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.
crosslandproperties.com/ MGN FORT MYERS, Fla.- When you can’t afford to own a home, you probably rent. But what if even rent is out of reach? Some of the steepest spikes in the U.S. are impacting renters in Southwest Florida. Nearly 1 in 3 renters in Florida are struggling to make ends meet with half of every paycheck going straight to their rent and power bill, according to a survey by the nonprofit Make Room. The rising cost of rent is forcing some families, like Jessica Powell’s to make tough choices. Powell is a hairdresser, whose salary is based partly on commission. Shortly after her divorce, Powell decided to move in with a close friend. The two single moms have three sons between the two of them. “When you’re looking at paying over half your income, what about my electric, what about groceries, everything else. What if something happens?” Powell said. According to real estate company Rent Range, rent in Fort Myers has risen 23.6% in the last year, more than anywhere else in the country. For small-scale multi-family rentals like duplexes in Lee County, MLS data shows rent has increased almost 11.98 percent in the last year. ALN, which tracks rental prices throughout the U.S., says rent for apartment complexes with 100 units or more is up 14.1 percent in Fort Myers. It’s been close to a decade since an apartment community was built in Lee County. Several are going up right now. “As the demand went up, and the supply stayed constant, rents went up. That got to the point where it made sense for developers to take the risks to build a new apartment community,” commercial real estate broker Gary Tasman, of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida, said. Apartment specialist Jonathan Richards of CRE Consultants says the increase in rent is a sign of the market catching up. “Rates have been so low for so long, so we’re starting to see the market normalize,” Richards said. So what’s at play? Richards says the Southwest Florida housing crisis has made a lot of people too afraid to buy again. He also says downsizing baby boomers, mellennials marrying later, debt, and the flexibility to move with job opportunities has occupancy close to 98% in Lee County. “Lee County is growing which is a really good problem to have. we have have new people that want to rent and buy, so we need to meet those demands somehow,” property appraiser Bill Cole said. Lee County permit requests for the last four months show more than 400 apartments going in at U.S. 41 and Metro Parkway, and 280 going in at Estero and Three Oaks Parkways. Development there comes at a time when the Bonita/Estero market is seeing the most expensive rent in all of Southwest Florida. The average there is more than $1,200 a month, a 15% increase in the last year. “I think as bad as you hear people complaining about $1,200 rent, look in Tampa, look in Orlando. We’re still a great bargain compared to those other communities,” Tasman said. Bottom line, experts argue Southwest Florida is affordable, because the median household income in lee county is $50,000. “Rents are $1,100 a month for a 2 bedroom. Most communities require three times that much for gross salary, which puts you just under $40,000, so we’re still pretty far away from the median income,” Richards said. According to Richards, 2,000 units are either in the planning phase, under construction, or are already being leased in Lee County. He says the rental market isn’t slowing down, and rents will continue to rise.