Gulf Coast Life

A propulsive novel from the point of view of a man convinced of his own cleverness and appeal.

In 2023, Florida received $205.7 million dollars as part of a multistate settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. It was distributed by the Florida Department of Children and Families and Lee County received about $5,500,000. Last summer, the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved a pilot phase of what's called a Paramedicine Program using some of that opioid settlement funding. That program was a success and last month, Lee Commissioners approved an agreement with Lee Health to create an expanded Community Paramedicine Program. It provides in-home care to individuals to reduce ambulance trips to emergency departments at hospitals for illnesses or injuries that are less likely to progress or develop complications.

The Alliance for the Arts is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Another milestone for the community-based arts nonprofit came in March with the selection of Neil Volz as its new executive director. Volz brings more than a quarter century of experience as an advocate, organizer, and nonprofit leader to the role. We talk with Volz about his background and the challenges and opportunities he will lead the organization through going forward.

The fear of deportation is growing for hundreds of thousands of immigrants across the country after a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which allows the Trump administration to revoke their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Trump administration also continues efforts to make good on its pledge to deport 3,000 people per day. Florida leads the country in the number of local law enforcement agencies partnering with ICE to deport undocumented people. And recently, the Trump administration has enacted sweeping travel bans and restrictions on citizens from some countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. To help us understand these new immigration policies and the impact here in our state, we talk with Fort Myers Immigration Attorney Ricardo Skerrett.

Technological advances have brought much good to the world. But as ways to communicate have diversified and led to anyone being able to get their message out to the entire world, it seems undeniable that society has taken a turn toward hyper-polarization and partisanship – and the number of people – especially young people who are experiencing mental health issues has increased and the trendline is heading in the wrong direction. Our guests are part of a cross-partisan political reform group comprised a wide range of people, from elected officials and national security experts to mental health professionals and technologists who are trying to encourage change and find ways to address the negative effects of our online world.

This Thursday, June 12 WGCU’s Documentary Unit will premiere the new film “Rising: Surviving the Surge.” It features dramatic storm footage, powerful stories of resilience, and insights from scientists, first responders, and community leaders to provide a wake-up call to the reality of storm surge that we all now know is possible on a very personal level. And it offers a vital reminder to be prepared for when it matters most. We discuss the making of Rising and some of the lessons we've learned from the storm that forever changed Southwest Florida.

We listen back to our April show featuring Emmy-nominated jazz trumpeter, vocalist and composer Benny Benack III performing live in studio with the Florida Gulf Coast University Jazz Combo.

A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting is part memoir and part scientific exploration of nutrition and weight-lifting for women.

President Trump has signed 157 Executive orders since taking office in January. Many of them are well-within the authority of the President. But our guest is sounding the alarm about what he says are actions that exceed the authority given to the Executive Branch under the U.S. Constitution — powers meant to be shared with other branches of government, or that defy Supreme Court interpretations of what the law and the Constitution mean as historically understood.

Back in the 1990s, as the southwest Florida population grew, it became apparent that local water bodies and waterways were being impacted — and impaired — by nutrient pollution. So, in the late 2000s several local governments began implementing ordinances that prohibited the application of lawn fertilizer during the rainy season, which generally speaking runs from June first through September or so. We learn about Lee County’s ordinance, and the importance of complying with these rules to benefit our waters and ecosystems.