The acronym “R.A.P.I.D.” signifies the steps teenage girls are advised to follow in a new course being offered by the Lee County Sheriff’s Department : Respond to a dangerous situation by Assessing your surroundings, Protecting yourself, Identifying defensive strategies, and applying Defensive actions (as a last resort). It's the name of a class that’s LCSO is offering exclusively for teenage years.

A fungus spread by an invasive beetle species has destroyed 500 million trees since it first arrived in North America 15 years ago. The fungus that causes laurel wilt disease, spread by the redbay ambrosia beetle, threatens South Florida's avocado crop and the countless trees that call the Everglades home.

While most of the complaints about Southwest Florida's recent rainy weather center on the comeback of the annoying mosquito, the rain brings out another animal that can pose a serious threat to dogs: the cane toad , whose poison glands can sicken pets. Even the tadpoles can be highly toxic if ingested.

A bill before lawmakers in Congress would require car makers install technology reminding drivers when a child is in the back seat. It’s a move to help prevent the occurrence of “forgotten baby syndrome,” where a child is accidentally left in a car as potentially fatal temperatures soar. The “Hot Cars” Act is getting bi-partisan support since it was unveiled earlier this month in Washington DC.

Lawmakers left Tallahassee after a three-day special session earlier this month that saw resolutions on medical marijuana, education spending, budgets, and more. Today on Gulf Coast Live, Rep. Ray Rodrigues (R-Fort Myers/Estero) joins the show to review how his bills fared this year , and the decisions that defined the 2017 session of the Florida legislature.

Not long after an investigative story appeared in the Fort Myers News Press, a “no trespassing” sign appeared on what was once considered public land in the heart of the Fort Myers’ Dunbar neighborhood. That newspaper report found that the city dumped toxic sludge there 50 years ago, didn’t tell any of the neighbors, and haven’t cordoned off the area or cleaned it up.

Florida’s citrus industry has seen its share of ups and downs, and running alongside the growers and grove owners all that time has been the Citrus Research and Education Center - which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Founded in 1917 to help Florida’s citrus farmers face challenges in the field, the research center has provide scientific solutions to pests, diseases, and weather patterns for a $9 billion industry.

The ACLU of Florida has wrapped up a months-long investigation into how the state handled last year’s toxic algal blooms; the result of discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. The nonprofit civil liberties organization alleges the state failed its residents in how it responded to those discharges.

Beverley Bass is a fourth-generation Floridian from Fort Myers, and as one of the first female pilots for American Airlines— and its first female captain —her life makes for a great story. But it's her experiences as a pilot on Sept. 11, 2001, when she and thousands of others found themselves grounded in Gander, Newfoundland until American airspace re-opened, that's now being told through a musical on stages across North America.

A flag with 37 stars flew over the White House for roughly ten years, after the addition of Nebraska to the union in March 1867. A version of the 37-star flag, flown during the presidencies of Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes, was dedicated at Wednesday's Flag Day event at the Military Museum and Library of Southwest Florida.