Cape Coral Yacht Club receives key permitHoly Trinity Greek Orthodox Church holds 31st annual Greek Fest
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Yacht Club receives key permit Cape Coral received a key permit for a Yacht Club Community Park. This permit opens up the necessary steps for the park to be built.
PORT CHARLOTTE Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church holds 31st annual Greek Fest The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Port Charlotte kicked off its 31st annual Greek Fest on Friday.
Donations helping young kids get fed Food insecurity is a pressing issue in the community, and organizations like the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Meals of Hope and the Guadalupe Center are stepping up to help.
New risk factors contribute to heart disease February is American Heart Month, a perfect time to assess your heart health.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High School student arrested for possession of BB gun According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a student has been arrested after a BB gun was found in his backpack on Friday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Regional Library to undergo multiple repairs due to Ian The Fort Myers Regional Library is preparing for essential repairs, nearly two years after Hurricane Ian made its impact.
Drug bust at Collier County home leads to triple arrest Three people are accused of running a drug house that held opioids, fentanyl and other illicit narcotics in Collier County.
Charlotte County’s first Grain & Berry opens Fast-growing organic vegan restaurant franchise Grain & Berry opened in Port Charlotte, making it the 19th in the state out of a total of 23 nationwide.
GOLDEN GATE Body found in Collier County canal prompts death investigation Collier County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in a canal.
FORT MYERS DeSantis’ new Boater Freedom Initiative would end random FWC boat safety inspections Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the new Boater Freedom Initiative will protect Sunshine State residents’ right to boat.
CAPE CORAL Couple celebrates their lifelong love on 62nd Valentine’s Day together Hollis and Linda Nash might be living proof that love doesn’t fade with age.
PUNTA GORDA CROW rescues, rehabilitates 2 orphaned baby River Otters Two orphaned baby North American River Otters were rescued by the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida Reading Festival brings bestselling authors Romance is in the air this Valentine’s Day as we look forward to the Southwest Florida Reading Festival taking place in March.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Florist offers lower prices on roses for Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year for florists in Southwest Florida, and one florist is offering lower prices on roses.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Yacht Club receives key permit Cape Coral received a key permit for a Yacht Club Community Park. This permit opens up the necessary steps for the park to be built.
PORT CHARLOTTE Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church holds 31st annual Greek Fest The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Port Charlotte kicked off its 31st annual Greek Fest on Friday.
Donations helping young kids get fed Food insecurity is a pressing issue in the community, and organizations like the Harry Chapin Food Bank, Meals of Hope and the Guadalupe Center are stepping up to help.
New risk factors contribute to heart disease February is American Heart Month, a perfect time to assess your heart health.
PORT CHARLOTTE Port Charlotte High School student arrested for possession of BB gun According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, a student has been arrested after a BB gun was found in his backpack on Friday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Regional Library to undergo multiple repairs due to Ian The Fort Myers Regional Library is preparing for essential repairs, nearly two years after Hurricane Ian made its impact.
Drug bust at Collier County home leads to triple arrest Three people are accused of running a drug house that held opioids, fentanyl and other illicit narcotics in Collier County.
Charlotte County’s first Grain & Berry opens Fast-growing organic vegan restaurant franchise Grain & Berry opened in Port Charlotte, making it the 19th in the state out of a total of 23 nationwide.
GOLDEN GATE Body found in Collier County canal prompts death investigation Collier County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered in a canal.
FORT MYERS DeSantis’ new Boater Freedom Initiative would end random FWC boat safety inspections Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the new Boater Freedom Initiative will protect Sunshine State residents’ right to boat.
CAPE CORAL Couple celebrates their lifelong love on 62nd Valentine’s Day together Hollis and Linda Nash might be living proof that love doesn’t fade with age.
PUNTA GORDA CROW rescues, rehabilitates 2 orphaned baby River Otters Two orphaned baby North American River Otters were rescued by the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida Reading Festival brings bestselling authors Romance is in the air this Valentine’s Day as we look forward to the Southwest Florida Reading Festival taking place in March.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Florist offers lower prices on roses for Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year for florists in Southwest Florida, and one florist is offering lower prices on roses.
The El Faro sank just before it was to be added to a Coast Guard list of vessels identified as having the most “potential for risk,” a designation that would have triggered more safety inspections. The El Faro was to be included on the so-called “targeting list,” which compiled the top 10 percent of ships the Coast Guard believed needed stricter scrutiny, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Kyle McAvoy testified Monday during an investigative hearing. But the 40-year-old El Faro sank in 15,000 feet of water after losing propulsion and getting caught in Hurricane Joaquin just days before the Coast Guard planned to send the ship’s owner a message about the new designation. All 33 people aboard died. When news of the ship’s disappearance came in, McAvoy said the connection was immediately made. “The question became, internally, ‘What do we do now? We just lost the El Faro,'” McAvoy said. “We held the message.” The Coast Guard did release the list with El Faro’s name still on it after confirming it sank. He did not say why, specifically, the ship was on the list but said age, expired documents or other problems are reasons other ships make the list. McAvoy’s revelation came during testimony on the sixth day of the Coast Guard’s investigative hearing in Jacksonville looking into the El Faro’s sinking. Investigators are looking into whether misconduct played a role in the ship’s sinking, including whether mistakes were made in inspections. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board investigators are participating in the hearing, and will release separate reports. In his final call for help, Capt. Michael Davidson told company officials he’d lost propulsion and his engineers could not fix it. He said water was flowing into one of the ship’s holds, and the vessel had a “heavy list,” or tilt. Previous testimony showed that the ship, owned and operated by Tote Inc., was due for its boilers to be serviced the month after it sank. Documents showed the boilers contained parts inspectors said had “deteriorated severely” before the ship’s voyage from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico. Still, Tote officials who reviewed those inspection reports described the scheduled maintenance as routine and that nothing identified in the boilers caused safety concerns, according to testimony. Monday’s hearing also focused on data gaps in the safety inspection system for commercial shipping. Coast Guard Capt. John Mauger said that his office identified a “disturbing” uptick in safety discrepancies found during vessel inspections between 2013-2014. Mauger said that more than 90 percent of ship inspections are performed by private classification societies, mainly the American Bureau of Shipping, or ABS, and that there are reporting “gaps” in the information these groups share with the Coast Guard. The bureau of shipping did full hull and machinery inspections in February with no red flags, the company has said. Because of this data gap, Mauger said it is difficult to fill cracks in the system that may be allowing risky vessels to go to sea. He said they are working to fix communication between the Coast Guard, ABS and other classification societies. “We don’t know what we don’t know. If they don’t notify us … we see that as a gap,” Mauger said.