Part of McGregor Blvd. closing Monday as part of paving projectWoman arrested after leading Cape Coral officers on chase in stolen car
FORT MYERS Part of McGregor Blvd. closing Monday as part of paving project On Monday, Llewellyn Drive to Larchmont Avenue on McGregor Blvd. will close as part of a City of Fort Myers Public Works Department paving project.
CAPE CORAL Woman arrested after leading Cape Coral officers on chase in stolen car A woman has been arrested after allegedly stealing a car and then leading Cape Coral police officers on a chase.
FORT MYERS 59-year-old pedestrian struck by teen driver in Cypress Lake A 59-year-old pedestrian was struck by a teenage driver while crossing the road in Lee County Thursday night.
Boil water notice lifted in Treeline Ave. neighborhood A community has safe water to drink again after boiling it for nearly two days because of a water main break along Treeline Avenue.
FORT MYERS 2 bodies discovered off Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers, police investigating The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating the discovery of two bodies found behind a pawn shop near a RaceTrac.
NAPLES Man accused of harassing children and assaulting woman at Dairy Queen The Naples Police Department has arrested a man for making inappropriate comments at children and assaulting a woman at a Dairy Queen.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man arrested for firing gun while intoxicated during 4th of July celebration The Cape Coral Police Department responded to gunshots fired during a 4th of July celebration at a residence.
Tim Aten Knows: 75 eateries opened, over 30 closed in first half of 2024 At least 75 eateries opened and more than 30 closed during the first half of 2024 in Collier and Lee counties. This traditional halftime report provides a quick annual recap of the local venues that launched or left during the first six months of the year.
SANIBEL Day 4: Recovery mission continues for missing teen swimmer in Sanibel The Sanibel Police Department is continuing its recovery mission for a teen swimmer who went missing at Blind Pass Beach.
The weather authority Hurricane Beryl weakens into tropical storm The Weather Authority is continuing to cover Hurricane Beryl, a Category 2 storm making its way to the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Weather Authority Heat advisory with scattered storms for your Friday The Weather Authority is tracking scattered storms along with a heat advisory issued throughout the Southwest Florida area.
LCSO robo dog lights up fireworks The Lee County Sheriff’s Office took part in some Fourth of July festivities of their own, lighting off fireworks with a little help.
There’s a new Fort Myers hot dog eating champion How many chili dogs could you eat in 15 minutes? You might think 12 is too ambitious, but you’d be wrong.
Hundreds participate in 33rd annual Charlotte Harbor Freedom Swim Hundreds jumped into the Charlotte Harbor for the county’s annual freedom swim to beat the heat. Brave souls swam the 1.5-mile stretch to celebrate America’s birthday.
FORT MYERS Boil water still in effect, frustrating Fort Myers neighborhood on July 4th Neighbors living along Treeline Avenue in Fort Myers were making some last-second adjustments to their Independence Day plans because of the ongoing boil water notice.
FORT MYERS Part of McGregor Blvd. closing Monday as part of paving project On Monday, Llewellyn Drive to Larchmont Avenue on McGregor Blvd. will close as part of a City of Fort Myers Public Works Department paving project.
CAPE CORAL Woman arrested after leading Cape Coral officers on chase in stolen car A woman has been arrested after allegedly stealing a car and then leading Cape Coral police officers on a chase.
FORT MYERS 59-year-old pedestrian struck by teen driver in Cypress Lake A 59-year-old pedestrian was struck by a teenage driver while crossing the road in Lee County Thursday night.
Boil water notice lifted in Treeline Ave. neighborhood A community has safe water to drink again after boiling it for nearly two days because of a water main break along Treeline Avenue.
FORT MYERS 2 bodies discovered off Cleveland Avenue in Fort Myers, police investigating The Fort Myers Police Department is investigating the discovery of two bodies found behind a pawn shop near a RaceTrac.
NAPLES Man accused of harassing children and assaulting woman at Dairy Queen The Naples Police Department has arrested a man for making inappropriate comments at children and assaulting a woman at a Dairy Queen.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man arrested for firing gun while intoxicated during 4th of July celebration The Cape Coral Police Department responded to gunshots fired during a 4th of July celebration at a residence.
Tim Aten Knows: 75 eateries opened, over 30 closed in first half of 2024 At least 75 eateries opened and more than 30 closed during the first half of 2024 in Collier and Lee counties. This traditional halftime report provides a quick annual recap of the local venues that launched or left during the first six months of the year.
SANIBEL Day 4: Recovery mission continues for missing teen swimmer in Sanibel The Sanibel Police Department is continuing its recovery mission for a teen swimmer who went missing at Blind Pass Beach.
