Welcome to Florida

The Florida legislature is attempting to make it more difficult for home inspectors to do their jobs in securing the safety of residents moving into new construction. The era of the Johns Committee was one of the darkest in Florida's history . Stacy Braukman's book "Communists and Perverts Under the Palms: The John's Committee 1956-1965" details the political witch hunt fo...

Developers and state politicians want to cram more homes into the Keys despite state law prohibiting them from doing so. The inaugural Florida Man Games will be held February 24, 2024, in St. Augustine. Founder Pete Melfi joins us to discuss.

A Levy County resident wants to put a sand mine on his property endangering the University of Florida's planetarium. We're discussing carnivorous plants this week with Kenny Coogan, owner of Critter Companions by Kenny Coogan nursery in Tampa specializing in carnivorous plants, and author of "Florida's Carnivorous Plants." Follow Kenny on Instagram at @crittercompanionsbyk...

Legendary Florida author Randy Wayne White joins us for this episode to discuss how he came to Florida, making the transition from newspaper man to charter boat captain, and eventually on to becoming the New York Times bestselling writer of the Doc Ford series of novels. We'll also talk about his decision to ride out Hurricane Ian on Sanibel Island and the traumas he faced for that choice in...

Craig has a list of New Year's Resolutions to pass out around the state, starting with our idiot Department of Transportation secretary. Author Lu Vickers is our guest this episode. She joined us back on Episode 100 along with an original Weeki Wachee mermaid. This time, we're talking about Dick Pope, founder of Cypress Gardens . If you'd like to support the show as we enter our 5th...

When did "environmentalist" become a dirty word to Republicans ? Our guest for this episode is author Jack Davis. Davis has joined us twice before to discuss the recovery of the bald eagle and the Gulf of Mexico. Check the archive for those two outstanding shows. This time, we're discussing a Florida icon, a feminist icon, a conservation icon, and an Everglades icon: Marjory Stonema...

A pair of proposed mega-developments in southwest Florida would prevent the Florida panther from ever expanding its numbers if approved. Critical to an understanding of Florida history is its roots as a Spanish colony, not a British colony like Georgia and South Carolina. Kevin Kokomoor is an historian and the author of "La Florida: Catholics, Conquistadores, and other American Origin Stories...

Global Warming is causing the oceans to acidify creating an existential threat to the ocean food chain and the seafood industry and Florida politician's largely don't care . Hank Asher is the most important man you've never heard of. He's a Florida man who moved to the Sunshine State in the 70s. His life would intersect with the drug trade, the 2000 presidential election and 9/...

We begin this episode with sad news and the passing of Florida author Tim Dorsey . Dorsey joined us on Episode 73. Did you know the longest private airstrip in America is in Florida? The Brian DePalma-directed 'Scarface' from 1983 starring Al Pacino as Cuban immigrant turned Miami cocaine kingpin Tony Montana alongside Michelle Pfeiffer celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023. Marking th...

"Welcome (back)to Florida" Jeff Bezos . We're getting wet on this episode and learning about the Atlantic Goliath Grouper . Our guest is marine scientist, researcher and conservationist Sarah Frias-Torres who spent 20 years in Florida studying this magnificent fish. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @GrouperDoc. In the episode, she mentioned a scientific paper, here is a link to tha...

There is no love affair as strong as the one between the Florida legislature and developers. Politicos in Tallahassee just gave the industry another major gift . In 2018, Florida voters in overwhelming fashion put a stop to greyhound racing by voting for a constitutional amendment outlawing it. Carey M. Theil helped lead the grassroots effort to ban the "sport" which had murdered and abu...

We enjoy every episode of "Welcome to Florida," but enjoyed this one more than most. This story takes us to Fort George Island about midway between Jacksonville and Amelia Island by the St. John's River and Atlantic Ocean. This is the location of Kingsley Plantation, named for its owner Zephaniah Kingsley . His, however, is not the most interesting story to be told there, that story...

