Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquartersCharlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
Punta Gorda Man accused of indecent exposure at school bus stop in Punta Gorda The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of indecent exposure at a school bus stop in Punta Gorda.
estero Firefighters to perform 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park San Carlos Park Fire Protection & Rescue Service District performs a 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park today.
Tim Aten Knows: 2 new eateries coming to East Naples After operating La Rosa Pizzeria for more than 15 years, owners Bill and Alda Rosa decided to sell their local business and restaurant space.
the weather authority Warmer with sun and clouds for your Friday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer day ahead, with a mixture of sun and clouds expected this Friday afternoon.
FDOT to open all lanes of Caloosahatchee Bridge year ahead of construction schedule The Florida Department of Transportation announced it will open all lanes of the Caloosahatchee Bridge a year ahead of its pedestrian sidewalk project.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association breaks ground on new Fort Myers headquarters As Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association’s president pointed out, about 1,000 people are still moving to Florida every day, and many of them are finding their way to Southwest Florida.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte County drug trafficker sentenced to 10 years A Charlotte County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking.
lehigh acres ‘How to sign away parental rights?’; Lehigh Acres woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman accused of killing her 4-month-old baby.
Punta Gorda Man accused of indecent exposure at school bus stop in Punta Gorda The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of indecent exposure at a school bus stop in Punta Gorda.
estero Firefighters to perform 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park San Carlos Park Fire Protection & Rescue Service District performs a 76-acre prescribed burn at Koreshan State Park today.
Tim Aten Knows: 2 new eateries coming to East Naples After operating La Rosa Pizzeria for more than 15 years, owners Bill and Alda Rosa decided to sell their local business and restaurant space.
the weather authority Warmer with sun and clouds for your Friday plans The Weather Authority is tracking a warmer day ahead, with a mixture of sun and clouds expected this Friday afternoon.
FDOT to open all lanes of Caloosahatchee Bridge year ahead of construction schedule The Florida Department of Transportation announced it will open all lanes of the Caloosahatchee Bridge a year ahead of its pedestrian sidewalk project.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
MGN NEW YORK (AP) – Christmas came on time this year for most people. After FedEx and UPS failed to deliver some presents in time for Christmas last year, the two package carriers improved their performance this holiday season. FedEx delivered more than 99 percent of express packages as promised on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, according to shipment tracker ShipMatrix. UPS delivered 99 percent of express packages as promised on those days. Last year, the percentage of express packages delivered on time those days was in the “low 90s,” said Mark D’Amico, a spokesman for ShipMatrix. The firm did not have data for Christmas Eve deliveries as of Friday. It also does not track packages that are sent using ground shipping, since those are not guaranteed to be delivered within a set time in the weeks before Christmas. The improved performance comes after delays by FedEx and UPS last year were blamed on a mix of bad weather and overloaded systems, with more people shopping online. Neither company disclosed exactly how many packages were delayed a year ago, but said they represented a small share of overall holiday shipments. To avoid similar headaches this year, FedEx and UPS invested in improving their systems and increased the number of seasonal workers they hired. FedEx said Friday it was “proud” of its performance this season and UPS said its operations ran smoothly, “demonstrating the value of our additional investments in capacity and technology.” Neither company provided details on how many deliveries were delayed or actually delivered this year. Both big shippers expected to ship the most packages during this holiday season than ever before. FedEx had previously forecast it would ship 290 million packages between Black Friday and Christmas Eve. UPS had said it expects to ship 585 million packages in December. The record forecasts come as retailers have been pushing back ordering deadlines and extending free shipping offers, increasing the pressure to get packages delivered in time for the Christmas. Amazon extended its free-shipping deadline by a day to Dec. 19. Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble and other retailers also said Dec. 19 was the cutoff to getting orders delivered by Christmas. Overall, sales for the holiday shopping season are forecast to have climbed 5.5 percent from last year, according to a preliminary forecast issued Friday by MasterCard’s SpendingPulse, which is based on aggregate sales activity on the MasterCard payments network and estimates for other payment forms, such as cash and check. The forecast does not provide an actual dollar figure. The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, had previously said it expects sales for the season – November and December – to rise 4.1 percent to $616.9 billion. The big shipping season did have some hiccups. Package carriers say they work with retailers to help avoid problems, but shipments from retailers continued to experience a few some problems, according to two reports. The consulting firm Kurt Salmon analyzed 93 orders and said 13 percent didn’t make it to shoppers in time for Christmas, a slight improvement from 15 percent last year. The firm said retailers were to blame for all this year’s delays, with reasons including inventory issues and a failure of retailers to select guaranteed shipping methods – even though they promised deliveries would be made by a certain date. In some cases, Kurt Salmon said retailers may have underestimated how many packages it told shippers they expected to process for the holidays. StellaService, a customer service tracker, also said it placed orders with 40 major retailers to different regions of the country. Of the 160 total orders it placed by the cutoff dates for delivery by Christmas, it said 10 did not arrive in time. One order placed with Staples was canceled without notification. A representative for Staples did not immediately respond to a request for comment.