Gulf Coast Life

There are a number of factors at play when it comes to predicting how active a hurricane season will be, the most important being the surface water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Back in April and May temperatures in the region of the Atlantic where storms tend to develop were already what we would expect to see in early summer — and now in June temperatures are already at levels we would expect in August, which is when hurricane season peaks. We have a conversation about the 2024 season, and the various factors contribute to how active it will be, with Megan Borowski from the Florida Public Radio Network.

Kathy Kleiner Rubin was attacked by serial killer Ted Bundy while she slept in her sorority house at Florida State University. Now she has a wonderful book out that digs deep into her life and the crime.

U.S. military veterans often face challenges when transitioning to civilian employment after leaving the service. Sometimes their skills and experiences don’t directly translate to civilian jobs — and employers might not fully understand the value of military experience or how it applies to their industry. Some veterans may need to undergo additional training or education to meet the standards required for civilian jobs, which can be time-consuming and costly. To help with the transition, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and some employers offer programs to help veterans find a new career by providing training, resources, and support specifically tailored to veterans' needs. We learn about one here in Florida that began in 2016 when two employees with the University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences decided that helping veterans possibly find a path to a new career in agriculture would be a great fit, so they created the Veterans Florida Agriculture Program.

There was an effort to get an amendment to Florida's constitution onto the 2024 ballot that would have assured citizens a right to clean water but its organizers fell short of the required signatures. But FloridaRightToCleanWater.org is not giving up, and has already launched an effort to get a similar amendment onto the ballot for the 2026 election. If passed, the new proposed amendment titled “Right to Clean and Healthy Waters” would create a fundamental right to clean and healthy waters in Florida. And it would allow citizens to sue state agencies for equitable relief when an agency, by action or inaction, allows harm or threat of harm to Florida waters. We learn more about the amendment and what exactly it would do, and the issues it aims to address when it comes to regulatory agencies not doing enough to protect the environment.

Earlier this year FGCU named its new Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Colin Hargis, to take over the role after the past director, Ken Kavanaugh, stepped down in December, 2023 after serving about 15 years in the role. Hargis comes to FGCU after spending about a decade at North Carolina State University, where he worked his way from associate athletics director for ticket sales and operations to senior associate athletics director for external relations. Hargis takes the helm of a young athletics program with 15 intercollegiate athletics teams and about 300 student athletes. And he brings with him his knowledge of the world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) which he managed at North Carolina State University, and part of what he’ll focus on here at FGCU.

We sit down with Barbara Peterson, from the Florida Center for Government Accountability to talk about the crucial role of investigative journalism in keeping government accountable, and how exactly to do your own public records request here in Florida.

For large mammals like the Florida panther and Florida black bear, large tracts of contiguous land are crucial to their ability to live and thrive. To that end, in 2021 the Florida legislature passed — with bipartisan support — the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law. The Act outlines about 18-million acres of land in the state that comprise a corridor of sorts stretching from the Everglades to the panhandle that would support animals like the Florida panther. About 10-million of those acres are already preserved, so the goal is to encourage the owners of the remaining 8-million acres to either sell their land to the state or an organization that would protect it, or get a conservation easement that would allow them to continue farming or ranching operations, but ensure the land isn’t developed. We talk with investigative journalist, Jimmy Tobias, to try to understand the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act better.

Here in Florida, when a youth’s bad behavior brings them into contact with law enforcement there is a chance they will be diverted into a program that will keep them out of the juvenile justice system — providing their offense is a misdemeanor and generally non-serious. The goal is basically to address behavioral needs of youth during their first contact with law enforcement in order to try and keep them out of trouble in the future — and keep them from winding up with a criminal record so early in their lives.

A natural part of living in Florida is sometimes interacting with wild animals — including Florida black bears. Wildlife officers trapped and tranquilized a black bear on Monday near downtown Fort Myers. Bears are pretty wily and mostly move around at night so most people have probably never even seen one, or even know that we have black bears in this part of Florida, let alone wandering through our neighborhoods. We talk with a bear expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about bears in Florida, how they behave, and what we can do to minimize neighborhood interactions with them.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological condition where a person’s immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers in their central nervous system. MS can greatly impact an individual's life, from just mobility issues making daily activities difficult, to relationships and emotional well-being. Treatment generally focuses on managing symptoms and slowing disease progression through medications, physical therapy, lifestyle modifications, and support services. The Multiple Sclerosis Center of Southwest Florida has been providing support services to people with MS since 2000 — all for free. To learn more we talk with the center’s CEO, Kay Jasso.