The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
The Weather Authority Hotter and more humid this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a mild Friday morning with dry afternoon conditions and isolated storms appearing in the evening.
PUNTA GORDA ‘Party’s Over’: Dirt biking ends at Barefoot Lake The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made it clear, the party at Barefoot Lake is over.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
MGN HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Soaring numbers of overdose deaths are adding to woes already plaguing medical examiner and coroner offices, resulting in a shortage of places to store bodies and long delays in autopsies and toxicology testing. The Connecticut medical examiner’s office has considered renting a refrigerated truck to store extra bodies because its storage area has neared capacity at times. In Wisconsin, the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office sometimes has to put bodies on Army-style cots in its refrigerated storage area because it runs out of gurneys. The Hamilton County coroner’s office in Cincinnati has a 100-day backlog of DNA testing for police drug investigations, largely because of increased overdose deaths. Medical examiners and coroners say overdose deaths are adding to a strain on their offices that already includes a surge of urban violence, inadequate facilities, budget problems and the shortage of forensic pathologists qualified to perform autopsies. “There are many, many parts of the country that have substantial problems,” said Dr. David Fowler, Maryland’s chief medical examiner and president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, referring to medical examiner and coroner offices. “I think the drug overdoses have substantially increased the problems.” A record 47,055 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2014, according to the latest figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number was up 7 percent from 2013, spurred by large increases in heroin and opioid painkiller deaths. Reports indicate overdoses continue to increase. There are about 500 forensic pathologists in the country, but at least 1,000 are needed, according to forensic science groups. A major cause of the shortage is that many medical students are opting for higher-paying jobs in regular pathology jobs in hospitals, Fowler said. Medical examiner and coroner offices generally investigate all violent deaths in their jurisdictions, as well as suspicious and unexpected deaths that don’t occur in hospitals. The most notable changes resulting from inundated offices have been longer waits for families to learn how their loved ones died and delays in criminal investigations and court cases, medical examiners say. Kathleen Errico, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, lost her daughter, Kelsey Grace Endicott, to a suspected heroin overdose in April. Kelsey was 23 and left behind a toddler son. Errico said authorities told her the backlog at the state medical examiner’s office was so large it would take four to six months to complete a toxicology report. “It’s lousy for the families,” Errico said of waiting for test results. “I know some other folks that are very, very angry. They’re very upset about the wait. … But I don’t really see what more you can do with so many overdoses happening so quickly.” Errico said she’s more patient than other relatives of overdose victims. But she still is eager to know whether Kelsey died of a straight heroin overdose or whether fentanyl – a powerful painkiller linked to a spike in overdoses across the country – was involved. Some medical examiner and coroner offices, including Connecticut’s, are so overworked that they risk losing accreditation, because their pathologists are on track to perform more than 325 autopsies a year – the limit in standards set by the National Association of Medical Examiners’ accrediting program. At the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office in Cincinnati, the four forensic pathologists are on pace to do many more autopsies than the 325 limit, and the agency faces the loss of its accreditation, said the coroner, Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco. In Los Angeles County, which has also seen a surge in fatal overdoses linked to fentanyl, Medical Examiner-Coroner Mark Fajardo announced in March that he was resigning, saying understaffing left him unable to do the job amid complaints of stacked bodies and testing backlogs. Dr. James Gill, Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, said he and his staff are looking into renting a refrigerated truck to store bodies in case they run out of space at the office. Because of all the extra work, Gill also has decided his office also will no longer perform toxicology tests for most deaths clearly caused by trauma including shootings and car crashes, leaving the expense to police departments and families if they want the tests. In Milwaukee County from 2011 to 2015, drug deaths increased 41 percent to 254, including 110 heroin-related deaths. About 14 percent of autopsies were related to overdose deaths in 2011, compared with 26 percent last year, said Dr. Brian Peterson, the county’s chief medical examiner. The office also is dealing with a 1 percent budget cut and has had to leave a toxicologist position unfilled. The White House’s National Science and Technology Council has been looking into how to improve the nation’s coroner and medical examiner system. A draft report released in April includes recommendations to increase investments in training pathologists and better report death investigation data needed to inform lawmakers and monitor public health.