Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sitesBones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
COLLIER COUNTY 13th dead Florida panther of 2024 found Saturday; deaths now match 2023’s annual total Wildlife officials discovered the 13 dead endangered Florida panther of the year, matching 2023’s total reported mortalities less than halfway into the year.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
FORT MYERS More changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers An already jam-packed, headache-inducing area for traffic is expected to get worse on Monday.
FORT MYERS BEACH Hurricane season preparations at Lee County construction sites Many already know the drill when hurricane season is around the corner.
SANIBEL Bones found on Sanibel concern beachgoers A husband and wife found what appeared to be bones. What type and where they came from is being investigated.
FGCU FGCU president reflects on first year with graduating class Alico Arena was packed this weekend as Florida Gulf Coast University graduated 1,900 students in four ceremonies.
Reverse shoulder replacement offers new approach to pain management Shoulder replacement is the third most common replacement in the US, following hip and knee replacement.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County teachers bargain for new raises Kevin Daly is the voice of the Lee County Teachers Union, and he says he knows firsthand the struggle teachers experience across the state.
FORT MYERS New Starbucks off Colonial expected to add to traffic headaches It’s a venti-sized traffic nightmare. That’s how Gina O’Donnell envisions the future of this plaza.
NAPLES Feeding families through Meals of Hope They’re a Naples-based non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger both locally and throughout the country.
Family dealing with two losses in quick succession A teenager will not get to celebrate turning 21 years old with friends, can’t put a smile on his family member’s faces and will never get to see his mother again.
JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli leaders have approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Israeli leaders approved a military operation into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, and Israeli forces were striking targets in the area, officials announced Monday, hours after Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal.
FORT MYERS Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.
EVERGLADES Big Sugar’s lawsuit for control over Lake Okeechobee water A local non-profit is calling one lawsuit a battle for who controls the water in the State of Florida. Three major sugar companies filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the design and intended use of the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) Reservoir.
NAPLES Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day program returns to Jewish Federation of Greater Naples Sunday was a day to remember the six million men, women and children lost in the Holocaust.
COLLIER COUNTY 13th dead Florida panther of 2024 found Saturday; deaths now match 2023’s annual total Wildlife officials discovered the 13 dead endangered Florida panther of the year, matching 2023’s total reported mortalities less than halfway into the year.
NORTH PORT Entryway work temporarily closes North Port Library The North Port Library will be closed through Saturday while work is being done to the entryway. During the closure books and other borrowed items can be returned to nearby locations.
FORT MYERS More changes near Colonial Blvd. and Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers An already jam-packed, headache-inducing area for traffic is expected to get worse on Monday.
MGN TORONTO (AP) – The Toronto International Film Festival opened its 40th year with a gala double feature of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Moore. The opening night premieres of “Demolition” by Quebecois filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” made an unlikely pair to kick off Toronto’s fall-movie launching pad on Thursday. “Demolition” won’t hit theaters until April, and “Where to Invade Next” is being shopped for buyers. Filmed clandestinely, Moore’s first film in six years wasn’t known to exist until its Toronto debut was announced last month. Of the two, Moore’s documentary held more surprises. While it had been expected to be an investigation of the American military industrial complex, Moore does the invading in the film himself, traveling to other countries (mostly in Europe) to find “America’s soul.” Moore’s premise is that decades of patriotic chest-thumping and constant war have prevented the United States from taking care of its own democracy. In Slovenia, he finds free university; in Finland, he marvels at its top education system; in Italy, he sees eight weeks of annual vacation and strong unions. After the film’s north-of-the-border debut was met with an enthusiastic standing ovation, Moore provided Slovenia college applications and distributed German-made pencils to the audience. A satirical placard in the lobby read: “This screening has been authorized by the United States Department of Defense.” Moore attempted to pre-empt criticisms that he cherry-picked good qualities of other countries while ignoring their faults – a gripe some had with his 2007 health care documentary “Sicko.” “I went there to pick the flowers and not the weeds,” said Moore. Instead, Moore called “Where to Invade Next” a movie made to inspire change and instruct on how it can happen quickly. The director said he was urged back into moviemaking after the Occupy Wall Street movement and the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri: “I thought it was important to re-enlist,” he said. Though visibly moved by those events, Moore was still combative. He compared the male dominance of American government to the minority-controlled system of apartheid. “Demolition,” the festival’s official opener, premiered earlier in the evening. Gyllenhaal stars as a New York investment banker who unravels after his wife is killed in a car accident. But the movie is comic, and gleefully follows its protagonist’s unhinging as he refuses to mourn. “This is probably the most rock ‘n’ roll film I’ve ever made,” said Vallee, a TIFF regular whose last film, “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon, also premiered at Toronto. “I think we’re going to set the tone for the festival with the noise we’re going to make tonight.” “Demolition,” though, yielded a mixed reaction from critics, albeit with fairly universal praise for Gyllenhaal’s dedicated performance. As the latest in a string of lauded work, TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey dubbed his transformation a “Jake Quake.” The Toronto Film Festival will run the next 10 days, featuring the premieres of “The Martian,” Ridley Scott’s space survival tale with Matt Damon; the CBS News docudrama “Truth,” with Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett; the gay rights drama “Freeheld,” with Julianne Moore and Ellen Page; and many more. Thursday night, a clip reel chronicled the festival’s history, from a small upstart dubbed “the festival of festivals,” to one of the world’s largest and most significant film festivals. Festival director and chief executive Piers Handling reflected on the long journey. Said Handling: “It’s been quite a ride.”