Gulf Coast Live

Conductor, composer, arranger and musical visionary Steven Hackman returns to the Southwest Florida Symphony for the third consecutive year to lead the orchestra in a performance of his “ Mashupalooza: A Stereo Hideout Production .” Hackman is best known for his innovative works of classical-pop fusion blending orchestral compositions with the music of popular contemporary artists.

Florida Gulf Coast University offered its first class on medical cannabis, called ‘Weed: The impact of marijuana on American life’ back in the fall of 2018. Since then, it has scaled up, now offering 9 classes and a cannabis focus under the Integrated Studies major. And, starting this Saturday, February 29th it will offering a 5-day Cannabis Professional Certificate Program that focuses on things like cannabis history, laws and policies relating to the plant, and cannabis as a business.

This Saturday afternoon from 2-5:00pm there’s going to be a debate on U.S. Immigration Policy at Florida Southwestern State College’s Charlotte County Campus . It will focus on topics like DACA and TPS , asylum and refugee seeker status, and the detention & separation of families. What makes this debate, about such contentious issues, different, is it’s being conducted by students from Port Charlotte High School’s award-winning Model United Nations team .

James Abraham worked at several newspapers during his career in journalism, working as a reporter, columnist and editor. He wound up in Punta Gorda, and wrote for the Charlotte Sun and Sarasota Herald-Tribune. After leaving print journalism he opened a small publishing house called Book-Broker Publishers of Florida .

Florida Repertory Theatre ’s 22 nd season continues next week with performances of the one-man show “ Every Brilliant Thing ,” by playwright Duncan MacMillian. The show runs from Feb. 25 through March 29. The play is an interactive monologue involving a lot of audience participation. Through tragedy and humor the show tackles heavy themes such as chronic depression, suicide, love, coping with loss and learning to appreciate all those things in life, big and small, that make it worth living.

The dynamic music duo consisting of guitarist Max Hatt and vocalist Edda Glass perform live in the WGCU Studios ahead of their concert this Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the Americana Community Music Association listening room at All Faiths Unitarian Congregation on McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers.

NPR National Political Correspondent and Fox News contributor Mara Liasson is back in Southwest Florida this week working with Florida Gulf Coast University journalism students in her role as FGCU’s first named Presidential Fellowship Scholar.

The 2018 blue-green algae bloom that filled much of Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, and its estuary with thick, green, toxic, algae left no doubt that real solutions to nutrient pollution must be found, not only for the sake of Southwest Florida’s economy, but the health of its citizens.

We’ll hear music recorded live at Juniper Recording by the Southwest Florida-based Southern Rock/Alt-Country Rock band Rosaline . Juniper Recording is owned and operated by the band’s front man, guitarist, vocalist and sound engineer Caleb Neff. Rosaline’s first album “ One Stoplight Town ,” will be followed by an anticipated second album this spring.

The number of plant-based meat-like products – like the Impossible Burger – have rapidly increased in the past few years. Consumer data from 2018 showed sales of plant-based meat grew 23% that year, while regular meat grew only 2%. Around 30% of American consumers now say that they’re reducing their meat consumption, and about 32% consider themselves flexitarian . Some are choosing to go plant-based for moral reasons, but many are trying to reduce the amount of meat they consume for health reasons.

Before personalized oncology , most people with a specific type and stage of cancer received basically the same treatment. But, advances in genetic testing and a broader understanding of the many factors that can influence cancer treatments – especially as one ages – mean it’s becoming increasingly possible to tailor treatments for individual patients.

Toward the end of the massive blue-green algae bloom that choked area waters in 2018 Florida Gulf Coast University marine science professor, Dr. Mike Parsons , conducted a small pilot project that collected data on how far toxins produced by the algae could travel through the air, and how deeply the toxins could make it into human lungs. Initial results showed the toxins could travel for miles, and could make it all the way to the part of the lungs where air/blood exchange occurs.

The Punta Gorda Symphony ’s classical concert series continues with a performance this Sunday evening, Feb. 9, that will feature award-winning classical guitarist and composer Celil Refik Kaya . He’ll be the concert’s featured solo artist performing Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto No. 1.

In 1942 and 1943, German U-boats sank more than one hundred tankers in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea , impeding the flow of crude oil to the refineries in the northeastern United States. This was war time, so in response, the American government encouraged drilling for oil in South Florida, and it was discovered here first near Everglades City .

As we mark the 75 th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi-era concentration camps, a new exhibit at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Wilson G. Bradshaw Library documents the little-known rescue of survivors from an all-female Nazi camp. “ To Life: The Liberation of Ravensbrück ” explores how the Swedish Red Cross liberated about 15,500 survivors from the camp in what’s been dubbed the “ White Bus Rescue ” in 1945.

Longtime residents of Southwest Florida have seen a great deal of environmental change over the decades. The rapidly growing population has meant rapidly expanding development, both residential and commercial. For instance, Lee County had just over 200,000 residents in 1980, and now has almost 740,000. All these changes to the environment have greatly impacted the various animal species that also call Southwest Florida home.

Three-time Grammy Award winning country, rock and folk musician Lucinda Williams comes to Southwest Florida for a concert Feb. 4 at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall . Williams’ experience writing and performing music spans more than 50 years and includes more than a dozen studio albums including 1998’s “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” which garnered her first Grammy award as a performer and 2017’s “This Sweet Old World,” which is a full-length reconsideration of her 1992 album, “Sweet Old World.” Ahead of her performance in Fort Myers, Williams spoke with us about her upbringing, the influence of her father, renowned poet Miller Williams, her approach to songwriting and her upcoming memoir, set for release later this year.

We’re sitting down with Dr. Christopher Phillips , founder and executive director of the nonprofit Democracy Cafe , which is dedicated to creating a more connected, understanding and participatory world. Its flagship Socrates Cafe and Democracy Cafe inquiry initiatives happen all over the United States, and the world over, with recently established groups in countries like Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Germany, and Poland.

We'll talking with Dr. Don Chambers , professor of physical oceanography in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dr. Chambers uses satellites to track and understand climate change’s impact on sea levels. He was in town for two talks about the latest on climate science and sea level rise. One as part of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Provost Lecture Series , and the other for Naples Discussion Group .

Almost two decades ago Marina Marchese fell in love with bees during a tour of a neighbor's honeybee hives. She built her own bee hive, ordered bees, and was soon harvesting honey.