Family and NAACP continue fighting for justice for Christopher JordanFGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debut
FORT MYERS Family and NAACP continue fighting for justice for Christopher Jordan The NAACP and Jordan’s family said this isn’t the end for them
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debut FGCU softball players are ready to play in their first NCAA Tournament game against No. 4 Florida.
FORT MYERS Expert weighs in on ‘justified’ police shooting of Christopher Jordan We spoke with Dr. David Thomas – a forensic studies professor from FGCU and a former officer – who supports the idea of officer-involved shooting investigations going to a grand jury.
West Palm Beach 360-degree storm documentation: A closer look at Hurricane Ian’s aftermath At the Governor’s Conference exhibit hall, Dylan Faraone, Regional Director of Mosaic, showcased his work using a 360-degree camera mounted on his car to document the aftermath of major storms, including Hurricane Ian’s impact on southwest Florida.
GAINESVILLE FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville for NCAA Tournament FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville, where she fell in love with the sport again playing for Santa Fe College.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
CAPE CORAL Suspect in custody after a North Fort Myers family loses everything in a fire Their investigation led them to the area of Hancock Bridge Parkway in Cape Coral. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a suspect from the Bogart Drive incident is in custody.
FORT MYERS Deadly motorcycle crash shuts down roads on Fowler and Winkler Ave. Fort Myers Police Department has confirmed that a motorcyclist has died in a crash on Fowler and Winkler Avenue on Thursday.
Sarasota How well does a diverging diamond really work? The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic.
FORT MYERS RSW experiencing terminal expansion delay Lee County commissioners gave us an update on the RSW terminal expansion project, which is long overdue. Now we know why.
IMMOKALEE National Weather Service surveys storm damage in Immokalee The National Weather Service in Miami concluded after a survey the damage wasn’t from a tornado. It was from a downburst of straight-line wind between 60 – 70 mph.
SANIBEL Sanibel considering e-bike changes Biking is almost as common as driving on Sanibel, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee wants to keep that trend going.
CAPE CORAL Family of victim sues Lee County School District, claiming it failed to protect student Family sued Lee County School District for failing to keep their student safe.
CAPE CORAL Former Cape Coral teacher who sent inappropriate pictures to student reaches plea deal Reynolds’ plea agreement includes 12 years in prison followed by an additional 96 months of probation.
BONITA SPRINGS 12 vehicle crash shuts down all lanes of I-75 near MM 116 Bonita Springs firefighters are working the scene. Tow trucks are helping to get the affected vehicles off the road.
FORT MYERS Family and NAACP continue fighting for justice for Christopher Jordan The NAACP and Jordan’s family said this isn’t the end for them
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debut FGCU softball players are ready to play in their first NCAA Tournament game against No. 4 Florida.
FORT MYERS Expert weighs in on ‘justified’ police shooting of Christopher Jordan We spoke with Dr. David Thomas – a forensic studies professor from FGCU and a former officer – who supports the idea of officer-involved shooting investigations going to a grand jury.
West Palm Beach 360-degree storm documentation: A closer look at Hurricane Ian’s aftermath At the Governor’s Conference exhibit hall, Dylan Faraone, Regional Director of Mosaic, showcased his work using a 360-degree camera mounted on his car to document the aftermath of major storms, including Hurricane Ian’s impact on southwest Florida.
GAINESVILLE FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville for NCAA Tournament FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville, where she fell in love with the sport again playing for Santa Fe College.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
CAPE CORAL Suspect in custody after a North Fort Myers family loses everything in a fire Their investigation led them to the area of Hancock Bridge Parkway in Cape Coral. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a suspect from the Bogart Drive incident is in custody.
FORT MYERS Deadly motorcycle crash shuts down roads on Fowler and Winkler Ave. Fort Myers Police Department has confirmed that a motorcyclist has died in a crash on Fowler and Winkler Avenue on Thursday.
Sarasota How well does a diverging diamond really work? The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic.
FORT MYERS RSW experiencing terminal expansion delay Lee County commissioners gave us an update on the RSW terminal expansion project, which is long overdue. Now we know why.
IMMOKALEE National Weather Service surveys storm damage in Immokalee The National Weather Service in Miami concluded after a survey the damage wasn’t from a tornado. It was from a downburst of straight-line wind between 60 – 70 mph.
SANIBEL Sanibel considering e-bike changes Biking is almost as common as driving on Sanibel, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee wants to keep that trend going.
