The Arcadia man seeking compensation from the state of Florida for being wrongfully imprisoned for more than 20 years has to wait at least two more weeks to learn the outcome.  WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

A
former Arcadia man who spent more than 20 years in jail for allegedly
killing his seven children is trying one more time to get state
compensation for wrongful imprisonment.  WGCU’s Luis Hernandez
reports.

Governor Charlie Crist paid a visit to Punta Gorda Thursday marking the 5^th
Anniversary of the day Category 4 Hurricane Charley made landfall in
the small gulf coast city.  He spoke at the newly built Charlotte
Harbor Event Center – which sits on the site of the old municipal
auditorium destroyed by the storm.  WGCU’s Valerie Alker reports.

A private funeral service
will be held tomorrow in Manhattan long time CBS News Anchor Walter
Cronkite who died last Friday at the age of 92. Naples Resident  Phil
Jones was a correspondent for CBS News  for 32 years before retiring in
2001. Jones says Walter Cronkite was his friend and mentor at a time
when CBS was arguably the nation’s preeminent broadcast news outlet.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the day Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon. July 20, 1969 was a day that many who were alive to see it will remember for the rest of their lives. Sanibel poet Joe Pacheco sent us this poem that he wrote on that day:




Where Were You On July 20, 1969? – Joe Pacheco, Sanibel
On the eve of my 39th birthday,

wheeling the TV cart into the living room of my center hall colonial

with my wife and in-laws and my eldest daughter Randy on her grandfather’s lap,

(four year old Allegra asleep in her room), five pairs of human eyes drinking in the incredible —
men on the moon, greatest scientific feat of all time,

and I still struggling with the rabbit ears antenna to make the image clearer;


Armstrong’s carefully prepared “one step, one leap” metaphor

milking in best Madison Avenue style

the great moment for what it would always be worth;


my father-in-law and I engaged in speculation

about how Jewish astronauts could observe Rosh Hodesh,

or say the prayer to the new moon while standing on it,

my daughter interrupting, “Grandpa, I know the prayer by heart”;


then all of us quiet for a long time —

my last hope that it might be a hoax gone, I felt bereft —

beauty and belief and fancies once owned proudly

now replaced by a lifeless sphere;


next day biggest headline ever on front page of the Times:

MEN LAND ON MOON and a poem by Archibald MacLeish

followed a few days later by a special edition featuring several poems,

some acclaiming the achievement,

others lamenting the loss,

a feast for poets but my muse silent,

lifeless.


Since then, the moon reminds me from time to time

that on that day a member of my species trampled on her face,

violating with one irreverent step

a million years of magic and myth and wondrous gazing —

brother Apollo’s module chariot pulling from afar and away from us,

the last ebb of silver dream.

A local environmentalist has created an award-winning, automated e-mail list to connect and share ecological information. The “Environmental Voice of Southwest Florida” serves as a solution to a communication problem among many local activists.  Chelsey Stoner reports.

More than a thousand people converged on the Naples Grande Beach Resort
Tuesday night to hear Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich talk.  It was
part of the Naples Town Hall Distinguished Speakers Series.  WGCU’s
Mike Kiniry reports.

State Road 80 east from Ft. Myers  in Lee County meanders through many older communities. There are the river towns  of Alva, Olga, and Ft. Denaud. (duh-no) And on the south side of roadway there’s Charleston Park. If you weren’t looking for it – you’d never know it was there.  But it has been since 1926, and many descendants of the original residents who worked in the surrounding fields and groves are still there.  WGCU’s Valerie Alker took a ride through Charleston Park this week with longtime community activist Alice Washington and recorded her story.

Ugandan community leader Betty Muzinara spoke at Florida Gulf Coast University Tuesday. She’s led efforts to fight gender discrimination and promote education and sustainable living practices in East Africa. WGCU’s John Davis was there and has this report.

September, 11th 2001 stirs up different memories and emotions for different people. For one Southwest Florida man the memories run deep. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez spoke with Sarasota Police Chief Peter Abbott about his experiences at ground zero.