Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after MiltonRestaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton
Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after Milton A woman is lucky to be alive after being found two miles off the coast in the Peace River and brought to shore by vigilant good samaritans.
PUNTA GORDA Restaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton Bartenders at the Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda have struggled since Hurricane Milton severely damaged the pub.
Warrior Homes of Collier awards scholarships to local veterans Four Collier County students with military ties are getting a boost toward their education.
Caught on video: Man arrested after leading police on chase in stolen truck Florida troopers say 36-year-old David Alfonso stole the vehicle in Collier County and then led them on a chase through Lee County to Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin.
Record early voting in SWFL may be linked to recent hurricanes On Monday, thousands of people got in line at their polling places as early voting started for most places in southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Milton leaves Fort Myers Beach residents buried in sand and seeking help Hurricane Milton pushed sand onto the streets of Fort Myers Beach, leaving many residents asking for help.
LEHIGH ACRES East Lee County principal uses lemonade to create gameday tradition East Lee County High School principal Tony Allen uses his lemonade recipe to create a new gameday tradition.
NAPLES Naples man defends home from flood waters One Naples man did not mess around when it came to Hurricane Milton prep. Guy Lollino got five feet of water in his home on Vanderbilt Beach during Hurricane Ian. This time he decided to stack a ton of sandbags and fill the cracks with sprayable Styrofoam.
Detecting pancreatic cancer early with AI A pancreatic cancer diagnosis is one of the most dreaded because it carries a very high mortality rate.
Lee County restores solid waste services The process of removing garbage and debris from the streets of Lee County has begun.
Algae bloom research turns into useful storm tool Many of us watched helplessly and waited as hurricanes Helene and Milton sent storm surges onto our roads, into our homes and businesses, altering what we know as home forever. At the same time, one Florida Gulf Coast University student saw the storms as a scientific opportunity.
Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt Tens of thousands of Floridians, and thousands more visitors that come to our state, enjoy fishing and hunting. We live in a state surrounded by water and wildlife and people have taken advantage of that.
Amendment 1: Establishing partisan school board elections Some school board meetings have become political, with raised voices and the need for security
FORT MYERS Local salon withstands impacts from 3 major hurricanes One hurricane can be devastating; however, three storms will force you to find better ways to prepare for impacts.
Azaleas on the Corner sells plants, paintings, wine in downtown Fort Myers The mother-daughter team of Marie Dyer and Corinne Wimberly already had a business plan in place to start their own shop. They just didn’t have a place to put it.
Woman rescued from Peace River by good Samaritans days after Milton A woman is lucky to be alive after being found two miles off the coast in the Peace River and brought to shore by vigilant good samaritans.
PUNTA GORDA Restaurant in Cape Coral helps another in Punta Gorda recover from Milton Bartenders at the Celtic Ray in Punta Gorda have struggled since Hurricane Milton severely damaged the pub.
Warrior Homes of Collier awards scholarships to local veterans Four Collier County students with military ties are getting a boost toward their education.
Caught on video: Man arrested after leading police on chase in stolen truck Florida troopers say 36-year-old David Alfonso stole the vehicle in Collier County and then led them on a chase through Lee County to Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin.
Record early voting in SWFL may be linked to recent hurricanes On Monday, thousands of people got in line at their polling places as early voting started for most places in southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Milton leaves Fort Myers Beach residents buried in sand and seeking help Hurricane Milton pushed sand onto the streets of Fort Myers Beach, leaving many residents asking for help.
LEHIGH ACRES East Lee County principal uses lemonade to create gameday tradition East Lee County High School principal Tony Allen uses his lemonade recipe to create a new gameday tradition.
NAPLES Naples man defends home from flood waters One Naples man did not mess around when it came to Hurricane Milton prep. Guy Lollino got five feet of water in his home on Vanderbilt Beach during Hurricane Ian. This time he decided to stack a ton of sandbags and fill the cracks with sprayable Styrofoam.
Detecting pancreatic cancer early with AI A pancreatic cancer diagnosis is one of the most dreaded because it carries a very high mortality rate.
Lee County restores solid waste services The process of removing garbage and debris from the streets of Lee County has begun.
Algae bloom research turns into useful storm tool Many of us watched helplessly and waited as hurricanes Helene and Milton sent storm surges onto our roads, into our homes and businesses, altering what we know as home forever. At the same time, one Florida Gulf Coast University student saw the storms as a scientific opportunity.
Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt Tens of thousands of Floridians, and thousands more visitors that come to our state, enjoy fishing and hunting. We live in a state surrounded by water and wildlife and people have taken advantage of that.
Amendment 1: Establishing partisan school board elections Some school board meetings have become political, with raised voices and the need for security
FORT MYERS Local salon withstands impacts from 3 major hurricanes One hurricane can be devastating; however, three storms will force you to find better ways to prepare for impacts.
Azaleas on the Corner sells plants, paintings, wine in downtown Fort Myers The mother-daughter team of Marie Dyer and Corinne Wimberly already had a business plan in place to start their own shop. They just didn’t have a place to put it.
MGN FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Gov. Rick Scott on Monday announced his nine appointments to a commission tasked with examining hospital finances amid an ongoing feud with hospitals over Medicaid expansion. The governor has gone on the attack against hospitals over a fight to expand Medicaid and extend federal funds that help hospitals who care for Medicaid and uninsured patients. The issue is creating a potential $1 billion hole in the state budget. Hospitals want the governor to expand Medicaid to more than 800,000 Floridians, which would give them more paying customers. President Barack Obama’s administration also wants Florida to expand Medicaid. The administration says it’s more efficient to use the federal hospital funds, known as the low-income pool, to give people insurance instead of paying hospitals for caring for the uninsured retroactively. Top House Republicans have contended that a push by the Florida Senate to expand the state’s Medicaid program as part of the budget fight is being driven by hospitals and their lobbyists. Legislators must approve a new budget by June 30 to avoid a state government shutdown. Scott and House Republicans are opposed and don’t want to accept any money tied to Obama’s health law – including Medicaid expansion funds. Scott is even suing the Obama administration, alleging they are coercing him to expand Medicaid by withholding hospital funds. The federal government remains adamant it will not give Florida any hospital funds for people who could gain insurance through Medicaid expansion. Several hospitals around the state have said they would be forced to cut services or shut down without the hospital funds. But Scott has been working to show that Florida hospitals are not in as bad financial shape as they maintain. He’s even asking hospitals to help draw up profit sharing plans to use an estimated $3.7 billion in profits collected statewide to help those hospitals that may be on shaky financial ground. He wants the hospitals to present the plan to his new health care commission. “With the hospital industry’s record-high profits, it does not make sense for the hospital industry to ask state taxpayers to backfill funding the Obama Administration has elected to terminate,” Scott said previously. The profit sharing idea could pit hospitals against each other, since some hospitals receive tax dollars paid by local residents, while others do not. Meanwhile, Scott wants his health care commission to look at hospital finances, including CEO’s salaries and bonuses, and lobbying expenditures. The group will have its first meeting in Tallahassee on May 20th. The Florida Hospital Association said Monday they will be issuing a response to the governor this week. Scott is the former head of a private hospital chain that was snagged in a massive Medicare fraud scandal, although he was never charged. He entered politics running ads against the Affordable Care Act. Only one health care professional was appointed to Scott’s commission – Dr. Jason Rosenburg, a reconstructive microsurgeon and a former chair of the Florida Board of Medicine. Carlos Beruff, a member of the South Florida Water Management District, will serve as commission chair. Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Liz Dudek and state Surgeon General John Armstrong will serve as co-executive directors, which are not voting positions.