Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast UniversityMissing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
Students react to threat made at Florida Gulf Coast University Students at Florida Gulf Coast University said they don’t know the specifics of a threat made last week, but they do know it was taken care of.
Missing and endangered boy found in Lehigh Acres Authorities have found a missing and endangered boy in Lehigh Acres. Police asked for the public’s help in locating Zachariah McKelvin.
School District denies bus service to student despite mother’s measurements When we think of the bus stop, we typically think of it as a safe place for our children, but one mother says the Lee County School District told her they live too close to the school to get a bus route.
MATLACHA 2 stranded dolphins rescued from mangroves near Matlacha Two stranded dolphins were pulled from mangroves near Matlacha.
CAPE CORAL NAACP honors Cape Coral Police Chief after acknowledging hate crime NAACP President, James Muwakkil, was so impressed with Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore that he wanted the entire city to know.
NAPLES Jingled Elves trolley tour underway Breaking out your best dance moves and spreading Christmas cheer. These ‘jingled elves’ are breaking it down with a purpose.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs Elementary School’s demolition plans There’s a new lesson plan at Bonita Springs Elementary School: Demolition 101. The school is set to be knocked down, and there’s good reason.
MARCO ISLAND Marco Island Councilmember’s dogs allegedly attack 13-year-old girl Councilor Tamara Goehler is coming under fire after her dogs allegedly attacked a 13-year-old girl and the girl’s five-month-old puppy.
PUNTA GORDA Gilchrist Park’s future brightens as boat cleanup commences The boats blocking Gilchrist Park are ready to be moved two years after Hurricane Ian.
Lee County Department of Health issues red tide alert for Bowman’s Beach The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Bowman’s Beach.
CAPE CORAL City of Cape Coral working on project to address canal safety An older Cape Coral couple drove into a canal last year. Neighbors are now saying something needs to be done about canal safety.
NAPLES Collier County mental health center receives $4 million donation A giant donation is dedicated to providing people with better mental health care in southwest Florida.
LABELLE City of LaBelle under precautionary boil water notice A water main break has the City of Labelle under a precautionary boil water notice.
ESTERO FGCU student wins ice dancing national championship FGCU sophomore Lucas Appel wins his second US Senior Solo Dance National Championship in three years.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office: Parent brings weapon to Lehigh Acres school According to a Lee County Sheriff’s Office report, there is probable cause to believe a woman unintentionally brought a firearm to school.
Jeffrey Bruno / MGN / CC BY-SA 2.0 NEW YORK (AP) – Pope Francis declared Friday that there is a “right of the environment” and that mankind has no authority to abuse it, telling more than 100 world leaders and diplomats at the United Nations that urgent action is needed to halt the destruction of God’s creation. Hoping to spur concrete commitments at upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris, Francis accused the world’s powerful countries of indulging a “selfish and boundless thirst” for money by ravaging the planet’s natural resources and impoverishing the weak and disadvantaged in the process. He asserted that the poor have inherent rights to education and what he has termed the “three L’s” – lodging, labor and land. Francis’ speech, the fifth by a pope to the U.N., was a distillation of his recent teaching document on the environment, “Praise Be,” which has delighted liberals and environmentalists and drawn scorn from big business interests. By bringing the document to life before the U.N., Francis made clear his priorities. “Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity,” he said. Francis’ speech kicked off what was expected to be a whirlwind day in New York that blended the powerful and the poor, from the solemnity of ground zero to the struggles of East Harlem. His visit was scheduled to include events as large as a processional drive through Central Park, as personal as meetings with schoolchildren and immigrants, and as inspiring for the faithful as Mass for thousands at Madison Square Garden. Francis was greeted on his arrival at the U.N. by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a key supporter of his eco-friendly agenda. In his opening remarks, Ban praised Francis for his moral leadership. “You are at home not in palaces, but among the poor; not with the famous, but with the forgotten; not in official portraits, but in ‘selfies’ with young people,” he said. Among those in the audience for Francis’ speech was Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousefzai, the young Pakistani education campaigner who was shot and gravely wounded by the Taliban. She will be addressing the U.N. summit later. Also on hand were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bill and Melinda Gates. While his visit marked the fifth time a pope has addressed the United Nations, the Vatican flag was raised for the first time just before Francis’ arrival. The General Assembly recently agreed to allow the U.N.’s two observer states, the Holy See and Palestine, to fly their flags alongside those of the 193 member states. Speaking in the packed General Assembly hall, Francis stated that “a right of the environment” exists. He said the universe is the result of a “loving decision by the creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow men and for the glory of the creator: He is not authorized to abuse it, much less destroy it.” Echoing his encyclical’s key message, he said a “selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged.” He called for immediate access for the world’s poor to adequate food, water and housing, as well as religious freedom. He drew applause when he called for a reform of the U.N. system and international financial agencies to give poor countries a greater say. That, he said, would ensure that they aren’t subjected to “oppressive lending systems, which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.” While his speech carried a progressive social message, Francis also made clear that he firmly upholds the church’s unchanging doctrine on life issues: He called for the “absolute respect for life in all its stages” – including the unborn. He cited “moral law written in nature itself” in insisting there is a natural difference between men and women. The Catholic Church has been on a campaign to denounce “gender theory” and the idea that people can choose their sex. And he repeated his denunciation of the “ideological colonization” of the developing world – a reference to how Western, progressive ideas about contraception and gay rights are often imposed on poor nations as a condition for development aid. After the U.N., the pope was scheduled to visit the 9/11 memorial, where two waterfall pools mark the outlines of the World Trade Center’s twin towers before they were toppled by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He was expected to meet relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 victims before heading belowground to the Sept. 11 museum for an interfaith service. Francis’ plans for Friday afternoon reflected the penchant of the “people’s pope” for engaging with the public. First on the agenda was a visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School, set amid public housing in the heavily Hispanic neighborhood of East Harlem. Known for ministering to the downtrodden in his native Buenos Aires, Francis was set to meet schoolchildren and offer a special blessing to refugees and immigrants, including people living in the country illegally. Then he was to greet as many as 80,000 onlookers during a drive through Central Park, en route to Mass for 18,000 at Madison Square Garden. On Thursday, in Washington, the pope waded into bitter disputes while speaking to Congress, entreating the nation to share its immense wealth with those less fortunate. He also urged the nation to abolish the death penalty, fight global warming and embrace immigrants. Francis wraps up his U.S. visit this weekend in Philadelphia, where he speaks in front of Independence Hall and celebrates Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to close out a big rally on Catholic families.