Was it simple incompetence or something more sinister which cost Florida the chance to receive millions of dollars in federal funding to apply toward residential solar power. Our guest this week is Rebecca Renner who's new book "Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades" tells the story of an undercover Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sting...

Manatees in Florida could be placed back on the Endangered Species List . One of the greatest miscarriages of justice in America occurred in Port St. Joe, Florida in the case of Freddie Lee Pitts and Wilbert Lee . The two Black men were convicted of a double homicide despite no physical evidence, no credible eyewitness, confessions forced via police torture, and a subsequent confession shortly aft...

Valerie Vande Panne fills in again for Chadd Scott on this episode and she and Craig start off by discussing a limited-run TV series put out by Conservation Florida about the state's environmental problems called "Protect Our Paradise." Find Valerie and follow her work on her Substack page . This episode's guest is William McKeen, author of "Mile Marker Zero: The Moveable...

Valerie Vande Panne filled in for Chadd Scott on this episode of "Welcome to Florida." She and Craig began by discussing his latest Florida Phoenix column on airboats . Keep up with Valerie on Substack . This episode's guest is Craig Allen, author of "Univision, Telemundo, and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television in the United States." Both networks were headquartered m...

Why reinstituting a bear hunt , which failed ignominiously in 2015, is not the solution for increased human-bear interaction in Florida. In this episode we discuss the ghost orchid with longtime Fakahatchee Strand Preserve park biologist Mike Owen . "Welcome to Florida," as always, is presented by Windstorm Products and windstormproducts.com the No. 1 online retailer of hurricane hardwar...

Ron DeSantis wants MORE fossil fuels and fewer regulations on fossil fuel companies. The Florida Museum of Natural History on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville possesses one of the largest, most comprehensive and finest collections natural history in the world. Heather Dewar's gorgeous coffee table book, "All Things Beautiful: Wonders from the Collections of the Flor...

This episode begins by remembering a legend in Florida journalism . Had a development for the Big Bend area of Florida been proposed in recent years, it would have been approved, and the recent hurricane damage there would have been much worse. Our guest is Paul George from the History Miami Museum who tells us all about the founder of Miami Beach, Carl Fisher . The biography Craig mentioned is &q...

A closed meeting in Israel resulted in Ron DeSantis allowing a foreign company to disperse its supposed miracle cure for blue green algae in waters across the state without the product previously being tested for potential negative environmental or human health effects. Our guests this episode are Vickie Oldham,  president and CEO of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition and founder of...

This episode begins by paying our respects to Jimmy Buffett and his conservation work in Florida. Our guest is Florida Keys historian Brad Bertelli who tells us all about conch, the gastropod, conchs, the people, and the Conch Republic, better known as the Florida Keys. His Florida Keys history Facebook group is a wonderful resource and community for lovers of the Keys. "Welcome to Florida&qu...

Jacksonville used to stink. Literally. Bad. That was a result of paper mills. What turned Jacksonville around serves as a model for how the state can solve its toxic algae bloom crisis. The Castillo de San Marcos is one of the top tourist attractions in St. Augustine. The Spanish fort at one time served an important military purpose for Spain's colonial ambitions in North America. Our guest f...

We begin this episode with county commissioners in Manatee County favoring sprawl over wetlands. Our guest is University of Florida professor of insect systematics and taxonomy and firefly researcher Marc Branham who tells us all about these fascinating insects. "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Windstorm Products the leading online retailer of hurricane hardware at www.windstormprodu...

While the world burns and Florida scorches as a result of global warming driven by carbon emissions, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is working to prevent fossil fuel power plants from having to clean up their act . Former "Welcome to Florida" guest Diane Roberts wrote a wonderful column for the Florida Phoenix recently titled, "GOP Death Cult is holding Earth hos...

This week's episode begins with Florida's connection to the Endangered Species Act . Our guest is Josh Liller, historian and collections manager at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse . Josh edited the Florida Lighthouse Trail book and is a member of the Florida Lighthouse Association , which you can join as well. We discuss the history of lighthouses and lighthouse keepers in Florida. Thanks f...