Frequent Guests

Bill Barnett

Former Mayor of Naples Bill Barnett served on City Council from 1984 to 1992 and then as Mayor from 1996 to 2000, and 2004 to 2012. He has been a resident of Naples since 1973, and was the Toyota-BMW dealer until 1983. Mr. Barnett’s extensive civic involvement has in particular included helping the Guardian Ad Litem program start in Collier County, he was the Naples Daily News Citizen of The Year in 1992, and he was chosen as one of the Men and Women of the Year by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2005. He is currently chairman of the Holocaust Museum of Southwest Florida’s Advisory Board and continues to be active in many other organizations. He has raised millions of dollars for local charities as a celebrity auctioneer. On March 4, 2012, he became the recipient…Read More

 

Dave Bego

The author’s expertise to write this book, as noted on CNN’s Lou Dobbs program in Spring 2009, stems from his actual firsthand experience while waging war with Andy Stern and the SEIU from late 2006 until the present day. Unlike other corporate executives who either compromise their core values and cave in to union demands, or those who simply talk about what it would be like to face financial disaster based on fighting back against one of the most powerful unions in existence today, the author has lived the experience while under attack from Stern and his union thugs. For more than 32 months and counting, he has had the courage to stand up for what he believes in, protecting his employees at all costs against loss of their freedom… Read More

 

Larry Bell

Larry Bell is a Professor and Endowed Professor at the University of Houston where he directs the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and heads the Graduate Program in Space Architecture. Larry is also a twice-weekly Op/Ed contributor to Forbes.com, and a regular Op/Ed contributor to Newsmax.com. His book “Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind the Global Warming Hoax” is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Larry makes frequent guest radio interview appearances on a wide variety of topics addressed in his articles. He and his professional aerospace work have been featured in leading magazines and media news networks throughout the world… Read More

 

Kristen Coury

KRISTEN COURY (Director) is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse and has directed nearly all their productions to date, including: I Am My Own Wife, Doubt, Tartuffe, A Streetcar Named Desire, Art and Race. The first Gulfshore Playhouse production was Oleanna by David Mamet, starring Tony Award®-Nominee Alan Campbell and was received with much acclaim. Kristen made her feature film directorial debut with Friends and Family, a comedy starring Tony Lo Bianco and Tovah Feldshuh, which was released around the US and Europe, and can now be seen on DVD and Cable TV worldwide. Kristen has directed several new works, produced a CD and worked on a variety of musicals in various stages of development… Read More

 

Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 19th District. He is a liberty activist and a sought-after speaker on the Constitution and conservative principles. A finance professional and former registered Democrat, Donalds currently serves as a political commentator for media, campaigns, grassroots organizations, and nonprofits. Byron Donalds is originally from Brooklyn, New York and is the product of a single parent household. He left Brooklyn at the age of 17 to attend Florida A&M University, and later, Florida State University, where he graduated with degrees in Finance and Marketing. Donalds’ successful professional career has been in banking and finance, specifically commercial…. Read More

 

Andrew R. Joppa Sr.

Andy was born in Yonkers, New York in 1942 and is the oldest of 5 children. His father (Andrew) became First Sgt. for Audie Murphy’s unit in WW II when Murphy received his  battlefield commission.  Andy’s father won a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts, a source of pride for Andrew and his family. Andrew’s mother’s family is French Cagean and old line Spanish from the bayous of Louisiana. Members of the family fought with Lafitte at the battle of New Orleans. His Great Grandfather, Octavius Carmadelle, was a steamboat captain on Mississippi. Andrew’s cagean roots are an important family legacy. …Read More

 

Sharon Kenny

Sharon Kenny is a freelance writer and the author/publisher of Where Should We Eat?  A Foodlover’s Recommended Places to Eat and Drink in the Naples Area, now in its fourth edition.  She also writes a weekly column called Hungry for SW Florida on Naples restaurants for the News Press of Southwest Florida newspaper.  It appears every Wednesday in the Taste section.  Kenny is a year-round resident of Naples and an active volunteer in the Collier County community. She serves on the Public Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Naples and the Collier County Historical and Archaeological Preservation Board. Kenny has a Masters in Art History from Washington University in St. Louis and has taught art history at FGCU’s Renaissance…Read More

 

Robert Levy

Bob Levy is chairman of the board of directors at the Cato Institute.  He joined Cato as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. Bob also sits on boards of the Institute for Justice, the Federalist Society, and the George Mason law school.  He received his PhD in business from the American University in 1966, then founded CDA Investment Technologies, a major provider of investment information and software.  At age 50, after leaving CDA in 1991, Bob went to George Mason, where he was chief articles editor of the law review and class valedictorian.  He received his JD degree in 1994.  The next two years he clerked for Judge Royce Lamberth on the US District Court and Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the US Court of Appeals…Read More

 

George Markovich, MD, FACS

Dr. George Markovich is a recognized expert in joint reconstructive surgery emphasizing minimally invasive, tissue preserving techniques. His approach to patient care is simple: the most advanced state of the art techniques for the best possible outcomes in a caring environment. George Markovich, MD, FACS received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine. Graduating with distinction, he was awarded a Health Profession Scholarship. ollowing his medical school training, Dr. Markovich completed a fellowship in orthopaedic biomechanics and advanced rehabilitative research at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the… Read More

 

Jim McTague

Jim McTague recently retired as the Washington Editor of Barron’s since January, 1994. He covered the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, the most accident-prone cross-street  in the entire world.  Jim was a credentialed White House correspondent and he frequented Capitol Hill. He has been a journalist since 1972—except for a three-year-hiatus when he worked at Merrill Lynch in Harrisburg, Pa. to take advantage of the firm’s storied training program.  With that financial experience under his belt, Jim covered the Savings and Loan Crisis, in succession, for the Dallas Times-Herald; American Banker Newspaper; and USA Today. He is keenly interested in the Rube Goldberg architecture of the U.S. securities markets, which makes them vulnerable… Read More

 

Kathleen Passidomo

Representative Kathleen Passidomo is our State Senator and President-Elect of the Florida State Senate beginning 2023.

Kathleen has been a resident of Collier County for 34 years. She grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in a large extended family with three brothers and a sister. Kathleen graduated in 1975 from Trinity University, Washington D.C. and in 1978 from Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida where she met her husband, John. They were married in September 1979 and moved to Naples… Read More