Welcome to Florida

Following the terrible manatee die off in 2021, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to take the drastic measure of supplementing the mammals' diet with human provided lettuce. How is the program working?

Speaking of manatee, the reason they're dying is because blue green algae blooms are preventing the seagrass they feed on from receiving sunlight, which is essential for growth. The seagrass beds die off, the manatees lose their food source, and the manatees then starve to death. What's causing those blue green algae blooms, largely, is phosphorus runoff from agriculture in the form of fertilizer and manure.

Our guest on this episode, Dan Egan, has a new book out for spring of 2023 entitled "The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World out of Balance." Not only is Florida ground zero for the negative effects of phosphorus, it is also the nation's leading supplier of the mineral.

"Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Windstorm Products. Visit windstormproducts.com for hurricane hardware and secure your home or business from the effects of hurricane wind damage.

What is ESG? It's Florida Republicans latest effort to distract from the spiraling living conditions in the state created under their watch by scaring white voters into believing a "woke agenda" threatens their way of life.

This week's episode centers on Eatonville, the first all-Black town in America, incorporated in 1887. Craig recently focused one of his Florida Phoenix columns on efforts by residents there to fight off a development project for what is known as the Hungerford property, land Eatonville residents believe was stolen from them by the Orange County Public Schools.

Our guests are Julian Johnson, founder of the 1887 First brand, and John Beacham, owner of Eatonville 1887 tours.

SPOILER ALERT: John, Julian and the Eatonville residents have prevailed for now, forcing the developer of the Hungerford property to back out of the deal with Orange County Public Schools.

You can support "Welcome to Florida" by becoming a monthly patron at Patreon.com/WelcometoFlorida. For just $5 per month you can take ownership in assuring the continuation of this podcast and once we've reached 20 patrons, Craig and I will release a special "behind the scenes" episode to our Patreon members.

Runaway, reckless development in Florida not only threatens the state's beautiful land, but its sky as well.

Our guest is Julie Albert, right whale conservation program coordinator for the Marine Resources Council.

To volunteer for whale watching, contact the Marine Resources Council above, or the Blue World Research Institute here.

Information on the Right Whale Festival in Fernandina Beach, each November.

If you'd like to support "Welcome to Florida" through our Patreon page, you can do so here.

A state legislator wants to take away the ability to manage water quality from local governments and give it to the state because the current law disadvantaged his nephew. Seriously.

Our guest this episode is Zach Zacharias, history curator at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach. He recalls for us the story of the discovery of The Daytona Beach Mastodon. Journey with us to Ice Age Florida.

This episode of "Welcome to Florida" is brought to you by Windstorm Products. Visit windstormproducts.com to protect your home or business from hurricane wind damage.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s time in St. Augustine, and St. Augustine's central place in the Civil Rights Movement, are among the most important and least discussed aspects of Florida history and civil rights history. There are obvious and surprising reasons for that.

Flagler College history professor and civil rights author Michael Butler helps us understand what happened in St. Augustine during 1963 and 1964 and its critical role in the Civil Rights Movement. Follow Michael on Twitter @dr_mbutler.

Advocates for Florida Springs had to take the state Department of Environmental Protection to court for the terrible job its been doing protecting the state's drinking water from polluters.

This week's guest Bob Kealing has joined us before to talk about Tupperware and Elvis. His latest book, "Good Day Sunshine State: How the Beatles Rocked Florida" takes us back to 1964 and the group's monumental visit to Florida and its various intersections with history.

Chadd Scott's latest "My Favorite Florida" columns include Ron Jon Surf Shop and Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Florida's State Attorney General is a villainous political hatchet queen.

As Agriculture Commissioner, Nikki Fried was the last Democrat elected to a statewide office in Florida. We discuss the role of the state Agriculture Department from concealed carry firearm permits to state forests, invasive species, gasoline and Big Sugar.

Fried was elected on February 25, 2023, as chair of the state Democratic Party.

Thanks to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota for hosting Chadd Scott to record this episode of the podcast. 

This episode begins in Eatonville, home of Zora Neale Hurston, where, not surprisingly, developers are up to no good.

Our guest is lifelong Pensacola resident and longtime Pensacola newspaper reporter and editor Carl Wernicke. We discuss Pensacola's past, present and future, Matt Gaetz, what he loves about Pensacola, and how the city is, and isn't, changing. Craig's from Pensacola as well!

This week's episode is sponsored by WindstormProducts.com, the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware, as well as a retailer of the Quick Dam flood barrier, a fantastically helpful product if your home, garage or business is prone to water inundation.

You can find Chadd Scott's writing about the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach and the A.E. Backus Museum in Fort Pierce at Rovology.com. 

This episode tackles one of the most confusing eras in Florida history, a critically important series of events, but one little acknowledged or studied: the Seminole Wars. There were three Seminole Wars, the first in the 18-teens and the final in the 1850s.

Our guest is Joe Knetsch, historian and author of numerous Florida history books with an emphasis on the Seminole Wars.

A treat today as Miami born, bred and based documentary filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman join the show. Corben is the director and Spellman the producer for Rakontur, their company which has produced such favorites as "Cocaine Cowboys" and "The U." Their latest project, "God Forbid" begins with a pool boy at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach and ends with the election of Donald Trump and the collapse of the evangelical Falwell family. Watch it on Hulu.