in all 67 Florida counties. In Lee County at least one pair is living adjacent to an upscale sub-division – and has been preying on small dogs. Residents are being advised to learn to live with the animals. WGCU’s Valerie Alker prepared this report.

Are you ready for hurricane season? Chances are…according to a new poll…most people are either not ready or not sure how to get ready. Emergency officials met Thursday at the National Hurricane Center, urging everyone to take their preparations seriously. Joshua Johnson was there and has this report.

Governor Charlie Crist’s so-called ‘Action Team on Energy and Climate Change’ is meeting this week to review policy recommendations to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the state from the negative impact of climate change. Trimmel Gomes reports.

Lee County, in partnership with several social service agencies, held a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday for a new triage center and inebriate shelter designed to make mental health services more accessible in the region. WGCU’s John Davis reports.

Hurricane season begins on Sunday and there’s already a system off the pacific coast of Costa Rica. Experts have many tools at their disposal for predicting and tracking storms. Yet one key component in their work comes from a piece of technology that’s not so new. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports on the small but important fleet of Hurricane Hunter planes.

The Director of the Bailey Mathews Shell Museum on Sanibel Island has identified an entirely new genus of mollusks. WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

The chairman of the Congressional House Committee with jurisdiction over the country’s transportation infrastructure, including waterways, was in Labelle yesterday to hear from local interests about the need for more federal funding for water quality and transportation projects. And to see the Caloosahatchee River, Lake Okeechobee and the dike surrounding it up close. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry reports.

A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a Tampa man's request that all of Florida's delegates be counted at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Steve Newborn reports.

More than a hundred people - from law enforcement to the Salvation Army - are in Fort Myers this week for the third annual Human Trafficking Summit. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

Republican Congressman Connie Mack will face three challengers in November for his District 14 Congressional seat. Republican State Senator Burt Saunders…who’s running as an independent; Jeff George, an independent political newcomer who grew up in southwest Florida and works as a sleep test technician; and Robert Neeld, a Cape Coral Democrat who’s run twice before, both times receiving more than 30-percent of the vote. Neeld is an accountant whose family moved to southwest Florida in 1956. He told WGCU’s Mike Kiniry that he put economic issues at the forefront of both of his previous campaigns in 2004 and 2006…and that’s certainly not changed this year.