CAPE CORAL Family of victim sues Lee County School District, claiming it failed to protect student Family sued Lee County School District for failing to keep their student safe.
CAPE CORAL Former Cape Coral teacher who sent inappropriate pictures to student reaches plea deal Reynolds’ plea agreement includes 12 years in prison followed by an additional 96 months of probation.
BONITA SPRINGS 12 vehicle crash shuts down all lanes of I-75 near MM 116 Bonita Springs firefighters are working the scene. Tow trucks are helping to get the affected vehicles off the road.
MGN ALBANY, Ga. (AP) – A decade after hundreds of Americans got sick from eating Peter Pan peanut butter contaminated with salmonella, the company that sold it paid with an embarrassing courtroom guilty plea and an agreement to pay the largest criminal fine ever in a U.S. food safety case. The president of a ConAgra subsidiary entered a guilty plea on behalf of his company Tuesday to a single misdemeanor count of shipping adulterated food. A U.S. District Court judge then approved a deal ConAgra reached with prosecutors to pay an $8 million fine plus $3.2 million in cash forfeitures. “Obviously they’re able to absorb an $11 million penalty much more than a smaller company,” said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based attorney who specializes in food safety cases. “But it still sends a pretty significant message.” The plea deal resolved a long criminal investigation into a nationwide salmonella outbreak blamed on tainted peanut butter that sickened at least 625 people in 47 states. Disease detectives traced the salmonella to a plant in rural Sylvester, Georgia, that produced peanut butter for ConAgra under the Peter Pan label and the Great Value brand sold at Walmart. In 2007, the company recalled all the peanut butter it had sold since 2004. By then, most of it had been eaten. Leo Knowles, president of ConAgra Grocery Products, offered no testimony as he entered the misdemeanor plea on behalf of the Chicago-based corporation’s subsidiary. “It made a lot of people sick,” prosecutor Graham Thorpe said as he described ConAgra’s decision to continue shipments from the Georgia plant in late 2006 despite lab tests that had twice detected salmonella. “The industry has taken notice of this prosecution,” Thorpe said. The fine represents just one tenth of one percent of ConAgra’s current $8 billion market capitalization. The company also will pay $3.2 million in cash forfeitures to the federal government. U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands waited more than 18 months after ConAgra agreed to the plea deal so that victims could be contacted before he approved the settlement. The case began in 2006, as doctors around the country reported severe gastrointestinal illnesses caused by salmonella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials traced the common factor – peanut butter – outbreak to the plant in rural Georgia. In February 2007, ConAgra recalled its previous three years of peanut butter production, and Peter Pan vanished from store shelves for about six months. Despite the widespread illnesses, no deaths were ever confirmed to be caused by the salmonella outbreak. “The company has behaved in a model way, as a model corporate citizen, ever since that time,” Douglas Fellman, an attorney for ConAgra, told the judge. “Since that time, we have an unblemished record. Peter Pan peanut butter is wholesome and it’s safe.” ConAgra said it didn’t know peanut butter was contaminated with salmonella before it was shipped. However, the plea agreement documents noted that ConAgra knew peanut butter made in Georgia had twice tested positive for salmonella in 2004. ConAgra officials blamed moisture from a leaky roof and a malfunctioning sprinkler system for helping salmonella bacteria grow on raw peanuts. The company spent $275 million on upgrades and adopted new testing procedures to screen for contaminants. The $3.2 million in forfeitures relates to the tainted products, which by federal law must be surrendered to the government. Since ConAgra dispensed with the recalled peanut butter nearly a decade ago, prosecutors asked for cash instead. None of the criminal penalties goes to victims. The judge said more than 150 people had filed paperwork seeking financial restitution, but none could prove they were sickened by salmonella caused by eating the recalled peanut butter. Three women made their case to the judge, testifying they suffered severe gastrointestinal illness after eating from jars of Peter Pan in late 2006, and suffered from lingering health problems a decade later. The judge said he was sympathetic, but awarded them no money. “This to me is an injustice done all over again, especially after 10 years of waiting for justice,” said Mona McCombs of Bloomington, Indiana. McCombs testified that she and several relatives, including her elderly mother, became extremely sick after eating Peter Pan just before Christmas in 2006. She blames ConAgra for her mother’s death three months later, but none of them were tested while sick by a doctor for salmonella to prove it. The judge noted that others had already received cash from ConAgra in civil settlements, which he said totaled $36 million to 6,810 people.