Air-Force One, carrying President Barack Obama 
touched down yesterday morning at Southwest Florida International
Airport at 11:21.  WGCU’s Valerie Alker was there.

President
Barack Obama traveled today to Fort Myers, Florida for a town hall on
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.  The President spoke
directly with Fort Myers residents about his commitment to put aside
politics as usual and implement a plan to create jobs, jumpstart growth
and transform our economy for the 21st century.

Across
the country, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will help
businesses create jobs and families afford their bills, while laying a
foundation for future economic growth in key areas like health care,
clean energy, education and a 21st century infrastructure. This plan is
particularly meaningful to families and businesses in the Ft. Myers
area, where the unemployment rate has jumped from 6 percent to 10
percent since last year.

Click
here
for
Florida-specific information detailing the employment, infrastructure,
education, and health care impacts of the recovery plan.

The President was joined today by
Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Click Here to read the President's remarks in their entirety.

Fort
Myers awaits the arrival of President Barack Obama tomorrow/Tuesday.
But some wonder exactly what can he do to fix one of the worst counties
in the country for foreclosure? WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports.

A national tracking organization found the number of stalking cases in America tripled in 2007 compared to figures collected three years before. Folks from the Shelter for Abused Women and Children in Naples want people to remember some key ways to protect themselves from stalkers. WGCU’s Luis Hernandez has this report.

There was dancing and singing in the streets in Ft. Myers Monday as hundreds of people turned out for the annual freedom march commemorating the life of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. And of course this year’s march was on the eve of Barack Obama’s swearing in as the nation’s first African American president. So, the question WGCU’s Valerie Alker asked was “has Martin Luther King’s dream been realized”

We heard from: Deacon Elijah Brown, Evelyn Foster, Father Robert Browning, March organizers Jonathan Elliot and Reginald Billips– and from Terry Stark.

Organizers are expecting a crowd of about ten thousand people in downtown Ft. Myers Monday for the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Commemorative March and Celebration.  WGCU’s Valerie Alker has more.

Nearly one in ten Floridians is now on food stamps. In the last two years the number has increased by more than 40 percent - with 1.7 million families and individuals now getting assistance. According to federal officials the increase is the largest in the nation. And Lee County has the dubious distinction of leading the state. WGCU’s Valerie Alker talked to people signing up for food stamps and has this report.

VIGIL

12-19-08

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"Candlelight Vigil"



The Lee County Homeless Coalition will hold its 12th annual candlelight vigil for the homeless on Sunday evening. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry reports.



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Runs :58

More than four hundred local performers sang for someone else’s supper at last Sunday’s Thanks for the Giving benefit: a concert and food drive at Florida Gulf Coast University designed to help four local charities. WGCU’s Katie Pankow reports.

The City of Cape Coral is teaming up with Goodwill Industries Friday to encourage people to minimize their risk of falling victim to identity theft. WGCU's John Davis has more.