Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairsCollier County Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Collier County Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
CLEWISTON Clewiston man shoots friend over alleged sexual crime against relative There is new information about a murder in Clewiston earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Bridge design vote aims to improve traffic flow Residents and drivers in Cape Coral have long shared a common frustration: traffic congestion, particularly on Cape Coral Parkway.
Symptoms and treatment for pleurisy, the inflammation of lungs’ lining This winter season in Southwest Florida has been rampant with illness, from flu to viral infections.
Lee county approves major road projects to improve traffic flow, safety The Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to improving the county’s transportation network.
NAPLES Young bobcat injured by car; rehabilitated, released into Naples A young bobcat has been released back into the wild after recovering from its injuries through the collaborative efforts of several Florida environmental agencies.
Florida house speaker appoints Charlotte County sheriff to state immigration enforcement council Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has appointed two sheriffs, one of whom is Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, to the state immigration enforcement council.
FORT MYERS Iconic Fort Myers statue to undergo repairs The iconic “Rachel at the Well” statue on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers has been a landmark for 94 years. However, it became a casualty of Hurricane Ian in 2022, and discussions for its repair are ongoing.
Collier County Salvation Army Thrift Store closing its doors The Salvation Army has announced the permanent closure of the Naples Family Store on Davis Boulevard.
SANIBEL Rebuilding the Sanibel Causeway with a cause Construction crews are hard at work making the Sanibel Causeway more resilient. The bridge is being fortified to withstand future storms.
LEE COUNTY No. 2 prospect in MLB Roman Anthony with Red Sox for Spring Training Roman Anthony, who is ranked as the second best in baseball, is with the Boston Red Sox for his first Spring Training.
MANASOTA KEY Popular Manasota Key restaurant reopens after storm damage Manasota Key is steadily recovering from a challenging hurricane season, and residents are celebrating the reopening of a beloved local spot.
PINE ISLAND Construction to start on hurricane-proof fire station on Pine Island A new hurricane-proof fire station is coming to Pine Island. The current station, over 40 years old, is in dire need of replacement.
NORTH PORT Braves’ Chris Sale on the mound in southwest Florida once again Spring Training is in full swing for the Atlanta Braves, who’s full squad reported on Tuesday, that means Chris Sale is back in SWFL.
NORTH NAPLES Construction on Collier County diverging diamond begins in March Construction on Southwest Florida’s third diverging diamond interchange is set to begin in March.
Charlotte County homeowners consider elevating homes Recent hurricanes and flooding events prompted some Charlotte County homeowners to either demolish or elevate their homes.
CLEWISTON Clewiston man shoots friend over alleged sexual crime against relative There is new information about a murder in Clewiston earlier this month.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Bridge design vote aims to improve traffic flow Residents and drivers in Cape Coral have long shared a common frustration: traffic congestion, particularly on Cape Coral Parkway.
Symptoms and treatment for pleurisy, the inflammation of lungs’ lining This winter season in Southwest Florida has been rampant with illness, from flu to viral infections.
Lee county approves major road projects to improve traffic flow, safety The Lee Board of County Commissioners continued its commitment to improving the county’s transportation network.
NAPLES Young bobcat injured by car; rehabilitated, released into Naples A young bobcat has been released back into the wild after recovering from its injuries through the collaborative efforts of several Florida environmental agencies.
Florida house speaker appoints Charlotte County sheriff to state immigration enforcement council Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has appointed two sheriffs, one of whom is Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, to the state immigration enforcement council.
Photo: Roy Halladay / Twitter LOS ANGELES (AP) The tiny sport plane Roy Halladay was flying when he fatally crashed into the Gulf of Mexico was made for entry-level pilots like him, though the plane’s chief designer and test pilot died while flying one earlier this year, officials and experts said. Halladay, the 40-year-old former Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher, had been the proud owner for less than a month of his ICON A5, and was among the first to fly it, with only about 20 in existence, according the website for ICON Aviation. In one of many enthusiastic tweets about the plane, Halladay said it felt “like flying a fighter jet.” Rolled out in 2014, the A5 is an amphibious aircraft meant to be treated like an ATV, a piece of weekend recreational gear with folding wings that can easily be towed on a trailer to a lake where it can take off from the water. “The way that a lot of people described it is a Jet Ski with wings,” Stephen Pope, editor-in-chief of Flying magazine, told The Associated Press. “It’s really a play thing.” MORE: Former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay dies in Gulf of Mexico plane crash The man who led the plane’s design, 55-year-old John Murray Karkow, died while flying an A5 over California’s Lake Berryessa on May 8, in a crash the National Transportation Safety Board blamed on pilot error. The NTSB also will investigate Halladay’s crash to determine the cause. In other tweets, Halladay said he had dreamed about owning one of the planes, and said in video on the company’s website that he had to talk his wife into letting him get one. The son of a corporate pilot, Halladay had been forbidden to take up aviation until he retired from baseball at the end of 2013. Pope said “the plane itself is great,” but he had concerns about Halladay, a new pilot with little flying time, taking the craft out over water at low altitude, though the plane was marketed as a craft that could do that. “They still think that that’s the way the airplane should be flown, and there are people in aviation who completely disagree with that,” Pope said. “They think you should not have a low-time pilot flying low over water. That’s a recipe for disaster.” Low flying was part of the problem when Karkow, the designer, crashed, according to federal investigators. Karkow was killed along with passenger Cagri Sever, the company’s newly hired director of engineering. The NTSB blamed pilot error for the crash, saying Karkow mistakenly entered a canyon while flying too low, causing the plane to strike the canyon wall. Another A5 crashed in April, making a hard landing in the water off Key Largo, Florida, injuring the pilot and his passenger. The pilot told investigators the plane descended faster than he expected. Halladay’s ICON A5 went down around noon Tuesday off the coast of Florida, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said. The sheriff’s office marine unit responded and discovered Halladay’s body in shallow water near some mangroves. No survivors were found. Police said they couldn’t confirm if there were additional passengers on the plane or say where it was headed. ICON Aviation said in a statement that the company would assist the NTSB in every way possible with its investigation, and that its executives and employees were “devastated” by Halladay’s death. “We have gotten to know Roy and his family in recent months, and he was a great advocate and friend of ours,” the statement said.