According to a University of Pennsylvania Annenburg Public Policy Center study, in which more than a thousand adults were surveyed late last year, 37% did not know what the 1st Amendment was about. Still, it is the amendment that is cited repeatedly in political discourse, facebook rants, and at dinner tables and it is used by all sides when it suits an arguement or aggrievement. Between the ongoing issue of whether NFL players have the right to protest by kneeling during the national anthem, to

Nutrient rich freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee have become an annual tradition here in Southwest Florida, but not a good one. The releases are often followed by algae blooms in the Caloosahatchee River and the estuaries it flows into. Reports of algae blooms around the Alva Boat Ramp were reported over the weekend, and more are likely to follow as the water flows west. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry sat down with Dr. Bill Mitsch , and one of his graduate students named Lauren Griffiths, who is

The Fort Myers-based rock and roll band The Electric Mud brings their self-described “punishing rhythm section,” “dizzying twin guitars,” and “gritty, soulful vocal” sound to our airwaves with a live in-studio performance. The band, which formed in 2013, performs prolifically at venues around Southwest Florida and they’re about to launch their first nationwide tour ! We’ll be joined in studio by band members Peter Kolter (Guitar/Vocals), Constantine Grim (Guitar), Tommy Scott (Bass) and Pierson

Dancers take the stage June 24 at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre for a festival of dance performances in honor of the late Jeanne Bochette who died in February at the age of 89. Bochette was a pioneering dance instructor, entrepreneur and Grand Dame. She founded the Dance Bochette studio in Fort Myers in 1951 and taught thousands of students in the forms of ballet, tap, modern, hip-hop, jazz and others over a teaching career that spanned seven decades. Before opening the studio, Bochette

While hemp has been grown as a fiber and grain crop for thousands of years, it was made illegal in the U.S. in the 1930s. But, times are changing and now there are more than 30 states exploring it as an agricultural crop. Now, that process is getting started here with a new pilot project from the University of Florida. UF’s Industrial Hemp research plan will explore the economic viability of growing hemp in the sunshine state. On today’s show we’re going to find out what that entails.

After a petition was signed by nearly 850,000 Floridians, the decision of whether or not voting rights will be restored to former felons in the state is now in the hands of the people. I t comes in the form of Amendment 4 on the upcoming November ballot. The amendment needs 60 percent of the vote to become law, but that might not be a problem, according to a new bipartisan poll that shows nearly three-quarters of voters support it.

When President George W. Bush asked New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson to travel North Korea on a diplomatic mission he took a group of experts with him. One person who joined that delegation was Florida Gulf Coast University President Mike Martin , who was the education expert. We sat down with President Martin to learn more about his time in North Korea, and what insights he brought back with him.

We explore the life of Barron Gift Collier with local author Marya Repko. Her new book, "The Story of Barron Collier" tells the story of Collier, who made a fortune with his advertising business before investing in Florida. He became the largest landowner in Florida, bought hotels, operated telephone systems, published newspapers, and undertook a road-building project across the swamps of the Everglades. At the same time, he was keeping up his New York interests as a civic leader, generous with

We’re joined by David Wolff, founder of a nonprofit company called Ocean Habitats that’s creating and selling mini artificial reefs that are generally installed behind homes underneath docks. The basic idea is to create safe habitats for juvenile fish and crabs, and other marine life, to grow and thrive. His company has installed hundreds of mini reefs on Marco Island, and recently installed the first one behind a home in Fort Myers.

It is officially mosquito season here in southwest Florida. But, what we experience these days is nothing like what we’d experience if it weren’t for mosquito control. Today on the show we’re joined by Eric Jackson, he's Public Information Officer with the Lee County Mosquito Control District , to learn what lengths they go to to try and reduce the numbers of these flying pests. And we’re joined by Dr. Jonathan Day , he's Professor of Medical Entomology at the University of Florida to find out