Palm Beach Post Tallahassee Bureau Chief S.V. Date is out with a new book. In the past he’s written tongue-in-cheek fiction. His titles include Smokeout and Deep Water.

But now he’s turned to biography. His book, called “Jeb, America’s Next Bush” is an unauthorized but informed biography of Florida's former Governor. Date reported on Bush’s Administration for the Palm Beach Post for 8 years.

Florida's smiling - and noticeably thinner - former governor was in Estero on Friday night, flanked by his wife, parents and sister. But family literacy, not politics, was the main item on the agenda. WGCU's Christine Buckley was there.

Florida Gulf Coast University is hosting a Fulbright Scholar this month who hails from Pakistan. Dr. Muhammad Zakria Zakar is in Southwest Florida thanks to a U.S. State Department Program called “Direct Access to the Muslim World”. He’s giving a series of lectures on the role of Madrassa, or religious schools, in Pakistan. WGCU’s Valerie Alker sat in on one of his classroom sessions and prepared this report.

A southwest Florida program that provides therapeutic riding lessons to mentally and physically challenged children and adults is looking for a new place to call home. The non-profit Special Equestrians has operated from a 40-acre stable in North Fort Myers…but that’s about to change. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry spent some time with the dozens of volunteers that make this twenty-year-old program possible…

Florida Gulf Coast University President William Merwin stepped down yesterday afternoon at an emergency meeting of FGCU's Board of Trustees. WGCU's Christine Buckley was there and has this report.

After 14 years on the job, a Salvation Army volunteer Bell ringer in Collier County is close to having collected 100 thousand dollars. Lynn Blakely rings and collects contributions in his red kettle outside the Publix supermarket on the corner of Airport Road and Vanderbilt Beach Boulevard in Naples. Chris Nind is the Army’s Development Director.

“he presently is 2,148 dollars short of that 100 thousand dollar target and knowing our campaign ends this Saturday it would be wonderful if he could reach that target before the end of the campaign.”

The overall goal for this year’s Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign in Collier County is 200 thousand dollars. Nind says he’s pretty sure it’s attainable. The annual campaign accounts for about 8 percent of Army’s overall income in Collier County. Nind credits the more than 200 volunteers for their hard work. And he says some of the volunteers match what they raise.

Congressman Mario Diaz Balart honored those who fight against Human Trafficking in Florida Tuesday - with a flag that once flew over the nation’s Capitol.

Republican Congressman Mario Diaz Balart was in Naples to present the flag to the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking and its founder Anna Rodriquez in recognition of their efforts to stop trafficking and rescue victims. When Rodriguez was working for the Collier County Sheriffs Department she discovered a 19-year-old woman at what appeared to be a routine domestic violence call. The woman, Maria, had been kidnapped from Guatemala, smuggled into the United States and was being kept as a slave. She was forced to work without pay in the tomato fields and raped at night.
Diaz Balart says the American flag is an icon for liberty around the world and he wanted it to draw attention to the tireless efforts of Rodriguez and the coalition.

“So for me to be able to represent what I believe is the most important symbol of freedom and of dedication and of the best qualities of human-kind, which are the stars and stripes. For me to be able to present a flag that was flown over the United States capitol to a person who I believe shows what free people can do when they have the right intentions and when they’re willing to work hard.”
Thanks to Rodriguez’s persistence, Maria was rescued and her captor is now in prison. Maria became the first adult recipient of the new T-Visa created under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

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Anywhere from 700,000 to four million people around the world are trafficked across or within national borders every year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services says 50 percent of the victims are children. In Florida, one person is being honored for working to identify and rescue these victims. Anna Rodriguez founded the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking in 2004. Today (Tuesday) Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart honored her for her service.

“Human trafficking is not some strange thing that happens in far away counties. It’s something that happens here in our country and even in our community. And Anna has been an advocate for the people who are victims. She’s actually traveled the world looking for victims of human trafficking and when people are victims of human trafficking they’re also often victimized a second and a third time.”
As a law enforcement victim advocate in Naples, Rodriguez discovered a victim of human trafficking and helped rescue her. The incident became a major case study and was instrumental for the creation of the T Visa, which allows victims to remain in the US to help authorities investigate their case.

Florida is reportedly the second largest hub of human trafficking in the U.S. However, since 1996 only 6 cases of slavery have actually been brought to federal court.

With three weeks until the primary election, a majority of Democrats in Florida haven’t made up their minds who to vote for in September. Recent polls show the two main candidates in a statistical dead-heat.

Tampa Congressman Jim Davis started the campaign with a comfortable lead in both the polls and fundraising. Now State Senator Rod Smith has chipped away at that lead and finds himself even with voters that express a preference. But polls show more than half of all likely Democratic voters haven’t made up their minds yet. Speaking on Gulf Coast Live, Smith said that’s a concern. But a bigger concern would be if they had already decided against him:

“I really believe that if you are the guy that started as far behind as I did. I think from the outset, I started some 20-something points behind. The fact that I’m in the race, that I’m in a good position in the race and that a huge number of people haven’t made up their mind, I think that augers well for this campaign. And so I actually kind of like that dynamic.”

Smith has spent time courting Hispanics in South Florida, touting his plans for homeowners insurance reform and funding for stem cell research. On election day, Republicans will choose between State Attorney General Charlie Crist and Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher.

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Florida gubernatorial candidate Rod Smith vowed today (Tuesday) to make changes to the state’s insurance market. The Democratic State Senator is locked in a tight primary race with Tampa Congressman Jim Davis. Polls show the two are neck-and-neck with most voters undecided with three weeks until the election. Smith vowed to stimulate competition in the insurance market to bring cheaper rates for Floridians. Speaking on W-G-C-U’s Gulf Coast Live, he also pledged to toughen oversight of the insurance industry.

“We’re going to have a crisis in home ownership, a crisis in the workplace and a crisis in the economy if we don’t immediately drive down and stabilize and then drive down rates in Florida for property insurance.”