The weather authority Hurricane Beryl weakens into tropical storm The Weather Authority is continuing to cover Hurricane Beryl, a Category 2 storm making its way to the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Weather Authority Heat advisory with scattered storms for your Friday The Weather Authority is tracking scattered storms along with a heat advisory issued throughout the Southwest Florida area.
LCSO robo dog lights up fireworks The Lee County Sheriff’s Office took part in some Fourth of July festivities of their own, lighting off fireworks with a little help.
There’s a new Fort Myers hot dog eating champion How many chili dogs could you eat in 15 minutes? You might think 12 is too ambitious, but you’d be wrong.
Hundreds participate in 33rd annual Charlotte Harbor Freedom Swim Hundreds jumped into the Charlotte Harbor for the county’s annual freedom swim to beat the heat. Brave souls swam the 1.5-mile stretch to celebrate America’s birthday.
FORT MYERS Boil water still in effect, frustrating Fort Myers neighborhood on July 4th Neighbors living along Treeline Avenue in Fort Myers were making some last-second adjustments to their Independence Day plans because of the ongoing boil water notice.
Wiki Commons/ MGN DENVER (AP) — Cities trying to limit panhandling in downtowns and tourist areas are facing a new legal hurdle because of a recent Supreme Court ruling that seemingly has nothing to do with asking for money. Federal judges in at least three states have cited a June ruling by the high court on the size of church signs as a reason for overturning anti-panhandling laws or sending cases disputing those laws back to lower courts for review. One of those cases — in the western Colorado city of Grand Junction — has spurred Colorado communities including Denver and Boulder to suspend or change their laws restricting where and when people can panhandle. The reason is something called content discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled that the town of Gilbert, Arizona, did not have the right to limit the size of signs put up to direct worshippers to services at a small church because the town didn’t set the same limits for real estate or political signs. The same issue has been raised in lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups challenging anti-panhandling laws. U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello ruled on Sept. 30 that it was unconstitutional for Grand Junction to bar people from asking for money after dark and near bus stops and restaurant patios because they singled out a kind of speech — asking for money — for special treatment without a compelling reason. Arguello had concluded earlier in the case brought by the state ACLU that the law was discriminatory but said the Supreme Court church signs ruling made it clear that laws that limit speech on broad topics, not just particular viewpoints, also amount to content discrimination. She let stand parts of the law that prohibit panhandlers from threatening people. After the Grand Junction ruling, Boulder quickly got rid of panhandling restrictions along its pedestrian mall, Longmont suspended its enforcement of panhandling laws and the Denver City Council is considering removing its restrictions on when and where panhandlers can solicit money but plans to keeping its ban on threatening behavior. Colorado Springs also suspended portions of its law at the urging of the ACLU before the Grand Junction ruling. Appeals courts also have sent challenges to anti-panhandling laws in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Springfield, Illinois, back to lower courts to reconsider them in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Decisions on both are still pending. The debate over panhandling laws comes at a time when more cities have sought to restrict where people can ask for money. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty says 76 percent of cities banned panhandling in some locations in 2014, a 20 percent increase since 2011. Many cities say the laws are meant not to discourage giving to people in need but to protect residents and help keep their communities safe. Mark Silverstein, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, thinks most panhandling laws nationally have been written so broadly that many of them also will have to be changed because of the ruling. His lawyers plan to tell cities in Colorado about the changes they think are needed. “The government can’t pass a law to ban all speech that’s annoying or irritating,” he said. But some cities are not giving up. The city of Worcester plans to fight to keep its limits banning panhandling near bus stops and ATMs as well as standing in medians for any reasons. “We see it (panhandling restrictions) as one important piece of the puzzle of dealing with the opioid crisis in the country,” city solicitor David Moore said. In Springfield, panhandlers are barred from going up to people and directly asking for money in the city’s historic downtown, where tourists flock to see Abraham Lincoln’s house. Panhandlers are still allowed to hold signs soliciting donations, city corporation counsel Jim Zerkle said. The city has filed arguments in favor of keeping the law. In Denver, it’s not clear how much of a difference the proposed changes will make on the street. The city says it’s averaged about 300 panhandling citations a year since its law took effect in 2000 and roughly two-thirds of those violations involved aggressive behavior, rather than violating the time and place limits it’s considering scrapping. On a recent day, William Jones, 69, was one of several panhandlers set up along the city’s 16th Street Pedestrian Mall not far from one of the parking meters the city installed to raise money for the homeless and discourage panhandling. Jones, a Navy veteran who has worked breaking horses, as a restaurant cook and in construction, said he does not care for the aggressive style. He sat on his walker with a sign, saying good morning people and waved back at a passing bus driver and an outreach worker from a homeless shelter. “I don’t make a lot of money, but I make a lot of friends,” he said.